Eternal Disco - The Greatest Hits
2026 · Movie
as Self (archive)
Gloria Gaynor
1943-09-07
•
Newark, New York, USA
Gloria Gaynor (née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), "Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), "I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" (1974). Gaynor was born Gloria Fowles in Newark, New Jersey, to Daniel Fowles and Queenie Mae Proctor. 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. Gloria grew up a tomboy; she had five brothers and one sister. 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, as Gloria was a girl and 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, where Gaynor attended South Side High School; she graduated in 1961. "All through my young life I wanted to sing, although nobody in my family knew it", Gaynor wrote in her autobiography. Gaynor began singing in a night club in Newark, where she was recommended to a local band by a neighbor. After several years of performing in local clubs and along the East Coast, Gaynor began her recording career in 1971 at Columbia Records. Gaynor was a singer with the Soul Satisfiers, a jazz and R&B music band, in the 1960s. She recorded "She'll Be Sorry/Let Me Go Baby" (for the first time as Gloria Gaynor) in 1965, for Johnny Nash's "Jocida" label. Her first real success came in 1973 when she was signed to Columbia Records by Clive Davis. The fruit of that was the release of the flop single "Honey Bee". Moving on to MGM Records she finally hit with the album Never Can Say Goodbye, released in 1975. The first side of the album consisted of three songs ("Honey Bee", "Never Can Say Goodbye", and "Reach Out, I'll Be There"), with no break between the songs. This 19-minute dance marathon proved to be enormously popular, especially at dance clubs. All three songs were released as singles via radio edits and all of them became hits. The album was instrumental in introducing disco music to the public, "Never Can Say Goodbye" becoming the first song to top Billboard magazine's dance chart. It was also a hit on the mainstream Pop Charts, peaking at No. 9, and on the R&B Charts, reaching No. 34 (the original version by The Jackson 5 had been a No. 2 hit on the Hot 100 in 1971). It also marked her first significant chart success internationally, making it into the Top 5 in Australia, Canada, Germany and the UK. The song would go on to be certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry, and subsequently gold in the US. ... Source: Article "Gloria Gaynor" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Filmography
Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive
2024 · Movie
as Self
The Thursday Night Club
2022 · Movie
as Dr. Poitier
Sherri
2022 · TV Show
as Self - Guest
The Masked Singer
2019 · TV Show
as Mermaid, Mermaid (archive footage)
The Kelly Clarkson Show
2019 · TV Show
as Self
Cachitos de hierro y cromo
2013 · TV Show
as Self (archive footage)
The Secret Disco Revolution
2012 · Movie
as Self
X-Factor
2010 · TV Show
as Self - Guest
Soul Divas
2007 · Movie
as Self
Disco Explosion - Flash Back
2007 · Movie
as Self
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances: More 1979
2007 · Movie
as Self
Gray Matters
2007 · Movie
as Self
Best of Disco Star Parade 70-80
2007 · Movie
as self
NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell
2007 · Movie
as Self
No image
The A-List
2007 · TV Show
as Self
I Love the '70s: Volume 2
2006 · TV Show
as Self
El hormiguero
2006 · TV Show
as Self - Guest
Disco: Spinning The Story
2005 · Movie
as self
Celia Cruz | ¡Azúcar!
2004 · Movie
as Self
Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration
2001 · Movie
as Self
No image
Starnacht am Wörthersee
2000 · TV Show
as Self
No image
Where Are They Now?
1999 · TV Show
as Self
Old Songs About the Main Thing 3
1998 · Movie
as Cameo
That '70s Show
1998 · TV Show
as Mrs. Clark
No image
Die Lotto-Show
1998 · TV Show
as Self
Ciao Darwin
1998 · TV Show
as Ospite Musicale
Parkinson
1998 · TV Show
as Self
Ally McBeal
1997 · TV Show
as Gloria Gaynor
E! True Hollywood Story
1996 · TV Show
as Self
The Wayans Bros.
1995 · TV Show
as Gloria Gaynor
Old Songs about the Main Thing
1995 · TV Show
as камео
Rhythm Divine: The Story of Disco
1992 · Movie
as Self (archive footage)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992 · TV Show
as Self - Musical Guest
No image
Musik liegt in der Luft
1991 · TV Show
as Self - Singer
Le monde est à vous
1987 · TV Show
as Self
ZDF-Fernsehgarten
1986 · TV Show
as Self
No image
Goldene Kamera
1984 · TV Show
as Self
Wogan
1982 · TV Show
as Self
No image
Na sowas!
1982 · TV Show
as Self
Champs-Elysées
1982 · TV Show
as Self
De TV Show
1981 · TV Show
as Self
No image
Telezirkus
1981 · TV Show
as Self
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances 1979
1979 · Movie
as Self
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
1975 · TV Show
as Self
No image
Système 2
1975 · TV Show
as Self
Rock Concert
1973 · TV Show
as Self
Musikladen
1972 · TV Show
as Self
Disco
1971 · TV Show
as Self
Starparade
1968 · TV Show
as Self
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · TV Show
as Self - Co-Host, Self
The Grammys
1959 · TV Show
as Self
