Cheryl Lynn
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Cheryl Lynn (born Lynda Cheryl Smith, 11 March 1957, in Los Angeles, California) is a known disco, R&B and soul singer, who scored fame then success beginning in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.
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[edit] Career
Lynn's singing career began when she was a young girl in her church choir. But her professional singing career started in 1976 when she landed a job as a backing singer in the national touring company play, The Wiz, before landing the role of Wicked Witch of the West.
Probably the most famous contestant to appear on the maligned The Gong Show, she won the competition in 1976 while singing Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful". Lynn later told Dick Clark during her appearance on American Bandstand that record industry executives were calling about her soon after the win.
After signing with Columbia Records, Lynn released her self-titled debut album, Cheryl Lynn. Produced by Toto keyboardist David Paich, the LP featured her first and biggest hit, "Got to Be Real" which was penned by Paich and Lynn, and has since been called one of the defining moments in disco. The song peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the R&B chart. Lynn would score subsequent successes with such songs as 1979's "Star Love", 1981's "Shake It Up Tonight", "If This World Were Mine" - a 1982 duet with Luther Vandross that covered a Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell song - and 1984's "Encore" - which was written and produced by the Minneapolis funk duo, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.
She also provided the female backing vocal on the single, "Georgy Porgy", by the pop-rock band Toto, from their 1979 debut album. Although the band charted more than a dozen pop hits throughout the years, it was Lynn's vocal on "Georgy Porgy" that aided the group in charting their one and only R&B (#18) and Dance (#80) hit on Billboard.
Lynn released her last album to date in 1995. Entitled Good Time, it was released in Japan, the UK and later in the United States as an imported CD. In 1996, Sony Records/Legacy released Got to Be Real - The Best Of Cheryl Lynn, which included the track "Love Bomb", originally from the In Love album, written by Lynsey De Paul and Barry Blue. She has since kept herself active in music, touring Japan and doing the occasional gig in the U.S., performing in charity events in her hometown of Los Angeles. She has also performed on several TV specials, appearing on HBO's Sinbad's Summer Soul Jam 4 (1998), hosted by comedian/actor Sinbad, and more recently on ABC's The Disco Ball...A 30-Year Celebration, which aired in January 2003.
[edit] 2004-Present
Her latest single, "Sweet Kind Of Life" (2004), which was also written and produced by Jam & Lewis, was featured on the film soundtrack for the animated film [Shark Tale].
On September 19, 2005, Lynn's "Got to Be Real" was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. She is considered an influence on some of today's R&B female singers, including Mary J. Blige, who, along with Will Smith, covered Lynn's signature song ("Got to Be Real"), also for the soundtrack of the animated film [Shark Tale].
[edit] Vocal Profile
Andrew Hamilton of All Music Guide describes Cheryl Lynn to be one of the most explosive female singers with a awesome multi-octave range[[1]]. Andrew Hamilton goes further to state that Cheryl is a singer's singer whose voice is an exciting, warm and compelling instrument. Wilson & Alroy in their review of Cheryl Lynn's debut album states she 'has a smooth, comfortable voice - even when she's belting or leaping into Minnie Riperton territory, it's somehow soothing.'[[2]]. In review of her second album, Wilson & Alroy states, she holds such high notes so long she sounds like she haunts houses in her spare time. Ron Wynn, another All Music Guide reviewer credit Cheryl Lynn for possessing a searing, often captivating voice and great range[[3]].
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Cheryl Lynn — 1978
- In Love — 1980
- In The Night — 1981
- Instant Love — 1982
- Preppie — 1983
- It's Gonna Be Right — 1985
- Start Over — 1987
- Whatever It Takes — 1989
- Good Time — 1995
[edit] Singles
- "Got to Be Real" — 1978
- "Star Love" — 1979
- "Keep It Hot" — 1980
- "I've Got Faith In You" — 1980
- "Shake It Up Tonight" — 1981
- "In The Night" — 1981
- "Instant Love" — 1982
- "If This World Were Mine" — 1982 — duet with Luther Vandross
- "Look Before You Leap" — 1983
- "Encore" — 1983
- "Preppie" — 1983
- "This Time" — 1984
- "At Last You're Mine" — 1985 — from the movie Heavenly Bodies
- "Fidelity" — 1985
- "Fade To Black" — 1985
- "Steppin' Into The Night" — 1986 — from the movie Armed and Dangerous
- "New Dress" — 1987
- "If You Were Mine" — 1987
- "Every Time I Try To Say Goodbye" — 1989
- "Whatever It Takes" — 1989
[edit] Compilations
- Got to Be Real: The Best Of Cheryl Lynn — 1996
- Chery Lynn - The Real Thing — 1996
- Got To Be (Remixes) — 1996
- In The Night / Instant Love (two album CD) — 2006
