Pride playlist: Eight LGBTQ composers who helped define the Great American Songbook

Cole Porter – “In the Still of the Night”

In writings and film, Cole Porter’s sexuality has been referenced time and time again. While he maintained a loving relationship with Linda Lee Thomas — which was partially documented in the 2004 film De-Lovely — it was no secret that the pendulum of Porter’s romantic taste definitely swung in two directions, perhaps more authentically toward men.

“In the Still of the Night” is one of the songs featured in the 1928 production of Rosalie. It was introduced by Nelson Eddy, who found the song’s length (72 bars, instead of the typical 32-bar song form of the time) to be a little challenging, as was the way the song was put together. He objected to Porter’s composition in its original form and requested that the composer rewrite it. Rather than do that, Porter met with the show’s producer, L.B. Mayer, and sang it for him himself. It’s said that Mayer was so moved by Porter’s performance that he was brought to tears, and he agreed to have the song remain as it was originally written.

Perhaps part of the reason for the sentimentality was that it was a very personal song for Porter. It’s been well-documented that although he was married, Porter had relationships with various male partners over the years. Some biographers believe it was for one of these partners that Porter wrote “In the Still of the Night.” The questioning and longing in the lyrics speak to that fearful wrestling with the question of whether or not the object of someone’s affection reciprocates the feelings being outlined by the performer of the song.

Billy Strayhorn – “Lush Life”

Billy Strayhorn was one of the most admired and respected composers in jazz. His musical talent was evident almost immediately, and he began composing songs at a very early age. He even wrote one of his most famous compositions, “Lush Life,” when he was just a teenager. This torch song, lamenting the lack of a romantic life, is one of the most challenging songs in the Great American Songbook thanks to its melodic and harmonic makeup, as well as in the emotional content of the lyric. There were certain lines that could either tear your heart out, or create a certain sense of despair:

The girls I knew had sad and sullen gray faces with distingué traces that used to be there
You could see where they’d been washed away by too many through the day … twelve o’clock tales

Then you came along with your siren song to tempt me to madness

I thought for a while that your poignant smile was tinged with the sadness of a great love for me

Ah, yes, I was wrong … again, I was wrong.

“Lush Life” has become one of the most popular songs of the jazz songbook and has been recorded by countless artists. However, there’s a certain poignance in hearing the composer himself, Billy Strayhorn, singing the lyrics that he wrote at such a young age.

Lorenz Hart – “A Ship Without A Sail” and “You Took Advantage of Me”

Richard Rodgers worked with several lyricists throughout his career, and one of the most successful musical partnerships was with Lorenz Hart. “Larry,” as he was known to his friends, came from an upper middle-class Jewish background. While his talent was well-known and respected, he suffered romantic insecurities, mainly due to his diminutive stature and homosexuality. Unlike Cole Porter, who was a little more open about his romantic proclivities, Hart remained closeted until his death at age 48. Sadly, he spent his life guilt-ridden and fearful that his sexual preferences would be exposed, and this guilt affected his ability to enjoy the company of both men and women. He lived with his mother and self-medicated with alcohol. It was even reported that at some point in time, his feelings for Richard Rodgers, his composing partner, left him somewhat tortured. If suffering is deemed good for art, this would certainly be the case with Lorenz Hart. His lyrics never made any direct references to his romantic taste, instead living in the world of torturous, unrequited love and longing, and creating some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful lyrics in popular music. Few could express the more painful side of love better than Lorenz Hart.

Consider “You Took Advantage of Me,” written for the 1928 musical Present Arms. While Rodgers felt this song was somewhat lackluster, when performed in a slower tempo, you can definitely heart the heartbreak and frustration that Hart must have felt time and time again.

One of best examples of Hart’s poignant lyrics is in the song “A Ship Without a Sail,” which was also the title of the Hart biography written by Gary Marmorstein. This song was written for the 1929 show Me Without You, and the lyrics are definitely felt to be autobiographical.

Bart Howard – “Fly Me to the Moon”

In contrast to the heartache expressed in the lyrics of Lorenz Hart, Bart Howard wrote one of the classics of the Great American Songbook about the love he felt for his lifelong partner. Howard was a pianist and composer who, for a time, wrote with Cole Porter, his idol. He’d been working as a composer and accompanist for cabaret singers for some 20 years when, at age 39, he wrote what many consider the best of his works: “Fly Me to the Moon,” a classic that’s been performed and recorded by countless artists and is often associated with Frank Sinatra. Unlike the songs of Strayhorn and Hart that often lived in the heartbreaking world of unrequited love, Howard’s “Fly Me to the Moon” celebrates the light and liveliness of being in love — something he experienced with his partner of 58 years, Bud Fowler. Howard passed away in 2004, just three years before Fowler, and the two are buried together in Texas.

