Editing Michael Callen (section)

== Performance career ==
Michael Callen briefly was the lead of the a cappella group Mike & the Headsets. In 1982, Callen, along with Janet Cleary, Pamela Brandt, and Richard Dworkin formed a queer rock-and-roll band called Low Life. After Low Life disbanded, Callen's solo album ''Purple Heart'' was released and quickly acclaimed as a staple of gay men's music.

He was a founding member of the gay male [[a cappella]] singing group [[The Flirtations (group)|The Flirtations]], with whom he recorded two albums. He also had a solo album, ''Purple Heart'', which a review in ''[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]'' called "the most remarkable gay independent release of the past decade." Callen recorded two albums with The Flirtations, as well as a double disc album, ''Legacy'', which was released by Significant Other Records in 1996 after Callen's death.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jones|first=Matthew|date=November 2016|title="Enough of Being Basely Tearful": "Glitter and Be Gay" and the Camp Politics of Queer Resistance|journal=Journal of the Society for American Music|volume=10|issue=4|pages=422–445|id={{ProQuest|1862305966}}|doi=10.1017/S1752196316000341|s2cid=157497540 }}</ref>

Additionally, Callen made cameo appearances in the films ''[[Philadelphia (film)|Philadelphia]]'' (1993) and ''[[Zero Patience]]'' (1993), in which he famously performed a song in falsetto as the fictitious "Miss HIV".<ref name=":02" />

In partnership with [[Academy Award|Oscar]] winner [[Peter Allen (musician)|Peter Allen]] and Marsha Melamet, Callen wrote his most famous song, "Love Don't Need a Reason", commissioned by Larry Kramer for his play, ''The Normal Heart.'' The song was introduced at a 1986 AIDS Walk and was performed frequently at [[gay pride]] and AIDS-related events around the country. The song has been covered by numerous gay men's choirs as well as the Peter Allen Broadway musical ''The Boy From Oz'' (1998).<ref name=":02" />