Drag queens have always been at the forefront of LGBTQ liberation, and in the past 100 years or so, pop music has helped fuel the fight for equality by putting plenty of spiritual gas in the tank. As our cultural understanding and acceptance of drag queens continues to evolve, the playlist of drag anthems grows right alongside us. The evolution of music that engages with queening and the queens themselves who increasingly have power and resources to make music are a vibrant tapestry woven with threads of defiance, resilience and celebration.

As we commemorate Pride, it's essential to delve into the rich history of the music that has empowered and uplifted the drag community over the decades. At a time when trans rights are under a massive resurgence of legislative and judicial threats amidst a larger culture war, it's crucial to offer supportive allyship to both drag performers and trans individuals. Drag, which is the art of performing gender through costume and theatricality, often overlaps with trans identities, though the two are not synonymous. Celebrating the music and stories of drag is a way to honor this intersection and support the broader fight for trans equality.

Related

Before the term "drag queen" entered our mainstream lexicon, pioneers like Ma Rainey and Gladys Bentley were setting the stage as prototypes for drag kinging, which was often considered somewhat more socially permissible than queening. Ma Rainey's 1928 song "Prove It On Me Blues" is often hailed as an early lesbian anthem, hinting at same-sex relationships with a boldness that was revolutionary for its time: “It's true I wear a collar and a tie, / Makes the wind blow all the while. / Don't you say I do it, ain't nobody caught me. / You sure got to prove it on me.” Ma Rainey generally wore dresses on stage, but Gladys Bentley certainly did not. Bentley was known for her tuxedo-clad performances and was a trailblazer in both music and gender expression. Bentley's audacious presence and piano performances at Harlem's speakeasies in the 1920s and 1930s challenged societal norms and laid the groundwork for future drag performers.

As blues singers began picking up the pace, they reached rock 'n' roll territory with the likes of suit-and-tie sporting Big Mama Thornton and her song "Hound Dog" in 1952, a cover of which later helped launch the career of Elvis Prestley in 1956. Of course, Elvis himself would go on to become an icon for drag kings everywhere, and “Jailhouse Rock” is a kinging staple thank to the surprisingly overt gay verse: “Number 47 said to number three / ‘You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see / I sure would be delighted with your company / Come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me.’” It's remarkable that it was allowed on the radio in its original form at this time. During the mid-'50s, Elvis also covered several songs written and first recorded by Thornton’s friend and record labelmate, Richard Wayne Penniman, better known as Little Richard.

This closeted community needed songs with queer-coded meanings that were somewhat less obvious for safety’s sake.

In 1955, Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" exploded onto the music scene with its electrifying energy and lyrics that remain subversive even though radio stations insisted the song be sanitized for mainstream audiences: “She knows how to love me, yes indeed / Boy........

© Salon