Gloria Gaynor (real name Gloria Fowles, born September 7, 1949) is a U.S. singer best-known for the disco hit songs "I Will Survive" (1979) and "Never Can Say Goodbye" (1973).
Born in New Jersey, Gaynor was a singer with the Soul Satisfiers, a jazz/pop band, in the 1960s. Her first solo single was "She'll Be Sorry"/"Let Me Go Baby" (1965).
The lyrics of "I Will Survive" are written from the point of view of a woman, recently dumped, telling her ex-lover that she can cope without him and doesn't want anything more to do with him. The song has become something of an anthem of female emancipation, and is still a staple of office parties and karaoke nights, not to mention an anthem in North American gay culture. She also sang on lesser-known disco songs like "Honey Bee" (1974), "Casanova Brown" (1975), and "I Am What I Am" (1983).
She continued recording for many years, releasing "Last Night" in 2000, "Just Keep Thinking About You" in 2001, and "I Never Knew" in 2002.
Their second album, entitled What Will The Neighbours Say? was released on November 29 and entered the album charts at no.6, going platinum in under one month. Their next single "Wake Me Up" was released on February 21 and charted at No. 4.
Success in 2004 and high sales of their second album, which strongly out-performed the first, resulted in the group announcing a tour for May 2005. Tickets sold fast and the initial 17 date tour grew to 24
