Vote up the best songs about the opposite sex, performed by musicians who identify as LGBT.
Gay musicians don't have it easy. A choice must be made when writing and recording love songs: stay true to one's own sexuality and sing about same-sex love, or appeal to the masses and sing about the opposite sex? Many singers, both closeted and out, choose the latter - there are TONS of songs about the opposite sex by gay musicians! Songs gay men wrote and performed about women are abundant and include Elton John's mega-hit "Tiny Dancer" and Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls"; interestingly, songs lesbians wrote about men are harder to find.
We searched high and low to find the best songs gay musicians wrote about the opposite sex. Enjoy and vote up your favorites!
Queen frontman Freddie Mercury was gay, but that didn't stop him from waxing poetic about big-bottomed ladies! The song was actually written by Queen's guitarist, Brian May, who claimed Mercury himself was the inspiration: "I wrote it with Fred in mind, as you do especially if you've got a great singer who likes fat bottomed girls… or boys."
Many of Queen's subsequent hits featured Mercury singing about the opposite sex, as well.
Queen bassist John Deacon wrote "You're My Best Friend" for his wife, Veronica Tetzlaff, and it was performed by frontman Freddie Mercury, who was gay.
Most of the hit is a gender-neutral song about domestic harmony after life on the road, though Freddie Mercury did sing, "Ooh I've been wandering round/But I still come back to you/In rain or shine/You've stood by me girl/I'm happy at home/You're my best friend."
Elton John is an openly gay musician, but his writing parter, Bernie Taupin, is straight. Bernie supposedly wrote "Tiny Dancer" for his girlfriend at the time, Maxine Feibelmann, who toured with the band in the early seventies and sewed their costumes. With the help of Elton's voice, the song became a hit. When it was featured in the film Almost Famous 40 years later, the song reached a new audience and became a hit a second time over!
Songwriters Desmond Child and Robi Rosa (a former member of Martin's boy band, Menudo) penned "Livin' La Vida Loca" for Ricky Martin, aiming to appeal to both his Spanish-speaking and English-speaking fans. Martin, who wasn't out when the song became a hit, sang lyrics like, "Her lips are devil red and her skin's the color mocha, she will wear you out. Livin' la vida loca!" with conviction.
Desmond and Rosa claimed that they had set out to write "the Millennium party song from Hell," and we'd say they achieved their goal. "Livin' La Vida Loca" was the first song to top three different Top 40 Billboard charts at once, and made Martin a star.
Elton John and his lyricist, Bernie Taupin, weren't too happy about the fact that "Crocodile Rock" became such a hit. To them, it was "pop fluff" that told the story of a man and his girlfriend who loved to dance the "crocodile rock" in the 60s. The couple in the song (Elton and "Suzie") had wholesome fun together: "Me and Suzie had so much fun/Holding hands and skimming stones." Tame stuff!
Taupin once complained about the song becoming so big, saying he felt"a strange dichotomy because I don't mind having created it, but it's not something I would listen to."
Although Barry Manilow has never officially confirmed his sexual orientation, he married his longtime partner, Garry Kief, in 2015, leaving little to the imagination. His orientation never stopped Manilow from crooning about his love for women, especially with his first big hit, "Mandy."
Manilow stayed coy about the subject of the song, though; when a fan asked who inspired "Mandy," Manilow apparently told her Mandy was his cat. Way to avoid the question, Barry!
Elton John is an openly gay musician, but his writing parter, Bernie Taupin, is straight. Bernie supposedly wrote "Tiny Dancer" for his girlfriend at the time, Maxine Feibelmann, who toured with the band in the early seventies and sewed their costumes. With the help of Elton's voice, the song became a hit. When it was featured in the film Almost Famous 40 years later, the song reached a new audience and became a hit a second time over!
