Janet’s true gay icon moment, Freddie Mercury’s biggest slay & more: Your weekly bop rewind

Queerty reader, put your records on; it’s finally the weekend.

This week has kinda been music to our ears: Johnny Manuel dropped a killer R&B video, Saucy Santana and Trina dropped the voting song to end all voting songs, and Charlie Puth dropped something other than his pants (though we may still get a bit of that for the album roll-out, fingers crossed).

In honor of Queer History Month, we’re gonna be taking a look back to each week in queer music all month long! This week was a great spread, from an unintentional trans anthem in ’08 to a fruity little number back in ’55.

From a queen who slays to Janet’s love for the gays, here’s your weekly bop rewind:

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“Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard (1955)

With an legendary scat catchphrase that Rolling Stone once called “the most inspired rock lyric ever recorded,” Little Richard made his mark on rock & roll history. Sixty-seven years later and those slamming keys still make you wanna shake something. Unbeknownst to most, the “Tutti Frutti” refrain we sing today is a far cry from the original lyrics. Richard originally penned the chorus as “Tutti Frutti, good booty / If it don’t fit, don’t force it / You can grease it, make it easy.” In 1955. You gotta respect the gumption!

“Killer Queen” by Queen (1974)

Is this enduring rock groove about a specific woman? A general statement on class? A take on flamboyant music publicist Eric Hall? We kind of doubt the last claim, but hey, art is open to interpretation. What can be said for sure is that Freddie’s slinking, sultry manner on “Drop of a hat, she’s as willing as / Playful as a pussycat” is still hot to this day. For all the different takes on the titular slaying queen, the Queen frontman had to have been the most slay-ous of all.

“Everybody” by Madonna (1982)

A minute slay from the now-“Queen of Pop”, but still a club-thumping good time. In these trying times, everybody should, indeed, “dance and sing” and well as “get up and do your thing”. This debut single’s anniversary marks the 40-year mark on Madonna’s career, and for all the highs and lows, it’s certainly been entertaining. What other decades-old pop mainstay is collabing with Saucy Santana? Exactly.

The Velvet Rope by Janet Jackson (1997)

With this (possibly underrated) sixth studio album, Janet really stamped her mark on the LGTBQ community. She delves into explicitly queer messaging on tracks like “Free Xone” and “Together Again” to vary degrees of depth. For an album initially regarded as both a “long, sometimes strange trip into Jackson’s sensual world” and a “soundtrack to a therapy session”, it’s come to generally be acknowledged as a thoughtful and socially conscious album with a sexy edge — and its fair share of bops.

“If I Were a Boy” by Beyoncé

Subbing a bop for a ballad on this one, solely based on impact (and the fact that its more boppy sister track “Single Ladies” wasn’t out until October 13th). Surely Bey had no idea that she was going to be writing an enduring trans ideation track on par with Mulan’s “Reflection” here, and yet it stands. You can see this in things like Glee having transfem character Unique Adams sing it in full Alex Newell belt.

Join us back here next week for another bop rewind!