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- Mighty Real (A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000)
Mighty Real (A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000)
List Price:
$35.00
| Expected release date is May 12th 2026 |
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Product Details
Author:
Barry Walters
Format:
Hardcover
Pages:
496
Publisher:
Penguin Publishing Group (May 12, 2026)
Imprint:
Viking
Release Date:
May 12, 2026
Language:
English
Audience:
General/trade
ISBN-13:
9798217059829
Weight:
23.4oz
Dimensions:
6.33" x 9.53" x 1.62"
File:
RandomHouse-PRH_Book_Company_PRH_PRT_Onix_delta_active_D20260418T001110_155954252-20260418.xml
Folder:
RandomHouse
List Price:
$35.00
Country of Origin:
United States
Pub Discount:
65
Case Pack:
12
As low as:
$26.95
Publisher Identifier:
P-RH
Discount Code:
A
QuickShip:
Yes
Overview
“An essential book for this moment.”
—Rob Sheffield
The definitive history of LGBTQ music, from Stonewall to RuPaul, and its impact on culture and American life
From the underground dancefloors of the Seventies to the global charts of the Nineties, LGBTQ artists and audiences shaped music’s sound, style, and spirit. In Mighty Real, veteran journalist Barry Walters chronicles its LGBTQ history from the Velvet Underground to the 21st century’s dawn as he honors the artists who redefined gender, defied tradition, and dared to challenge sexual norms with the help of a record business that wasn’t as straight as commonly believed.
Drawing on his decades as a New York- and San Francisco-based music critic, Walters examines how LGBTQ musicians, music industry executives, and fans reshaped the mainstream. He connects the dots between David Bowie’s dazzling reinventions, Grace Jones’s androgynous glamor, Prince’s boundary-shattering sexuality, and the radical candor of the Indigo Girls to prove they’re all doing the same thing: fighting oppression.
With exuberance, insight, and encyclopedic knowledge, Walters brings to life the songs and society that filled dancefloors, bedrooms, and streets as he uncovers yesteryear’s coded LGBTQ messages that paved the way for today’s unabashedly queer hits. Mighty Real is a masterful love letter to the music that liberated generations, and it’s written in a page-turning, personal way that blurs distinctions between chronicle and memoir. This is the rare and revolutionary music history told to help you laugh, cry, and then rally against lingering inequality.
—Rob Sheffield
The definitive history of LGBTQ music, from Stonewall to RuPaul, and its impact on culture and American life
From the underground dancefloors of the Seventies to the global charts of the Nineties, LGBTQ artists and audiences shaped music’s sound, style, and spirit. In Mighty Real, veteran journalist Barry Walters chronicles its LGBTQ history from the Velvet Underground to the 21st century’s dawn as he honors the artists who redefined gender, defied tradition, and dared to challenge sexual norms with the help of a record business that wasn’t as straight as commonly believed.
Drawing on his decades as a New York- and San Francisco-based music critic, Walters examines how LGBTQ musicians, music industry executives, and fans reshaped the mainstream. He connects the dots between David Bowie’s dazzling reinventions, Grace Jones’s androgynous glamor, Prince’s boundary-shattering sexuality, and the radical candor of the Indigo Girls to prove they’re all doing the same thing: fighting oppression.
With exuberance, insight, and encyclopedic knowledge, Walters brings to life the songs and society that filled dancefloors, bedrooms, and streets as he uncovers yesteryear’s coded LGBTQ messages that paved the way for today’s unabashedly queer hits. Mighty Real is a masterful love letter to the music that liberated generations, and it’s written in a page-turning, personal way that blurs distinctions between chronicle and memoir. This is the rare and revolutionary music history told to help you laugh, cry, and then rally against lingering inequality.
