Dusty was a treasure, even outside of music. She was a staunch anti-racist and was kicked out of South Africa for refusing to play to segregated crowds. She was also the first pop star to come out of the closet (1970) and became a hero in the queer community. Beyond the music, she was such an underrated and important influence on popular culture. She’s one of my favorite queer icons.
Always loved this stuff. This caught my eye: "The UK’s love for soul is evident in their love affair with northern soul,..." The Brits of course also fell in love with Blues, which spawned almost all of what we call Rock and Roll. I assume you will at some point take on the British Blues movement--I'm looking forward to seeing how you parse that. It seems much bigger than a genre!
Dusty was a treasure, even outside of music. She was a staunch anti-racist and was kicked out of South Africa for refusing to play to segregated crowds. She was also the first pop star to come out of the closet (1970) and became a hero in the queer community. Beyond the music, she was such an underrated and important influence on popular culture. She’s one of my favorite queer icons.
https://songsthatsavedyourlife.substack.com/p/no12-son-of-a-preacher-man-dusty
Always loved this stuff. This caught my eye: "The UK’s love for soul is evident in their love affair with northern soul,..." The Brits of course also fell in love with Blues, which spawned almost all of what we call Rock and Roll. I assume you will at some point take on the British Blues movement--I'm looking forward to seeing how you parse that. It seems much bigger than a genre!
This is one of my jams,