RIP to “Cock Sucking Tears” Gay Country Legend Patrick Haggerty of Lavender Country

Patrick Haggerty, who led the proudly queer Lavender Country, has died. According to a statement posted to the band’s official social media pages, the 78-year-old activist and musician died on Monday (October 31) after suffering a stroke a few weeks ago. “He was able to spend his final days at home surrounded by his kids and lifelong husband, JB,” the statement reads. At the front of Lavender Country, Haggerty led what is believed to be the first openly gay country country band, recruiting friends around Seattle, Washington to record 1973’s Lavender Country.

With tracks like “Come Out Singing” and “Cryin’ These Cocksucking Tears,” the group defied the stiff conservatism that still restricts country music nearly 50 years later. The album faded into obscurity until a 2014 reissue from the label Paradise of Bachelors, which brought new attention to Haggerty’s groundbreaking work. Haggerty self-released a second Lavender Country album, Blackberry Rose, in 2019, which Don Giovanni Records reissued widely earlier this year.