Maxi-CD cover
ABOUT "I WAS BORN THIS WAY"
I WAS BORN THIS WAY CD LINER NOTES
ABOUT THIS SITE
The purpose of iwasbornthisway.com is to provide a forum where people can talk about the song as well as their feelings and experiences about being born gay and the importance of getting this message across to those who feel that being gay or lesbian is a lifestyle choice. Go to the forum now and discuss!
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ABOUT "I WAS BORN THIS WAY"
Carl Bean
I WAS BORN THIS WAY
Archbishop Sings Gay Anthem
Carl Bean's Motown Classic Remixed and Released on West End Records
Tired of DJ's trotting out the same old dusty copies of "I Am What I Am," "I'm Coming Out," and "We Are Family" every Gay Pride? Well, make way because New York indie dance label West End Records has just cut loose the gayest of gay anthems, "I Was Born This Way." Sung by gay, out, African-American gospel singer and Christian minister — the Reverend Carl Bean — the song is not just another disco record imbued with a gay meaning to make do. (Even "I Am What I Am" doesn't come "out" and say what "I" "am.") Originally released on Motown back in 1977, the single has been given a gloriously sunny, roof-raising remix by Gomi, the Manhattan-based producer whose remixes (along with DJ Escape) of top divas like Mariah Carey, Gwen Stefani and Jessica Simpson consistently top the Billboard Dance Club Play Chart. With the release of this new remix, we now have a (second) chance to embrace "I Was Born This Way," a song so explicitly gay, emphatically positive, and political in its message that it is undeniable — regardless of how we identify our homosexuality (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, queer, down-low, etc.)
 West End CEO Mel Cheren |
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While the Christian and religious right have often delivered the harshest blows to the fight for gay equality, it's revealing and refreshing to hear that this is not always the case. "I was introduced to Jesus through my family," says Bean. "I never heard any negative things about Jesus and homosexuality. Our Baptist minister made it a point not to judge people. He just taught the love of God and how that love could bring people together."
 Songwriter Bunny Jones |
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"She is the opposite of Anita Bryant states Bean in a 1978 feature on the Motown release in the Advocate. "She is a Christian woman, a mother and a person who understands how gay people feel. She cares how other people see us."
"After selling 15,000 copies out of the trunk of her car," the article continues, "Bunny interested Motown Records [The Supremes, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Ritchie] in the distribution rights. Berry Gordy [Motown founder and owner] 'kissed me on both cheeks and said, 'You've got a hit record,' and I felt like a million dollars.'"
Motown chose to go with a new singer and contacted Carl Bean, who had recently moved to Los Angeles. Quoted in a 1978 article ("Carl Bean Was 'Born This Way'") in the Advocate by Daniel Conlon upon the Motown release of the song, Bean explains, "'They came looking for me and they didn't even know I was gay,' laughs Bean. "Bunny heard my voice on a gospel album and told the people that she wanted me for the single."
Originally from Baltimore, Bean was an artist on ABC Records (Rufus & Chaka Khan, Steely Dan, Fifth Dimension, Four Tops), had a gospel group called Universal Love and performed in the mid-Seventies on Broadway in DON'T BOTHER ME, I CAN'T COPE and YOUR ARM'S TOO SHORT TO BOX WITH GOD. It was his version, recorded and released in 1977 on the legendary Motown Records (The Supremes, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Ritchie) that became the dance classic. At the time, the single was a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Disco chart.
The original version of this record - the Tom Moulton mix (included here) - was produced by Ron Kersey, Norman Harris, & T.G. Conway for the Harris Machine & Co. Kersey and Harris, who were in the Salsoul Orchestra, were together and individually responsible for producing many of the greatest classic R&B artists out of Philadelphia, such as Loleatta Holloway ("Love Sensation," "Dreamin," "Hit & Run,") First Choice ("Doctor Love," "Let No Man Put Asunder") and MFSB ("Love Is the Message.")
Carl Bean's back-up singers were the famous Sweet Inspirations (Estelle Brown, Myrna Smith, Sylvia Shamwell). Formed in the 1960's, the group provided backing vocals for a who's who of pop music at the time including The Drifters, Van Morrison, Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke, Garnett Mimms, and most famously, Aretha Franklin. Cissy Houston (Whitney's mother) and Dionne Warwick were among the original members.
"Bean's strong Christian beliefs had as much effect on his career as a gospel artist as being gay has had on his delivery of his latest release," the Advocate article continues. "I was introduced to Jesus through my family," says Bean. "I never heard any negative things about Jesus and homosexuality. Our Baptist minister made it a point not to judge people. He just taught the love of God and how that love could bring people together. The Bible has been used to kill and hate for centuries, but it was the understanding and leadership of our minister that got me involved in learning about Jesus. 'I Was Born This Way' is God's way of making a statement through me. I'm very positive about it because it's something that should have been said a long time ago."
