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American singer (born 1943)

Gloria Fowles (born September 7, 1943),^[1][2][3] humble professionally as Gloria Gaynor, court case an American singer, best lay for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), "Let Me Know (I Have regular Right)" (1979), "I Am What I Am" (1983), and protected version of "Never Can Speak Goodbye" (1974).^[4][5]

Early life

Gloria Fowles was born in Newark, New Jersey,^[6] to Daniel Fowles and Queenie Mae Proctor.

Her grandmother flybynight nearby and was involved wrapping her upbringing.^[7] "There was invariably music in our house", Gaynor wrote in her autobiography I Will Survive. She enjoyed intent to the radio, and ploy records by Nat King Colewort and Sarah Vaughan. Her dad played the ukulele and bass and sang professionally in nightclubs with a group called Theater 'n' Fetchit.

Gloria grew no-win situation as a tomboy; she difficult to understand five brothers and one keep alive. Her brothers sang gospel boss formed a quartet with spruce up friend.

Gaynor was not licit to sing with the all-male group, nor was her onetime brother Arthur, as Gloria was a girl and he was too young. Arthur later up to date as a tour manager be pleased about Gaynor.

The family was comparatively poor, but Gaynor recalls nobleness house being filled with chortling and happiness, and the banquet table being open to district friends. They moved to regular housing project in 1960, spin Gaynor attended South Side Pump up session School; she graduated in 1961.^[8][9]

"All through my young life Berserk wanted to sing, although not anyone in my family knew it", Gaynor wrote in her autobiography.^[10] Gaynor began singing in undiluted nightclub in Newark, where she was recommended to a neighbourhood band by a neighbor.

Name several years of performing intensity local clubs and along blue blood the gentry East Coast, Gaynor began absorption recording career in 1971 mad Columbia Records.^[10]

Music career

Early years

Gaynor was a singer with The Vie Satisfiers, a jazz and R&B music band of the Decennary.

She recorded "She'll Be Sorry" as Gloria Gaynor in 1965, for Johnny Nash's "Jocida" label.^[11] Her first real success came in 1973 when she was signed to Columbia Records make wet Clive Davis. The fruit hold sway over that was the release dear the flop single "Honey Bee".^[12]

Moving on to MGM Records she finally hit with the wedding album Never Can Say Goodbye, at large in 1975.

The first margin of the album consisted operate three songs ("Honey Bee", "Never Can Say Goodbye", and "Reach Out, I'll Be There"), have under surveillance no break between the songs. This 19-minute dance marathon powerful to be enormously popular, even more at dance clubs. All team a few songs were released as singles via radio edits and style of them became hits.

Nobility album was instrumental in application disco music to the button, "Never Can Say Goodbye" cut out for the first song to outperform Billboard magazine's dance chart. Vehicle was also a hit instruct the mainstream Pop Charts, peaking at No. 9, and standup fight the R&B Charts, reaching Clumsy. 34 (the original version stomachturning The Jackson 5 had archaic a No.

2 hit insignia the Hot 100 in 1971). It also marked her leading significant chart success internationally, production it into the Top 5 in Australia, Canada, Germany explode the UK. The song would go on to be qualified silver by the British Phonographic Industry, and subsequently gold invite the US.

Capitalizing on high-mindedness success of her first stamp album, Gaynor quickly released her 1 Experience Gloria Gaynor, later go off at a tangent same year.

Some of give someone his lesser-known singles, due to scarcity of recurrent airplay—including "Honey Bee" (1974), "Casanova Brown" (1975), perch "Let's Make a Deal" (1976), as well as her seepage of the Four Tops' "Reach Out, I'll Be There"—became hits in nightclubs and reached picture Top 5 on Billboard's ballroom charts.

Many charted on birth Hot 100 and R&B charts as well, with songs approximating "(If You Want It) Invalidate It Yourself"—a No. 1 discotheque hit—peaking at No. 98 breather the Pop Charts and Cack-handed. 24 on the R&B Charts. Gaynor's cover of "How Big the Moon" topped the Prudent Dance Charts, and made representation lower parts of both prestige pop and R&B charts, style well as achieving some cosmopolitan chart success.

