You can find some interesting biographical info on Jobriath here (new window).

I've never heard this song. A-ha was THE one hit wonder, as far as I'm concerned.

Nice outfit...

i liked him better when he was called david bowie.

Hiro Nakamura: I've never heard this song. A-ha was THE one hit wonder, as far as I'm concerned.


I always think of them in the two-hit wonder category because I remember when their follow-up "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." was in heavy rotation on MTV, won some VMAs, and reached the Top 20 of the Billboard charts. Granted, if you use the narrow definition that VH1 did for their specials then they are a one-hit wonder, but those shows classified Jimmy Hendrix and The Grateful Dead in that category, which is just stupid regardless of criteria.

Hiro Nakamura: I've never heard this song. A-ha was THE one hit wonder, as far as I'm concerned.

Didn't they do a pretty decent Bond song for "The Living Daylights" too?

He's no Rick Astley.

I was very much involved in music in 1973. I don't remember ever having heard of this guy.

You might want to reconsider the title "Biggest name in music."

His outfit reminds me I need to check my dryer vent.

He probably would have done better if the song wasn't hard to listen to.

"The Man Who Would Have Been Queen"? Hardly. Takes more than a lycra jumpsuit. Freddie Mercury could to two things this turd-blanket obviously couldn't: Write fantastic songs, and then sing the shiat out of them. This guy wouldn't know melody if it leapt up and bit him on his hiney.

Who?

real shaman: I was very much involved in music in 1973. I don't remember ever having heard of this guy.

You might want to reconsider the title "Biggest name in music."

I don't know if Engelbert Humperdinck is the biggest name in music, but he's certainly one of the longest.

real shaman: I was very much involved in music in 1973. I don't remember ever having heard of this guy.

You might want to reconsider the title "Biggest name in music."

I wasn't around in 1973, but from what I understand there was a marketing campaign of epic proportions- including billboards in Times Square and on busses in NYC. Not sure how you missed that.

He totally fizzled and fast, but for a short while he was marketed like a summer blockbuster.

So, he's basically a thinner, gayer, Meatloaf?

Subby, you must have lived under the billboard. He was never a name at all. The best that can be said is that he proves that even advertising can't sell everything.

from Spinner:

He was going to be the biggest recording artist in the world, except for one small glitch: No one bought the records. At a time when David Bowie, Elton John, the New York Dolls and others were bringing outrageous flamboyance to the stage, a Philadelphia street kid who went by the single name Jobriath brashly proclaimed himself the "True Fairy of Rock 'n' Roll." Problem was, despite the cultural revolution of the free-love '60s, the American public in the early 1970s proved ill-prepared for the arrival of the first openly gay rock star.

Born Bruce Wayne Campbell in 1946, Jobriath had his first taste of celebrity in the Los Angeles production of 'Hair,' followed by a short stint in a baroque pop band called Pidgeon. His first efforts at launching a solo career were fruitless; Clive Davis infamously judged his demo tape "mad and unstructured and destructive to melody." But such aggressive distaste piqued the interest of rock impresario Jerry Brandt, who discovered Carly Simon and ran the New York nightclub the Electric Circus. Classically trained and frankly theatrical, Jobriath quickly became the gay Elvis to Brandt's Colonel Tom. Brandt hyped his new client so successfully that he landed a whopping $500,000 advance from Elektra Records. "I made two errors of judgment," Elektra founder Jac Holzman would recall, "and signing Jobriath was one of them."

Upon the release of Jobriath's self-titled debut in 1973, however, Elektra embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign, spending thousands on ads and putting up a 50-foot billboard in Times Square. Bowie, Brandt clucked, was a mere Model A Ford compared to Jobriath's Lamborghini. Rolling Stone ran a rave review, and the singer landed a choice appearance on the network showcase 'The Midnight Special.'

But audiences weren't buying it. By Jobriath's second album, 'Creatures of the Street,' both his manager and his label had lost interest, and his band (including one former member of Stories, who had a No. 1 hit with 'Brother Louie' in 1973) sputtered through a sometimes hostile, often indifferent tour.

Jobriath hung on to his hopes for stardom as long as he could, auditioning for a role in the Al Pacino movie 'Dog Day Afternoon' and working on an autobiographical musical to be called 'Pop Star.' But his 10-year contract with Brandt apparently left him unable to record, and he retreated to his room in New York's infamous Chelsea Hotel, performing incognito, as Cole Berlin, in small-time cabarets. When he died in 1983 from AIDS-related illness, it reportedly took four days for neighbors to find the body.

Wow he died of aids what a shocker.

Looks like he raided Bowie's costume trunk.

admiring fellow performers have helped keep this forgotten pioneer's flame alive

heh heh

FlashHarry: i liked him better when he was called david bowie.

I'm going to have to get up a little earlier.

horonto: Wow he died of aids what a shocker.

I wonder if "shot in the head" = "aids related" if you're gay?

