American. Valentino's 'I Was Born This Way' b/w 'Liberation' is reported to have been the first openly 'Gay' record ever. The Gaiee label was owned by Bunny Jones, who entered into a licensing agreement with Motown when that company expressed an interest in her single after it had registered promising local sales. Motown issued the single over here on Gaiee, in 1975, with a catalogue number of GA-101; 'Music Week' of the 28th of June reported that the label was intended to provide an outlet 'for product such as the Valentino disc' and that further releases were expected, though none had been scheduled. In the event 'I Was Born This Way' turned out to be Gaiee's only release, as indeed it was in the USA. Pressing and distribution were by EMI, as they were for all Motown group records at the time.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.