Gay History Timeline: 1979
Jan 1, 1979 - Ethel Merman's infamous disco album is released two weeks shy of her 71st birthday. It was the craziest thing she'd done since her marriage of one month to Ernest Borgnine in 1964.
Jan 6, 1979 - The Village People perform YMCA on American Bandstand.
Feb 3, 1979 - The Village People's YMCA peaks at #2 on Billboard's Hot 100.
March 4, 1979 - Gloria Gaynor's gay anthem I Will Survive tops the Billboard Hot 100.
March 24, 1979 - Sister Sledge has the new #1 dance record on Billboard's dance chart with He's the Greatest Dancer.
March 26 - Donna Summer appears on the cover of Newsweek for its cover story titled 'Disco Takes Over'.
April 7, 1979 - Electronic music producer Gino Soccio has his first chart topper on Billboard's dance chart with Dancer. It stays at the top of the chart for six weeks.
April 12, 1979 - The Village People appear on the cover of this week's issue of Rolling Stone.
April 15, 1979 - The Liberace Museum opens in Las Vegas.
April 16, 1979 - "How Gay is Gay?" is the cover story of this week's TIME Magazine.
May 19, 1979 - The Village People's In the Navy peaks at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
May 20, 1979 - David Gloss of San Francisco wins the first International Mr. Leather competition in Chicago.
May 21, 1979 - The "White Night" riots break out in San Francisco in response to the light sentence given to Dan White, convicted murderer of Harvey Milk and SF mayor George Moscone.
June 24-25, 1979 - The Village People perform at Madison Square Garden.
July 6, 1979 - Sydney, Australia holds its first Gay Mardis Gras.
Sept 4, 1979 - Liza plays Carnegie Hall for the first time.
Sept 17, 1979 - The newly formed New York City Gay Men's Chorus holds its first auditions.
Sept 25, 1979 - Evita opens on Broadway and makes Patti LuPone a star.
Oct 14, 1979 - The first National March on Washington for Gay & Lesbian Rights is held.
Oct 29, 1979 - Fire Island Pines' beloved disco, the Sandpiper, closes its doors after tonight's Halloween party.
Nov 9, 1979 - Bette Midler's first movie, The Rose, opens in theaters and leads to a Best Actress Oscar nomination for the Divine Miss M.
Dec 2, 1979 - The grim WWII drama Bent opens on Broadway, starring 30-year-old Richard Gere.
Dec 6, 1979 - The gay dance club Heaven opens in London.
Dec 20, 1979 - Angela Lansbury appears on the cover of January's issue of After Dark.
(To read about gay milestones from other years, double click here.)
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