Sir Richard Rodney Bennett – “Concerto for Stan Getz”

Sir Richard Rodney Bennett may not be the household name that is Cole Porter or Billy Strayhorn, but his contributions to the world of jazz — particularly in his native U.K. — are noteworthy and appreciated by those with whom he’s recorded and performed. His mother was a musician and his father an author, poet and lyricist. Bennett himself was considered by his contemporaries and colleagues to be one of the greatest talents of any British composer, but his abilities didn’t end there. He was also a highly regarded pianist, working with Cleo Laine, Claire Martin and many others in the worlds of jazz, cabaret and classical music. He was openly gay and is widely regarded as one of the most important LGBTQ+ musicians in modern music. In 1990, he fused together the worlds of classical and jazz in a concerto he wrote for saxophonist Stan Getz. Sadly, Getz passed away before he was able to perform the piece.

Noël Coward – “A Room With a View”

Unlike so many LGBTQ+ composers who didn’t make any lyrical references to homosexuality, Noël Coward was fairly forthright about it. He could be subtle and romantic in one piece, or pretty unabashedly clear in another. He would often use gay characters or make gay references in his works, including some of his musicals. Take, for example, the 1929 show Bittersweet, which featured a quartet of very dressed up men who were seemingly wrapped up in their clothing and appearance, singing the following:

Pretty boys, witty boys, you may sneer at our disintegration

Haughty boys, naughty boys, dear, dear, dear! Swooning with affectation

And as we are the reason for the “Nineties” being gay,

We all wear a green carnation.

(While we’re accustomed to the term “gay” being used in this period to refer to joy or happiness, those who were in the community would use the term in the manner in which we know it today.)

Coward was open to gay references in his work, and those who knew him were aware of his homosexuality, but he was also a very private person. Only his close friends knew of his longtime companion Graham Payn, although it seems the Queen Mother might have let the proverbial cat out of the bag when she invited Payn to stand with her in a position of honour when a memorial to Noël Coward was unveiled in Westminster Abbey.

Unlike Lorenz Hart, who seemed unable to come to terms with his homosexuality, perhaps Coward’s comfort in his own skin, along with his longtime partner, led to his composing some of the most lovely, idealistically romantic pieces.

Ralph Burns – “Spring Is Here”

Ralph Burns was once referred to as “one of the most important arranger-composers you’ve never heard of.” He was a pianist, composer, and arranger, working with Nat King Cole, Stan Getz, Art Tatum, and others. He befriended Billy Strayhorn and was able to fraternize with “friends of friends” at private parties thrown by Strayhorn and others. Those who knew and respected these two powerhouses kept their secret as they mixed, mingled, and worked in a field dominated by libidinous straight men. However, unlike Strayhorn, who was protected by Duke Ellington, Burns didn’t have such an ally and had to remain very much in the closet, with only a few close friends knowing about his homosexuality. When he was on the road with various big bands, he joined in on the misogynistic banter and wrote songs that were unambiguous in their heteronormative subject matter. However, there were also occasional Burns compositions that seemed to lean a little towards what he might have been feeling while looking for love as a gay man at that time.

Stephen Sondheim – “Somewhere (There’s a Place for Us)” / “Losing My Mind”

To call Stephen Sondheim a giant of American musical theatre would be an understatement. His influence goes far beyond the bright lights of Broadway; he’s responsible for some of the best known and loved shows and show tunes in the world of popular music. We said goodbye to the master when he passed on Nov. 26, 2021, at the age of 91. During his career, he was the voice of a generation of theatregoers and gave us some of the most memorable music of our time, including the works in such classic shows as West Side Story, Into the Woods, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, and so many more. While he came out later in life (at age 40) and was fairly quiet and private about his life, he also didn’t need to worry about having to hide his personal life, working in a musical world that unapologetically appealed to — and, in many ways, served — the LGBTQ+ community, particularly in later years.

Because Sondheim wrote mainly for the stage, his musical subject matter revolved very much around the themes and characters within the shows on which he was working. However, it’s easy to hear a certain sense of “longing” that might have gone beyond the character and beyond the stage lights, no doubt appealing to those struggling with their own sexuality. Perhaps this is why “Somewhere (There’s a Place for Us)” from West Side Story, the show he co-wrote with Leonard Bernstein (also gay) seemed to speak to the LGBTQ+ community:

There’s a place for us; Somewhere a place for us
Peace and quiet and open air wait for us somewhere

There’s a time for us; Someday a time for us
Time together and time to spare, time to look, time to care

Someday … Somewhere
We’ll find a new way of living. We’ll find a way of forgiving … Somewhere

Of course, there are still those themes of unrequited love that you can find in Sondheim’s works and because of his mastery, those works features some of the most heart-wrenching lyrics you’ll ever hear.

Music is about so many things, including openness, creativity, and unleashing emotion and imagination. As we mark another Pride Month, it’s important to acknowledge the priceless gifts given to us by the giants of this idiom.

This is very much a partial list. If you enjoyed these selections, please don’t stop here. There are plenty more composers and their songs just waiting to be discovered and appreciated, including works from Aaron Copeland, Ann Hampton Callaway, Shirley Eikhard, Leonard Bernstein, Alberta Hunter, Marc Shaiman, and so many more.

Thanks for sharing in the celebration. We hope the music brought some joy to your heart and a little bit of sparkle to your world. Here’s to music, love, acceptance, and pride in who you are.

Happy Pride, everyone.