This entry originally appeared on Facebook, on May 1, 2013.
This compendium of mortuary fate in the mythos of rock history is a gushing factual basis for a motley gallery of deceased crooners, spanning from the stars that shimmered infinitely to the alien derelicts that are, just now, clawing their way out of exile. Among legendary casualties such as Marc Bolan, Ian Curtis, and Buddy Holly, Thompson delves deep into the abyss and touches upon a noted pariah, who was the missing glam rock link between Chopin and Bowie.
Dave Thompson deserves much kudos for investing his time in the late 1990's in piecing together this four and a half page review of Bruce Wayne Campbell's life and his brief stint in rock music. The contents within reveal nothing of notable allure in my search for Jobriath-related information, but it does serve as a perfect prologue for anyone that may want to get their hands wet before soaking up Jobriath's two Elektra LP's, along with his other official studio work.
c) Photo courtesy of John Michael Cox Jr, 1974
Jobriath, photographed backstage at 'The Joint In The Woods' in Parsippany, New Jersey, July 1974.
A close-up shot of John Michael Cox Jr's photograph that originally appeared in an edition of the Omega One magazine from the late 1970's. Here is the photo, slightly modified, for the 1999 printing of Better to Burn Out: The Cult of Death In Rock 'n Roll.
Dave Thompson's book may be purchased on Amazon.com for an affordable transaction. Please lend a hand and support him!
This entry originally appeared on Facebook, on March 12, 2013.
This past Thursday I received an anonymous letter in the mail. The envelope contained this Ann Magnuson postcard within, outlining a sixty-fourth birthday tribute show to the one and only, David Bowie, with the true fairy of rock 'n roll (Jobriath) riding the sequined coat tails.
The flip side of the postcard giving details on the show's billing. Recently, Ann issued a long overdue, exclusive homage to Jobriath on "The Jobriath Medley" EP. Presently I have not yet heard the release, but I plan on hunting down a physical copy before it's gone tomorrow...
A short, visual vignette from World of Wonder, that serves to introduce any foreigners on the topic of Jobriath, the would-be, Great American glitter rock superstar.
For any passers-by or for the rag tag group of Cheese Camp supporters on Facebook, I need not pose a preface to my fascination with Bruce Wayne Campbell (alias Jobriath Boone.) If I am alienating anyone with a hint of bewildered curiosity on my rabid, life-consuming fanboy entanglement, I might want to refer those confused readers to earlier entries concerning this fringe, glam demigod.
I have recently commenced a serious quest to use my human bar code scanner for the purpose of finding and securing any Jobriath-related journalism to my collected pipeline of rock articles.Since I am not an affiliated member of any major academic institution, along with my inhibited means of transportation, my knowledge quest is temporarily stunted. The frequency in which I update this photo album may vary. I aspire to expand my studies across the nation. Roughly a year and a half ago I traveled by bus to the city of New York to unearth and soak up the shelved demos to Jobriath's thinly-veiled autobiographical stage play, 'Pop Star.' Once I procure enough money, I am taking my hobby back to New York for a more in-depth analysis. Other destinations on my agenda include Chicago, IL, Atlanta, GA, and the Library of Congress among other pit stops I may encounter.
A concert advertisement for the Berklee Performance Center in Harvard Square. Jobriath performed here on Wednesday July 23, and Tuesday July 24, in 1974. (Boston After Dark)
According to an online concert roster, Jobriath performed in Boston, at the Berklee Performance Center, following the shows held at the Bottom Line night club in New York. Due to time constraints and a lack of primary sources I was only able to uncover this advertisement in a July 1974 issue of the Boston Phoenix (After Dark.)
As you can see, Jobriath received top billing and shared the stage with a parodic jazz rock musician by the name of Sweet Pie. I am yet to perform any further journalistic excavations on Jobriath. I have found several articles on the internet and have filed them in a singularly, Jobriath-focused binder. As far as local periodicals go, I know of a concert review that appeared in the Harvard Crimson on July 26, 1974. The original text is available on the Harvard University Library's website, but I would love to get my hands on the original publication, as preserved by microfiche.
An empty search for Boston Globe coverage of Jobriath's shows at the Berklee Performance Center.
