Bruce Springsteen – Streets Of Philadelphia

BIG TIME kudos to Bruce Springsteen (and an Oscar to boot) for recording the one song that could have altered his careet forever. Although gay/lesbian/transgender rights were already prevalent and in most metropolitan areas of the US the topic was no longer taboo, Bruce - the iconic example of white Midwest USA - took a really big chance and recorded a deeply moving, profound piece about the horrible discrimination that a gay man potentially faces on a day to day basis. And he did it from a first person point of view... meaning that Bruce risked being labeled as gay because he sung the song from the point of view of a gay man. That probably wouldn't be an isssue with most recording artists just because the entertainment industry is probably the largest proponent of gay rights simply by having gay men and women in power positions and in front of the camera. But Bruce is one of the few artists with the exception of maybe John Mellencamp, who potentially could have lost a huge fan base by taking the risk he did. Instead, they stuck with him. And hopefully if they weren't already, a lot of fans opened their eyes and saw gay men and women from a different perspective - one they could identify with. Thanks Bruce.