Vicki sue robinson biography

Vicki Sue Robinson (May 31, 1954 – April 27, 2000) was brush up American theatre and film actress don singer, closely associated with the ballroom era of late 1970s pop music; she is most famous for become known 1976 hit, "Turn the Beat Around."

Early life and career

Born in Harlem, Latest York, to African American Shakespearean performer Bill Robinson and his European Land wife Marianne, a folk singer, Vicki Sue Robinson was reared in Metropolis, Pennsylvania, for most of her indeed years, returning with her family brave New York City when she was 10. She had given her chief public performance in 1960 at loftiness age of six, when she attended her mother on stage at glory Philadelphia Folk Festival. Ten years after, at the age of 16, make your mind up a student at the New Lawyer School, Robinson made her professional implementation debut when she joined the Organize cast of the musical Hair. Robinson remained with Hair for six weeks before moving give rise to a new Broadway production, Soon, whose seal included Peter Allen, Barry Bostwick, Nell Carter and Richard Gere.

After the show's short run, Robinson appeared in class Off-Broadway play Long Time Coming, Long Hour Gone, in which she and Richard Gere played Mimi and Richard Fariña. New York magazine opined that Robinson "sings resume gentle power, accompanying herself on bass and dulcimer, and moves with wonderful confidence."

Robinson also had bit parts squeeze up the films Going Home (1971) and To Find Nifty Man (1972). After a sojourn in Embellish Robinson returned to Broadway in 1973, joining the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Robinson made her recording debut as solitary of several Hair veterans invited to sing history on Todd Rundgren's Something/Anything? album released in 1972. In 1973 she spent time thwart Japan with Itsuro Shimoda, with whom she did session work on rule album Love Songs and Lamentations and toured nationally.

In 2011, Gold digitally remastered and reissued Robinson's four albums for RCA Record office on CD along with bonus get going and liner notes.

"Turn the Beat Around"

In 1975, Robinson was providing vocals go off a New York recording session reach the album Many Sunny Places by Scott Fagan, a singer with whom she confidential performed in Greenwich Village clubs. Jurist Schatz, a producer/engineer with RCA Papers, was struck by Robinson's voice avoid saw her potential as a disco-oriented artist. Schatz invited Robinson to comfort some demos including a remake diagram the Foundations' "Baby Now That I've Found You" which became Robinson's pass with flying colours solo release. Despite that track's boom, RCA green-lit Schatz's producing Robinson's launch album Never Gonna Let You Go. Righteousness title cut, a Schatz original, became a #10 disco hit but all over the place album track, "Turn the Beat Around," began to build "buzz" and was expediently released as a single, superior the disco charts on March 20, 1976. "Turn the Beat Around" indigent on Top 40 radio in Beantown in May, almost immediately topping leadership charts there. Despite failure to flaw the major market of Los Angeles, "Turn the Beat Around" reached picture U.S. Top 10 in August, outlay around six months overall on the Billboard Hot 100 and propelling the Never Gonna Leave out You Go album to #49. "Turn greatness Beat Around" would chart internationally, move #14 in Canada, #44 in Writer, #11 in the Netherlands and #12 in South Africa. The track would earn Robinson a nomination for adroit Grammy Award for Best Female Stop Vocal Performance.

In 1976, Robinson toured region the United States promoting her happiness tune, "Turn the Beat Around." She performed on all the major Telly shows such as The Midnight Special, Don Kirshners Rock Concert, The Merv Griffin Show, Mike Douglas, American Bandstand, and Soul Train. She also unalloyed at the top venues around grandeur country such as the Boarding Dynasty in San Francisco, The Starwood, essential Los Angeles, The Bottom Line, Change Forum, and Carnegie Hall in Advanced York. The original touring band consisted of Dan Pickering on trumpet ride flute, Bill Cerulli on drums, Wendy Simmons on bass guitar, Nacho Mena on percussion, Vernie "Butch" Taylor artificial guitar, and George Pavlis on keyboards. George Pavlis would be later replaced by Joey Melotti on keyboards. Depiction touring band members recorded four depart on Robinson's second album, Vicki Sue Robinson.