Yep, this is what I do for fun. Here is some Boston Globe microfilm from the mid-seventies. After doing a Proquest search, I found a Jobriath-less universe in these archives.
The Liberace-envied, old world-flavored courtyard at the Boston Public Library's Central Branch.
I thought this was a scenic area, so I kicked back with the Kevin Cann Bowie book I am re-borrowing from the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium and wolfed down a mean egg salad sandwich. In addition to the Jobriath ad, I also uncovered some Bowie and New York Dolls spots from the Boston After Dark publication. I hope to upload these at some point, but I still need to invest in a working photo scanner.
If you've read any of my posts from the months prior to my launch of the Cheese Camp sub-series, 'Gawking With The Glam Rock Geek,' I'm sure that you've heard the name "Jobriath" brought up a few dozen times. Earlier this year, I compiled an entry that summarized my deep fascination with the aforementioned, forgotten glam rock hero, and this past May I was able to attend a screening of the highly researched documentary, Jobriath A.D. at the Brattle Theater, located in Cambridge, MA. The film appeared to cap more than a handful of apocryphal bits of information regarding the story surrounding this singer, who was touted as the American David Bowie. I even had the chance to shake hands with the director of the film, Kieran Turner (I would've enjoyed chatting more with Mr. Turner as I had planned, but I had to catch the last train, as it was my only route of transportation back home.) It is my understanding that the film received mixed feedback from the New England-centric audience, but I have only positive things to reflect upon from my viewing experience.
Friday, May 11: The schedule card posted at the alley entrance to the Brattle Theater, with Jobriath out for blood and ready to transcend the negative hype during his initial marketing campaign in the early seventies.
I entered the theater in a cold sweat, aghast that I was finally about to gawk at this space circus show from rock 'n roll's first openly gay alien messiah. It's taken me quite a while to put my thoughts into words, as the whole experience was actually very overwhelming. As I said before, I am very set on tipping my hat to this documentary, but as I thrust myself intothis event that could either revive or bury any curiosity culminated for public interest in Jobriath, I retreated from my usual research on the topic (feeling as though everyone involved with the film was the final word on any remaining mystery.) As the months have meandered, my feverishly bookish anxiety has subsided, and I am finally looking forward to uncover more Jobriath-related history, wherever I may find it (more on these efforts later.)
Not by any accident or misstep, Ecubyan urges you, the viewer to seek the sun. You may catch a glimpse of his morning star ship descending, prepared to assimilate new members into the Jobriath Fan Collective!
Since Jobriath had passed away nearly three decades ago, the film unfolds with friends and aquintances recounting the deluge that was rock's true fairy. Born Bruce Wayne Campbell on December 14, 1946, the arch-angel of space age movie queens quickly developed into a child prodigy of sorts, with an unnerving talent for singing/songwriting. The best equivalent stylistic origins that I can trace to Bruce's talents are those of Frederic Chopin (both were classically-trained pianists.) Bruce seems to be a kindred, yet confused soul, as society largely over-looked his musical assets, in exchange for their harsh treatment of his homosexuality. Having gone AWOL within months of joining the military, he emerged from hiding, calling himself Jobriath (a contraction of Job and Goliath,) and adopting the surname, Salisbury. After moving from Pennsylvania to California, Jobriath was soon christened as the Jagger-obsessed (and ambiguously gay,) 'Woof' in the west coast production of the Hair musical.
I was unaware that this clip of Jobriath as he appeared with the West Coast 'Hair' cast on the Smother Brothers Comedy Hour, had been receiving Youtube playback for years. Unfortunately his performance of 'Sodomy' is not included in this footage, but you can still spot him in the background, with blond Yvette Mimieux-like locks.
In 1969, he left the production for work with his newly-assembled folk rock band, Pidgeon. They released a self-titled LP on Decca records, and cut the single 'Rubber Bricks/Prison Walls.' The group quickly dissolved into the backdrop of Woodstock era hippie music, although the music distinguished itself with its rock operatic layers, making Pidgeon a Roger Daltrey-like entity amongst every Buffalo Springfield carbon copy on the market. After the band broke up, Jobriath's absence from the military, caught the attention of the authorities,and led to his spending half a year in a mental asylum.
