Pride Month Musicians Final, 27th-30th

June 27th: Desmond Child

Date of Birth: October 28th, 1953

Genre: Classic Rock/Classic Good Music in general

What he identifies as: Gay

Where is he from: Gainesville, FL

A classic songwriter from the 1980s, Desmond Child is probably responsible for at least one song you like.  He helped write Aerosmith’s “Dude Looks Like A Lady” and “Another Last Goodbye,” Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love A Bad Name,” Kiss’ “I was Made For Lovin’ You,” Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself For Loving You,” Alice Cooper’s “House of Fire” and “Poison” and even Ricky Martin’s “Living La Vida Loca.”  He still works as recently as 2015 and lives in Nashville with his husband and two sons.  He has also worked with modern Pop icons like Kelly Clarkson, Selena Gomez and Katy Perry.  This man is an amazing songwriter and I love a lot of music he has made over the years, listening to it frequently.  One of my favorite albums from my birth year was Alice Cooper’s “Trash,” the entirety of which he co-wrote, and he also co-wrote one of my favorite Joan Jett pieces with “I Hate Myself For Loving You,” which was performed by Jett and fellow member of this list Miley Cyrus in 2011 and featured in the opening of the Birds of Prey movie earlier this year.  Desmond Child released a live album last year featuring him and some lesser-known singers performing some of his bigger songs to a small audience, including a medley of “Dude Looks like a Lady” and “You Give Love A Bad Name,” the bands Bon Jovi and Aerosmith being his favorites to work with.

Recommended Songs:  All listed above



June 28th: Charles “Chuck” Panozzo

Date of Birth: September 20th, 1948

Genre: Classic AOR Rock

What he identifies as: Gay

Where is he from: Miami Beach, FL (stated by Tommy Shaw in Live in Vegas album, “all the way from Miami Beach, Mr. Charles Panozzo!”)/Chicago, IL (birthplace according to Wikipedia)

The original bass player for classic rock band Styx.  Chuck Panozzo still performs with Styx from time to time and campaigns for gay rights and AIDS awareness as he has HIV.  When he isn’t the bass player for Styx, Ricky Phillips is the current bass player.  Chuck’s biggest performance with the band lately was on their 2015 Live at the Orleans Arena Las Vegas album, where he played “Foolin’ Yourself (The Angry Young Man).”

Recommended Albums: The Grand Illusion (also the name of his autobiography), Live at the Orleans Arena Las Vegas (track-Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man), introduced on track “Too Much Time On My Hands”), Pieces of Eight



June 29th: Kesha

Date of Birth: March 1st, 1987

Genre: Pop

What she identifies as: Bisexual

Where is she from: Los Angeles, CA

A fierce force in Pop music today, Kesha (also known as Ke$ha) has been around since the late 2000s.  She has sung duets with Alice Cooper, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Dolly Parton and Seattle-area rapper Macklemore, filed suit against producer Lukasz Gottwalt for abuse and been a furious force for women’s rights in the music business.  Honestly, force describes her well, because she doesn’t let anything stop her.  I first heard her cover Bob Dylan on the Dylan covers album for Amnesty International that Miley Cyrus, Adele and Sinead O’Connor also contributed to, but Kesha since launched into a career that has been like fellow musician Lady Gaga, though more impressive since Kesha is younger.  Kesha released an album at the start of this year and it has been one of the better Pop showings thus far for this year.  This album also featured a track credited to Kesha feat. Ke$ha, I’m not entirely certain what that means, but it probably refers to the fact Kesha raps briefly on the track as she did more often when she was under the Ke$ha moniker (and in one episode of Robot Chicken and her duet with Alice Cooper in Welcome 2 My Nightmare).  Last Thursday, she posted a cover of a Marc Bolan/T. Rex song for an upcoming tribute album due out in September, which will also feature Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, U2 with Elton John and both Julian and Sean Lennon.

Recommended Discography: I Need A Woman To Love (for Universal Love - Wedding Songs Reimagined album, Janis Joplin cover (yes, Janis Joplin was also a lesbian, I just didn’t research her)), Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle to You (with Dolly Parton, also a Dolly Parton cover), Good Old Days (with Macklemore), High Road (album), Children of the Revolution (Marc Bolan/T. Rex cover)



June 30th: Sam Smith

Date of Birth: May 19th, 1992

Genre: Pop

What they identify as: Gay, genderqueer, non-binary

Where are they from: London, UK

Smith has sung duets with Brandi Carlile, Normani and Pop superstar Demi Lovato, and doesn’t appear to be slowing down to rest on their laurels anytime soon.  A feminist influenced by Adele and Amy Winehouse; Sam Smith has been one of the best voices in Pop in the last decade.  They are also a cousin of Lily Allen and also influenced by Chaka Khan and Christina Aguilera.  They also are non-binary and prefer they to gender-specific pronouns.  This is important to respect in these days, please do so.  They have given me such great songs and I hope they continue at the current peak they’ve achieved.

Recommended Songs: I’m Ready (with Demi Lovato), Dancing with a Stranger (with Normani), Party of One (with Brandi Carlile)