Country music star Chely Wright has come out as a lesbian on the cover of People magazine, part of a high-stakes media campaign that some feel may affect her marketability.1939
Though it's unclear why, "Lavender Cowboy," a recording by Texas-born country singer Vernon Dalhart is banned from the radio. Dalhart leaves the industry to become a security guard; is inducted into the Nashville Song Writers Hall of Fame in 1970.
1973
Lavender Country, fronted by openly gay Seattle-based Patrick Haggerty, releases America's first overtly gay-themed country album. The band pressed only 1,000 copies. Songs include "Back in the Closet Again" and "Come Out Singing." "For many," the album cover notes, "Lavender Country is a land of fear, confusion, and loneliness."
1991
Some consider Pirates of the Mississippi's video "Feed Jake" the "first country music video with a gay theme." The clip tells the story of two men, one of whom dies, leaving the other to take care of his dog. Though the song features the lyric: "If you get an ear pierced, some will call you gay," the band's manager denies intentional gay undertones.
1992
Canadian star k.d. lang – whose country recording career began in 1983 — comes out in The Advocate, after she'd effectively switched her focus to pop music.
1998
Musician Doug Stevens, of Doug Stevens & The Outband, forms the the Lesbian and Gay Country Music Association (LGCMA) to support gay country artists and promote country music in the gay community.
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"Indie recording artist Nhojj made OUTMusic Awards history when his ballad Love (watch video below) was voted 2009 Outstanding R&B/Soul Song of the Year by The Alliance of LGBT Recording Artists & Performers. This marks the first time an African American male has won an OMA," reports Billboard. Nhojj is also the first artist to win the OUTStanding R&B/Soul song of the year. OUTMusic added this and other categories to the ceremony this year to more fully reflect the music of the LGBT community. After his win, the singer/songwriter took the stage performing Love before an audience including OMA Lifetime Achievement recipient Kevin Aviance, Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, LOGO personalities DeMarco Majors and Julie Goldman among many other notables in the LGBT community. The ceremony was hosted by Noah’s Arc star Rodney Chester and GLAAD Media Award winner Kate Clinton.Winners of the 2009 OUTMusic AwardsNhojj Biography:
Nhojj grew up in Guyana and Trinidad, where he performed for the Presidents of both countries. He began singing in church at the age of 5, but didn't embark on a career in music until after graduating from NYU with a BA in Economics. Earlier this year he returned to his Caribbean roots and performed "Love" at the 2009 Barbados Music Awards. To date Nhojj has released six CDs and an unplugged live DVD by Emmy nominated director Bill Cote. He has performed at Lincoln Center, and toured the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom. In addition to his recording and performance schedule, Nhojj regularly donates his gift of music to people living with HIV/AIDS. He performs in hospitals, hospices, residential facilities and treatment centers throughout New York City , as part of the Lifebeat “Hearts and Voices” program.
Singer-songwriter, Chris Willis started his career as a gospel performer but after meeting house musician David Guetta during a vacation in Paris, he’s become a leader in the dance music scene. Willis co-wrote and provided most of the vocals on Guetta's debut album Just a Little More Love, including the hit title track. Out.com has a new interview with Willis.Out.com writes:
The Ohio-born Chris Willis -- who lends vocals to Guetta’s new album, One Love -- chatted with us about working with the legendary DJ, dabbling in country music, and where his career is headed.
Out.com: I was surprised to learn you had worked with both Dolly Parton and Brooks & Dunn. How did you get involved in country music?
Chris Willis: A lot of it is just proximity. I lived in Nashville for 12 years. I moved there to do gospel music and my career was kind of up and down in the gospel genre. So to supplement my income, I did a lot of session work, session singing. I sang on a lot of gospel work. And some of those same singers I was working with were heavily involved with Wynonna Judd and a lot of other country [singers]. So they would call me in on session and that’s pretty much how I got involved in singing on country albums. Because there’s a lot of country music coming out of Nashville, so it was a great asset.
Out.com: Do you find that you have a gay following?
Chris Willis: That’s a very good question. I tend not to focus specifically on whether people are gay or straight. I like to think that everybody that loves the music -- no matter where they’re from, no matter what they do, as long as they believe in love -- that’s what I’m singing my songs about. I think the gay market has always been a great support for the dance music genre, and that’s been an asset for the work I’ve done with David and certainly for my work. I like to think that there’s a huge gay following, and hopefully we’ll discover that in the future and explore that more and more.
