The famous American singer went down in history as an integral part of the golden disco heritage. The song of Gloria Gaynor I will survive not only topped the Bilboard list, it became a true hymn to female emancipation. Although legends have not been seen on stage for a long time, her work still delights and motivates young performers.
Gloria Gaynor Biography
The future American disco - Gloria Fowles, was born in the state of New Jersey, the city of Newark, September 7, 1949. Despite the fact that the girl’s family was large and they lived poorly, Gloria grew up in love and understanding.
Her first vocal experience took place at school, where she learned to overcome fear of the stage. She was actively helped by her teacher, who inspired Gloria with words of support: not to be afraid and sing.
After school, Gloria Gaynor wanted to go to college, but the lack of money in the family did not allow her to do this. In order to somehow help her family, the young girl graduates from secretarial and accounting courses, thanks to which she gets a job at a local Bamberger store.
The beginning of her vocal career can be considered the providence of fate. One evening, returning with her brother Arthur from the movie home, Gloria decided to drop into the Cadillac Club. Having agreed with her fellow administrator, she performed the song Nancy Williams Save Your LoveFor Me together with The Pracesetters who performed there. The end of the speech was marked by a thunder of applause and applause.
After that performance, Gloria joined the group. After some time, she was spotted by singer Johnny Nash, who invited her to record for his own company. It was he who proposed Gloria to take the pseudonym Gaynor. Collaboration was the starting point of Gloria Gaynor. After this recording, she changed group after group, worked with various record companies. Finally, in 1974, the first solo single Honey Bee was recorded, which became a real club hit.
By the end of the year, the first solo album Never can say goodbye was also released, which was sold in huge circulation. It became the first ever non-stop disco album.
The story of the song I will survive
Gloria Gaynor recorded the main song in her career in 1978. When preparing to record a new album, she was asked to perform Substitute, the then-famous hit in the UK. Producer Freddie Perren was invited to record, agreeing to work on the condition that Gloria record his song for the back of the record.
The author of the text, Dino Fekaris, on that day forgot a sheet with the text and wrote it from memory on some old envelope. After reading the text, Gloria Gaynor realized that the song would be a real hit. That was I will survive. Once in the hands of the DJs, the song blew up the dance floors.
Realizing the undeniable success of the track, Polydor swaps the singles (A-side I will survive, B-side Substitute). The song starts its movement in the charts from 87th place, and after 2 weeks I will survive topped the Bilboard list. Such a significant event in the life of the singer took place in March 1979.
The album Love tracks, the main single of which was the song I will survive, became the best in the career of the singer. 14 million records were sold worldwide, and as a symbol of full recognition, Gloria Gaynor received Grammy for him.
Even after almost 40 years, this song is considered a hit. She was often rehearsed and recorded by many performers, including Gloria herself. And in 2000, the experts of the famous music channel VH1 put the single I Will Survive on the leading position in the top of the best dance hits of the twentieth century.
Gloria Gaynor's Albums
- Never Can Say Goodbye ("I Can Never Say Goodbye, 1975);
- Experience Gloria Gaynor ("The Experience of Gloria Gaynor", 1976);
- I've Got You (1976);
- Glorious (Fine, 1977);
- Love Tracks ("Songs of Love", 1978);
- I Have a Right (1979);
- Stories ("Stories", 1980);
- The Power of Gloria Gaynor ("The Power of Gloria Gaynor", 1986);
- Love Affair ("Roman", 1992);
- I'll Be There ("I Will Be There", 1995);
- The Answer (1997);
- I Wish You Love ("I wish you love", 2002);
- We Will Survive ("We Will Survive", 2013).