Born Gloria Fowles on Sept.7, 1949, in Newark, N.J. , the 'Queen Of The Discotheques' spent several years struggling on the east coast circuit prior to finding success. She was auditioned by Arista head Clive Davis, then head of MGM Records three times before signing her. 

A 1965 single, produced by Johnny Nash, preceded her spell as a member of the Soul Satisfiers. Gaynor was discovered singing in a Manhattan nightclub by her future manager, Jay Ellis. He teamed with producers Tony Bongiovia and Meco Monardo to create an unswerving disco backbeat that propelled such exemplary Gaynor performances and was the first to record an album exclusively for club use, with "Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1975 (US number 9/UK number 2) and 'Reach Out, I'll Be There' (1975). Her numerous 12-inch dance singles are now hot collector's items. 

Her crowning achievement followed in 1979 when 'I Will Survive' topped both the UK and US charts. This emotional, almost defiant performance, later adapted as a gay movement anthem, rose above the increasingly mechanical settings her producers were fashioning for the disco market.

I Will Survive" was first recorded in 1979 and has been re-produced in some 20 languages, including Arabic. In 1980, the song won Gaynor the first (and only) Grammy for "Best Disco Recording". 

'I Am What I Am', another song with militant implications, was a UK Top 20 hit in 1983, but the singer was too closely tied to a now dying form and her later career suffered as a result. 'I Will Survive' has been re-released successfully several times, and Gaynor continues to perform her old disco classics alongside gospel material to fans around the world. From 1973 up until 1981, Gaynor put out an album every year, and every one of them went Top 40. 

VH-1 honored Gloria in October 2000, during a countdown of the 100 Dance Records of All Time. At the top of the charts was none other than, "I Will Survive." These days Gaynor is just as busy performing now as she was in the ’70s, ‘80s and ’90s. Now with the new millennium in full swing, she’s hotter than ever! In 1999, she made a splashy appearance for a two-week stint on Broadway in the long running musical revue, "Smokey Joe’s Cafe."

She headlined the very first East-West German reunification concert, and has sung for dignitaries the world over, including President Clinton, Princess Grace and Pope John Paul II. 

Gaynor wrote an autobiography in 1997 named I Will Survive. The following year, she was appointed by the French World Cup Soccer Team as the team's "godmother" for her uplifting music. 'I will Survive' became their anthem after they won the World Cup in 1998. 

The summer of 2001 will mark the first time in nearly a decade that Gaynor will release a full length, major U.S. label CD on Logic/BMG Records. Her popularity overseas has always flourished, with International hits as 2000’s "Last Night" with Giorgio Moroder that went #1 all over Europe.