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Cidny Bullens | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Cindy Bullens |
| Born | (1955-03-21)March 21, 1955 (age 70) |
| Origin | Massachusetts, United States |
| Genres | Rock,Americana |
| Occupation(s) | Backup vocalist, singer-songwriter, musician |
| Instruments | Piano, guitar |
| Years active | 1970s –present |
| Labels | United Artists,Casablanca,MCA Records,Artemis Records, Blue Lobster Records, Blue Rose Records, MC Records |
| Website | cidnybullens |
Cidny Bullens (formerly known asCindy Bullens; born March 21, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, who is best known for serving asbackup vocalist on tours and albums withElton John andRod Stewart, providing vocals on the soundtrack of the 1978 feature filmGrease, and for nine critically acclaimed solo albums. In 2012, Bullens publiclycame out as atransgender man and changed his name to Cidny Bullens.[1][2]
At the beginning of his music career, Bullens (then Cindy Bullens) was abacking vocalist. In 1974, Bullens performed backing vocals onGene Clark's albumNo Other, andDon Everly's solo albumSunset Towers.[3] In 1975, he was one of the Sex-O-Lettes on the self-titled debut album byDisco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes.[4] Bullens also had featured backing vocals onRod Stewart's 1975 albumAtlantic Crossing.[3] Throughout his career, Bullens made guest appearances as a backing vocalist on multiple albums, such asBryan Adams'You Want It, You Got It, among others.
In the mid-1970s, Bullens nearly appeared onBob Dylan'sRolling Thunder Revue through his connection withBob Neuwirth.[5] Instead, he became known for touring withElton John, as his backing vocalist on three major tours.[6] Bullens featured on John's 1976 albumBlue Moves and on his hit song "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", withKiki Dee (both released in 1976).[7]
For the 1978 feature filmGrease soundtrack, Bullens provided vocals on three songs ("It's Raining on Prom Night", "Mooning", and "Freddy, My Love").[8] The film'ssoundtrack album was nominated for the 1979Grammy Award for Album of the Year.[9]
Bullens' 1978 debut albumDesire Wire, was released onUnited Artists.[6] For the single "Survivor", Bullens earned aGrammy nomination forBest Female Rock Vocal Performance.[9] In January 1980, Bullens entered theBillboard Hot 100 with the song "Trust Me". It peaked at No. 90.[10]
In the following year, Bullens released his second albumSteal the Night, onCasablanca in 1979. The album was co-produced with guitarist Mark Doyle.[11] Bullens performed with a live band, consisting of keyboardist Trantham Whitley, bassist Howard Epstein, drummerThom Mooney, and Doyle.[12] After having creative differences with the record company, Bullens left the label and struggled to re-enter the music business.[5]
Bullens withdrew from the music business in the early 1980s to raise a family. In 1989, Bullens released his self-titled album. He returned in the early 1990s as a songwriter, touring, and recording artist.
In 1999, Bullens' albumSomewhere Between Heaven and Earth, was released onArtemis Records. The album was recorded in the first two years after the death of his daughter Jessie.[5] It featuresBonnie Raitt,Lucinda Williams,Rodney Crowell,Beth Nielsen Chapman, andBryan Adams, with other additional musicians, including George Marinelli,Benmont Tench,Kenny Edwards, andMichael Rhodes.Steven Soles,Tony Berg and Crowell co-produced a range of tracks on the album. It won theAFIM Best Rock Album in 2000.
Since 1999, Bullens has toured extensively all over the US, Canada, Europe and Australia, has appeared on several major TV shows, includingLate Night with Conan O'Brien,Today Show, andCBS This Morning and many radio and TV stations around the world. He is featured in two documentaries,On This Island andSpace Between Breaths (and scored the music). Bullens wrote the music and lyrics for the musicalIslands in 2000, which played onBroadway for a special performance at theNew Victory Theater in September 2001, two weeks after9/11.
In 2001, Bullens releasedNeverland; co-produced withRay Kennedy, the album featuresEmmylou Harris,Steve Earle, andJohn Hiatt. In 2005, he releasedDream Number 29, again co-produced with Ray Kennedy. The title track featuresElton John on piano.Delbert McClinton sings a duet with Bullens on "This Ain't Love" andBoston Red Sox knuckleballerTim Wakefield adds his voice to "7 Days".
In June 2010, Bullens' releasedHowling Trains and Barking Dogs on MC Records (Koch). The CD is a compilation of songs he co-wrote inNashville during the early and mid-1990s withRadney Foster,Bill Lloyd,Al Anderson,Matraca Berg,Mary Ann Kennedy,Kye Fleming, and Jimmy Tittle. The CD also includes two new songs written by him alone.[citation needed]
In 2007, Bullens formed a new group,The Refugees, with music veteransWendy Waldman andDeborah Holland. Their first CD,Unbound, was released in January 2009. Their second album "Three" was released in February 2012.[13]
In August 2020, Bullens released his first album as Cidny,Walkin' Through This World, co-produced by Bullens and Ray Kennedy (Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle,Rodney Crowell). This new album is loosely themed around Cidny's gender transition, featuring the provocative first single "The Gender Line".[5]
Bullens is also the subject of the award-winning documentary shortThe Gender Line (directed byTJ Parsell and produced by Bill Brimm), which played in many film festivals worldwide in 2019–20.
Bullens grew up inMassachusetts. In 1979, Bullens married Dan Crewe, brother of songwriter/producerBob Crewe, and divorced in 2002. Their daughter Reid was born in 1982. In 1996, their younger daughter, Jessie, born in 1985, died at age 11, of complications fromHodgkin lymphoma.
As an artistic outlet for coming out as transgender in 2012,[14] Bullens debuted a "one wo/man show" entitledSomewhere Between – Not an Ordinary Life in February 2016.Nashville Scene voted it to be the "Best One-Person Show of 2016".[15]
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