Artist: Sam Cooke
Released: 1962
Lyrical Relic: Gay [meaning happy and full of fun]
Let me tell you 'bout a place Somewhere up a New York way Where the people are so gay Twistin' the night away
Were there gay nightclubs in New York in 1962? Yes. Was Sam Cooke referring to one of these establishments in his 1962 hit song? Highly unlikely. At the time, it was illegal for gay people to twist the night away together– or to dance together in any form — in New York. In 1962, it was a crime to display your homosexuality in public (not sure what that means…not concealing that big rainbow birthmark on your forehead?). It was also illegal for bars to serve alcohol to gay patrons. As a result, gay bars were forced underground to escape police and, ironically, it was the Mafia that ended up owning and operating many of these clandestine bars.
In 1962, “gay” was still widely understood as being a word that meant happy, lighthearted, carefree. This definition dates back to the 13th century. You’ll still find these definitions listed in dictionaries, but they’re qualified with labels such as “old-fashioned” or “dated.” However, the etymology of the word reveals that “gay” did have sexual connotations dating back to the 17th century. Ironically, a gay woman was a prostitute, a gay man was a womanizer, and a gay house was a brothel. It would not be until the 1960s that the word started to pick up steam in mainstream culture as as an adjective to describe homosexual men.
“Twisting the Night Away” has been covered a few times over the years. Twenty-three years after Cooke’s release, the song was finally given its overdue rainbow treatment when it was recorded by the drag queen Divine (more famously known for his over-the-top acting in John Waters films than his underwhelming musical career).
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