Before the Beatles, before Elvis (but after Sinatra,) there was Johnnie Ray. Ray overcame partial deafness to become the world's biggest pop idol and inspire generations of songwriters to come. He was also pretty queer! Larry has the whole story.

We'll also be talking briefly about two other queer trailblazers who helped shape modern music: Little Richard and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

Kickass Queers shares the incredible life stories of amazing lesbian, gay, transgender, gender-nonconforming and otherwise queer people.

Learn More & Support the Cast

The Best of Johnnie Ray https://amzn.to/4arHvwf

Johnnie Ray Singles Collection https://amzn.to/4a5ueJp

Rocking the Closet: How Little Richard, Johnnie Ray, Liberace, and Johnny Mathis Queered Pop Music https://amzn.to/4cpDGth

Oregon Experience: Johnnie Ray documentary https://www.pbs.org/video/johnnie-ray-zatqth/

Johnnie Ray in Concert on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PdvMAPZeNo

Johnnie and Elvis joke about their perceived rivalry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A_Ort7_aP0

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