On September 25, 2012, Billy Barnes passed away. According to the L.A. Times, he earned a reputation as "The Revue Master of Hollywood" after hitting his stride in 1958 with "The Billy Barnes Revue." And many more revues followed. He also was a master of "special material," contributing to "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In," the Oscar Awards, and various television shows such as Cher's variety show. He is survived by his partner of nearly 30 years, Richard T. Jordan.
Most of his recordings were that of the casts of his various shows, which helped launch the careers of Bert Convy, Ken Berry and Jo Anne Worley. But I happen to have in my collection the LP shown above, from 1976, which I gleefully grabbed from a bin at Amoeba Records in Los Angeles a few years back. It's Barnes on his own, with the help on piano by Marvin Laird. You can hear it on my website's tribute page, and view many of his other recordings.
One of Barnes most gay songs was the title track of the
musical "The Gay Nineties," captured on "Family Jewels"
musical "The Gay Nineties," captured on "Family Jewels"
Richard T Jordan & Billy Barnes celebrated their wedding, in 2010
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