March/April 1979

When Gloria Gaynor recorded this song she could not have imagined in a million years the impact it would have on record buyers nor its staying power across the decades. There’s no prizes for guessing what this song is because it has been associated with female empowerment, LGBTQ+ and, believe it or not, football matches.

“I Will Survive” was originally recorded as the flipside to “Substitute”, but Gloria was convinced the song was a hit and tried to persuade her record company, Polydor, to release it as the topside. They refused. All wasn’t lost though. Gloria’s husband took the single to New York’s groundbreaking Studio 54 where the DJs were all over it like a rash. Other DJs and radio stations then jumped on the bandwagon which led to Polydor flipping the single.

From then on “I Will Survive” swept across the world, with Gloria singing about the discovery of her personal strength following a devastating breakup. Written by two ex-Motown writers, Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris, the song remained unrecorded for at least two years as no suitable singer was available. When the couple was asked to work with Gloria, they immediately knew they had hit gold. Handing her the lyrics scribbled on a sheet of paper, Gloria immediately recognised the song’s hit potential. She recorded her vocals wearing a neck brace, having just had surgery following a fall at a concert. This injury and a recent bereavement made Gloria identify with the lyrics of the song. “That’s why I was able to sing the song with so much conviction” she said.

“I Will Survive” topped singles charts across the world, including the UK in March 1979, which resulted in Gloria performing five sell out nights at the London Palladium a month later. During one of her performances she was presented with a gold disc for UK sales in excess of 100,000, an achievement replicated across the world. “’I Will Survive’ is still in demand nearly twenty years later” she wrote in her 1995 autobiography titled after the single. “People just won’t forget it.” Not only did the song win the 1980 Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording, it has been remixed more times than she can remember, and remains, of course, a karaoke favourite.

“People all over the world have taken “I Will Survive” to their hearts. As for me, I’ve seen the world with it.”

Sharon Davis www.radio-illumini.com

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