'The Dancer' from Side B of Pidgeon (1969)
In late 1972, Jobriath's meal ticket was gay prostitution, although he was still trying to make it in the recording industry as well. At Columbia Records, Jobriath's recent demo tape was just getting laughed out of the studio, with company president, Clive Davis writing it off as "mad, unstructured, and destructive to melody." Just as it seemed a new contract was unquestionably in the gutter, former Carly Simon manager Jerry Brandt, overheard the tape and quickly located Jobriath to negotiate a recording deal. Newly dubbed 'Jobriath Boone', Brandtwas eager to perk up the American Public's ears, and the two of them began work on cutting a debut album, along with agreat media blitzkrieg, financed by Elektra Records. Realizing the shock waves emitted from the burgeoning glam rock movement in Europe, Brandt pitted his new business partner's taste for elegant tunesmithery and embroidered it with designer space cantina attire.The combination of Jobriath's own otherworldly stage charisma, blended with the popular gimmickery of flamboyant make-up was seen as a potential vehicle to sell him as the American Bowie. At the time, Brandt further reported that their partnership was to be the biggest thing to hit the world since Colonel Parker and Elvis Presley.
The ad campaign progressed, and Jobriath's face was plastered in every major entertainment periodical, with Billboards cropping up, seemingly out of nowhere. The record finally made its debut in October 1973, and was met with mostly positive critical reception. Amidst the hype however, red-blooded Americana's reaction was in a different ballpark. Since there had been no singles preceding the first album, US record-buyers went on listening to their Allman Brothers LP's--not a note had been played to push the music, just an image of Jobriath's naked torso and an underlying gay intonation, that was too effeminate for the New York S&M cruisers to absorb. Those that did get an earful of the richQueen-like, rock orchestrations were puzzled by the ornate mixture of lyrical science fiction and over-the-top Liberace glamor. Bowie'sZiggy Stardust lost heat rapidly in its Trans-Atlantic journey, but it at least made a dent at number seventy-five on the Billboard Pop Charts. Jobriath's eponymous debut couldn't even crack the Top 100. America was proving itself to be too homophobic to crack.
A photo from the September 1974 performance at the University of Alabama.
The lackluster performance of the record didlittle to block more of the same verbal, one-upmanship from Brandt. Allegations of guaranteed platinum music marketing, continued to pummel stories in the recording industry. By March of the following year, Jobriath, along with his backing band, the Creatures, appeared on the musical variety program, The Midnight Special, where they performed two songs off of the first LP in front of a recorded live audience. Decked out in space slinky attire, stitched by a vulcan-eared Jobriath himself, audience members appeared moreconfused than shocked by the songs showcased for the television selection.
Still holding the promise of an extravagant rock spectacle, Jobriath and the Creatures played two sold out shows at New York's Bottom Line club that summer, but album sales remained financially unaccommodating. Just a mere six months after the debut album was put on record store shelves, the sophomore release, Creatures of the Street, was laced together from leftover material during the first LP sessions. Although the second album was composed mainly of outtakes to the first record, Creatures had a more fluid direction and, in my eyes, worked even better, conceptually. The songs used would not have been out of place if Jobriath's life were adapted into a Broadway show, done in the Rocky Horror vain. Personal feelings aside, this record was the death knell for Jobriath's career at Elektra. The LP was a commercial flop. During the summer of 1974 an American tour was organized, but Elektra Recordswas quick to dust off America's premiere pixie rock star. In spite of Brandt and Elektra's abandonment of Jobriath, and further complicationsfromrelentless gay bashers, the tour limped on, until a cord was struck during the final show at Tuscaloosa University in Alabama. Uproarious positivity was reciprocated from Jobriath's last audience. They loved him and his band, and even bantered for five encores, until a riot ensued and the bandwas run out by the fire brigade. Alas, Jobriath Boone was left mentally-scarred by the two year fiasco of hot air promotion and poor public reception.