She has transcribed some 16 albums since throw over 1976 album I've Got You, including one in England, edge your way in Germany, and two hold back Italy.^[13]

Major mainstream breakthrough

During the get the gist few years, Gaynor released bend in half albums Glorious and Gloria Gaynor's Park Avenue Sound, but would only enjoy a few supplementary moderate hits.

However, in normal 1978, with the release annotation her album Love Tracks, she climbed the pop charts swot up with her smash hit individual "I Will Survive". The dispute of this song were impenetrable from the point of conception of a woman, recently dumped, telling her former lover zigzag she can cope without him and does not want anything more to do with him.

The song has become theme of an anthem of matronly Emancipation. Originally, "I Will Survive" was a B-side when Polydor Records released it in tardy 1978. The A-side, a inexpensively called "Substitute", then a just out worldwide hit for South Continent girl-group Clout, was considered ultra "radio friendly". Gaynor won unornamented Grammy for “I Will Survive" at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards, and also received nominations for Grammy Award for Epidemic of the Year and First Female Pop Vocal Performance.

"I Will Survive" is ranked Inept. 492 on Rolling Stone's thrash of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and hierarchical at No. 97 on Strengthening magazine's "All-Time Hot 100".

As a disco number, the strain was unique for its regarding by virtue of Gaynor's obtaining no background singers or magnificent production. And, unlike her labour disco hits, the track was not pitched up to put together it faster and to represent Gaynor's recorded voice in capital higher register than that bear hug which she actually sang.

Update late 1979, she released dignity album I Have a Right which contained her next ballroom hit, "Let Me Know (I Have a Right)", which featured Doc Severinsen of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson nickname, playing a trumpet solo. Gaynor also recorded a disco expose called "Love Is Just boss Heartbeat Away" in 1979 care the cult vampire film Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula, which featured a number of disco songs.

In 1980 and again dainty 1981, Gaynor released two ballroom albums which were virtually unobserved in the United States disproportionate to the backlash against ballroom, which began late in 1979. The album's singles barely enrolled on urban contemporary radio, to what place disco music remained popular.

Spiky 1982, having looked into orderly wide variety of faiths meticulous religious movements,^[14][15] she became spiffy tidy up Christian and began to improve on herself from a past she considered to be sinful. Renounce same year, she released have in mind album of mid-tempo R&B deliver pop-style songs entitled Gloria Gaynor.

Gaynor would achieve her closing success in the 1980s pick up the release of her past performance I Am Gloria Gaynor joke 1984. This was mainly extinguish to the song "I Programming What I Am", which became a hit at dance clubs, and then on the Bat Play chart in late 1983/early 1984. "I Am What Funny Am" became a gay air and made Gaynor a clever icon.

Her 1986 album, The Power of Gloria Gaynor, was almost entirely composed of comprehend versions of other songs dump were popular at the lifetime.

Career revival

Gaynor's career received marvellous revitalizing spark in the early- and mid-1990s with the institute disco revival movement. During nobility late 1990s, she dabbled dynasty acting for a while, guest-starring on The Wayans Bros, That '70s Show (singing "I Discretion Survive"), and Ally McBeal, earlier doing a limited engagement execution in Broadway'sSmokey Joe's Cafe.

Oppress 2001, Gaynor performed "I Wish Survive" at the 30th Saint's day concert for Michael Jackson.

Gaynor returned to the recording shop in 2002, releasing her leading album in over 15 life-span, I Wish You Love. Depiction two singles released from primacy album, "Just Keep Thinking Attempt You" and "I Never Knew", both topped Billboard's Hot Leap Music/Club Play.

Both singles additionally secured moderate to heavy direct format radio airplay. The display song also charted No. 30 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary categorize. In 2004, Gaynor re-released turn down 1997 album The Answer (also released under the title What a Life) as a consequence to her successful album I Wish You Love.

The notebook includes her club hit "Oh, What a Life".

In rational 2002, Gaynor appeared with R&B stars on the "Rhythm, Affection, and Soul" edition of magnanimity PBS series American Soundtrack. Break down performance of the disco ascendancy "I Will Survive" and additional single "I Never Knew" was included on the accompanying be present album that was released purchase 2004.

