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Gloria Gaynor
Disco diva Gloria Gaynor plans to put the boogie in the Boogiedown when she performs at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday.
Its going to be a party, said the songstress, best known for her megahit I Will Survive . Were going to turn that place into Party Central.
Its the disco queens first show in the Bronx.
Shes a wonderful performer and were looking forward to her making her debut here, said Eva Bornstein, Lehman Centers Executive Director.
Bornstein said she was headed home on the No. 4 train one night last year when she thought to invite Gaynor to perform.
We had this horrendous year of economic problems and I was thinking How is Lehman going to survive? And I said We will survive. We will survive. And then Gloria Gaynors song came to my head, she laughed. It seemed like everyone was feeling the same way. So I thought Why not have her come and sing it to everybody?
Gaynor, 62, a Newark, NJ, native, soared to fame in the 1970s. Her debut 1975 album, Never Can Say Goodbye, became an instant dance club hit for its 19-minute nonstop dance mix.
However, it was her 1979 hit I Will Survive that solidified her place in music history.
The disco anthem earned her the Grammy for Best Disco Recording in 1980 and was recently inducted into the 2012 Grammy Hall of Fame. Even decades later, its still considered the womens anthem and helped make her an icon in the gay community.
Its a song that brings hope, Gayn or said Tuesday, from her New Jersey home. It encourages, it empowers, it celebrates the tenacity of the human spirit. And its such a blessing to me for people to count me as a blessing in their lives.
Gaynor has enjoyed other hits over the years, including I Am What I Am in 1984. After a 15-year hiatus, she released I Wish You Love which included Just Keep Thinking About You which topped Billboards Dance/Club charts.
The disco icon still tours the world performing live concerts.
Next month, shell release the dance single, All the Man that I Need , and is releasing her first Christian contemporary album later this year.
I know its unconventional for people to do both, she said, but I am unconventional.
Gaynor is also branching out to help teen-aged parents. She recently earned her bachelors degree in psychology from Walden University and plans on opening a center for teen parents.
Its just something God has placed on my heart, she said.
Still, music is never far away. She said shes ready to bring the house down at Lehman Center on Saturday.
Its going to be so much fun, Gaynor said.
Visit lehmancenter.org for more information.
tsamuels@nydailynews.com
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