Cidny Bullens (formerly Cindy Bullens; born March 21, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter, who is best known for serving as
backup vocalist on tours and albums with
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
and
Rod Stewart, as well as providing vocals on the soundtrack of the 1978 feature film ''
Grease''. In 2012, Bullens publicly
came out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
as a
transgender man
A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that incl ...
and changed his name to Cidny Bullens.
Career
Bullens released two albums in the late 1970s on
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
and
Casablanca and another in 1989.
Bullens' 1978 debut album, ''
Desire Wire
''Desire Wire'' is the debut album by singer-songwriter and musician Cindy Bullens, released in 1978 on United Artists Records. It was produced by Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn.
AllMusic's William Ruhlmann calls it "one of the great lost rock a ...
'', is described flatly by William Ruhlmann for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
: "One of the great lost rock albums of the 1970s, Bullens' debut release is full of tough, passionate, incredibly catchy rock & roll played to the hilt and sung with fire".
In 1974, Bullens performed background vocals on
Gene Clark's album ''
No Other
''No Other'' is the fourth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Gene Clark. Released in September 1974, it was largely ignored or lambasted by critics and was a commercial failure; the studio time and cost were seen as excessive and ind ...
'' and as one of the Sex-O-Lettes on the debut album by
Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes
Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes were a disco musical ensemble, group of the 1970s, featuring Monti Rock III (born "Joseph Montanez Jr."). The band is best known for their two disco hits "Get Dancin'" and "I Wanna Dance Wit' Choo (Doo Dat Dance)" ...
. Bullens was also on
Don Everly
The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...
's solo album ''Sunset Towers'',
Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
You Want It, You Got It'', and many others.
Bullens also served as a
backup vocalist on
Rod Stewart's ''
Atlantic Crossing
''Atlantic Crossing'' is the sixth studio album by English singer-songwriter Rod Stewart, released on 15 August 1975. It peaked at number one in the UK (his fifth solo album to do so), and number nine on the '' Billboard'' Top Pop Albums cha ...
'', and with
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
on three major tours, his album ''
Blue Moves
''Blue Moves'' is the eleventh studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released in October 1976. It was John's second double album (after '' Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'') and the first to be released by his own label, Rocket Records ...
'' and his hit with
Kiki Dee
Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records.
Dee is best known for h ...
, "
Don't Go Breaking My Heart
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is a 1976 duet by English musician Elton John and English singer Kiki Dee. It was written by John with Bernie Taupin under the pseudonyms "Ann Orson" and "Carte Blanche", respectively, and intended as an affectio ...
" (both released in 1976).
Bullens provided vocals on three songs ("It's Raining on Prom Night", "Mooning", and "Freddy, My Love") on the soundtrack of the 1978 feature film, ''
Grease''. The album release ''
Grease'' was nominated for the 1979
Grammy Award for "Album of the Year".
In 1980, Bullens earned another Grammy nomination:
Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for works (songs or albums) conta ...
, for the single "Survivor.”
In January 1980, Bullens hit the ''Billboard''
Hot 100 with the song "Trust Me". It peaked at No. 90. He withdrew from the music business in the early 1980s to raise a family, returning in the early and mid-1990s as a songwriter and then later as a touring and recording artist. Since 1999, Bullens has toured extensively all over the US, Canada, Europe and Australia, has appeared on several major TV shows, including ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', ''Today Show'', and ''CBS This Morning'' and many radio and TV stations around the world. He is featured in two documentaries, ''On This Island'' and ''Space Between Breaths'' (and scored the music). Bullens wrote the music and lyrics for the musical ''Islands'' in 2000, which played on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
for a special performance at the
New Victory Theater
The New Victory Theater is a theater at 209 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, near Times Square. Built in 1900 as the Republic Theatre (also Theatre Republic), it was designed by Albert Westover an ...
in September 2001, two weeks after 9/11.
In 1999, Bullens' album ''Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth'' (
Artemis Records
Artemis Records was a New York-based independent record label, founded in July 1999 by Danny Goldberg with Daniel Glass as President, and closed in April 2006. The label was acquired by E1 Entertainment.
Artemis had a leading share of the U.S. ...
) was recorded in the first two years after the death of his daughter Jessie. It features
Bonnie Raitt,
Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and '' Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...
,
Rodney Crowell
Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...
,
Beth Nielsen Chapman,
Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
, and top-tier musicians including George Marinelli, Benmont Tench, Kenny Edwards, and Michael Rhodes. Steven Soles co-produced one track, Tony Berg co-produced three tracks, and Rodney Crowell co-produced three tracks. It won the AFIM Best Rock Album in 2000 and was widely acclaimed.
In 2001, Bullens released ''Neverland''; co-produced with Ray Kennedy, the album features
Emmylou Harris,
Steve Earle, and
John Hiatt
John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...
. In 2005, he released ''dream #2'' again co-produced with Ray Kennedy. The title track features
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
on piano.
