One thing I love about new music is all of the connections to what’s come before. With today’s release of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” there’s a ton of talk around its Madonna-ish sounds, but as Larry Flick, who expertly guided Billboard’s dance music coverage for years and now hosts “The Morning Jolt” on Sirius XM, tweeted today, “[“Born This Way”] is rife with references to Megatone Records, Sylvester, Patrick Cowley, the SF hi-NRG sound that Madonna, herself, ripped… Pop music did not begin with Madonna.”

In today’s earlier post about the premiere of Gaga’s “Born This Way,” I gave a quick parenthetical shout-out to Bunny Jones. In the early 1970s, Jones, then the straight owner of several Harlem beauty salons, decided to tackle the suppression of gay people head-on, writing a song through the lens of self-acceptance. Set to music by Chris Spierer (also heterosexual), the out-and-proud “I Was Born This Way” was recorded by Charles “Valentino” Harris in 1975, and became a #1 hit in the UK, and garnered some attention in stateside discos.

< Taking note of the single’s success, Motown’s Berry Gordy bought distribution rights from Jones, who’d already sold 15,000 copies through her own label, Gaiee. But Motown didn’t give Valentino’s “I Was Born This Way” much promotion, and so the song didn’t exactly become a national gay anthem. In 1978, however, the label made a second, concerted effort with the song. Two years later, at Jones’ suggestion, former gospel artist Carl Bean recorded the song with a more overtly disco arrangement, a version that reached #15 on the Billboard dance chart in early 1978.

Purchase Carl Bean – “I Was Born This Way” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.

Fast forward to 1990, and the release of Dusty Springfield’s Reputation. “What Have I Done To Deserve This?,” the blue-eyed soul singer’s 1987 #2 duet with Pet Shop Boys, had revived Springfield’s career, and smack in the middle of her comeback album was a song titled, yep, “Born This Way.”

Penned by Geoffrey Williams and Simon Stirling, their “love yourself” song is less direct than the tune that Bunny Jones and Chris Spierer wrote — the word “gay” isn’t in the lyrics — but there’s really no mistaking what this “Born This Way” is all about. The admittedly bisexual Springfield, who had several relationships with women, doesn’t shy away from singing about a “love that’s unspoken.”

Though I’ve owned Reputation for years because of its Pet Shop Boys associations (Neil and Chris wrote and produced five tracks), I don’t remember paying attention to “Born This Way” until today. Produced by the late Dan Hartman, the track kicks off sounding like a disco throwback — his knowing nod to the earlier “I Was Born This Way”? — before seguing into synthy gospel. I’m surprised at how well Springfield’s recording holds up, production-wise:

Purchase Dusty Springfield – “Born This Way” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.

While Pet Shop Boys didn’t have anything to do with Dusty’s “Born This Way,” in a fitting turn of events, Chris Lowe did include Carl Bean’s “I Was Born This Way” on his half of the duo’s 2005 compilation for the Back To Mine series. Pet Shop Boys have something of a mutual admiration society going with Lady Gaga, having remixed one of her songs, while she stepped in for the departed Springfield when Neil and Chris were honored at the 2009 BRIT Awards.

On one hand, it’s cool to have this still-minuscule bit of background revealed as a result of Lady Gaga releasing her own “Born This Way” today. But even this brief examination reveals a disheartening reality: The movement for GLBT acceptance today isn’t all that separated from the struggles that generations before us also faced. Unfortunately, change is often incremental and frustratingly glacier-paced. While there’s been much forward movement, the march goes on, this time with Lady Gaga leading the musical way with an even bigger beat.