LGBTQ+ Country Music: From the Early Ages Until Now

By Laurine Payet, Music Journalist

The current music industry has seen a surge of LGBTQ+ country artists in recent years. Names such as Lil Nas X, Orville Peck, or Brandi Carlile can be spotted on top of the charts, making bringing country music and queer culture together. There are also international stars like Taylor Swift stepping up as allies and standing by their LGBTQ+ fan base. However, this isn’t all new and LGBTQ+ artists have always been a part of the country community. The LGBTQ+ community existed through the entirety of human civilization but were not always able to be as visible, despite this we can find music history showing a big presence of queer people within country. Many LGBTQ+ artists have contributed to what country music is today and pathed the way for the new generation of queer artists and allies across the genre.

Lavender Country

The Seattle-based quartet Lavender Country is famous for its first and eponymous long play. Released in 1973, a year after the band was formed, ‘Lavender Country’ is famous to be the first gay-themed album in country history. The making of the project was possible thanks to the Gay Community Social Services of Seattle, which funded the recording and release of the album. They also received production help from LGBTQ+ rights activist Faygele Ben-Miriam. The song ‘Cryin' These Cocksucking Tears’ has entered history when radio presenter and DJ Shan Ottey decided to play it on its radio show for Seattle radio station KRAB in 1973. It resulted in Ottey being fired from his position. The band reformed in 2019 and released a second LP ‘Blackberry Rose and Other Songs and Sorrows’.

Wilma Burgess

The American artist Wilma Burgess was the first country singer to be openly lesbian. After releasing her first single in 1962, she was spotted by Patsy Cline’s producer Owen Bradley, who fell in love with her voice. Bradley saw in her voice the typical sound that was successful in the Nashville scene. Thanks to the producer, who arranged the deal, she signed to Decca Records in 1964. She broke through in 1965 after recording Ray Griff’s song ‘Baby’ and pursued to have several hit songs in the mid-60s. The singer, who was never in the closet, always preferred to record love songs without specific gender specifications. She had agreed to record straight lyrics with songs such as ‘Ain’t Got No Man’. Those songs were agreed to be made if she could record a song she liked in exchange. However, Bradley never happened to fill his part of the deal, and she completely left the recording industry in 1982.

Dolly Parton

Multi-talented, the American icon Dolly Parton has shown herself in a multitude of areas such as a performer, songwriter, actress, author, and humanitarian. She is however particularly successful for her work as a country artist. Considered an LGBTQ+ icon because of her considerably queer fanbase, she never disappointed and was always here to show support to the community. She advocated for marriage equality, trans rights, and on top of this, she loves drag – and has affirmed to have participated in a Dolly Parton lookalike drag contest.

Orville Peck

Originally from the Southern Hemisphere, the Canada-based artist Orville Peck is one of the highly recognized artists from the current country scene worldwide. Orville Peck is a completely anonymous persona and only appears publicly with a fringed mask. Following the release of the multiple singles since 2017, Peck broke through in 2019 with the release of his debut LP ‘Pony’ through the famous label Sub Pop. He was seen on Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way the Tenth Anniversary’, recording a Country Road version of the iconic track ‘Born This Way’.

Lil Nas X

Known by his stage name Lil Nas X, Montero Lamar Hill has been lately the face of a brand-new genre: country rap. The artist blew up in 2019 with this hit ‘Old Town Road’, reaching over a billion streams on Spotify with its remix. Then Lil Nas X came back last year, releasing spicy and explicit music videos. In ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’, the international star was giving a lap dance to the devil after arriving in hell for being queer. His 2021 album gathered artists such as Jack Harlow, Doja Cat, and Megan Thee Stallion.

Taylor Swift

After trying out more pop and production-focused sounds in ‘reputation’ and ‘Lover’, the American superstar and big LGBTQ+ ally came back to her country roots. She released in 2020 ‘folklore’, a record that accompanied most of us in the first summer of the pandemic. Much more sentimental, ‘folklore’ was followed by its sister ‘evermore’ before Swift could focus on the re-recording of her first five albums.

While country music is not what characterizes the queer music scene, some iconic artists made a name in the genre while being openly queer or allies. It is time for them to be pushed forward so that queer music includes a much broader spectrum of genres.

Take a look at a playlist of our favorite country artists here: