{"id":5974,"date":"2026-09-29T14:59:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T18:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/?p=5974"},"modified":"2026-09-29T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T19:00:00","slug":"the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rock Frontman Who Inspired Rufus Wainwright\u2019s \u201cTulsa\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright released his fifth album, <em>Release The Stars<\/em>, in 2007. Near the end is a short, fun song called &#8220;Tulsa&#8221;. It was inspired by a short chance encounter with the frontman of one of the biggest bands of the early 2000s\u2014Brandon Flowers of The Killers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Chance Encounter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tulsa\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-7j1-v2xpOI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We were both playing the same night in Tulsa, and after our shows we ended up in the same bar,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/qa-brandon-flowers-84859\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Flowers explained in a Q&amp;A with <em>Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a>. &#8220;We hung out for an hour and a half, tops, and I\u2019m so impressed with how he turned that into a song.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the lyrics to &#8220;Tulsa&#8221; imply something more transpired between them, Wainwright confirmed Flowers&#8217; version of events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I spent one night with him at a bar, swooning over him along with everybody else,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Brandon was being very, very nice to me, because he\u2019s a fan, and I was therefore in the coterie, and together we formed this shield of beauty and brains, and it was all in this tiny bar in Tulsa, which had never seen the likes.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In &#8220;Tulsa,&#8221; Wainwright sings, &#8220;You taste of potato chips in the morning\/Your face has the Marlon Brando club calling.&#8221; He then goes on to describe Flowers&#8217; attire that night and compare him to Jesus. &#8220;<em>Your suit was the whitest thing since you-know-who\/I fear that that savior I mentioned may be you<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flowers disputed the lyrics&#8217; claim he tastes like potato chips. However, he enjoyed being compared to actor Marlon Brando, saying, &#8220;I\u2019ll take that all day.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wainwright has described Flowers as &#8220;so sexy yet so unhappy and also somewhat sane and crazy at the same time.&#8221; He continued to compare him to Brando after the song&#8217;s release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I haven&#8217;t met anyone who quite fits the Brando mold as much as he does immediately,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There&#8217;s this dark, moody, restless, annoyed by compassionate figure that&#8217;s sucking up all the energy out of the room.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flowers has also joked that he might &#8220;owe&#8221; Wainwright a song in return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the two crossed paths again at a music festival in 2007, Flowers was &#8220;very flattered&#8221; and said the two &#8220;had a laugh about it.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Photo by Harold Cunningham\/WireImage<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After they both performed in Tulsa, Rufus Wainwright and a fellow musician crossed paths in a bar, inspiring the song &#8220;Tulsa&#8221;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":547050,"featured_media":5993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":19,"post_id":80}}]},"savage_platform_role_ideator":[],"savage_platform_role_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_senior_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_photographer":[],"savage_platform_role_illustrator":[],"savage_platform_role_translator":[],"savage_platform_role_as-told-to":[],"savage_platform_role_reviewed-by":[],"savage_platform_disable_recirculation":false,"savage_platform_article_type":"news","savage_platform_vice_article_type":"article","savage_platform_article_intent":"","savage_platform_show_affiliate_disclaimer":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"wp_curate_deduplication":false,"wp_curate_unique_pinned_posts":false,"savage_platform_featured_image_caption":"Photo by Harold Cunningham\/WireImage","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"savage_platform_subheadline":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[164,547,548],"byline":[19],"class_list":["post-5974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facts","tag-2000s","tag-rufus-wainwright","tag-singer-songwriter"],"savage_platform_primary_term":{"category":{"term_name":"Facts","term_id":3,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/category\/facts\/"},"post_tag":{"term_name":"2000s","term_id":164,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/tag\/2000s\/"}},"hide_from_homepage":false,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Rock Frontman Who Inspired Rufus Wainwright\u2019s \u201cTulsa\u201d - Songfacts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After they both performed in Tulsa, Rufus Wainwright and a fellow musician crossed paths in a bar, inspiring the song &quot;Tulsa&quot;.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Rock Frontman Who Inspired Rufus Wainwright\u2019s \u201cTulsa\u201d - Songfacts Articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After they both performed in Tulsa, Rufus Wainwright and a fellow musician crossed paths in a bar, inspiring the song &quot;Tulsa&quot;.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Songfacts Articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-29T18:59:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-29T19:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/RufusWainwright.jpg?w=1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Janelle Sheetz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Janelle Sheetz\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\\\/\"},\"author\":[{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/?post_type=profile&#038;p=80\"}],\"headline\":\"The Rock Frontman Who Inspired Rufus Wainwright\u2019s \u201cTulsa\u201d\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-29T18:59:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-29T19:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":396,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/RufusWainwright.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"2000s\",\"Rufus Wainwright\",\"singer-songwriter\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Facts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Rock Frontman Who Inspired Rufus Wainwright\u2019s \u201cTulsa\u201d - Songfacts Articles\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/RufusWainwright.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-29T18:59:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-29T19:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"After they both performed in Tulsa, Rufus Wainwright and a fellow musician crossed paths in a bar, inspiring the song \\\"Tulsa\\\".