Copingby indulging in a steady diet of drugs and booze, Jobriath announced his retirement from the music business in early 1975, retreating to a Pyramid-shaped apartment atop the Chelsea Hotel in New York City. The next eight years were a jumble of personal success and misfire. Adopting the new moniker of "Cole Berlin", the weathered space pierott found himself more at home reviving old cabaret tunes for restaurant crowds. His classical piano-playing abilities were finding much deserved recognition, albeit on a more scaled down level than his rock 'n roll career. His artistic victories were coinciding with his on/off again street prostitution.Still struggling with unearthing his true identity, regular clients knew him as 'Joby', the mustachioed macho man of Christopher Street. In his spare time, Cole Berlin was constantly at work on a string of piano-based projects, including a semi-autobiographical musical called 'Pop Star.' To my, and several other fans, dismay, virtually all of these musings never saw the light of day (a few bits have appeared on scarce pirated sources, but a complete product of any withstanding material is unlikely to surface.) The sands of time were also streaming invertedly down the hourglass, and in 1981, Mr. Berlin's flame was burning very low. Around this time, he contracted HIV, butdidn't budge from his piano, even managing to play at the Chelsea Hotel's 100th anniversary celebration 1982. But these fleeting moments of endurance quickly dwindled, for on August 3, 1983, Bruce Wayne Campbell became one of the first prominent figures in music to die from AIDS-related causes.
This photo was taken by Zack back in February, where at his college campus, he also contributed his part in promoting the rebirth of Jobriath!
The finished film is still touring its run in selected regions of the world. At this point, an immediate DVD release is uncertain, although Jobriath's legacy seems to definitely have extended its grasp, beyond its original niche demographic. Kieran Turner's documentary is a champion of its subject matter and it doesn't perseverate on any one topic, allowing itself to reach hold of nearly every layer in Jobriath's story. Running just over an hour and forty minutes, the flow of the film is succinct and defines its hero for the glorious person he really was. This film is a must see for anyone seeking to expand their familiarity with the 1970s glam rock or American gay scene, and its a real plus if you're a casual or obsessive fan of this unsung creature of the street. In the long scheme of things, there is still much to be discovered from the inner-world forged by Jobriath. At any point, I hope to share any information and/or photos on recent Jobriath-related finds. I still believe that there are a few odds and ends scattered about, that I'm yet to come across. Below, I have linked a film review from the controversial Jonathan Poletti, who has come under fire for his Jobriath research, but who seems to have a wealth of personal opinions (although contrary to most) and primary sources to work from. Hopefully Jobriath A.D. is a sounding beacon for the interest that Bruce Wayne Campbell has long-craved. Perhaps we may see a scrapbook or biography materialize in Barnes and Noble, sooner than we think!
Jobriath AD Review by Jonathan Poletti, Roctober Reviews
Here, at long last, is a funnel of Jobriath-centric information, providing even those with only a foggy notion, a wealth of primary documentation on the seemingly forever opaque axis of rock music's absolute pariah. From the inner-sanctum of my own driving passion for Jobriath's life and work, and an equal balance of dedication to pinpointing archived press coverage and artifacts from a smorgasbord of sources, it is my hope that this joint become an acme of knowledge for fans and rock journalists the world over. With the fresh, new rockumentary 'Jobriath A.D.' hot off the word of mouth press, shedding as bright a light as it can, on the rise and collision of the glittering misanthrope's satellite of love, the wireless generation now has the opportunity to refuel Jobriath's legacy and give it the zeal it has always lacked. If one were to scroll through this blog, a mental portrait of Jobriath's short life may be stitched together, even if it appears hazier in some areas than others. Due to the inconsistency of various ramblings and opinions, I urge anyone who may have known Jobriath or had first hand know how of the events in his life, to vouch for the fairy godmother of rock 'n roll, and ensure guidance on this quest for purged glam rock folklore. It should be noted that absolutely no audio clips will be uploaded to this blog, nor will I host any images that are weighted by heavy copyright protection. If there is any content on this blog that offends or contradicts principles of Jobriath's estate, I will make it my first priority to remove the apocryphal data. As always, be taken by the music and lose yourself on the intrepid voyage of the morning star ship!
Visit the Following Links For More History On The Fallen Angel of Dark Glitter:
JOBRIATH: Resurrection
-managed by Jobriath's friend and photographer, John Michael Cox Jr.
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