Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Fowles entered the world on the 7th of September 1943 at Beth Israel Hospital in Newark. Her family lived nearby with her grandmother playing a key role in raising her. Music filled their home as she listened to records by Nat King Cole and Sarah Vaughan. Her father played ukulele and guitar while singing professionally in nightclubs with Step 'n' Fetchit. The house was relatively poor yet filled with laughter and happiness for neighborhood friends. They moved into a housing project in 1960 where she attended South Side High School. She graduated from that school in 1961 before often attending Metropolitan Baptist Church with her family. All through her young life she wanted to sing even though nobody in her family knew it. Gaynor began performing in a nightclub in Newark after being recommended to a local band by a neighbor.
The album Never Can Say Goodbye arrived in 1975 and changed everything for Gloria Gaynor. The first side of this record contained three songs without any break between them. This nineteen-minute dance marathon proved enormously popular especially at dance clubs. Never Can Say Goodbye became the first song to top Billboard magazine's dance chart. It also reached number nine on mainstream Pop Charts and number thirty-four on R&B Charts. The song went on to be certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry and gold in the US. Experience Gloria Gaynor followed in September 1975 with hits like Casanova Brown reaching Top Five on Billboards disco charts. (If You Want It) Do It Yourself peaked at number ninety-eight on Pop Charts but hit number one on disco charts. How High the Moon topped the US Dance Charts while achieving some international success.
I Will Survive climbed the pop charts again in late 1978 when Love Tracks was released. The lyrics came from the point of view of a woman recently dumped telling her former lover she could cope without him. Originally I Will Survive was a B-side when Polydor Records released it in late 1978. The A-side called Substitute was considered more radio friendly yet the B-side won a Grammy at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards. The track stood unique for its time because Gaynor had no background singers or lush production. Unlike her first disco hits the song was not pitched up to make it faster. Let Me Know (I Have a Right) became another disco hit featuring Doc Severinsen playing a trumpet solo. I Am What I Am made Gaynor a gay icon after becoming a hit at dance clubs in late 1983 and early 1984.
In 1982 having looked into a wide variety of faiths and religious movements she became a Christian. She began to distance herself from a past she considered to be sinful that same year. An album of mid-tempo R&B and pop-style songs entitled Gloria Gaynor arrived then. Her final success in the 1980s came with I Am Gloria Gaynor in 1984 due mainly to I Am What I Am. The Power of Gloria Gaynor followed in 1986 as almost entirely composed of cover versions of other popular songs. Gaynor received a revitalizing spark in the early- and mid-1990s with the worldwide disco revival movement. She dabbled in acting during the late 1990s guest-starring on The Wayans Bros and That '70s Show. In 2002 she returned to the recording studio releasing her first album in more than fifteen years called I Wish You Love.
On the 19th of September 2005 Gaynor was honored twice when she and her music were inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. I Will Survive was inducted under the Records category alongside fellow disco artists Chic and Sylvester. On the 16th of May 2015 Gaynor was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Music by Dowling College. In 2016 I Will Survive was selected for induction into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. On the 7th of February 2025 Gaynor released Fida Known as the lead single to her EP Happy Tears. This marked her first solo release since 2019. On the 13th of August 2025 President Donald Trump named Gaynor as one of the honorees for the annual Kennedy Center Honors. She won her second Grammy Award in January 2020 for her roots gospel album Testimony at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
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Common questions
When and where was Gloria Gaynor born?
Gloria Fowles entered the world on the 7th of September 1943 at Beth Israel Hospital in Newark. Her family lived nearby with her grandmother playing a key role in raising her.
What album changed everything for Gloria Gaynor in 1975?
The album Never Can Say Goodbye arrived in 1975 and changed everything for Gloria Gaynor. The first side of this record contained three songs without any break between them to create a nineteen-minute dance marathon that proved enormously popular especially at dance clubs.
How did I Will Survive win a Grammy Award for Gloria Gaynor?
Originally I Will Survive was a B-side when Polydor Records released it in late 1978 yet the track won a Grammy at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards. The song stood unique for its time because Gaynor had no background singers or lush production unlike her first disco hits.
When was Gloria Gaynor inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame?
On the 19th of September 2005 Gaynor was honored twice when she and her music were inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. I Will Survive was inducted under the Records category alongside fellow disco artists Chic and Sylvester.
Who named Gloria Gaynor as an honoree for the Kennedy Center Honors in 2025?
On the 13th of August 2025 President Donald Trump named Gaynor as one of the honorees for the annual Kennedy Center Honors. This recognition followed her release of Fida Known as the lead single to her EP Happy Tears on the 7th of February 2025.