Patrick Haggerty loved to describe himself as, “a screaming Marxist bitch.” More popularly known as the artist Lavender Country, Haggerty recorded the first known queer country album in 1973 – no parodies, no homophobia, and no veiled references. That album, Lavender Country, set the template for future generations: Put it all out there and be honest with yourself. That’s what country music is all about and that’s all you have once the whiskey hangover ebbs away.
Haggerty had the second-best outcome as an artist. Too radical for its time, Lavender Country simmered under the surface for decades, known to queer and music historians but, like most queer history, just shy of plain sight to the public. Paradise of Bachelors re-released the album in 2014 to a frenzy of attention. There was certainly a healthy queer country scene by then, but artists and fans (and music journalists) alike were honored to connect with Haggerty and the ability to repair the link with their lost history. The album is still stark in its snide humor and unfiltered rage. Almost 50 years later, Haggerty finally had an audience and was able to be recognized for his pioneering work before he passed.
Seizing the moment, Haggerty toured regularly until his death in 2022. His follow-up album, Blackberry Rose and Other Songs and Sorrows bears a marked contrast to the original album. The album kicks off with a gentler version of “I Can’t Shake the Stranger Out of You,” a ballad mourning internalized homophobia. “Sweet Shadow Man” grieves for the anonymity demanded by closeted men, fearful of a dominant society. The title track is a rambling story song about a lynching of an interracial family and the inherent violence rooted in American Christianity.
