Gloria Gaynor

There are many reasons why Gloria Gaynor is synonymous with "I Will Survive." The 1978 single topped Billboard's disco and pop charts, went platinum, and won Best Disco Recording the only year the Grammys recognized the subgenre. A belter if there ever was one, it set the standard by which all subsequent perseverance anthems have been measured. Its eternal appeal has been recognized by the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Recording Registry. The inextricable links, however, obscure the depth and range of Gaynor's career. A soul singer through and through, Gaynor wasn't an overnight success. When she went supernova, her debut recording was 13 years old, and she had hits including a 1974 version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" that topped Billboard's first club chart and crossed into the Top Ten of the pop chart. Although she has recorded infrequently since the early '80s, her number one club hits span almost 30 years, through the early-2000s singles "Just Keeping Thinking About You" and "I Never Knew." She releases new material occasionally, including the 2019 gospel LP Testimony, and remains an active performer.

Never Can Say Goodbye

Gloria Fowles grew up in a Newark, New Jersey household attuned to a wide range of music. During childhood, she had a desire to become a singer to herself, and eventually followed her father as a performer. In her mid-teens in 1965, she debuted as Gloria Gaynor with "She'll Be Sorry," a low-profile single produced and released by Johnny Nash (who had suggested the name change). Gaynor was a seasoned performer at nightclubs and other small venues by the time she was signed by Clive Davis to Columbia, the label that released her second single, 1973's "Honeybee," a sweet and sweeping proto-disco number arranged by Norman Harris and produced by Paul Leka. Following Columbia's dismissal of Davis, Gaynor was scooped up by MGM, which re-released "Honeybee" (as "Honey Bee") and steered it into Billboard's R&B chart in April 1974. Gaynor soon followed up with "Never Can Say Goodbye," popularized by the Jackson 5 for Motown. The driving cover gained traction in clubs. That October, it appeared at the top of Billboard's first Disco Action chart, and in a survey of New York City club DJs conducted by Tom Moulton, who noted in the accompanying column that the number one entry had been the hottest club record since mid-September. "Never Can Say Goodbye" entered the pop chart in November and peaked at number nine the following January, around the release of the like-titled album. Side one of Never Can Say Goodbye consisted of "Honey Bee," the title track, and a remake of another Motown hit, the Four Tops' "Reach Out, I'll Be There," mixed continuously for dancefloors by the inventive (and uncredited) Moulton. The suite almost topped Disco Action, and "Reach Out, I'll Be There" peaked on the pop chart at number 60.