LGBT Book & Video Blog

New York – When New York Times best-selling author MARK BEGO, and American Music Award-winning VILLAGE PEOPLE original cowboy RANDY JONES joined forces to write their first book together, what else could it be called but: MACHO MAN. That is the title of their new volume together for Praeger/Greenwood, with a November 31, 2008 pub date.

Says Bego, "MACHO MAN seems like it should just a book about Randy exclusively, his life in the Village People being the focus, however we were challenged by the publisher to write a book that is much bigger in scope."

The full title of the book is MACHO MAN: The Disco Era and America's Coming Out, and is a substantial and factual look at gay pop culture, with the advent of The Village People as the centerpiece of mainstream society’s acceptance of alternative lifestyles throughout history.

Not only do the pair discuss homosexuality throughout history, they base most of their findings on the ever-changing mores of the 20th Century, and beyond. They put the spotlight on several key figures in pop culture and the media who helped society look differently at gay icons like Rock Hudson, Ellen DeGeneres, David Bowie, Elton John, and, The Village People.

MACHO MAN also serves as something of a gay pop almanac, with Bego and Jones
devoting sections of the book to The 25 Most Important Gay Films, and a look at the gay pop songs like Mott The Hoople's "All The Young Dudes," Elton John's "Big Dipper," and naturally "Y.M.C.A." and "In The Navy" by The Village People.