We may receive an affiliate commission from anything you buy from this article.In his new book, "Mighty Real: A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000" (published by Viking), Barry Walters, a writer for such publications as Rolling Stone and Spin, explores how LGBTQ songwriters, musicians, execs and fans reshaped pop culture in the late 20th century, as queer messages in music became less coded.
Read an excerpt below about the influence of singer-songwriter Elton John, and don't miss Barry Walters on "CBS Sunday Morning" July 12! $27 at Amazon Prefer to listen? Audible has a 30-day free trial available right now.Try Audible for free Chapter NineElton John"It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside/I'm not one of those who can easily hide" goes the opening of Elton John's introductory 1970 hit "Your Song," but hide Sir Elton initially did.
Forget for a moment everything you know about his trademark garishness and contemplate his first few album jackets.There's lots of beige and denim—little gaiety.
For much of his early '70s catalog, the songs within were also earth‑toned, yet rarely autobiographical.Even when paying tribute to Americana in 1970's conceptual country album Tumbleweed Connection, his sidekick lyricist and fellow Englishman Bernie Taupin imparts mythic, even gothic otherworldliness to the Old West and bygone South.
Conjuring detailed imaginary worlds through compositionally rich and sumptuously symphonic talents rarely exceeded in pop, the piano man makes their reveries seem conversely real because he serves them with surreal levels of feeling.The bounty of Taupin's wordy poesy and the fulsomeness of Gus Dudgeon's production pull each album further into an extroversion rare for singer‑songwriters.
As word spread of Elton's showmanship, his presentation grew far larger than the personal life he avoided discussing.Aside from "Razor Face" on 1971's Madman Across the Water, which ...