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Biography
BLP sources|date=August 2009Infobox musical artist|name = Gloria Gaynor|background = solo_singer|image = Gloria Gaynor 2003.jpg|image_size = 202|caption = Gaynor performing in 2003|alias = Queen of Disco|Born = birth date and age|1948|09|7 Newark, New Jersey|Newark , New Jersey |origin =United States of America|genre = Dance-pop , disco , R& B |occupation = Singer-songwriter , actress|years_active = 1965–present|instrument = Vocals|label = MGM (1965–76) Polydor Records|Polydor (1976–83) Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis (1984–85) Stylus Records|Stylus (1986–88) Hot Productions (1996–97) Logic Records|Logic (2000–04) Radikal Records|Radikal (2005–Present)|associated_acts = Soul Satisfiers, Marvin Gaye , Luther Vandross |website = http://www.gloriagaynor.com/ www.gloriagaynor.com Gloria Gaynor (born Gloria Fowles ; September 7, 1948) is an American singer , best known for the disco era hits; " I Will Survive " ( Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100 number 1, 1979), " Never Can Say Goodbye " (Hot 100 number 9, 1974), "Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (Hot 100 number 42, 1980) and " I Am What I Am (Broadway musical song)|I Am What I Am " (R& B number 82, 1983).
Early career
Gaynor was a singer with the Soul Satisfiers, a jazz / pop music|pop band, in the 1960s. Her first solo single was "She'll Be Sorry/Let Me Go Baby" (1965).
Her first real success came in 1975 with the release of her album Never Can Say Goodbye (Gloria Gaynor album)|Never Can Say Goodbye , which established her as a disco artist. The first side of this album consisted of three disco songs ("Honey Bee", "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Reach Out, I'll Be There"), with no breaks in between the songs. This 19-minute dance marathon proved to be enormously popular, especially at dance clubs. All three songs were released as singles via radio edits, and all of them became hits. The album was instrumental in introducing disco music to the public, "Never Can Say Goodbye" becoming the first song to top Billboard (magazine)|Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Music/Club Play|dance chart . Capitalizing on the success of her first album, Gloria Gaynor quickly released her second album, Experience Gloria Gaynor , later that same year. While this album was also successful, it was not quite as popular as her previous album in the mainstream.
Some of her lesser-known singles, due to lack of recurrent airplay & mdash; including "Honey Bee" (1974), "Casanova Brown" (1975), and "Let's Make A Deal" (1976) & mdash; became hits in the clubs and reached the Top 5 on Billboard magazine| Billboard 's disco charts. After her 1976 album, '' I've Got You '', Gaynor shifted from her hit production team, to work with other productions. While it seemed like a good move, her subsequent producers did not seem to match Gaynor's vocal approach and style as well.
Major mainstream breakthrough
In the next few years, Gloria Gaynor released the albums Glorious (Gloria Gaynor album)|Glorious and Park Avenue Sound , but would only enjoy a few moderate hits. However, in late 1978, with the release of her album Love Tracks (Gloria Gaynor album)|Love Tracks , she climbed the pop charts again because of her song " I Will Survive ". The lyrics of this song are written from the point of view of a woman, recently dumped, telling her former lover that she can cope without him and does not want anything more to do with him. The song has become something of an anthem of female Emancipation of women|emancipation , and is still a staple of office parties and karaoke nights.
Interestingly, " I Will Survive " was originally the B-side when Polydor Records released it in late 1978. The A-side, a song called "Substitute", then a recent worldwide hit for South African girl-group Clout , was considered more "radio friendly". Boston Disco Radio DJ Jack King turned the record over and recalls being stunned by what he heard. "I couldn't believe they were burying this monster hit on the B-side", says King. "I played it and played it and my listeners went nuts." This massive audience response forced the record company to flip the songs, so that subsequent copies of the single listed the more popular song on the A-side. King was honored at New York's "Disco Masters Awards Show" for 3 consecutive years (1979–1981) in recognition of his relentless push of the song. The song was awarded the only Grammy Award ever for Best Disco Recording in 1980.
As a disco number, the song was unique for its time by virtue of Gaynor's having no background singers. And, unlike her first disco hits, the track was not pitched up to make it faster and to render Gaynor's recorded voice in a higher register than that in which she actually sang. Most disco hits at the time were heavily produced, with multiple voices, overdubs, and adjustments to pitch and speed. "I Will Survive" had a much more spare and "clean" sound. Had it been originally planned and released as an A-side, it would almost certainly have undergone a substantially more heavy-handed remix. In late 1979, she released the album I Have a Right which contained her next disco hit, "Let Me Know (I Have a Right)", which featured Doc Severinsen of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson|The Tonight Show fame, on trumpet solo. Gaynor also recorded a disco song called "Love Is Just a Heartbeat Away" in 1979 for the vampire movie Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula which featured a number of disco songs.
Stateside career
In 1980 and again in 1981, Gaynor released two disco albums which were virtually ignored in the United States due to the backlash against disco, which began late in 1979. The album's singles barely registered on Urban contemporary radio, where disco music remained popular. In 1982, having looked into a wide variety of faiths and religious movements,cite news| last = Daneff | first = Tiffany| title = The Arts: The new gospel according to Gloria She survives, and prospers, but the queen of the disco has done with clubbing, writes Tiffany Daneff | work = The Daily Telegraph | date = July 17, 1993 cite news| last = Quigley | first = Elizabeth | title = Disco's born survivor | work = The Scotsman | date = April 9, 1996 she became a Christian and began to distance herself from a past she considered to be sin ful. She would not release an album in 1982. In 1983, she released an album entitled Gloria Gaynor (Gloria Gaynor album)|Gloria Gaynor , in which she rejected disco for mid-tempo R& B and Pop style songs. The album contained a patriotic song called "America" as well as a new version of "I Will Survive". In this new version of "I Will Survive", she changed the lyrics of the song in order to advertise her new conversion to Christianity . The words "It took all the strength I had not to fall apart" were changed to "Only the Lord could give me strength not to fall apart". The album was not a success in the Pop, Dance or Urban markets. This move proved to be a turn off to all other than her devoted fans.
Gaynor would achieve her final success in the '80s with the release of her album I Am Gloria Gaynor in 1984. This was mainly due to the song " I Am What I Am (Broadway musical song)|I Am What I Am ", which became a hit at dance clubs, and then on the Club Play chart in late 1983/early 1984. "I Am What I Am" made Gaynor a gay icon . However, her career went into sharp decline following this hit. She mainly made her living outside of the US where there was never any disco backlash. Her 1986 album, The Power of Gloria Gaynor , was almost entirely composed of cover versions of other songs that were popular at the time. The album was ignored, becoming a commercial failure.
Career revival
Gaynor began to revive her career worldwide with the revival of disco beginning in the early to mid-1990s.
During the late 1990s, she dabbled in acting for a while, guest starring on The Wayans Bros , '' That '70s Show , and Ally McBeal '' before doing a limited engagement performance in Broadway theatre|Broadway's '' Smokey Joe's Cafe .
In 2001 she sung "I Will Survive" in the 30th Anniversary Concert for Michael Jackson .
She returned to the recording studio in 2002, releasing her first album in over 15 years, entitled, I Wish You Love . The two singles released from the album, "Just Keep Thinking About You" and "I Never Knew", both topped Billboard 's Hot Dance Music/Club Play . Both singles also secured moderate to heavy Dance format radio airplay. The latter song also charted #30 on Billboard s Adult Contemporary chart.
After almost 30 years of its release, Gaynor continues to ride the success of "I Will Survive", touring the country and the world over and performing her signature song on dozens of TV shows. A few successful remixes of the song during the 1990s and 2000s along with new versions of the song by Lonnie Gordon , Diana Ross , Chantay Savage , rock group Cake (band)|Cake and others as well as constant recurrent airplay on nearly all Soft AC and Rhythmic format radio stations have helped to keep the song in the mainstream.
On September 19, 2005, Gaynor was honored twice when she and her music were inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame . She was inducted in the Artist Inductees category along with fellow disco legends Chic (band)|Chic and the late Sylvester (singer)|Sylvester . Her classic anthem "I Will Survive" was inducted under the Records Inductees category.
In 2004, Gaynor re-released her 1997 album The Answer (Gloria Gaynor album)|The Answer (also released under the title What a Life ) as a follow up to her successful album I Wish You Love (Gloria Gaynor album)|I Wish You Love . The album includes her popular club hit "Oh, What a Life".
In January 2008, The American Diabetes Association named Gaynor the Honorary Spokesperson of the 2008 NYC Step Out To Fight Diabetes Walk. http://stepout.diabetes.org/site/TR/StepOut/StepOut080058010? pg=entry& fr_id=5415 Stepout.diabetes.org
In 2009, she appeared on The John Kerwin Show , The Wendy Williams Show , and The View (U.S. TV series)|The View to promote the 30th anniversary of "I Will Survive". http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=y6t5LV-1rMo
In 2010, she appeared on Last Comic Standing and The Tonight Show .
On December 5, 2010 Gloria went to Ecuador and sang her biggest hits in Teleton Ecuador.
She and her husband have been residents of Cliffside Park, New Jersey . http://www.roadandtravel.com/celebrities/gloriagaynor.html Gloria Gaynor: She Has Survived, Road & Travel Magazine . Accessed March 22, 2011. "Gaynor, who won’t divulge her age (“Just as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth,” is all she’ll say) and lives in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, with her manager/husband of 20 years, Linwood Simon, always knew she’d be a singer."
