Rocking the Closet

Rocking the Closet
Author :
Publisher : University of Illinois Press
Total Pages : 354
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780252051661
ISBN-13 : 0252051661
Rating : 4/5 (661 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Rocking the Closet by : Vincent L Stephens

Download or read book Rocking the Closet written by Vincent L Stephens and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2019-10-16 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The all-embracing, "whaddya got?" nature of rebellion in Fifties America included pop music's unlikely challenge to entrenched notions of masculinity. Within that upheaval, four prominent artists dared to behave in ways that let the public assume—but not see—their queerness. That these artists cultivated ambiguous sexual personas often reflected an understandable fear, but also a struggle to fulfill personal and professional expectations.Vincent L. Stephens confronts notions of the closet—both coming out and staying in—by analyzing the careers of Liberace, Johnny Mathis, Johnnie Ray, and Little Richard. Appealing to audiences hungry for novelty and exoticism, the four pop icons used performance and queering techniques that ran the gamut. Liberace's flamboyance shared a spectrum with Mathis's intimate sensitivity while Ray's overwrought displays as "Mr. Emotion" seemed worlds apart from Little Richard's raise-the-roof joyousness. As Stephens shows, the quartet not only thrived in an era of gray flannel manhood, they pioneered the ways generations of later musicians would consciously adopt sexual mystery as an appealing and proven route to success.


Rocking the Closet Related Books

Rocking the Closet
Language: en
Pages: 354
Authors: Vincent L Stephens
Categories: Music
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-10-16 - Publisher: University of Illinois Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The all-embracing, "whaddya got?" nature of rebellion in Fifties America included pop music's unlikely challenge to entrenched notions of masculinity. Within th
Tales From My Closet
Language: en
Pages: 272
Authors: Jennifer Anne Moses
Categories: Young Adult Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-01-28 - Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Five girls. A paper dress. Tons of shoes. One unforgettable raincoat. White Jeans. Secrets. Drama. Friends? For Justine, Bianca, Becka, Polly, and Anne, living
1973: Rock at the Crossroads
Language: en
Pages: 318
Authors: Andrew Grant Jackson
Categories: Music
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-12-03 - Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A fascinating account of the music and epic social change of 1973, a defining year for David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Elton John, the Rolling Stone
Letters from the Closet
Language: en
Pages: 167
Authors: Tony Ferrante
Categories: Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 1994 - Publisher:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Fictional characters who communicate the "coming out" experience through postcards, letters, and journal entries.
How to Rock Your Life
Language: en
Pages: 310
Authors: Taraleigh Weathers
Categories: Self-Help
Type: BOOK - Published: 2018-01-18 - Publisher:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

How to Rock Your Life is the book the author wished existed when she was suffering from a chronic case of post-show blues. Beating them with a rainstick, a hack