Archbishop Carl Bean on Faith, Music, and HIV Activism
Carl Bean and Universal Love All We Need Is Love Album Cover (1974)
Archbishop Carl Bean (1944-2021), spiritual leader, HIV activism pioneer, and the voice behind the 1977 version of “I Was Born This Way,” joins host Johnnie Ray Kornegay III for a rare, deeply personal conversation recorded in January 2021. This show features excerpts from the discussion between the two. This conversation is being shared in honor of National Faith HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NFHAAD).
From a Baltimore childhood steeped in “high-church” music and NAACP youth organizing to the artistic whirlwind of 1960s New York, Bean traces the path that shaped his voice and his calling. He shares how gospel great Alex Bradford opened doors, how the creative circle around Vinnette Carroll widened his world, and how hearing Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” pushed him to move to Los Angeles and step beyond Gospel and speak more boldly to the times through music.
Bean reflects on forming the band Universal Love, landing his record deal with ABC Records, and ultimately recording “I Was Born This Way” at Motown, bringing in The Sweet Inspirations and insisting the song premiere at Jewel’s Catch One. He then opens up about the birth of Unity Fellowship and the pastoral work that called him to hospitals and families during the height of the AIDS crisis, and the personal toll it took.
If you care about Black music, queer history, public health, or the power of one voice to move a people, this conversation will stay with you.
Note: This episode includes discussion of AIDS-related loss and grief.
Chapter Markers
00:00 Intro Theme
00:50 Disclaimer About Project and Request from Archbishop Carl Bean
03:28 Archbishop Carl Bean's Early Life and Career Beginnings
07:55 Joining the Bradford Singers and Professional Growth
15:20 Cultural and Creative Influences in New York
19:16 Transition to Solo Career and Personal Reflections
25:04 MidRoll
25:54 Formation of the band Universal Love
30:09 Getting His Record Deal with ABC Records and "All We Need Is Love"
33:58 The Motown Connection
35:04 Recording 'I Was Born This Way'
37:15 "I Was Born This Way" First Performed Live At Jewel's Catch One
38:56 Foundations of Unity Fellowship
42:11 On the AIDS Crisis and Personal Loss
46:28 Spiritual Reflections
50:23 Final Thoughts and Legacy
51:30 Outro Theme
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Johnnie Ray Kornegay III (aka Jay Ray) serves as Deputy Director of Strategy and Impact for The Counter Narrative Project (CNP), an organization committed to countering narratives and speaking truth to power. In addition, he is co-host and producer of the podcast Queue Points, a visual podcast where he and his co-host, DJ Sir Daniel, inform and celebrate Black Music creatives through meaningful dialogue.
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According to the New York Times, I Was Born This Way, released in 1975, is “the first record to feature lyrics about being an out-and-proud gay man.” At face value that statement is significant, but when you look further, it has a much deeper meaning. Here’s the truth: Charles Valentino (then known by the mononym “Valentino”), a Black gay man, sang the first record to feature lyrics about being out and proud. The lyrics were written by Bunny Jones in 1971, a Black woman. CNP plans to honor the legacy of this groundbreaking song in LIBERATION: Remembering I Was Born This Way—a two-part event kicking off in July.