r55 -
One of the original members of The Elegants (a married, short, not bad looking, guido-y guy) constantly made pases at me every time they were our guests in AC. I'm not talking insinuations but outright "we can get together and fool around in my hotel room after the show." As an openly gay man, I was too embarassed to be seen with him (my own hang-ups) so I turned him down. At a certain age, you don't hang out with sleazy slick guys (I'm over that now) -- plus he was married (not over that ever - not interested in married guys, only because I'm single. If I were partnered I wouldn't mind fooling around with other partnered open-relationship types. But when you're single, you get to go home without breakfast).
I messed around a bit with a replacement Dupree (he was young, hot, and talented!) but it was more the result of us getting high (coke) and kind of went south when I found out he was engaged. HE also started feeling guilty.
Then there were our own cast members of course (more contemporary to me). 12 male dancers ALL gay/bi (including the married guy with kids) and 3 singers - all gay.
I am SURE Martha Reeves has dug into the Rubyfruit Jungle, but very quietly.
Of course, Little Richard is gay.
Don't have to tell you Dusty was.
Neil Sedaka (our producer had been his agent in the seventies and had to procure rentboys for him).
Darlene Love (giving you the easy ones LOL).
I'm willing to bet Ellie Greenwich did not divorce Jeff Barry "because the music caught up with us and we had married too young." To me, she seemed a closeted big ol'dyke. But as a Catholic Girl she felt uncomfortable with the tough biker-girl twins in the Shangri-Las (that's all I needed to know to place that big L on her sweater, a la Laverne).
I also think a lot of Temptation Paul Williams' suicidal demons had to do with the subject (he pinged so much, almost like Michael Jackson, Little Richard - and just as good a dancer).
Nona Hendryx (Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles and later Labelle
The Bobettes were boozers (all three originals and all three with giant bottles of vodka, whiskey b4 show)
Wolfman Jack was SO wasted all the time that, like Elvis, I wouldn't be surprised if towards the end there a mouth was just a mouth (when you're that gone you don't fuss around looking for titties).
Chuck Berry was an asshole. Plain and simple.
The guy from Herman's Hermits was a horny bastard and pretty hot even after aging. He had tons of (ugly) groupies and I wouldn't be surprised if he allowed men into his harem.
And to this day, I think I could have gotten the gay out of Bobby Rydell (not that I wanted to).
Then it would surprise you who were very straight-arrowed family men/women - Paul Revere and the Raiders, Dion Di Mucci, The Angels, Born-Again Shirley from the Shirelles (nice lady), Little Anthony, The Box Tops (kinda hairy and ugly), etc
And from disco quite a few as well, besides open and obvious artists like Sylvester, MJ, Dan Hartman, Paul Jabara,and the Village People there was also Sharon Redd, Alicia Bridges, Ed Debarge, CeliBee, etc