Steven Grossman (musician)

Steven D Grossman (September 1, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York – June 23, 1991, in San Francisco, California) was a singer-songwriter from the early 1970s whose debut (and until 2011 only) album Caravan Tonight (1974) is distinguished as being the first album dealing with openly gay themes and subject matter to be released on a major label (Mercury Records).[1] Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone hailed it as "one of the most auspicious singer-songwriter debuts of the '70s."[2]

Steven Grossman
Born(1951-09-01)September 1, 1951
Brooklyn, New York, United States
DiedJune 23, 1991(1991-06-23) (aged 39)
San Francisco, California, United States
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
LabelsMercury

Grossman was heavily influenced by Joni Mitchell[3] and the album is very much in the style of singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, as opposed to the then-current glam Bowiesque fashion of openly gay artists such as Jobriath. Performers on the album included Eric Weissberg, best known for his recording "Dueling Banjos" for the 1972 movie Deliverance.

Grossman died in 1991, aged 39, of an AIDS-related illness.[4][5] Caravan Tonight has yet to be released on CD although a cover version of the title track by model and occasional singer Twiggy has. Singer-songwriter Mark Weigle created a duet of "Out" with Steven Grossman on his Out of the Loop CD in 2002.

Grossman recorded a second album shortly before his death and this was finally released on CD in 2011 entitled Something in the Moonlight.[6]

Discography

References
  1. Wayne Struder "Rock on the Wild Side" Leyland Publications 1994 p99-100 ISBN 0-943595-46-0
  2. http://culturecatch.com/music/steven-grossman-caravan-tonight Robert Cochrane, A Queer Hippy Christ, January 28, 2009
  3. Interview in "In Touch" magazine vol 2 no 1 reproduced at http://queermusicheritage.com/jun2005mc.html accessed August 10, 2016
  4. "Steven Grossman - Something in the Moonlight".
  5. "10 Singer-Songwriter Albums Rolling Stone Loved in the 1970s You've Never Heard". www.rollingstone.com. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  6. "June 2011 - Steven Grossman Tribute Show". www.queermusicheritage.com. Retrieved August 10, 2016.


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