Gay Anthems for Pride Month
Gay anthems are popular songs that have become identified with the gay community—particularly gay, although many of these songs became anthems for the rest of the LGBT community. Multiple chart-topping songs have become a rallying cry for gay rights. A lot of the songs labeled as “gay anthems” were not written for that purpose, but due to popularity in the gay community they evolved for that purpose.
The lyrics of gay anthems contain themes of perseverance, inner strength, acceptance, pride, and unity. The 2002 book Queer describes themes common to many gay anthems: "big voiced divas"; themes of overcoming hardship in love; "you are not alone"; themes of throwing your cares away (to party); hard won self-esteem; unashamed sexuality; the search for acceptance; torch songs for the world-weary; the theme of love conquers all; and of making no apologies for who you are.
According to the journal Popular Music, the song most commonly identified as a gay anthem is “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor. The song is described as a classic emblem of gay culture in the post-Stonewall and AIDS eras and arguably disco’s greatest anthem. We pay tribute in the month of June to the LGBT community during Gay Pride Month by featuring some great suggestions of timeless gay anthems and music, some old and new. Just enjoy good music that empowers and speaks truth without judgment.
The Birmingham Public Library offers a collection of various genres of music for checkout and download. If you have an active library card, you have access to music databases such as Freegal and Hoopla. Feel free to create your own playlist from the suggestions listed under A Musical Journey of Pride Playlist, or take a listen to DJ Lee Birmingham Public Library 2020 Gay Pride Power Mix on Freegal.
| A Musical Journey of Pride Playlist “Y.M.C.A.” – Village People “It’s Raining Men” – The Weather Girls “I’m Coming Out” – Diana Ross “Dancing Queen” – ABBA “You Make Me Feel Mighty Real” – Sylvester “I Will Survive” – Gloria Gaynor “I’m Every Woman” – Gloria Gaynor “I Feel Love” – Donna Summer “Pull Up To the Bumper” – Grace Jones “If I Could Turn Back Time” – Cher “New Attitude” – Patti Labelle “I Want Your Sex” – George Michael “Supermodel (You Better Work)” – Rupal “Vogue” – Madonna “Gypsy Woman” – Crystal Waters “Finally” – CeCe Penniston “Strike It Up” – BlackBox “Raise Your Glass” – Pink “Born This Way” – Lady GaGa “Old Town Road” – Lil Nas X “Phone” – Lizzo “Americans” – Janelle Monae “Break Free” – Ariane Grande “Hero” – Mariah Carey “Free” – Ultra Nate’s “Together Again” – Janet Jackson “I Will Always Love You” – Whitney Houston “All About That Bass” – Meghan Trainor “Run the World” – Beyoncé’ "Spotlight” – Jennifer Hudson “Fantasy” – Mariah Carey “I Kissed a Girl” – Katy Perry “Bleeding Love” – Leona Lewis “Stronger” – Kelly Clarkson (References: Wikipedia, Queer) | DJ Lee 2020 Gay Pride Power Mix Playlist on Freegal "You Make Me Feel Mighty Real" – Sylvester "It’s Raining Men" – The Weather Girls "Pull Up To the Bumper" – Grace Jones "He’s the Greatest Dancer" – Sister Sledge "Supermodel" – Rupaul "Vogue" – Madonna "Single Ladies" – Beyonce’ "Eaten Alive" – Diana Ross "Freedom 90" – George Michael "Juice" – Lizzo "Happy" – Pharrell Williams "Twisted" – Ultra Nate’ "Gypsy Woman" – Crystal Waters "The Best Things in Life Are Free" – Janet Jackson/Luther Vandross "Fame (The Game)" – Donna Summer "So Whatcha Gonna Do" – Martha Wash "Who Knew" – Pink "It’s Not Right But It’s Okay" – Whitney Houston "Fantasy" – Mariah Carey "Ain’t Nobody" – Diana King "Queen of the Night" – Whitney Houston "In the Closet" – Michael Jackson "Save Me (Remixed)" – Nina Simone "Old Town Road" – Lil Nas X "The Look of Love (Remixed)" – Nina Simone "Let Me In" – H.E.R "Mississippi Goddam" – Audra Day "1,2,3, Victory" – Kirk Franklin "That’s What Friends Are For "– Dionne Warwick |
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