Outward | From Hit Parade: The Hidden History of Queer Pop Icons Pt. 2

Slate Daily Feed

Slate Podcasts

News, Business, Society & Culture

4 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2025

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Outward is going on a little summer break, in the meantime we’re leaving you with a delightfully queer episode of Slate’s Hit Parade with Chris Molanphy called Mighty Real. This is part two—catch part one in our previous episode. Little Richard was rock ‘n’ roll’s flamboyant architect. Lesley Gore sang that no one owned her. Sylvester was a gender-fluid icon who helped define disco. Freddie Mercury made rock operatic, and George Michael demanded freedom. What all of these LGBTQ artists had in common was bold hitmaking—and fear of being fully out of the closet. For decades, queer acts topped the charts while cloaking their true identities and paving the way for today’s more openly queer stars. For Pride Month, join Chris Molanphy as he traces the hidden history of queer hitmakers on the charts—including those that managed to be both out and No. 1, right up through our modern age of Lil Nas X and Chappell Roan. It’s a celebration of these artists’ quest to feel… mighty real. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	So, what are you watching at the moment?
0:01.8	Squid Game, Dad.
0:03.0	Let's watch it together this weekend.
0:04.9	Would that be nice?
0:06.0	What's it on again?
0:06.8	Netflix. You've got EETV, so you just switch it on. What season are we up to? Um, four? That's Stranger Things, Mum. And what about the kids? Don't worry, they'll watch Coca-Mellon for the hundredth time. Switch on Netflix with EETV, plus change up sports and entertainment.
0:04.5	It's TV with the ultimate flex for the hundredth time. Switch on Netflix with EETV. Plus change up sports and entertainment.
0:22.1	It's TV with the ultimate flex for the whole family.
0:25.1	EETV requires EE Broadband, separate 24-month contracts for TV and broadband content may very
0:29.5	time supply.
0:30.0	Hey listeners, Outward is going on a little summer break.
0:36.9	Brian and Jules and I are taking some time to touch grass, so we're pressing pause on the
0:42.3	podcast for the rest of the season, but we're dropping something very special in your feed,
0:47.3	a queer pop deep dive from Hit Parade with Chris Melanphy, Slate's show about the music and
0:52.3	moments that climbed the charts and shaped the culture. So stay gay, stay hydrated, and we'll see you in the fall. I'm Welcome back to Hit Parade, a podcast of Pop Chart History from Slate magazine about the hits from
1:25.9	coast to coast. I'm Chris Malanfi, chart analyst, pop critic, and writer of Slate Magazine about the hits from coast to coast. I'm Chris Malanfi, chart analyst, pop critic,
1:30.1	and writer of Slate's Why Is This Song Number One series. On our last episode, we walked through
1:37.1	the varied history of LGBTQ hitmakers on the charts, from Little Richard to Leslie Gore, Dusty Springfield to Sylvester.
1:48.0	We focused on Rock and Souls early years, from the birth of rock and roll to the peak of disco,
1:55.0	when gay hitmakers were defining the culture.
1:58.0	We are now going to take a twirl through a selection of chart
2:03.3	toppers who managed to reach number one both in and out of Pop's closet. Thus far, the LGBTQ performers
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 21 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Slate Podcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Slate Podcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.