Cidny Bullens

Few artists have had a more impressive résumé without becoming a breakout star than Cidny Bullens, but more than a few rock & roll icons have recognized his talent. Bullens sang backup for Elton John, Rod Stewart, and Bob Dylan, penned songs for the Chicks, Radney Foster, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and appeared on three tracks of the soundtrack to the smash movie Grease. As a solo artist, Bullens bridged the gap between radio-friendly pop and rowdy rock on the 1978 cult favorite Desire Wire, and pumped up his rock moves and electric guitar work on 1979's Steal the Night. He showed off a more personal and introspective side with a bluesy accent on later solo works like 1999's Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth (which included guest spots from Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, and Rodney Crowell) and 2005's Dream #29, then took a step toward reinvention with 2023's Little Pieces. Cidny Bullens was born on March 21, 1950, and grew up in Massachusetts with a love of music, especially blues and rock & roll, and in the early '70s, he moved to Los Angeles with hopes of breaking into the music business. Bullens landed a job as an assistant to Bob Crewe, the songwriter and producer behind Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' biggest hits. Through Crewe, Bullens made some important contacts in the music biz and was soon landing gigs as a backing vocalist, appearing on Gene Clark's classic No Other, Don Everly's Sunset Towers (both 1974), and the cult favorite Get Dancin' by Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes in 1975. (Bullens would also meet and marry Crewe's brother, Dan Crewe.) Bullens became friends with songwriter Bob Neuwirth, a longtime confidante of Bob Dylan, and he arranged for Bullens to sing backup on some of the early club shows that would become Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour. Around the same time, Bullens snuck into a party where he met Elton John, who was looking for backing singers for an upcoming tour. Having to choose between touring with Dylan and Elton, Bullens chose Elton, and for several years he was a fixture in Elton's road band; he also contributed vocals to the 1976 album Blue Moves and Elton's hit duet with Kiki Dee, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." Bullens' work with Elton John led to employment with other artists of note including Rod Stewart, Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys, blues artist Rory Block, and T-Bone Burnett's group the Alpha Band. In 1978, he landed one of his most high-profile assignments, singing lead on three songs for the hit musical film Grease, which also appeared on the multi-platinum soundtrack album. Bullens was offered a deal as a solo artist with United Artists Records, and his debut, Desire Wire, was released in 1979. The album received enthusiastic reviews and the single "Survivor" charted in the mid-50s of the Top 200 singles chart. However, it was released as the label was experiencing serious financial problems, and United Artists went under just months after it was released, leaving the artist high and dry. Bullens signed with Casablanca Records for 1979's Steal the Night, but the label wasn't thrilled with his defiant image, hoping for a more saleable pop sound, and the album's minimal promotion led to disappointing sales. Bullens would next focus on studio work, occasional gigs as a backing vocalist (including a brief association with Meat Loaf) and a budding career as a songwriter (connecting in particular with country acts like the Chicks and Radney Foster) before cutting a third, self-titled solo effort for MCA in 1989. During his decade away from the studio, Bullens and spouse Dan Crewe raised a family, and after the Cindy Bullens album, he was largely ignored in the marketplace. He retreated from public appearances to stay home and raise their children in Maine. It was a tragic event involving one of his children that led Bullens back into the studio: daughter Jessie was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s disease and died in 1996 at the age of 11. Bullens worked through his grief by writing songs, and the tunes formed the 1999 album Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth, a passionate and rootsy set which included appearances from many of his talented friends, including Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, Bryan Adams, Beth Nielsen Chapman, and Rodney Crowell; the latter co-produced the LP. Released by Artemis Records, Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth made the charts and sold respectably, leading to a second album for the label, 2001's Neverland, which included appearances by Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, and John Hiatt. Artemis was experiencing financial difficulties by the time Bullens completed his next album, and 2005's impassioned and bluesy Dream #29 was issued by the indie imprint Blue Lobster; Elton John and Delbert McClinton both made cameo appearances on the disc. Bullens joined forces with fellow singers and songwriters Wendy Waldman and Deborah Holland to form the trio the Refugees. The group's first album, Unbound, appeared in 2009, a second full-length LP, Three, came out in 2012 and an EP, How Far It Goes, arrived in 2019. After the release of 2010's Howling Trains and Barking Dogs (a collection of songs he co-wrote as a contract songwriter in Nashville), Bullens transitioned into a man in 2012. After dropping out of music for several years, he re-emerged in 2016 as a performer, using his experiences as the basis of what he called a "one wo/man show," Somewhere Between – Not an Ordinary Life. The show, first staged in Nashville, was a success, and Bullens toured with the production across the United States. He also became a noted speaker and activist for transgender issues and LGBTQIA advocacy. A short documentary about him, The Gender Line, was screened at film festivals in 2019 and 2020, and 2020 also brought a new album, the self-released Walkin' Through This World, which featured several songs addressing his experiences as a trans person. In June 2023, Bullens published an autobiography, TransElectric: My Life as a Cosmic Rock Star, which featured an introduction from old friend Elton John. Bullens signed a new record deal with Kill Rock Stars, and in October 2023, KRS released the album Little Pieces, a revised version of Walkin' Through This World that included the track "Not with You," a duet with Beth Nielsen Chapman, who co-wrote the tune with Bullens.
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