Episode 17

Johnnie Ray & the Birth of Rock and Roll

Published on: 11th March, 2024

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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Email: kickassqueers@gmail.com

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About the Podcast

Kickass Queers
An LGBTQ+ history podcast.
Kickass Queers explores the lives and achievements of notable LGBTQ+ individuals throughout history. The show delves into the fascinating and often underrepresented stories of queer trailblazers, offering a mix of humor, emotion, and insightful commentary on their contributions to society.

Each episode focuses on a different figure or topic.

Co-host Larry Womack is a journalist with a diverse publication history, and Rachel Stuart is a Communication Studies academic focusing on Critical Intercultural Communication and LGBTQ+ identities online. Together, they bring both academic insight and engaging storytelling to the podcast​.
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About your hosts

Larry Womack

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Larry Womack is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in publications as diverse as The Independent (UK), Yahoo! News (US), Aftenposten Innsikt (Norway), and others. According to The Washington Post, he wrote the most-engaged news story on Facebook of the 2016 election cycle. His credits as editor includes a tenure at HuffPost, among others.

Rachel Stuart

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Rachel Stuart is a Communication Studies faculty member in the Seattle area. Her area of focus in Communication centers on Critical Intercultural Communication and New Communication Technologies. Her research has examined how members of the LGBTQIAAP+ community use the Internet and social media to negotiate identity, create community, and build social support.