Modern Harmonic - MH-8017 -  150 Gram Virgin Vinyl - Pressed at RTI

Sound 88% HIFI News - which is good news as this LP is a joy

RSD Black Friday Limited Edition 150g Gold Vinyl

A once shocking 1962 LP of love songs… by men, for men.

The long lost treasure featuring the cool & sophisticated vocals of Gene Howard and a cast of prime studio jazz musicians, performing a set of standards sung to a male suitor. Ahead of its time in every way. Reissued for the first time ever for Record Store Day’s Black Friday! 

A fantastic, once-shocking album finally sees reissue - and brings with it the answer to a half-century mystery!

Decades ago, JD Doyle, renowned LGBT music historian and archivist, happened upon a copy of Love Is A Drag. Doyle would often play cuts from it on his radio show, Queer Music Heritage. He remained intrigued by the lack of either artist or producer credited on the album. A vague line of jacket text ambiguously announced, “For Adult Listeners Only - Sultry Stylings by a Most Unusual Vocalist.”

Out of the blue, Murray Garrett (Hollywood star-photographer through the late 1940s to the 1970s) contacted JD Doyle and wanted to talk about the album. According to Garrett, through his photography career, he had forged a friendship and partnership with prolific big band vocalist, Gene Howard. The two worked together on projects, eventually teaming with Jack Ames, founder of Edison International Records. When queried for ideas for a potential Edison International release, Garrett recalled a performance he had once seen in Greenwich Village - a performance of a man singing love songs to another man, in serious fashion, i.e., not at all campy or overly-dramatic.

Gene Howard (straight and happily married!) agreed to sing on the record, accompanied by a who’s-who of Los Angeles A-list session men. Completed, the record was issued on a “surrogate” label named Lace Records - an imprint hastily-created in order to avoid any misinterpretation of the Edison International focus. Upon release, the record sold well in Hollywood, with Frank Sinatra, Liberace, and Bob Hope among its biggest advocates. 

With the masters proudly owned by Sundazed, Love Is A Drag is now set to make its long-overdue reappearance. Presented on our new Modern Harmonic imprint - we give you both a pristine gold vinyl RTI pressing , including original artwork and notes, and insightful new liners from LGBT historian, JD Doyle!

Bass – Morty Corb
Clarinet – Heinie Beau
Curated By – Jay Millar )
Drums – Dick Shanahan
Guitar – Al Viola
Liner Notes – JD Doyle
Piano – Bobby Hammock
Producer – Murray Garrett
Remastered By – Bob Irwin
Vocals – Gene Howard

RTI HQ- Vinyl

Record Technology is a world class record pressing plant located in Camarillo, California. We have been operating since 1974, pressing for most audiophile record labels and for many quality minded independent and major record labels from around the world.