YOUR GROOVY HOST:
Billy Ingram
Experience
Gloria Gaynor
Album Reviewed
The greatest entertainers of the seventies -
especially those you never heard of!
Experience Gloria Gaynor
There were so many disco albums in the 1970s, most of which don't hold up to today's ears.
One exception was Gloria Gaynor, if you can get past the way too overplayed 'I Will Survive', she has some remarkable work on vinyl.
Her first smash was 'Never Can Say Goodbye' in 1975, a song which had scored a number 1 hit for the Jackson 5 in 1971. Gaynor's version went to number 9 on the Hot 100.
Listen to Gloria Gaynor's 'Never Can Say Goodbye':
Also released in 1975 was my favorite Gloria Gaynor album, it charted at number 64 on the US Billboard Pop chart but proved popular in Discos around the country.
Side one is a bouncy fresh arrangement with the three tunes mixing into one another; the production is phenomenal. Have a listen to cut number one, 'Casanova Brown' and you'll hear what I mean:
Cut number 2, '(If You Want It) Do It Yourself':
Rounding out side one was a cover of 'How High The Moon', a song that's been around since the 1940s. These aren't synth heavy tunes, the musicianship is unparalleled, those horns and strings are real.
You can still play side A of 'Experience Gloria Gaynor' at a party and get everyone jumping.
Side two of this LP is an uneven mix, but that was true of all of Gloria Gaynor's albums in the 1970s.
After a few minor hits on the Disco market Gloria Gaynor hit number 1 with 'I Will Survive' in 1979, that tune has overshadowed her career it's been such an enduring modern classic.
Experience
Gloria Gaynor
The music you hear from the 1970s on the radio tends to be the same old tired hit songs they've been playing for decades.
Rarely will an oldies station stray outside of the top ten songs of the decade. That's because there were so darn many - it was the era of the 'one hit wonder.'
Obscure 70s looks at LPs and singles that may not have made the top of the charts but were amazing none the less.
Experience Gloria Gaynor
Side one - 18.57
1. "Casanova Brown" (Jimmy Roach) - 6.25
2. "(If You Want It) Do It Yourself" (James Bolden, Jack Robinson) - 5.56
3. "How High The Moon" (Morgan Lewis, Nancy Hamilton) - 6.33
Side two 1. "The Prettiest Face I've Ever Seen" (Marie Cain)
2. "What'll I Do" (Burton Senior, Chris Essel)
3. "Tell Me How" (Lester Hodelin)
4. "I'm Still Yours" (Gloria Gaynor)
5. "Walk On By" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David)
Obscure 70s Looks At:
Walter Murphy's Phantom of the Opera
Mary Kay Place's Tonight at the Capri Lounge
Barbra Streisand's 1970s Albums
Sonny & Cher's Unreleased 1977 Album
Melissa Manchester's Bright Eyes
Obscure 70s Looks At:
Walter Murphy's Phantom of the Opera
Mary Kay Place's Tonight at the Capri Lounge
Barbra Streisand's 1970s Albums
Sonny & Cher's Unreleased 1977 Album
Melissa Manchester's Bright Eyes
An 11 year old Michael Jackson's version of 'Never Can Say Goodbye':