The Bridge: The Closet Was Never Binary
Barry Walters, a scholar of LGBTQ music, says queer artists have long expressed their identities on a spectrum.
[This edition of my Hit Parade—“The Bridge” bonus series is available to Slate Plus subscribers only. A link to the episode show page is below. To sign up for Plus—and tell Slate that Hit Parade sent you!—visit slate.com/hitparadeplus.]
In this Slate Plus exclusive, Hit Parade host Chris Molanphy welcomes music journalist Barry Walters, whose forthcoming book, Mighty Real, charts queer music history from 1969 to 2000. In this conversation about queerness in pop, Walters reflects on the coded signals in the work of artists like Elton John, David Bowie, Sylvester, and Boy George. He also explains how disco opened a door for LGBTQ musicians and gave closted artists a way to reach audiences through expressly queer songs.
Also: Chris tests a Slate Plus listener’s music knowledge, gives him a chance to turn the tables with a question of his own, and offers a sneak peek at the next episode of Hit Parade. Slate Plus members can sign up for a chance to be our trivia contestant on a future episode here.
Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.
Content retrieved from: https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade/2025/06/a-history-of-queer-artists-in-pop-music