\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/RufusWainwright.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/RufusWainwright.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Rufus Wainwright during Rufus Wainwright In-Store Performance at Virgin Megastore in London - May 14, 2007 at Virgin Megastore in London, Great Britain. (Photo by Harold Cunningham\\\/WireImage)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Rock Frontman Who Inspired Rufus Wainwright\u2019s \u201cTulsa\u201d\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"Songfacts Articles\",\"description\":\"Better understand and enjoy the songs you love\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Songfacts Articles\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/songfacts-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/songfacts-logo.png\",\"width\":575,\"height\":180,\"caption\":\"Songfacts Articles\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/?post_type=profile&#038;p=80\",\"name\":\"Janelle Sheetz\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/author\\\/janelle-sheetz\\\/\",\"description\":\"For over a decade, Janelle Sheetz has worked extensively as a freelance writer, and her writing about movies, music, and pop culture has been featured across the web, including with Collider, Mental Floss, Paste, and more. She is an elder emo who takes pride in her eclectic taste in music, as well as the extensive [&hellip;]\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_9039.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.songfacts.com\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/IMG_9039.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":500}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Rock Frontman Who Inspired Rufus Wainwright\u2019s \u201cTulsa\u201d - Songfacts Articles","description":"After they both performed in Tulsa, Rufus Wainwright and a fellow musician crossed paths in a bar, inspiring the song \"Tulsa\".","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Rock Frontman Who Inspired Rufus Wainwright\u2019s \u201cTulsa\u201d - Songfacts Articles","og_description":"After they both performed in Tulsa, Rufus Wainwright and a fellow musician crossed paths in a bar, inspiring the song \"Tulsa\".","og_url":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/","og_site_name":"Songfacts Articles","article_published_time":"2026-09-29T18:59:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-29T19:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/RufusWainwright.jpg?w=1200","width":1200,"height":675,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Janelle Sheetz","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Janelle Sheetz","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/"},"author":[{"@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/?post_type=profile&#038;p=80"}],"headline":"The Rock Frontman Who Inspired Rufus Wainwright\u2019s \u201cTulsa\u201d","datePublished":"2026-09-29T18:59:58+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-29T19:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/"},"wordCount":396,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/RufusWainwright.jpg","keywords":["2000s","Rufus Wainwright","singer-songwriter"],"articleSection":["Facts"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/","url":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/","name":"The Rock Frontman Who Inspired Rufus Wainwright\u2019s \u201cTulsa\u201d - Songfacts Articles","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/RufusWainwright.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-29T18:59:58+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-29T19:00:00+00:00","description":"After they both performed in Tulsa, Rufus Wainwright and a fellow musician crossed paths in a bar, inspiring the song \"Tulsa\".","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/RufusWainwright.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/RufusWainwright.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"Rufus Wainwright during Rufus Wainwright In-Store Performance at Virgin Megastore in London - May 14, 2007 at Virgin Megastore in London, Great Britain. (Photo by Harold Cunningham\/WireImage)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Rock Frontman Who Inspired Rufus Wainwright\u2019s \u201cTulsa\u201d"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/","name":"Songfacts Articles","description":"Better understand and enjoy the songs you love","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/#organization","name":"Songfacts Articles","url":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/12\/songfacts-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/12\/songfacts-logo.png","width":575,"height":180,"caption":"Songfacts Articles"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/?post_type=profile&#038;p=80","name":"Janelle Sheetz","url":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/author\/janelle-sheetz\/","description":"For over a decade, Janelle Sheetz has worked extensively as a freelance writer, and her writing about movies, music, and pop culture has been featured across the web, including with Collider, Mental Floss, Paste, and more. She is an elder emo who takes pride in her eclectic taste in music, as well as the extensive [&hellip;]","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/01\/IMG_9039.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/01\/IMG_9039.jpg","width":500,"height":500}}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"The Rock Frontman Who Inspired Rufus Wainwright\u2019s \u201cTulsa\u201d","url":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/RufusWainwright.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/RufusWainwright.jpg"},"articleSection":"Facts","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Janelle Sheetz"}],"creator":["Janelle Sheetz"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Songfacts Articles","logo":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/12\/songfacts-logo.png"},"keywords":["2000s","rufus wainwright","singer-songwriter"],"dateCreated":"2026-09-29T18:59:58Z","datePublished":"2026-09-29T18:59:58Z","dateModified":"2026-09-29T19:00:00Z","custom_metadata":[],"section":"Facts"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"The Rock Frontman Who Inspired Rufus Wainwright\u2019s \u201cTulsa\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-rock-frontman-who-inspired-rufus-wainwrights-tulsa\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/RufusWainwright.jpg?w=150&amp;h=150&amp;crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2026-09-29T18:59:58Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"Facts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"2000s,rufus wainwright,singer-songwriter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Janelle Sheetz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-metadata\" content=\"Array\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/articles.songfacts.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/09\/RufusWainwright.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/547050"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5995,"href":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5974\/revisions\/5995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5974"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=5974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}