In the years since he recorded "I Was Born This Way," the Reverend Carl Bean founded the Unity Fellowship of Christ Church, Los Angeles (a.k.a. Mother Church) in 1985 and, in 1990, the Unity Fellowship Church Movement (UFCM) with chapters in twelve cities, over which he presides as Archbishop. The articulate, spirited reverend has long been an activist on many fronts and in 1987 was awarded the NAACP's Image Award for his pioneering work on AIDS in the African-American community. (For more on Carl and his UFCM visit www.ufc-usa.org)
Although the phrase "I was born this way" is echoed far more often these days than back in '77 due to the fact that there has been much discussion and acceptance of the truth that we are indeed born this way — as opposed to this just being a theory or worse, a chosen "lifestyle" — gays are still suffering through the right-winged Bush era. The timing is right for a big pride boost — regardless of the season — and a jab of affirmation in conservative ribs.
Returning to that night in the studio, the Reverend Carl Bean said in a recent email, "The entire studio was filled with joy, praise and freedom. The spirit in that studio turned the session into a revival meeting. As the spirit continued to lift, inspire and anoint me at the mic, everyone in the studio became emphatically aware that God indeed was the executive producer! May it continue to bless, liberate and set-free our entire human family." •
An early review from the UK, neatly sums up the single: "Carl Bean's adopted gay anthem will need little by way of introduction to those that sport the rainbow flag, but to a whole new generation, it's even more relevant today than it was back in the late '70's. The ultimate feel-good song of defiance and self-respect sticking two fingers [in the U.S. it would be, ahem, 'the finger'] up to those who continue to pass judgment on other's sexual persuasion." — Lewis Dene (Blues & Soul magazine) •
And J.D. Doyle of Queer Music Heritage website gave us this comment: "I feel that most if not all of the so-called 'Gay Anthems' have no right to that title, as they are sung by straight people and actually make no mention of anything gay. A prime example is 'We Are Family' #151; don't get me started. It's long overdue that we claim for our own a song that is truly gay and truly proud, and Carl Bean's 'I Was Born This Way' definitely has the history and musical chops to fill that bill." J.D. is also the Co-Producer of "Audiofile," aired via "This Way Out."
An extended Carl Bean bio can be found on glbtq.com, a site well worth exploring.
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I WAS BORN THIS WAY CD LINER NOTES
A Message from West End Records CEO, Mel Cheren (From the "I Was Born This Way" maxi-CD liner notes)
I would like to share with so many old as well as new friends of West End a very proud addition to the West End Classics Series: Carl Bean's "I Was Born This Way." After ten years of working to acquire the publishing rights in order to re-release this record, the paperwork — and a beautiful remix — are done!
"I Was Born This Way" is a song which, in my estimation, ranks with the very best of the danceable R&B tracks to come out of Philadelphia in the mid-to-late Seventies. It's right up there with songs like "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye, "Love Is the Message" by MFSB and "I'll Always Love My Mama" by The Intruders — three of my personal all-time favorites.
The original version of this record — the Tom Moulton mix (included here) — was produced by Ron Kersey, Norman Harris, & T.G. Conway for the Harris Machine & Co. Kersey and Harris, who were in the Salsoul Orchestra, were together and individually responsible for producing many of the greatest classic R&B artists out of Philadelphia, such as Loleatta Holloway ("Love Sensation," "Dreamin," "Hit & Run,") First Choice ("Doctor Love," "Let No Man Put Asunder") and MFSB ("Love Is the Message.")
The lyrics to "I Was Born This Way" are as relevant today — perhaps even more so in the current political and social climate — than they were when this record was first released back in 1977. What makes the message of these lyrics even more significant is that they were written by Bunny Jones (along with Chris Spierer) — a straight black woman who was a real music woman from "back in the day." Bunny once told me, "I don't know how I could write such a socially significant message song since I am a heterosexual woman." Bunny had owned hair salons in Harlem before entering the music business. She came to love many of her employees who were gay and, out of love and empathy, she wrote this song.
I was honored when Bunny and her son Chris Jonz — with whom I worked at Scepter Records in the early Seventies and is still a good friend — agreed to sell me the master and 75% of the publishing rights. Bunny and Chris agreed that the song should help in the struggle for equal rights. I was humbled when the talented producer Gomi — a straight man — upon hearing we'd acquired "I Was Born This Way," asked to do a remix as his tribute to this great dance classic. And I'm grateful to Carl Bean for his powerful performance imparting God's message of love and acceptance. This song is about having Gay Pride every day. If we're serious about wanting equal rights, then we need to spread the word that we were "born this way" on a daily basis and not just the last week in June. This is a message for every day — not just to pull out of the closet for Gay Pride. So, here it is. Enjoy it and be proud!
-- Mel Cheren, CEO West End Records.
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