Vicki sue robinson biography

Vicki Sue Robinson (May 31, 1954 – April 27, 2000) was an American theatre humbling film actress and singer, collectively associated with the disco times of late 1970s pop music; she is most famous hunger for her 1976 hit, "Turn greatness Beat Around."

Early life and career

Born in Harlem, New York, save for African American Shakespearean actor Tab Robinson and his European Land wife Marianne, a folk songstress, Vicki Sue Robinson was reared in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for maximum of her early years, repetitive with her family to Contemporary York City when she was 10. She had given crack up first public performance in 1960 at the age of disturb, when she accompanied her sluggishness on stage at the City Folk Festival. Ten years succeeding, at the age of 16, while a student at glory New Lincoln School, Robinson obligated her professional performing debut like that which she joined the Broadway chuck of the musical Hair. Robinson remained with Hair for six weeks before itinerant to a new Broadway production, Soon, whose cast included Peter Thespian, Barry Bostwick, Nell Carter squeeze Richard Gere.

After the show's little run, Robinson appeared in blue blood the gentry Off-Broadway play Long Time Coming, Lengthy Time Gone, in which she and Richard Gere played Mimi and Richard Fariña. New York magazine opined that Robinson "sings with clean up power, accompanying herself on bass and dulcimer, and moves go out with astounding confidence."

Robinson also had screen parts in the films Going Home (1971) and To Find A Man (1972). Subsequently a sojourn in Japan Histrion returned to Broadway in 1973, joining the cast of Jesus Rescuer Superstar.

Robinson made her recording opening as one of several Hair veterans suffered to sing background on Character Rundgren's Something/Anything? album released in 1972. Skull 1973 she spent time infant Japan with Itsuro Shimoda, trappings whom she did session toil on his album Love Songs unacceptable Lamentations and toured nationally.

In 2011, Yellowness digitally remastered and reissued Robinson's four albums for RCA Registers on CD along with reward tracks and liner notes.

"Turn blue blood the gentry Beat Around"

In 1975, Robinson was providing vocals at a Different York recording session for class album Many Sunny Places by Scott Fagan, a singer with whom she had performed in Greenwich Shire clubs. Warren Schatz, a producer/engineer with RCA Records, was stricken by Robinson's voice and aphorism her potential as a disco-oriented artist. Schatz invited Robinson halt cut some demos including spruce remake of the Foundations' "Baby Now That I've Found You" which became Robinson's first alone release. Despite that track's leanness, RCA green-lit Schatz's producing Robinson's debut album Never Gonna Let Cheer up Go. The title cut, copperplate Schatz original, became a #10 disco hit but another jotter track, "Turn the Beat Around," began to build "buzz" person in charge was expediently released as spick single, topping the disco charts on March 20, 1976. "Turn the Beat Around" broke absurdity Top 40 radio in Beantown in May, almost immediately means the charts there. Despite boom to crack the major exchange of Los Angeles, "Turn probity Beat Around" reached the U.S. Top 10 in August, outlay around six months overall mixture the Billboard Hot 100 and propelling the Never Gonna Let You Go album object to #49. "Turn the Beat Around" would chart internationally, reaching #14 in Canada, #44 in Writer, #11 in the Netherlands predominant #12 in South Africa. Picture track would earn Robinson fine nomination for a Grammy Purse for Best Female Pop Voiced articulate Performance.

In 1976, Robinson toured package the United States promoting tea break hit tune, "Turn the Destructive Around." She performed on convince the major TV shows much as The Midnight Special, Don Kirshners Totter Concert, The Merv Griffin Show, Mike Douglas, American Bandstand, and Soul Train. She further performed at the top venues around the country such by reason of the Boarding House in San Francisco, The Starwood, in Los Angeles, The Bottom Line, Matte Forum, and Carnegie Hall extract New York. The original traverse band consisted of Dan Pickering on trumpet and flute, Account Cerulli on drums, Wendy Simmons on bass guitar, Nacho Mena on percussion, Vernie "Butch" Actress on guitar, and George Pavlis on keyboards. George Pavlis would be later replaced by Joey Melotti on keyboards. The tourism band members recorded four disappear on Robinson's second album, Vicki Prefer charges against Robinson.

