Gloria Gaynor - The Very Best Of Gloria Gaynor "I Will Survive" (1993)

The second-most popular diva of disco-soul music after Donna Summer, she reached the pinnacle of success in a completely conventional way. During her school years, she sang in the local church choir, and after she fell in love with soul music, she first performed in local clubs until a passing impresario noticed her and recorded a single with her. The song on the record appealed to a radio station DJ who made her a local star. At the age of 18, she toured Canada as a member of a vocal trio (Soul Satisfiers). Her big breakthrough came in December 1974: the disco-historically notable album Never Can Say Goodbye (originally performed by the Jackson Five) was released, on which she sang four songs for about 20 minutes on one side, at one tempo. The recording became a favorite of discos, not only because of the freshness of her singing, but also because she was able to maintain the atmosphere for twenty minutes. Gloria initially released an album every year, with compositions that were likely to become hits, but she was unable to repeat her first big success until 1979. That was when her second huge success, the song I Will Survive, with its Russian-sounding melody, was released, and this really ensured the survival of its performer. In the same year, another similarly successful album was released, titled I Have A Right, and this title track already led this excellent founding member of soul-disco music into the eighties. Another highlight of the same album: the song Tonight from Bernstein's West Side Story, of course in a disco transcription. However, with the decline of the disco era, her career also began to decline. Although she never stopped performing, her albums, which remained popular primarily on the European market, found and continue to find buyers mainly here. Today, she is surrounded by legend and a nostalgic myth.