/needs to wake up

I was working in FM radio when the hype on this guy started. We got tons of Jobriath crap in the mail and our program director even got a phone call about him. And we were a small station in the college market, not exactly a major player by any means. This was a super push and I've always wondered who paid for it.

At the jocks' meeting we took one look at the material, gave the single a listen for about 15 seconds, and threw it all in the garbage can.

Sybarite: Hiro Nakamura: I've never heard this song. A-ha was THE one hit wonder, as far as I'm concerned.


I always think of them in the two-hit wonder category because I remember when their follow-up "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." was in heavy rotation on MTV, won some VMAs, and reached the Top 20 of the Billboard charts. Granted, if you use the narrow definition that VH1 did for their specials then they are a one-hit wonder, but those shows classified Jimmy Hendrix and The Grateful Dead in that category, which is just stupid regardless of criteria.

This. The Sun Always Shines on TV was a great follow-up.

That being said - I've never heard of this Jobriath before but that song is pretty cool.

I want pajamas like that.

There is some sort of irony here.....he was openly gay, obviously flaming, yet he had the manliest of names....Bruce Wayne Campbell. I mean that is Batman and Ash. This dude should have been an action star or war hero with a name like that.

downstairs:

I wasn't around in 1973, but from what I understand there was a marketing campaign of epic proportions- including billboards in Times Square and on busses in NYC. Not sure how you missed that.


Umm...didn't live in NYC?

Dude, his real name was Bruce Wayne Campbell.

How could he possibly have turned out gay?

Awesome song, this is better! (new window)

He has elf-ears. Wow, that was....interesting.

Check this vid for some more info on him..

pops

It's like an early Nomi without the classical singing chops.

David Bowie wanna-be. meh

Valdemiro: It's like an early Nomi without the classical singing chops.

Jeezis! WTF is that?!?

It's not who you know...

real shaman: I was very much involved in music in 1973. I don't remember ever having heard of this guy.

You might want to reconsider the title "Biggest name in music."

I came here to say that same thing. I doubt if he used his entire 15 minutes of fame.

Warpigpen: There is some sort of irony here.....he was openly gay, obviously flaming, yet he had the manliest of names....Bruce Wayne Campbell. I mean that is Batman and Ash. This dude should have been an action star or war hero with a name like that.

Win!
/trying to imagine Batman with an enormous chin.

MaxxLarge: Valdemiro: It's like an early Nomi without the classical singing chops.

Jeezis! WTF is that?!?

Lightning Strikes!

" When he died in 1983 from AIDS-related illness, it reportedly took four days for neighbors to find the body."


Wow, Sounds like the guy had lots of friends and family!

Now imagine a band full of Jobriaths:

Above band is Zolar X, BTW.

downstairs: real shaman: I was very much involved in music in 1973. I don't remember ever having heard of this guy.

You might want to reconsider the title "Biggest name in music."

I wasn't around in 1973, but from what I understand there was a marketing campaign of epic proportions- including billboards in Times Square and on busses in NYC. Not sure how you missed that.

He totally fizzled and fast, but for a short while he was marketed like a summer blockbuster.

Rooney: Milhouse, listen: you can't quit this movie. I've seen your
work; it's good -- very, very good. Van Johnson good.

For some reason, he reminds me of Dayman.

/Fighter of the Nightman

Sybarite: Granted, if you use the narrow definition that VH1 did for their specials then they are a one-hit wonder, but those shows classified Jimmy Jimi Hendrix and The Grateful Dead in that category, which is just stupid regardless of criteria.

the dead were a 1-hit wonder. they have exactly one charting song

Warpigpen: There is some sort of irony here.....he was openly gay, obviously flaming, yet he had the manliest of names....Bruce Wayne Campbell. I mean that is Batman and Ash. This dude should have been an action star or war hero with a name like that.

Did he buy a boat and name it "Captain Fantastic Faster Than Superman Spiderman Batman Wolverine Hulk And The Flash Combined"? Jobraith is 8 billion steps down from the awesome of the original.

Haven't any of you heard of Marc Bolan or T. Rex? This guy ripped him off way more than Bowie. Also, T Rex is great, Jobraith is not.

Jobriath was the sh*t! His song Scumbag is great!

I've been wanting to make this shirt for years:

I've heard that his album [his debut? his only album?] is either really really crappy, or actually not that bad / pretty ok/good.

who to believe?


/ i second the Bowie-copy motion as stated above.

FrostedBytes: Check this vid for some more info on him..
pops

that vid was generous. Pamela Des Barres "author"?
/nice report on him, still have never heard of him

Valdemiro: It's like an early Nomi without the classical singing chops.

And people actually liked Nomi.

/toooo-tal eclipse!

Hiro Nakamura: I've never heard this song. A-ha was THE one hit wonder, as far as I'm concerned.

Men Without Hats.

Book it. Done.

I love Jobriath. Subby, you rule.