In his new biography of Jimi Hendrix, Room Full of Mirrors, Charles R. Cross reveals for the first time that the legendary guitar player was discharged from the Army in 1962 for "homosexual tendencies," and not, as Hendrix told reporters, because he had hurt his ankle on a parachute jump. Cross found no record of an ankle injury. But apparently in repeated visits to an Army psychiatrist, Hendrix confessed to being in love with one of his squad members, as well as to chronic masturbation. The military decided it had no further use for James Marshall Hendrix
Cross doubts that Hendrix—a famous and prolific lover of groupies—was actually gay, arguing that he simply wanted out of the Army to embark on a music career. Still, Hendrix must have avoided telling the truth about how he got his discharge to more than interviewers, because had he told his family, friends or bandmates, the story certainly would have appeared in one of the many books already published on his life.
Of course, there were good reasons to hide using trickery to get out of military service, especially with the Vietnam War escalating. But the desire to forward his career in music also would have given Hendrix pause in telling the anecdote, because the truth is that between the '60s and now, very few rock stars have been willing to acknowledge being gay.
Of all the inductees in the entire Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, only Elton John is openly gay, and even for him, it was a gradual process—he spent years claiming to be bisexual before he stepped forward. Even David Bowie and Lou Reed, who did more to flirt with gay imagery than any performers in popular music, long ago reinvented themselves publicly as heterosexuals. Fans reacted with fury to hints in one biography that John Lennon had sex with men and Mick Jagger has sternly denied the story that had him caught in bed once with Bowie. Now, Mick, David and Lou are over their youthful play and are all staunchly straight.
Even alternative and underground bands have found the issue of acknowledging homosexuality difficult. Rob Halford of Judas Priest is the most famous openly gay metal singer, in part because he remains the only one. And Halford admits hiding his sexual orientation for years, fearing the damaging effect it could have on his band's career. Despite the obvious tell that his band was named Queen, Freddie Mercury did not tell fans he was gay until he literally issued a statement from his deathbed.
Punk rock—though claiming a political consciousness—was even worse than metal. Bands like the Meatmen, with songs such as "Lesbian Death Dirge" and "Tooling for Anus," and the Angry Samoans, with a song titled "Homo-sexual," were openly hostile and bigoted toward homosexuals. Even bands such as the Descendents could be casually homophobic; witness their song, "Loser."
Is it any wonder that in an interview in the current issue of Magnet, Grant Hart of Hüsker Dü recalls how in the '80s, bandmate Bob Mould wanted to rehearse interviews in case the gay question came up. Mould was right to worry, as ultimately in a notorious 1994 Spin magazine article, novelist Dennis Copper peppered him with questions about his sexuality.
Hip-hop, of course, has the most noxious history of all. The Beastie Boys wanted to call their debut release Don't Be A Faggot, and it was only at Columbia's insistence that the title was changed to License to Ill. These days, Eminem's lyrics have gotten the most attention for gay-bashing. But he is hardly an outcast in his views. His mentor, Dr. Dre, has said about gays: "I don't care about those people."
Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Since its inception, rock has always embraced decadence, pleasure and experimentation, not to mention rebelling against the conventions of society. Yet the mansion rock built—by turning rebellion into money—has turned out to have some surprisingly large closets.
Richard Abowitz is open-minded about everyone except closed-minded people. E-mail him at
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