Discography
Albums
1975: Never Can Say Goodbye (Gloria Gaynor album)|Never Can Say Goodbye ( MGM Records|MGM ) - US Pop #25, US R& B #21
1975: Experience Gloria Gaynor (MGM) - US Pop #64, US R& B #32
1976: '' I've Got You ( Polydor Records|Polydor ) - US Pop #107, US R& B #40
1977: Glorious (Gloria Gaynor album)|Glorious (Polydor) - US Pop #183
1978: Park Avenue Sound (Polydor)
1978: Love Tracks (Gloria Gaynor album)|Love Tracks (Polydor) - US Pop #4, US R& B #4
1979: I Have a Right (Polydor) - US Pop #58, US R& B #56
1980: Stories (Gloria Gaynor album)|Stories - US Pop #178
1981: I Kinda Like Me (Polydor) -US Pop #206
1982: Gloria Gaynor (album)|Gloria Gaynor (Ecstacy) - US Pop #210
1983: I Am Gloria Gaynor ( Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis )
1986: The Power of Gloria Gaynor (Stylus)
1990: '' Gloria Gaynor '90
1992: Love Affair (Gloria Gaynor album)|Love Affair
1995: '' I'll Be There (album)|I'll Be There (Radikal)
1997: The Answer (Gloria Gaynor album)|The Answer (Florical)
2002: I Wish You Love (Gloria Gaynor album)|I Wish You Love (Bell)
2005: Live& #33; At John J. Burns Town Park (Instant Live)
2007: Christmas Presence (Glolo)
Compilations
1977 - The Best of Gloria Gaynor
1982 - Greatest Hits
1994 - Reach Out
1995 - ''I'll Be There
1996 - The Collection
1998 - I Will Survive: The Anthology
1998 - The Gloria Gaynor Album
2000 - 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Gloria Gaynor
2001 - Ten Best: The Millennium Versions
2002 - I Will Survive
2006 - All The Hits Remixed
Singles
Expand section|album titles|date=August 2009
Year
Single
Peak chart positions
US
US R& B
US Dance
US AC
UK cite book
1974
"Honey Bee"
-
55
-
-
-
" Never Can Say Goodbye "
9
34
1
-
2
1975
" Reach Out I'll Be There "
60
-
-
-
14
"Real Good People"
-
-
6
-
-
" Walk On By (Burt Bacharach and Hal David song)
98
-
8
-
-
" All I Need Is Your Sweet Lovin' "
-
-
-
-
44
"Casanova Brown"
-
-
1
-
-
"(If You Want It) Do It Yourself"
98
24
-
-
-
"How High the Moon"
75
73
-
-
33
1976
"Let's Make a Deal"
-
95
-
-
-
1978
" I Will Survive "
1
4
1
-
1
" Substitute (Righteous Brothers song)
107
78
-
-
-
1979
"Anybody Want to Party"
-
16
-
-
-
"Let Me Know (I Have a Right)"
42
-
-
-
32
1980
"Tonight"
-
-
-
-
-
1981
"Let's Mend What's Been Broken"
-
76
-
-
-
1983
" I Am What I Am (Broadway musical song)
-
82
-
-
13
1984
"Strive"
-
-
-
-
-
1985
"My Love Is Music"
-
-
-
-
-
1986
"Don't You Dare Call It Love"
-
-
-
-
-
1987
"Be Soft with Me Tonight"
-
-
-
-
-
1993
"I Will Survive" (remix)
-
-
-
-
5
1997
"Mighty High" (with The Trammps )
-
-
12
-
-
1998
"Never Can Say Goodbye 1998"
-
-
-
-
-
2000
"Last Night"
-
-
-
-
67
2001
"Just Keep Thinking About You"
-
-
1
-
-
2002
"I Never Knew"
-
-
1
30
-
2006
"The Power of a Woman In Love"
-
-
-
-
-
2008
"Hacer Por Hacer" (with Miguel Bosé ) #endnote_A
-
-
-
-
-
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
;Notes
A #ref_A| ^ "Hacer Por Hacer" reached #17 in Spain.
See also
List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
Persondata | NAME =Gaynor, Gloria | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =September 7, 1948 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Newark, New Jersey , United States | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Gaynor, Gloria Category:1948 births Category:African American musicians Category:African American singers Category:American pop singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American house musicians Category:American rhythm and blues musicians Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American soul musicians Category:American soul singers Category:American female singers Category:African American actors Category:American disco musicians Category:Hi-NRG musicians Category:Living people Category:People from Cliffside Park, New Jersey Category:People from Newark, New Jersey Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Grammy Award winners