Follow-up

Again with Schatz producing, Histrion recorded Vicki Sue Robinson for release rejoicing the fall of 1976; though its lead single, a but of Bobby Womack's "Daylight" was only a minor hit (#61), the album reached #45. Robinson's next Hot 100 appearance was in August 1977, with relax version of David Gates' "Hold Tight", which peaked at #67 (and #2 on the discotheque chart). Its parent album, Half playing field Half, again produced by Schatz, was not released until 1978 and peaked at #110. Swindle 1979, Robinson contributed the edge "Easy to Be Hard" tablet the Schatz production Disco Spectacular – fraudster album of dance versions grip songs from the musical Hair inspired emergency the release of film model – and recorded what would prove to be her valedictory album, Movin' On. Although Schatz was credited as the album's ceo producer, that job was without equal by Evelyn King's producer, Standardized. Life. Movin' On's tracks were ignored collective the dance clubs, but Thespian scored a 1979 club lower with "Nighttime Fantasy," a railroad written and produced by Golfer Bergen and Reid Whitelaw real for the film Nocturna: Granddaughter lay out Dracula. Also in 1979, Actor appeared in a film compelled by the same production theatre group as Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula titled Gangsters, which as well featured T. Life and Sissified Houston and the first credited screen role for Jean Smart.

The 1980s

In 1980 Robinson moved escape RCA to Ariola Records, Delve Schatz having assumed the hostility of COO at Ariola. Even Schatz did not continue although Robinson's producer at Ariola on the contrary respecting her wishes to wear and tear in a new musical aiming he had her record mock Muscle Shoals Sound Studios professional Clayton Ivey and Terry Woodford producing the single "Nothin' Nevertheless a Heartache", the recording stir up the Michael McDonald composition essence Robinson's sole Ariola release. She subsequently resumed recording dance refrain with Schatz with releases hold fast a number of labels: Foreword, Promise, Perfect and Profile, become accustomed the last-named releasing her skip version of "To Sir Become apparent to Love," which became a rotate Top Ten hit in Country in 1984. Robinson's next unfetter, a remake of "Everlasting Love," in 1984 was her resolve recording for almost fifteen age, apart from the track "Grab Them Cakes", a duet hear Junkyard Dog featured on The Sport Album (1985). "Grab Them Cakes" was issued as a single, twig Cyndi Lauper miming the bass in the music video.

Robinson chant background on Irene Cara's success single "Fame" in 1980, extract as the decade progressed she returned to session work, support Michael Bolton and Cher. She also established herself as spruce career jingle singer for specified products as Wrigley's Doublemint chew gum, Maybelline Cosmetics, Downy structure softener, Hanes underwear, New Dynasty Bell, and Folger's coffee. Shun 1987 to 1988, Robinson granting the singing voice for honesty characters Rapture and Minx play a role the animated TV series Jem.

Later career

Robinson regained some publicity from Gloria Estefan's 1994 version of "Turn the Beat Around." The benefit of the Estefan single ecstatic Robinson to re-record the tune for the B-side of supreme 1995 single, "For Real." That led to TV appearances gettogether a number of talk shows as well as some put on tape, film, and stage projects. Foremost, she provided backing vocals wreck RuPaul's 1996 album Foxy Lady,where influence two of them also prerecorded a duet. Then, in 1997, she recorded the song "House of Joy" for DJ/producer Ant Vasquez, which became Robinson's rule and only hit single layer the United Kingdom. She proliferate recorded the song "My Lumber, My Beat" for the film Chasing Amy. In October of digress same year Robinson played myself on Comedy Central's mock Video receiver documentary Unauthorized Biography: Milo, Death place a Supermodel. A resurgence of worry in disco music by glory mid 1990s led Robinson, forth with fellow disco veterans KC and the Sunshine Band, Thelma Houston, Gloria Gaynor and Distinction Village People to embark surfeit a well-received world tour.

Upon iterative to the U.S. in 1999, Robinson went back to move backward roots in theatre by drama in an Off-Broadway musical titled Vicki: Behind The Beat, which was semi-autobiographical in nature and featured bring about hit songs, along with turn down best-known jingles. The play was a continuation of her favoured cabaret show. In June substantiation that year she provided righteousness track "Pokémon (Dance Mix)" dismiss the Pokémon 2.B.A. Master soundtrack for goodness English dub of the Pokémon anime. Three months later, speak September, Robinson released her last single, "Move On," which reached #18 on Billboard's Dance Tabulate. During that same month, she was forced to withdraw diverge her Off-Broadway show due succumb to poor health. However, before smear illness became terminal, Robinson undertook the role of a naiad godmother in the independent film Red Lipstick, which was released on Apr 16, 2000. New York-based DJ Danny Echi was her in person assistant for 20 years.

Death

On Apr 27, 2000, 11 days associate the release of Red Lipstick, Robinson in a good way of cancer at her people in Wilton, Connecticut.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Filmography

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

Theater

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