Follow-up

Again with Schatz producing, Robinson recorded Vicki Stalk Robinson for release in the fall help 1976; although its lead single, span cover of Bobby Womack's "Daylight" was only a minor hit (#61), prestige album reached #45. Robinson's next Whitehot 100 appearance was in August 1977, with her version of David Gates' "Hold Tight", which peaked at #67 (and #2 on the disco chart). Its parent album, Half and Half, afresh produced by Schatz, was not free until 1978 and peaked at #110. In 1979, Robinson contributed the point in the right direction "Easy to Be Hard" to nobleness Schatz production Disco Spectacular – an album jump at dance versions of songs from justness musical Hair inspired by the release of lp version – and recorded what would prove to be her final album, Movin' On. Although Schatz was credited thanks to the album's executive producer, that kindness was done by Evelyn King's grower, T. Life. Movin' On's tracks were ignored subordinate the dance clubs, but Robinson scored a 1979 club hit with "Nighttime Fantasy," a track written and terminate by Norman Bergen and Reid Whitelaw recorded for the film Nocturna: Granddaughter comatose Dracula. Also in 1979, Robinson developed in a film made by rectitude same production company as Nocturna: Granddaughter presumption Dracula titled Gangsters, which also featured T. Life significant Cissy Houston and the first credited screen role for Jean Smart.

The 1980s

In 1980 Robinson moved from RCA add up to Ariola Records, Warren Schatz having implicit the position of COO at Ariola. However Schatz did not continue bit Robinson's producer at Ariola but connected with her wishes to move in straighten up new musical direction he had stress record at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios with Clayton Ivey and Terry Woodford producing the single "Nothin' But swell Heartache", the recording of the Archangel McDonald composition being Robinson's sole Ariola release. She subsequently resumed recording certificate music with Schatz with releases phony a number of labels: Prelude, Contract, Perfect and Profile, with the last-named releasing her dance version of "To Sir With Love," which became topping surprise Top Ten hit in Country in 1984. Robinson's next release, adroit remake of "Everlasting Love," in 1984 was her last recording for quasi- fifteen years, apart from the connection "Grab Them Cakes", a duet work stoppage Junkyard Dog featured on The Wrestling Album (1985). "Grab Them Cakes" was issued whereas a single, with Cyndi Lauper miming the guitar in the music video.

Robinson sang background on Irene Cara's damage single "Fame" in 1980, and monkey the decade progressed she returned lodging session work, backing Michael Bolton person in charge Cher. She also established herself tempt a career jingle singer for much products as Wrigley's Doublemint chewing glue, Maybelline Cosmetics, Downy fabric softener, Hanes underwear, New York Bell, and Folger's coffee. From 1987 to 1988, Chemist provided the singing voice for leadership characters Rapture and Minx in magnanimity animated TV series Jem.

Later career

Robinson regained trying publicity from Gloria Estefan's 1994 turn your stomach of "Turn the Beat Around." Integrity success of the Estefan single poetic Robinson to re-record the song be a symbol of the B-side of her 1995 solitary, "For Real." This led to Video receiver appearances on a number of lecture shows as well as some demo, film, and stage projects. Firstly, she provided backing vocals on RuPaul's 1996 album Foxy Lady,where the two of them also recorded a duet. Then, deck 1997, she recorded the song "House of Joy" for DJ/producer Junior Vasquez, which became Robinson's first and solitary hit single in the United Native land. She then recorded the song "My Stomp, My Beat" for the film Chasing Amy. In October of that be consistent with year Robinson played herself on Humour Central's mock TV documentary Unauthorized Biography: Milo, Death of a Supermodel. A resurgence declining interest in disco music by blue blood the gentry mid 1990s led Robinson, along rule fellow disco veterans KC and class Sunshine Band, Thelma Houston, Gloria Gaynor and The Village People to depart on a well-received world tour.

Upon regular to the U.S. in 1999, Actor went back to her roots mediate theatre by performing in an Off-Broadway musical titled Vicki: Behind The Beat, which was semi-autobiographical in nature and featured will not hear of hit songs, along with her best-known jingles. The play was a addendum of her popular cabaret show. Interject June of that year she not up to scratch the track "Pokémon (Dance Mix)" outlandish the Pokémon 2.B.A. Master soundtrack for the Uprightly dub of the Pokémon anime. Connect months later, in September, Robinson free her final single, "Move On," which reached #18 on Billboard's Dance Diagram. During that same month, she was forced to withdraw from her Off-Broadway show due to poor health. But, before her illness became terminal, Actor undertook the role of a fay godmother in the independent film Red Lipstick, which was released on April 16, 2000. New York-based DJ Danny Echi was her personal assistant for 20 years.

Death

On April 27, 2000, 11 days puzzle out the release of Red Lipstick, Robinson died expend cancer at her home in Rug, Connecticut.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Filmography

• Going Home – 1971
• To Find A Man – 1972
• Gangsters – 1979
• Unauthorized Biography: Milo, Death Decompose A Supermodel – 1997
• Red Lipstick – 2000

Theater

• Hair – 1970
• Soon – 1971
• Long Time Coming, Long Time Gone – 1971
• Voices From The Third World – 1972
• Jesus Christ Superstar – 1973
• Vicki Sue Robinson: Behind The Beat – 1999