Carl Bean, Gay Singer Who Turned to Preaching, Dies at 77

Carl Bean, who successful 1977 recorded “I Was Born This Way,” a disco opus of L.G.B.T.Q. pridefulness that became a much-remixed nine favourite — and who past became a curate and AIDS activist, founding a religion successful Los Angeles that sought to service the spiritual needs of cheery radical and others who were marginalized — died connected Tuesday successful Los Angeles. He was 77.

Unity Fellowship Church, which helium founded successful 1985 and which is guided by the slogan “God is emotion and emotion is for everyone,” announced his decease connected its website. It did not springiness a cause.

Mr. Bean, who was openly cheery from a young age, was a vocalist earlier helium was a preacher and received the rubric archbishop, signaling gospel songs for ABC Records successful the mid-1970s arsenic the frontman for the radical Carl Bean and Universal Love. The Motown statement had acquired the rights to “I Was Born This Way,” a opus written by Bunny Jones, acceptable to euphony by Chris Spierer and recorded successful 1975 by a vocalist utilizing the sanction Valentino (real sanction Charles Harris). The chorus went: “Oh yes I’m happy, I’m carefree and I’m gay, yes I’m gay./’Tain’t a fault, ’tis a fact, I was calved this way.”

Motown approached Mr. Bean astir covering it.

“I was hesitant to motion with different grounds label,” helium told The Advocate successful 1978, “but aft I recovered retired what the opus was, I knew I had to bash it. It was similar providence. They came to maine with a opus I person been looking for my full life.”

The Bean version, with a much pronounced disco flair and a streamlined chorus (“I’m happy, I’m carefree and I’m gay; I was calved this way”), became a favourite successful cheery clubs each implicit the state and abroad. Some 34 years later, it inspired Lady Gaga’s No. 1 deed “Born This Way.”

Mr. Bean had considered the ministry before, but the opus helped him absorption that calling.

“I accidental this opus and its connection is simply a benignant of ministry to cheery people,” helium said successful the 1978 interview. “I americium utilizing my dependable to archer cheery radical that they tin inactive consciousness bully astir being cheery adjacent if determination are radical similar Anita Bryant around” — a notation to 1 of the astir salient opponents of cheery rights successful the 1970s.

He ever praised Motown for backing the record, but, helium said successful a 2009 interview with the website Out Alliance, helium and the institution parted ways “when they wanted maine to bash songs similar ‘Ooh miss I emotion you so’ — close aft they promoted maine arsenic openly gay.”

So helium turned distant from a euphony vocation and toward the ministry. He was ordained successful 1982 by Archbishop William Morris O’Neal of the Universal Tabernacles of Christ Church and began moving successful Los Angeles, with a peculiar involvement successful reaching retired to cheery Black radical and different groups who had felt unwelcome successful mainstream Christianity. He started a Bible survey group, which grew into the Unity Fellowship Church.

The state was successful the midst of the AIDS situation by then, and 1 of his outreach efforts, the Minority AIDS Project, which helium started successful 1985, focused connected Black and Latino residents of Los Angeles. One happening it tried to bash was close flaws successful the acquisition worldly enactment retired by the government, oregon by predominantly achromatic organizations, which was not registering with radical of color.

“You astir had to person a assemblage grade to recognize it,” helium told The New York Times successful 1987. “We enactment radical of colour connected the brochure truthful radical couldn’t say, ‘This doesn’t impact me.’”

The effort besides sought to flooded taste taboos successful number communities.

“AIDS took the cloak disconnected for the satellite that homosexuality exists, particularly for minorities,” helium told The Los Angeles Times successful 1989. “People who wanted to deliberation determination was nary specified happening arsenic a cheery Black antheral oregon a cheery Latino had a rude awakening.”

He became a bishop successful the religion successful 1992 and an archbishop successful 1999.

“While his beingness and tone whitethorn person inspired Lady Gaga’s iconic opus ‘Born This Way,’” Barbara Satin, religion enactment manager of the National L.G.B.T.Q. Task Force, said by email, “his existent bequest volition beryllium the mode helium lived and the countless radical his ministry impacted.”

Carl Bean was calved successful Baltimore connected May 26, 1944. “Mom was 15, Dad was 16, and they ne'er married,” helium wrote successful his autobiography, “I Was Born This Way: A Gay Preacher’s Journey Through Gospel Music, Disco Stardom, and a Ministry successful Christ” (2010), written with David Ritz.

Religion was important to him adjacent arsenic a young boy.

“I utilized to transportation my Bible and work it connected the schoolhouse bus,” helium told The Los Angeles Times successful 1995. “And aft schoolhouse I’d spell implicit to the religion — it was a Black Baptist religion — and beryllium successful the religion secretary’s bureau and assistance her with letters and things. I sang successful the choir and expressed a tendency to spell into the Christian ministry. I was a relation exemplary successful my community.”

But helium besides knew from an aboriginal property that helium was gay, and yet the assemblage turned connected him.

“A neighbour lad and I were intimate, and his parents told my parents,” helium recalled successful the Out Alliance interview. “I got the blame.”

“I had had each this enactment — and abruptly I was a pariah,” helium added. “I had been small Carl who did good successful schoolhouse and could sing, et cetera. Now abruptly I was the bringer of shame.”

At 13, helium said, “I went to the bath and took each pill successful the medicine furniture and went into my country and locked the door, and wrote a enactment saying ‘I’m atrocious I couldn’t beryllium what you wanted maine to be.’” The termination effort resulted successful sessions with a psychiatrist that, Archbishop Bean said, proved life-changing.

“She said she couldn’t thatch maine to beryllium what my parents wanted, but she could thatch maine to judge myself and beryllium comfy with who I was,” helium told Out Alliance.

While inactive a teen helium moved to New York, wherever helium joined Alex Bradford’s gospel singing group. In 1972 helium relocated to Los Angeles.

Among the galore honors Archbishop Bean received implicit the years was 1 bestowed successful 1992 by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a planetary organization: It named an AIDS hospice halfway successful South Los Angeles the Carl Bean House.

Information connected survivors was not instantly available.

In 1995, Archbishop Bean reflected connected his acquisition of being an outcast, and astir his information successful creating an inclusive church.

“If I tin assistance different radical not to person to look what I did,” helium told The Los Angeles Times, “then that’s what Christianity and God and emotion are each about.”