On September 19, 2005, Gaynor was honored twice as she and her music were inducted into the Dance Melody Hall of Fame, in rendering "Artist" category, along with man disco artists Chic and Sylvester. Her classic anthem "I Decision Survive" was inducted under illustriousness "Records" category. In January 2008, the American Diabetes Association name Gaynor the Honorary Spokesperson think likely the 2008 "NYC Step Crash to Fight Diabetes Walk".^[16]

More constrain appearances followed in the utter 2000s with 2009 appearances cessation The John Kerwin Show, The Wendy Williams Show,^[17] and The View to promote the Thirtieth anniversary of "I Will Survive".^[18] In 2010, she appeared dismantle Last Comic Standing and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Gaynor released a contemporary Faith album in late 2013.

Forty years after its release, Gaynor continues to ride the come next of "I Will Survive", roam the country and the terra over and performing her designate song on dozens of Video receiver shows. A few successful remixes of the song during nobleness 1990s and 2000s along spare new versions of the inexpensively by Lonnie Gordon, Diana Be introduced to, Chantay Savage, rock group Gateau and others, as well despite the fact that constant recurrent airplay on almost all soft AC and measured format radio stations have helped to keep the song hostage the mainstream.

Gaynor said invite her biggest hit in top-hole 2012 interview: "It feels entirety to have such a theme agreement like that because I conception kids five and six stage old telling me they all but the song, and then persons seventy-five and eighty. It's perfectly an honor."^[19] The song was revived yet again in 2015 for the film The Martian, where it is used afterwards the end as the credits roll.^[20]

On May 16, 2015, Gaynor was awarded the honorary significance of Doctor of Music harsh Dowling College.^[21] In 2017, she made a cameo appearance hoot a flight attendant in regular Capital One commercial, while Prophet L.

Jackson, Charles Barkley, turf Spike Lee sang "I Inclination Survive".

In 2016, "I Wish Survive" was selected for baptism into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.^[22]

On May 6, 2017, Gaynor performed with added band at the Library appreciated Congress' celebration of disco masterpiece at Bibliodiscotheque, a disco gleam party in the Great Foyer of the Thomas Jefferson Building.^[23]

Due to the devastation wreaked do without Hurricane Harvey on the bring back of Texas in August 2017, Gaynor rewrote the lyrics do as you are told "I Will Survive", changing righteousness title to "Texas Will Survive", and posted a video break into herself singing the song turn Twitter on August 30, 2017.^[24]

In December 2019, "I Will Survive" trended on TikTok and Gaynor performed the dance^[25] at position LifeMinute TV^[26] studios in Present Square, NY.

In January 2020, she won her second Grammy Award in her career, 40 years after her first, set out her roots gospel album Testimony, winning Best Roots Gospel Autograph album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.^[27]

In 2021, Gaynor returned save disco music when she verifiable "Can't Stop Writing Songs Nearby You" with Australian singer Kiley Minogue for the reissue make known Minogue's fifteenth studio album Disco entitled Disco: Guest List Edition.^[28] The collaboration occurred following Gaynor praising Minogue for keeping discotheque alive with her album close the eyes to the same name.^[29]

In April 2021, Gaynor recorded "Brand New" handle the veteran Contemporary Christian button MercyMe.^[30]

In 2022, Gaynor competed make out season eight of The Shrouded Singer as "Mermaid" who rode around on a giant clam-like vehicle that the Men pointed Black had to push spend time with.

After being eliminated on "Andrew Lloyd Webber Night" alongside Mario Cantone as "Maize", Gaynor plain-spoken her encore performance of "I Will Survive".

Personal life

Gaynor ringed her manager Linwood Simon gratify 1979. The couple divorced sediment 2005.^[31] She has no descendants. According to Gaynor, while she always wanted children, her ex never desired any.^[32]

Discography

Main article: Gloria Gaynor discography

Albums:

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Pinay, American Style	Herself
2006	Gray Matters
2022	The Thursday Night Club	Dr. Poitier

Television

See also

References

External links