Patrick Haggerty — the American artist known best as the lead singer and guitarist of Lavender Country — has died. In a statement shared via the band's social media channels, Lavender Country confirmed Haggerty passed away this morning "after suffering a stroke several weeks ago." He was 78.
"This morning, we lost a great soul. RIP Patrick Haggerty," the statement reads. "After suffering a stroke several weeks ago, he was able to spend his final days at home surrounded by his kids and lifelong husband, JB. Love, and solidarity."
Though the decision was not attributed to Haggerty's health, Lavender Country announced late last month that a series of early October tour dates in the United States had been cancelled.
Lavender Country's 1973 self-titled debut — which included songs titled "Come Out Singing," "Back In the Closet Again" and "Cryin' These Cocksucking Tears" — is considered the first gay-themed album in country music history.
The 10-song private press LP was funded and released in an edition of 1000 copies by the Gay Community Social Services of Seattle, and found a wider listenership upon its reissue in 2014 via Chapel Hill, NC, label Paradise of Bachelors.
Label co-founder Brendan Greaves wrote of Haggerty in tribute, "He was more than a hero; he was also a friend, mentor, comrade, and fatherly figure for us and our families. He was hilarious too; it was always an adventure spending time with him."
In 2019, Haggerty self-released follow-up Blackberry Rose and Other Songs and Sorrows, which was given a wider issue as Blackberry Rose by Don Giovanni Records earlier this year, marking Lavender Country's first new album in 40 years.
Words of tribute from Don Giovanni Records called Haggerty "one of the funniest, kindest, bravest, and smartest people I ever met. He never gave up fighting for what he believed in, and those around him who he loved and took care of will continue that fight."
Born September 27, 1944, Haggerty was raised on a dairy farm near Port Angeles, WA, as the sixth of 10 children. The artist has spoken of how his parents were accepting of his sexuality, and in 2015, had a formative moment with his father illustrated by StoryCorps.
Upon completing college, Haggerty joined the Peace Corps, only to be discharged for being gay in 1966. The Stonewall uprising of 1969 led him to come out that year, and become a gay rights activist with the Gay Liberation Front while attending graduate school at the University of Washington in Seattle.
"There was hope and there was fear," Haggerty told Journal of Country Music writer Chris Dickinson of the time period in 2000. "Fear that there would be reprisals, that we would be beaten up, that we'd be totally isolated from mainstream culture, that even the left wouldn't take us in ... But we had to get radical. To do what we were doing was radical — we jumped from our plans and aspirations for careers and threw it all away, cast our fate to the wind and came out publicly as homosexuals, to be branded forever more. I had a masters in social work, and I didn't know if I'd ever be able to work in that field again. The first ten years were tough, very discriminatory."
Haggerty would form the first incarnation of Lavender Country in 1972, joined by gay activists, keyboardist Michael Carr and vocalist-fiddler Eve Morris, and straight member, guitarist Robert Hammerstrom. After releasing their aforementioned debut in 1973, the band would remain together until 1976.
"We were full of ideas about psychology and oppression," Haggerty shared with the Journal of Country Music in 2000. "The content of the album is pretty socio-political. Those songs are about the things that were on our mind. The songs are about sexual alienation, which was a big problem with gay men. They're about liberation and radical reform."
In 2020, Trixie Mattel covered Lavender Country's "I Can't Shake the Stranger Out of You" as "Stranger" on her album Barbara, featuring Haggerty.
"This morning, we lost a great soul. RIP Patrick Haggerty," the statement reads. "After suffering a stroke several weeks ago, he was able to spend his final days at home surrounded by his kids and lifelong husband, JB. Love, and solidarity."
Though the decision was not attributed to Haggerty's health, Lavender Country announced late last month that a series of early October tour dates in the United States had been cancelled.
Lavender Country's 1973 self-titled debut — which included songs titled "Come Out Singing," "Back In the Closet Again" and "Cryin' These Cocksucking Tears" — is considered the first gay-themed album in country music history.
The 10-song private press LP was funded and released in an edition of 1000 copies by the Gay Community Social Services of Seattle, and found a wider listenership upon its reissue in 2014 via Chapel Hill, NC, label Paradise of Bachelors.
Label co-founder Brendan Greaves wrote of Haggerty in tribute, "He was more than a hero; he was also a friend, mentor, comrade, and fatherly figure for us and our families. He was hilarious too; it was always an adventure spending time with him."
In 2019, Haggerty self-released follow-up Blackberry Rose and Other Songs and Sorrows, which was given a wider issue as Blackberry Rose by Don Giovanni Records earlier this year, marking Lavender Country's first new album in 40 years.
Words of tribute from Don Giovanni Records called Haggerty "one of the funniest, kindest, bravest, and smartest people I ever met. He never gave up fighting for what he believed in, and those around him who he loved and took care of will continue that fight."
Born September 27, 1944, Haggerty was raised on a dairy farm near Port Angeles, WA, as the sixth of 10 children. The artist has spoken of how his parents were accepting of his sexuality, and in 2015, had a formative moment with his father illustrated by StoryCorps.
Upon completing college, Haggerty joined the Peace Corps, only to be discharged for being gay in 1966. The Stonewall uprising of 1969 led him to come out that year, and become a gay rights activist with the Gay Liberation Front while attending graduate school at the University of Washington in Seattle.
"There was hope and there was fear," Haggerty told Journal of Country Music writer Chris Dickinson of the time period in 2000. "Fear that there would be reprisals, that we would be beaten up, that we'd be totally isolated from mainstream culture, that even the left wouldn't take us in ... But we had to get radical. To do what we were doing was radical — we jumped from our plans and aspirations for careers and threw it all away, cast our fate to the wind and came out publicly as homosexuals, to be branded forever more. I had a masters in social work, and I didn't know if I'd ever be able to work in that field again. The first ten years were tough, very discriminatory."
Haggerty would form the first incarnation of Lavender Country in 1972, joined by gay activists, keyboardist Michael Carr and vocalist-fiddler Eve Morris, and straight member, guitarist Robert Hammerstrom. After releasing their aforementioned debut in 1973, the band would remain together until 1976.
"We were full of ideas about psychology and oppression," Haggerty shared with the Journal of Country Music in 2000. "The content of the album is pretty socio-political. Those songs are about the things that were on our mind. The songs are about sexual alienation, which was a big problem with gay men. They're about liberation and radical reform."
In 2020, Trixie Mattel covered Lavender Country's "I Can't Shake the Stranger Out of You" as "Stranger" on her album Barbara, featuring Haggerty.
