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Man's Country (bathhouse)
Man's Country was a chain of bathhouses and private clubs for gay men in Chicago and New York City. Man's Country/Chicago opened at 5015–5017 North Clark Street in Chicago on September 19, 1973, and held the title of Chicago's longest-running gay bathhouse when it closed in 2017. Less is known about Man's Country/New York, located at 28 West 15th Street (originally 53-55 Pierrepont Street), which closed in 1983. History Chicago Man's Country/Chicago was the third bathhouse co-founded by Chuck Renslow—a pioneering figure in Chicago's gay community—whose previous two clubs were forced to shut down due to homophobia-fueled pressure from the police. (Before opening Man's Country/Chicago, Renslow co-founded a Chicago location of the Club Baths chain with Chuck Fleck.) Man's Country was not only a bathhouse but also a concert venue, dance club, community space, gym, and sex club. Renslow and his partner Dom Orejudos purchased the building on Clark Street in 1972 and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gay Bathhouse
A gay bathhouse, also known as a gay sauna or a gay steambath (uncommonly known as a gay spa), is a commercial space for gay, bisexual, and other men to have sex with men. In gay slang, a bathhouse may be called just "the baths", "the sauna", or "the tubs". In general, a gay bath is used for having sexual activity rather than only bathing. Bathhouses offering similar services for women are rare, but some men's bathhouses occasionally have a "lesbian" or "women only" night. Some, such as Hawks PDX, offer so-called "bisexual" nights, where anyone is welcome regardless of gender. Bathhouses vary considerably in size and amenities – from small establishments with 10 or 20 rooms and a handful of lockers to multi-story saunas with a variety of room styles or sizes and several steam baths, hot tubs, and sometimes swimming pools. Most have a steam room (or wet sauna), dry sauna, showers, lockers, and small private rooms. In some countries, bathhouses are "membership only" (for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Advocate (magazine)
''The Advocate'' is an American LGBT magazine, printed bi-monthly and available by subscription. ''The Advocate'' brand also includes a website. Both magazine and website have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) people. The magazine, established in 1967, is the oldest and largest LGBT publication in the United States and the only surviving one of its kind that was founded before the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan, an uprising that was a major milestone in the LGBT rights movement. On June 9, 2022, Pride Media was acquired by Equal Entertainment LLC known as equalpride putting ''The Advocate'' back under gay ownership. History ''The Advocate'' was first published as a local newsletter by the activist group Personal Rights in Defense and Education (PRIDE) in Los Angeles. The newsletter was inspired by a police raid on a Los Angeles gay bar, the Black Cat Tavern, on January ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, with Tim Hauser the only person to be part of both. The first group consisted of Hauser, Erin Dickins, Marty Nelson, Pat Rosalia, and Gene Pistilli. The second version of the group, formed in 1972, consisted of Hauser, Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, and Laurel Massé. In 1979, Massé left the group after being badly injured in a car accident and was replaced by Cheryl Bentyne. The group's long-time pianist, Yaron Gershovsky, accompanied the group on tour and served as music director. Trist Curless from the Los Angeles a cappella group m-pact became a permanent member in October 2014 following Hauser's death. Early years In 1969, Tim Hauser formed a vocal group in New York City called The Manhattan Transfer after the novel by John Dos Pass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can't Smile Without You" and "Copacabana (At the Copa)". He has recorded and released 51 Top 40 singles on the Adult Contemporary Chart, including 13 that hit number one, 28 that appeared within the top ten, and 36 that reached the top twenty. Manilow has released 13 platinum and six multi-platinum albums. Although not a favorite artist of music critics, Manilow has been praised by his peers in the recording industry, including Frank Sinatra, who was quoted in the 1970s as saying, "He's next." As well as producing and arranging albums for himself and other artists, Manilow has written and performed songs for musicals, films, and commercials for corporations such as McDonald's, Pepsi-Cola, and Band-Aid. He has been nominated for a Grammy A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bette Midler
Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden Globe Awards, three Grammy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards and a Kennedy Center Honor, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards and a British Academy Film Award. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Midler began her professional career in several off-off-Broadway plays, prior to her engagements in ''Fiddler on the Roof'' and ''Salvation'' on Broadway in the late 1960s. She came to prominence in 1970 when she began singing in the Continental Baths, a local gay bathhouse where she managed to build up a core following. Since 1970, Midler has released 14 studio albums as a solo artist, selling over 30 million records worldwide, and has received four Gold, three Platinum, and three Multiplatinum albums by RIAA. Many of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pamala Stanley
Pamala Stanley (born July 16, 1952) is an American disco and Hi-NRG singer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. She scored several dance/club hits from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. She is the sister of folk-pop recording artist and singer-songwriter James Lee Stanley. Career Stanley is not known in the urban or pop markets, she is known mainly in the club/dance markets thanks to five Billboard Club Play chart hits. She first gained attention with her 1979 debut album, ''This Is Hot''. The album was originally released in Germany on EMI Electrola (with a drastically different cover). After scoring sizable chartings throughout Europe it was licensed to EMI America. The album, with new cover photography, was remixed by producer Rick Gianatos and ''This Is Hot'' shot up to #16 on the Billboard Dance charts. She toured extensively throughout the US, Canada, Mexico and South America. In 1983, she released her second hit "I Don't Want To Talk About It", written by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viola Wills