Delbert McClinton
Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist.
From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, ...
sings a duet with Bullens on "This Ain't Love" and Boston Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield adds his voice to "7 Days".
In 2007, Bullens formed a new group, The Refugees, with music veterans
Wendy Waldman
Wendy Waldman (born November 29, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.
Biography Early life
Waldman (born Wendy Steiner) grew up in the Los Angeles area. She was raised in a musical environment: her father Fred Steiner ...
and
Deborah Holland
Deborah Holland is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She rose to national prominence in 1987 as the lead singer and songwriter of Animal Logic featuring Stanley Clarke and Stewart Copeland.
As of March 2020, Deborah Holland has released s ...
. Their first CD, ''Unbound'', was released in January 2009. Their second album "Three" was released in February 2012.
In June 2010, Bullens' released ''Howling Trains and Barking Dogs'' on MC Records (Koch). The CD is a compilation of songs he co-wrote in
Nashville during the early and mid-1990s with Radney Foster, Bill Lloyd, Al Anderson,
Matraca Berg
Matraca Maria Berg Hanna (; born February 3, 1964, in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and ...
, Mary Ann Kennedy Kye Fleming, and Jimmy Tittle. The CD also includes two new songs written by him alone.
In August 2020, Bullens released his first album as Cidny, ''Walkin' Through This World'', co-produced by Bullens and Ray Kennedy (Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell). This new album is loosely themed around Cidny's transition, featuring the provocative first single "The Gender Line".
Bullens is also the subject of the award-winning documentary short ''The Gender Line'' (directed by TJ Parsell and produced by Bill Brimm), which played in many film festivals worldwide in 2019–20.
Personal life
Bullens grew up in
. In 1979, Bullens married Dan Crewe, brother of songwriter/producer Bob Crewe, and divorced in 2002. Their daughter Reid was born in 1982. In 1996, their younger daughter, Jessie, born in 1985, died at age 11, of complications from
Hodgkin lymphoma
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition w ...
.
As an artistic outlet for coming out as transgender, in February 2016, Bullens debuted a "one wo/man show" entitled ''Somewhere Between – Not an Ordinary Life''. ''
Nashville Scene
''Nashville Scene'' is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with ...
'' voted it to be the "Best One-Person Show of 2016".
Discography
Solo career
Pre-transition - Cindy Bullens (1978 - 2010)
* ''
Desire Wire
''Desire Wire'' is the debut album by singer-songwriter and musician Cindy Bullens, released in 1978 on United Artists Records. It was produced by Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn.
AllMusic's William Ruhlmann calls it "one of the great lost rock a ...
'' (
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B.
History Genres
In 1959, ...
, 1979) –
LP and
cassette
Cassette may refer to:
Technology
* Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback
** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...
.
* ''Steal the Night'' (
Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label current ...
, 1979) – LP and cassette.
* ''Cindy Bullens'' (
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group.
Pre-history
MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...
, 1989) – LP, cassette and CD.
* ''Why Not?'' (Blue Lobster Records, 1994) – Cassette and CD.
* ''
Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth
''Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth'' is the fifth album by Cindy Bullens, recorded and released in 1999 on Artemis Records This album is a tribute to her daughter, Jessie, who died from cancer.
Track listing
#"In Better Hands"
#"The Lights ...
'' (
Artemis Records
Artemis Records was a New York-based independent record label, founded in July 1999 by Danny Goldberg with Daniel Glass as President, and closed in April 2006. The label was acquired by E1 Entertainment.
Artemis had a leading share of the U.S. ...
, 1999) – LP, cassette and CD.
* ''Neverland'' (Artemis Records, 2001) – LP, cassette and CD.
* ''
Dream Number 29'' (Blue Rose Records, 2005) – Cassette and CD.
* ''
Howling Trains and Barking Dogs
''Howling Trains and Barking Dogs'' is the ninth and final album by Cindy Bullens, released in 2010 on Blue Rose Records. It was produced by Bullens herself. This is her last album before the surgery and transition.
Track listing
#"Love Gone G ...
'' (M.C. Records, 2010) – LP and CD.
Post-transition - Cidny Bullens (2012–present)
* ''Walkin' Through This World'' (Blue Lobster Records, 2020) - CD, digital
With the Refugees
*''Unbound'' (Wabuho Records, 2009)
*''Three'' (Wabuho Records, 2012)
*''How Far It Goes'' (Wabuho Records, 2019)
References
External links
Official websiteSomewhere Between: Not an Ordinary LifePortland Musician Shares Personal Story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullens, Cidny
1950 births
Living people
20th-century American singers
21st-century American singers
American male pop singers
American session musicians
Casablanca Records artists
LGBT people from Massachusetts
American LGBT singers
LGBT songwriters
MCA Records artists
Musicians from Boston
Singers from Massachusetts
Songwriters from Massachusetts
Transgender men
Transgender musicians
United Artists Records artists
21st-century LGBT people
American male songwriters