Read full interview here.
Patrick Swayze, the hunky actor who danced his way into moviegoers' hearts with "Dirty Dancing" and then broke them with "Ghost," died Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.AP reports:.
"Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," his publicist, Annett Wolf, said in a statement Monday evening. Swayze died in Los Angeles, Wolf said, but she declined to give further details. Fans of the actor were saddened to learn in March 2008 that Swayze was suffering from a particularly deadly form of cancer. He kept working despite the diagnosis, putting together a memoir with his wife and shooting "The Beast," an A&E drama series for which he had already made the pilot. Swayze said he opted not to use painkilling drugs while making "The Beast" because they would have taken the edge off his performance. The show drew a respectable 1.3 million viewers when the 13 episodes ran in 2009, but A&E said it had reluctantly decided not to renew it for a second season. When he first went public with the illness, some reports gave him only weeks to live, but his doctor said his situation was "considerably more optimistic" than that. Swayze acknowledged that time might be running out given the grim nature of the disease. READ MORE.
Whoopi Goldberg (co-starred in Ghost):
“Patrick was a really good man, a funny man and one to whom I owe much that I can’t ever repay. I believe in Ghost’s message, so he’ll always be near.”
Gary Busey (co-starred in Point Break):
“Patrick Swayze was a kindred spirit and a spiritual brother of mine. His focus was center target and his purpose was with faith, kindness, grace, understanding, and love. Patrick Swayze’s book of life will never be over because he’s moved on to the spiritual plateau where life is forever.”
C. Thomas Howell (co-starred in The Outsiders, Red Dawn and Grandview, U.S.A.):
“I have always had a special place in my heart for Patrick. While I was fortunate enough to work with him in three films, it was our passion for horses that forged a friendship between us that I treasure to this day. Not only did we lose a fine actor today, I lost my older Outsiders brother. My heart goes out to not only his entire family, but all his fans as well.”
Travis Fimmel (co-starred in The Beast):
“He was an inspiration, a gentleman and I was blessed to have worked with him and even more blessed to have called him my friend. My heartfelt condolences go out to his wife Lisa and their families.” READ MORE.
Entertainment Weekly reports:
In 2005, Patrick Swayze, who died Sept. 14 at the age of 57 after a public battle with pancreatic cancer, told EW his plan for evolving into a mature leading man. ''No matter whether the movie is a giant hit or not, you keep putting 100 ercent of yourself into everything you do, and never work for money — only for passion,'' he said. ''And no matter what opinion Hollywood has of you, the fans never forget if you never forget them.'' Here, we remember the Dirty Dancing star's 30-year film career, from the roles he fought for (Ghost; To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar) to the roles he fought in (Red Dawn, Road House).
David A. Gregory debuted earlier this month, on one of my favourite soaps, One Life To Live. He was so handsome and obviously talented, that I found myself asking where he came from. There was nothing about David online; I had to do a lot of research in order to compose this biography of him. I've also posted a very tongue-in-cheek TV commercial that David did about a year ago for a product called Airborne. In it, he plays Sebastian, a muscular, shirtless romance novel hero-type. Check it out here. I also created this assemblage of pics of David, as Sebastian, below. Enjoy! 
Actor Thom Bierdz, who this past May, returned to the popular CBS daytime drama, The Young and The Restless, to reprise his role as Phillip Chancellor III, is experiencing both a career and personal renaissance this year. Not only did his character make a stunning return from the dead as a now openly gay man (!), with an adult son, no less, he has also been chosen by the Human Rights Campaign to receive their Visibility Award, this September 12th. 
Nelson Branco (pictured) writes:
Twilight actor (and former Abercrombie & Fitch model) Kellan Lutz was photographed on the steets of Vancouver on Thursday. He sure likes to keep in great shape! Below are some more recent shots of the hunk actor out for his run, plus some shirtless pics from his early modelling career.
Kellan Lutz's wiki profile
Handsome actor and model, Gilles Marini, made quite the impression with the movie audience earlier this year when he played Dante, the Casanova living in the beach house next door to Kim Cattrall's character Samantha in the Sex and the City movie. Gilles was born and raised in France. His modelling career began after he met the renowned photographer, Fred Goudon. Gilles has since moved to the States and is represented by Premier Model Management.
