Gloria Gaynor

Gloria Gaynor (born September 7, 1949) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (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" (R&B number 82, 1983).

Early life

Gloria Fowles was born in Newark, New Jersey, to Queenie May Proctor and Daniel Fowles. Her grandmother lived nearby and was involved in her upbringing. "There was always music in our house", Gaynor wrote in her autobiography, I Will Survive. She enjoyed listening to the radio, and to records by Nat King Cole and Sarah Vaughan. Her father played the ukulele and guitar and sang professionally in nightclubs with a group called Step 'n' Fetchit. Her brothers sang gospel and formed a quartet with a friend. Gaynor was not allowed to sing with the all-male group, nor was her younger brother, Arthur, because he was too young. Arthur later acted as a tour manager for Gaynor. The family was relatively poor, but Gaynor recalls the house being filled with laughter and happiness, and the dinner table being open to neighborhood friends. They moved to a housing project in 1960 and Gloria grew up as a tomboy. "All through my young life I wanted to sing, although nobody in my family knew it", Gaynor wrote in her autobiography.

Gloria Gaynor (album)

Gloria Gaynor is the tenth studio album by Gloria Gaynor and her only to be released on Atlantic Records after her contract with Polydor Records expired. The lead single release was a cover of The Supremes' "Stop in the Name of Love", followed by the singles "America" and "Tease Me". The album failed to garner much attention in either the U.S. or in Europe. It was re-released on CD in 1996 with a previously unreleased 1982 re-recording of "I Will Survive" added as track 1 (3:35) and a 5:03 Extended Mix as track 10. A 2014 CD reissue of the album on BBR Records did not include those two bonus cuts but included 3 single versions and one 12" disco version as bonus cuts.

Track listings

Side 1

  • "Stop in the Name of Love" (Holland-Dozier-Holland) - 4:12
  • "Runaround Love" (Fred Washington, Judy Wieder, Ollie E. Brown, Paul Jackson, Jr.) - 4:18
  • "Mack-Side" (Carlos Alomar, Linwood M. Simon) - 4:12
  • "Tease Me" (James Washington, Tommy Woods) - 5:03
  • Side 2

  • "America" (Linwood M. Simon, Norbert Sloley) - 5:28
  • How High the Moon

    "How High the Moon" is a jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. It was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue Two for the Show, where it was sung by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock. In Two for the Show, this was a rare serious moment in an otherwise humorous revue.

    The song is best known in a 1951 recording by Les Paul and Mary Ford.

    Most notable recordings

    The earliest recorded hit version was by Benny Goodman & His Orchestra. It was recorded on February 7, 1940, and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 35391, with the flip side "Fable of the Rose". The Les Paul Trio recorded a version released as V-Disc 540B with a spoken introduction which was issued in November, 1945 by the U.S. War Department. In 1948, bandleader Stan Kenton enjoyed some success with his version of the tune. The recording, with a vocal by June Christy, was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 911 (with the flip side "Willow, Weep for Me") and 15117(with the flip side "Interlude"). It reached the Billboard magazine Best Seller chart on July 9, 1948, its only week on the chart, at #27.

    Podcasts:

    Gloria Gaynor

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    PLAYLIST TIME:

    More Than Enough

    by: Gloria Gaynor

    My God is more than enough
    He can supply all my needs
    He is my El Shaddai
    He always looks out for me
    Jehovah Jirah, He is my God
    Jehovah Jirah, He is my God
    All of the earth is His
    And the fullness there of
    He's everything that I need
    You can be sure of
    Jehovah Jirah, He is my God
    Jehovah Jirah, He is my God
    So why should I worry
    'Bout the highs and the lows
    The ups and the downs
    And by my faith, I know
    My God is more than enough
    He can supply all my needs
    He is my El Shaddai
    He always looks out for me
    Jehovah Jirah, He is my God




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