The Gay & Lesbian American Music Awards (the GLAMAs) spanned five years and provided the foundation for the recognition of the excellence of GLBT artists. Founded by Tom McCormack and Michael Mitchell, the event grew from seven competitive awards for it’s first ceremony, to 27 at it’s last. Some say it grew too fast, as it eventually folded under the mounting financial pressure to keep such an organization going. My purpose is not to rehash the “why’s” and “what if’s” but to honor the accomplishments of GLAMA, and to provide a reference area for documenting the awards, both the winners and those who were nominated for the four GLAMA ceremonies. As far as I know, this information is not available anywhere else on the net, so I am pleased to centralize it for those interested. And, thanks again to Tom and Michael, whose tremendous efforts made the GLAMAs possible, and again to Tom for filling in some of the pre-GLAMA history for me.
The first awards covered an eligibility period of June 1, 1995 through May 31, 1996, and the ceremony was held on October 6, 1996. The next three events basically covered the calendar year releases for 1997, 1998 and 1999, with the ceremonies held on March 9, 1998, April 12, 1999, and April 22, 2000.
Two special recognition awards were given each year. The Michael Callen Achievement Award (quoting from the first year’s program) is “given to an individual, group, organization or business committed to the courageous and important work or engendering, nurturing and furthering gay/lesbian music. The recipients of the Callen Medal will exemplify the traits of the man for which it is named: a life grounded in openness, honesty and service; joyful creativity in the face of oppression; and unwavering commitment to speak from a place of truth and integrity in a world that often says to make music as an openly gay man or lesbian is not worthy of honor.”
Similarly, the Outmusic Award is given “to a recording artist, group or songwriter who has advanced gay/lesbian music through their work as an out musician. The recipient’s steadfast commitment to speak openly and specifically to the lesbian/gay experience through music qualifies them for this award.” These awards were selected by the organization Outmusic, and while independent from GLAMA, its common goals made the presentation of this award a natural part of the event.
A little history…GLAMA did not just start out having award events. They very wisely had some several pre-events, designed to ramp up the activity and create a buzz, and interest. These were important in helping the vast amount of organizing and networking get into gear. So, “A Night of GLAMA” was held on October 1, 1995, at the Supper Club (240 W47th St, NYC). Hosted by Harvey Fierstein, they gave the first Michael Callen Medal to Cris Williamson, who performed, presented by Bob Guccione Jr, then SPIN editor in chief. The first Outmusic Award was also given, to Boy George, who did not attend; the award was presented by Me’Shell Ndegeocello. Other performers were Joey Arias, Disappear Fear, Pansy Division and the Flirtations. In the following year, several “Come Out & Play” events were held in various cities:
San Francisco, May 9, 1996: hosted by Pussy Tourette, with Alix Dobkin, Sonia, Jon Ginoli, the Hail Mary’s and Sweet Loretta
Chicago, June 6, 1996: hosted by Paula Killen & Honey West, with Poi Energy, David Clement, Boy’s Entrance, Stewed Tomatoes, Chrissie Olstad
New York City, July 18, 1996: hosted by the group Betty, with Catie Curtis, Moran, Melissa Ferrick, and Nedra Johnson
Los Angeles, August 18, 1996: hosted by Lisa Koch, with Sally & Michelle, Churchill’s Window, Strange Fruit, gavin, and Men Out Loud
These events across the country were important to raise awareness of the organization and build some momentum going into the awards themselves, and to help in building a judging base.
As there’s not a lot of existing “coverage” of the early GLAMA years I want to draw attention to an outstanding article written by Gregg Shapiro, after the awards held in April of 1998. I think the article does a good job of giving a “sense” of the spirit of the awards.
I attended the last two events, and was honored to have been a judge for those awards. I also took many photographs at the event, and associated activities, for the 1998 and 1999 GLAMAs, and have set up a separate section of this site, GLAMA Pics, to share those. And, I have also centralized the data for the Outmusic Awards, which began in 2001 (covering the music from 2000), through 2006.
