Damnit: Jobriath the Forgotten One

You haven't heard of Jobraith have you. No one has and that's the shame. Who was he? He was a glam rocker from the 70's, a lounge singer and a stage actor. He was also gay and that is why no one knows him now. The 70's may have been the time of gay liberation and rock stars like Bowie threw bisexuality in faces but it was still a much more uptight world. Jobriath was a little too out for the record buyers and his records just didn't sell.
Born in Pennsylvania with the name Bruce Wayne Campbell he was a piano prodigy who was classically trained. He was drafted into the army during the mid 60's and quickly went AWOL. He later appeared in Los Angeles and was cast in Hair. Jobriath then performed with a folk rock band called Pigeon and was signed by Decca records. Around this time the military police found him and not too much later he was spending time in a military psychiatric hospital. It was when he was released he became Jobriath.
A demo that he submitted to Clive Davis was rejected for being "mad, unstructured and destructive to melody". The tape was overheard by promoter & manager Jerry Brandt. Brandt is noted for discovering both Carly Simon and Patti Smith. Jobriath was living in LA working as a prostitute when he signed with Brandt who immediately started promoting him. Eventually getting Jobriath signed to Electra Records for a reported $500,000. A marketing campaign then began that was over the top. Almost as over the top as Jobriath himself. His face was everywhere in New York, buses, huge posters and an enormous billboard in Times Square. Brandt made extravagant announcements "Elvis, The Beatles and Jobriath" it was an amazing media blitz of hype. The first record was the eponymously named "Jobriath"andcritically well received. Jobriath made his public debut performance on the television show "The Midnight Special". He performed two numbers including "I'maman" which would become his biggest hit. Unfortunately record sales were not great and the album didn't chart.

Six months later a second record was released "Creatures of the Street". Both Peter Frampton and John Paul Jones are featured on this recording. A concert tour was announced without much hype and commenced featuring elaborate costumes designed by Stephen Sprouse. Jobriath was basically abandoned by both Electra and Brandt during the tour.
In the mid 70's Jobriath gave up his music career and moved to the Chelsea Hotel to restart his acting career. During this time he started performing a cabaret act under the name Cole Berlin. He lived in the roof top apartment in the Chelsea and supplemented his income again with prostitution. In the early 80's Jobriath's 10 year contract with Brandt finally expired. Jobriath did perform at the Chelsea's 100th anniversary celebration. He died 6 months later in August of 1983. He was one of the first famous musician to die of AIDS.
Jobriath has always had his fans. Morrisey, the lead singer of the Smiths, is among them. Morrisey has overseen the release of a compilation album titled "Lonely Boy Planet". Performance artist Ann Magnuson is currently working on a performance piece and ep about Jobriath.