Bruce Wayne Campbell (December 14, 1946 – August 3, 1983), known by his stage name Jobriath, was an American rock musician and actor. He was the first openly gay rock musician to be signed to a major record label and one of the first internationally famous musicians to die of AIDS.
After graduating from Upper Merion High School (in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania) in 1964, Jobriath took an interest in folk music, partly inspired by seeing Peter, Paul and Mary in concert several times. He briefly formed a folk group with the help of his music teacher who arranged for identical twins Marty and Grace to join him. As a trio they named themselves "The Last Three", and played several regional shows in the PA area before Marty and Grace departed for college. While Jobriath attended Temple University for one semester in the music program, he soon dropped out. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in the mid-1960s and went Desertion within months. Renaming himself Jobriath Salisbury, he relocated to Los Angeles.
Brandt signed Jobriath, now calling himself Jobriath Boone, to Elektra Records for a reported $500,000, in what was allegedly the most lucrative recording contract of its time.The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia Of Rock And Roll edited by Jon Pareles and Patricia Romankowski, Rolling Stone Press, 1983 Jobriath was signed to a two-album deal.November 1998 issue of Mojo Magazine (pp. 69–70) A huge marketing campaign and media blitz ensued, including full-page advertisements in Vogue, Penthouse, and Rolling Stone magazines, full-length posters on over 250 New York City buses and a huge 41' by 43' billboard in Times Square. All featured the forthcoming debut album sleeve design by noted photographer Shig Ikeda, which featured a nude Jobriath, made to resemble an ancient Roman statue. Plans were announced for a lavish three night live debut at the Paris Opera that December, at a cost of $200,000 and a subsequent tour of European opera houses. Jobriath informed the press that the show would feature him dressed as "King Kong being projected upwards on a mini Empire State Building. This will turn into a giant spurting penis and I will have transformed into Marlene Dietrich." Elektra, concerned about spiraling production costs, postponed the Paris Opera shows until February, later canceling them due to expense.
Amidst this barrage of promotion, the debut album Jobriath was released on June 15, 1973, garnering mostly positive reviews. Rolling Stone stated that Jobriath had "talent to burn", Cashbox called it "truly one of the most interesting albums of the year", and Record World hailed it as "brilliantly incisive", referring to Jobriath as "a true Renaissance man who will gain a tremendous following". Esquire disagreed, calling it "the hype of the year". The album was co-produced by Eddie Kramer and Jobriath, featuring string arrangements by Jobriath, recorded at Olympic Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra. Kramer described Jobriath in Mojo as "a romantic soul, really. He wanted orchestrations like old film music, though he knew nothing about scoring. So he bought a book on orchestration and within a week he'd come up with scores of a haunting quality". Peter Frampton is also credited on the album, though his contribution is unclear.
During this period, Brandt continued making extravagant statements such as "Elvis, the Beatles, and Jobriath" and declaring that both he and Jobriath had booked flights on 's first passenger flight to the Moon. Meanwhile, Jobriath declared himself "rock's truest fairy", a comment that did little to increase his popularity at the time but has since confirmed his status as the first openly gay rock singer to be signed to a major record label.
Jobriath's debut public performance was made on television, when Brandt secured him an appearance on the popular show The Midnight Special. The costumes were designed by Jobriath and the choreography was by Joyce Trisler, of the Joffrey Ballet. Two songs were performed: "I'maman" and "Rock of Ages", the latter substituting for "Take Me I'm Yours" which was pulled after the producer objected to its overtly sado-masochistic theme. The long-awaited live performance finally came in July 1974 with two sold-out shows at New York's The Bottom Line club. Sales for the album, however, were poor, and it failed to secure a chart placing.
Six months after the release of the debut album, Creatures of the Street was released, again featuring Peter Frampton, as well as John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. The costumes were by Stephen Sprouse. The photography was by Gered Mankowitz. Compiled from the extensive sessions for its predecessor, it was launched without any fanfare or media promotion and failed commercially. A US tour followed, where Jobriath and his backing-band (called 'The Creatures') did several residencies around the US (in Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles & Memphis) during which recordings took place at local studios for a projected third album. Despite the tour having several well-attended shows and/or several sold-out nights, both Brandt and Elektra stopped financing the tour midway through. Despite this, Jobriath and the band completed the tour, continuing to bill Elektra for expenses. A final show, at the University of Alabama, ended in five encores and the fire department being summoned when the excited audience set off the alarm.
The group Balcony released a semi-tribute track entitled "Jobriath" as a free MP3 anonymously on the internet in 2000 that was later included on their second album Before Needs. He is referenced using his legal name by the indie-folk band Okkervil River on the final song of their 2008 album The Stand Ins, entitled "Bruce Wayne Campbell Interviewed on the Roof of the Chelsea Hotel, 1979". Def Leppard released a cover of "Heartbeat" on some versions of their 2006 album Yeah!. "Morning Starship" was sampled by hip-hop artist Ill Bill on the title track to his 2007 mixtape album Black Metal.
Filmmaker Kieran Turner ( 24 Nights) created a feature documentary about the late singer called Jobriath A.D. On March 28, 2012, English singer Marc Almond said of Jobriath on his retrospective, "For me, above all else, he was a sexual hero: truly the first gay pop star. How extreme that was to the US at the time. His outrageous appearances on the hallowed US rock show The Midnight Special prompted shock, bewilderment and disgust. Everyone hated Jobriath – even, and especially, gay people. He was embarrassingly effeminate in an era of leather and handlebar moustaches." On July 11, 2012, Ann Magnuson released an EP featuring four Jobriath songs and a spoken-word narrative. On October 29, 2013, Eschatone Records released three 1971 Jobriath tracks digitally and on 10" vinyl as the EP Amazing Dope Tales. On May 6, 2014, Eschatone Records released As the River Flows, a full-length album of never-before released Jobriath recordings from 1971 to 1972 on CD, limited edition vinyl and in digital format. On December 5, 2018, Morrissey released a statement that his next album, California Son, would open with a cover of Jobriath's "Morning Starship".
Casting in Hair and early recordings with Pidgeon
Jerry Brandt, the hype and Jobriath Boone
Cole Berlin, cabaret and The Chelsea Hotel
Death
Legacy
Discography
Studio albums
Compilations
Singles
Notes
External links
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