Viola Mae Wilkerson (December 30, 1939 – May 6, 2009), better known professionally as Viola Wills was an American pop and R&B singer, best known for her disco/dance/Hi-NRG covers of classics and other standards such as Patience and Prudence's "Gonna Get Along Without You Now" (1979), Gordon Lightfoot's " If You Could Read My Mind" (1980), The Drifters' "Up on the Roof" (1980), " Always Something There To Remind Me" by Burt Bacharach and Hal David (1980), the Doris Day single "Secret Love" (1980), Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now" (1981) and Joni Mitchell's " Both Sides Now" (1986). She also recorded one of the very few dance versions of the Burt Bacharach and Hal David classic " A House Is Not a Home" (1994) - which is a completely different song from the similarly titled "House Is Not a Home" by Deborah Cox. Her cover of the Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler torch song "Stormy Weather" peaked at #4 on the Billboard U.S. Hot Dance Club Play charts in 1982, the highest positi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Village People
Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the release of the debut album '' Village People'', which targeted disco's large gay audience. The group's name refers to Manhattan's Greenwich Village, with its reputation as a gay neighborhood. The characters were a symbolic group of American masculinity and macho gay-fantasy personas. As of 2022, Victor Willis is the only original member of the group. The group quickly became popular and moved into the mainstream, scoring several disco and dance hits internationally, including the hit singles " Macho Man", " In the Navy", " Go West", and " Y.M.C.A.", which was their biggest hit. In March 2020, the Library of Congress described "Y.M.C.A." as "an American phenomenon", and added the song to the National Recording Registry, which preserves au ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Pierce (female Impersonator)
Charles Pierce (July 14, 1926 – May 31, 1999) was one of the 20th century's foremost female impersonators, particularly noted for his impersonation of Bette Davis. Life and career Born in Watertown, New York, he began his show business career playing the organ and acting in radio dramas at station WWNY. He branched out into a comedy routine, attired in tuxedo, yet managing to evoke eerily convincing imitations of popular movie actresses. Eschewing the term drag queen, which he hated, he billed himself as a male actress. Initially playing in small gay clubs, his fame spread. He took up residence in San Francisco, where his act became well known to Hollywood stars. As he toured, his costuming became more elaborate, initially adding small props, later full costume and makeup changes. His imitations were imitated by other female impersonators, and his roles included Bette Davis, Mae West, Tallulah Bankhead, Gloria Swanson, Carol Channing, Katharine Hepburn, and Joan Crawford, and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boy George
George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club since the group's formation in 1981. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George's music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by rhythm and blues and reggae. Boy George grew up in Eltham and was part of the New Romantic movement which emerged in the late 1970s to early 1980s. His look and style of fashion was greatly inspired by glam rock pioneers David Bowie and Marc Bolan. He formed the Culture Club with Roy Hay, Mikey Craig and Jon Moss in 1981. The band's second album '' Colour by Numbers'' (1983) sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. Their hit singles include " Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", " Time (Clock of the Heart)", " I'll Tumble 4 Ya", " Church of the Poison Mind", ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grace Jones
Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves St. Laurent and Kenzo, and appearing on the covers of '' Elle'' and '' Vogue''. She notably worked with photographers such as Jean-Paul Goude, Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Hans Feurer, and became known for her distinctive androgynous appearance and bold features. Beginning in 1977, Jones embarked on a music career, securing a record deal with Island Records and initially becoming a high-profile figure of New York City's Studio 54-centered disco scene. In the early 1980s, she moved toward a new wave style that drew on reggae, funk, post-punk, and pop music, frequently collaborating with both the graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude and the musical duo Sly & Robbie. She scored Top 40 entries on the UK Singl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Safe Sex
Safe sex is sexual activity using methods or contraceptive devices (such as condoms) to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. "Safe sex" is also sometimes referred to as safer sex or protected sex to indicate that some safe sex practices do not eliminate STI risks. It is also sometimes used colloquially to describe methods aimed at preventing pregnancy that may or may not also lower STI risks. The concept of "safe sex" emerged in the 1980s as a response to the global AIDS epidemic, and possibly more specifically to the AIDS crisis in the United States. Promoting safe sex is now one of the main aims of sex education and STI prevention, especially reducing new HIV infections. Safe sex is regarded as a harm reduction strategy aimed at reducing the risk of STI transmission. Although some safe sex practices (like condoms) can also be used as birth control (''contraception''), most forms of contraception do not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
