Gloria
Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor has become one of the best-known female disco artists
from the '70s due to the ongoing success of her monster 1979 hit
(and subsequent "woman's anthem"), "I Will Survive."
Born Gloria Fowles on September 7, 1949, in Newark, NJ, the singer
(who began going by Gloria Gaynor by the early '70s), first sang
as part of the obscure R&B outfit the Soul Satisfiers before
being discovered by MGM Records head honcho Mike Curb (eventual
leader of the Curb label and Lieutenant Governor of California),
who decided to sign the singer to his label after several auditions.
Gaynor began issuing albums on a regular basis beginning in 1975
and with her 1976 release Never Can Say Goodbye, the singer became
one of the first-ever dance artists to issue an album aimed primarily
for club use (there were no breaks between the songs, as one track
would automatically segue into the next), a method used to this
day by DJs and certain dance artists.
Although Gaynor
enjoyed a few moderate hits, it wasn't until the release of 1979's
aforementioned disco gem "I Will Survive" that Gaynor
racked up her first true smash hit. The song was awarded the first
and only Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording in 1980, the track
subsequently took on a life of its own. It remains popular in
dance clubs and has appeared on countless movie soundtracks and
dance/disco compilations. Gaynor continues to issue albums and
play shows (especially in Europe) and during the late '90s issued
an autobiography (also titled I Will Survive), as well as appearing
for a two-week run on Broadway's hit musical Smokey Joe's Café.
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