Gloria Gaynor is an American singer who was extremely popular in the 1970s and 80s, aka the disco era. She even contributed to this genre with her multiple hit songs. I Will Survive, Let Me Know, I Am What I Am, and her rendition of Never Can Say Goodbye are favorites of many.
Born as Gloria Fowles to Daniel Fowles and Queenie Mae Proctor, she took an early interest in music. She used to listen to the radio regularly, and her favorite artists were Nat King Cole and Sarah Vaughan. Furthermore, her father played the ukulele and guitar and was also a singer.
Gradually, Gloria began singing, and as time went by, she began to perform in local nightclubs. Her big break came when she began her recording career in 1971 at Columbia Records.
A documentary titled Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive will release on February 13, 2024. This project will chronicle her life, career, and a lot more.
According to Tribeca, the synopsis of Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive reads, “Gloria Gaynor forever cemented her place in popular culture with the disco classic “I Will Survive”. In the four decades since, her career has been stalled by health issues, as well as abuse and mismanagement from her now ex-husband. Yet in keeping with the title of her most famous song, Gaynor struggles onward as she works to release a new gospel album in her seventies.”
It further states, “This documentary recounts Gloria Gaynor’s life while also chronicling her comeback journey. It is both a moving story of an artist’s resilience and a scintillating peak at the machinations of the music industry.”
What are Gloria Gaynor’s views on the disco era?
In 2019, Gloria Gaynor’ album titled Testimony won the Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel. As a nominee, she spoke with NPR’s Sarah McCammon.
McCammon asked Gaynor what was the biggest lesson she learned from the disco era, to which she replied, “I think the greatest lesson we can learn from the disco era is the camaraderie that was going on then. People were coming together on the dance floor. Just dancing with one another in close proximity on the dance floor seemed to bring about a camaraderie.”
Furthermore, she stated, “And so I think that’s something that happened during that era. And I’ve often said the one thing that I think disco music never got credit for – probably in many instances was never recognized for – is that it is the only music in the history of music ever to bring together people from every nationality, race, creed, color and age group.”
