Ava Cherry | |
---|---|
Born | 1953 (age 70–71) Woodlawn, Chicago, U.S. |
Other names | Black Barbarella [1] |
Occupation(s) | Singer, model |
Years active | 1972–present |
Musical career | |
Origin | New York, New York |
Genres | R&B, disco, post-disco, dance-pop, new wave |
Labels | RSO, Capitol |
Website | avacherryofficial |
Signature | |
Ava Cherry is an American singer and model. She collaborated with English musician David Bowie between 1972 and 1975; the two met in New York City when she was a nightclub waitress and Bowie was touring for The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars . Afterwards, they began a period of personal and artistic collaboration that heavily influenced the Young Americans "blue-eyed soul" era. Following this, she struck out as a solo singer and backing artist for musicians such as Luther Vandross and Chaka Khan.
Growing up in Chicago with significant exposure to the local African-American music culture, Cherry became an influence in the works of a number of pre-eminent artists, as well as a respected musician in her own right. Cherry's influence on Young Americans through her connections to major soul music institutions such as Sigma Sound Studios and the Apollo Theater has proven a particularly noted part of her legacy, as has her contemporaneous work with proto-new wave band the Astronettes.
Cherry's solo career has been long-running, with her first album Ripe!!! released in 1980. Her solo work, known for its disco influence, has received a mostly positive critical reception but a lack of commercial success; factors blamed for this critical and commercial disconnect include racial discrimination within the music industry and backlash against her predominant genres.
In January 2022 she released her autobiography All That Glitters: The Ava Cherry Story. [2]
Cherry was born in 1953 [3] to an African-American family in Woodlawn, a working-class neighbourhood on the south side of Chicago. Her father was a postal worker and trumpet player who worked long hours, "from four o'clock in the morning [until] nine o'clock at night", and she rarely saw him; her mother worked in the administration department for Playboy Enterprises. [4] Both parents' careers left deep imprints on her; she was raised to appreciate music by her father and lived for a period in the Playboy Mansion as a bunny. [4] [5] Cherry was introduced to Hugh Hefner by her friends, and was underage at the time she lived in the mansion. [6] She attended Academy of Our Lady High School and graduated in the early 1970s. [7] [note 1] As a teenager, she sang in a girl group influenced by the Supremes and was a regular attendee at the Regal Theater in Chicago, a venue frequently attended by black music fans. [8]
Cherry first aspired to be a model after graduating high school, putting together a book of headshots and finding work with several agencies. She disliked her unusual last name, but was told by modelling agencies it was an asset to her career. Cherry later moved to New York City for her career, but it failed to prosper, and she found work as a cocktail waitress to pay the bills. [7]
Cherry first heard about David Bowie through her agent, who was an early fan and gave her a copy of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars . She was captivated by the record, which she played "about a hundred times", and by Bowie's aesthetic sensibility. [9] At the time, Cherry was a waitress at the Genesis nightclub and a close friend of Stevie Wonder's then-girlfriend, [10] who knew Bowie; when she invited Wonder to host an afterparty at Genesis, Bowie attended. When the two first met, he was attracted by her close-cropped blonde hair and asked if she was a singer, inviting her on the spot to sing backup on a planned tour of Japan. [4] [7]
Their relationship quickly turned personal as well as professional. Shortly after they began dating, Cherry met Bowie's wife Angela Barnett (also known as Angie Bowie) and was shocked to learn he was married until Bowie clarified they were in an open marriage. [9] Cherry and Barnett initially became friends, [11] but ultimately became mutually jealous. [12] Anticipating the Japan tour, Cherry quit her job and sold her apartment, only for the tour to be cancelled. Not to be dissuaded, she went to Europe to search for Bowie. [9]
Travelling Europe, Cherry attracted the attention of some modelling agencies due to her striking and defining visual aesthetic. Designers treated her as "a goddess from outer space" as she made the rounds through the major fashion capitals of Paris, London, and Milan, and she was featured in Vogue and Elle . [7] After a year, Cherry found Bowie working on the album Pin Ups near Paris. They spent a week in the Château d'Hérouville to record the album, which she described as "one of the most beautiful times in my life", and lived together in Paris for eight months. [4] [9]
Bowie hoped to steer Cherry's burgeoning career, saying she could be the "next Josephine Baker" and hoping to sign her to MainMan, run by his manager Tony Defries. [11] He founded a soul-influenced trio called The Astronettes, featuring Cherry, long-time collaborator Warren Peace, and Jason Guess, and recorded and produced their tracks in London through late 1973 and early 1974. The Astronettes project was quickly shelved and the material was not released until the 1990s; however, Bowie kept the trio as his backing singers for the Diamond Dogs era. [13] The Astronettes received mixed reviews, with some describing it as "sketchwork" only valuable as a curiosity, while others admired it for a "new wave before the term existed" sensibility. [13] [14]
Cherry's major influence on Bowie was in Young Americans , his ninth studio album. The heavily soul-influenced work drew on Bowie's interest in black music, and the backing trio of Cherry, Robin Clark (wife of guitarist Carlos Alomar), and a then-unknown Luther Vandross impacted the album's sound. Cherry introduced him to the Apollo Theater, where he poached Alomar and Vandross from the house band; Bowie and Alomar would go on to write some of the album's most successful songs, while Vandross would break out as a celebrity in his own right. [9] [10] She also introduced him to the Sigma Sound Studios, synonymous with Philadelphia soul, where the album was recorded. [15] Cherry was later quoted as saying that it was her influence on and encouragement of Bowie that inspired him to perform black music in the first place. [4] She was a standout member of the Young Americans backing band, attracting the approval of critic Lester Bangs in Creem . [16]
The precise nature of Bowie and Cherry's relationship throughout this era is disputed; Tony Visconti recalled them as lacking any apparent romantic bond, and Bowie as mostly interested in having a managerial role over her career. Barnett was unfamiliar with the extent of their relationship and reportedly almost jumped out of a window when she learned how close they were. [17] The personal difficulty between Cherry and Barnett required the former to keep a low profile in the latter's presence, even as Cherry and Bowie carried on a relationship in New York. [12] Their relationship was also marked by double standards, since Cherry was expected to remain faithful while Bowie had several other partners. [18]
The early to mid-1970s was a chaotic period in Bowie's career, marked by increasing fame and drug abuse. When meeting Cherry's parents, he shocked them by taking out a vial of cocaine at the dinner table. [19] Bowie's drug-based decline came as a particular shock to Cherry, as he did very few drugs when they first met. [20] Their relationship was serious, with Bowie reportedly considering divorcing Barnett to marry her, [19] but handicapped by Bowie's own personal and financial issues. He grew increasingly paranoid, placing a strain on their relationship. [21] Bowie and Defries had significant financial conflicts throughout the period, which culminated in the discovery that the singer had millions of dollars less than he believed; the stress of the financial shock caused him to spontaneously cut ties with multiple people, including Cherry, and drop her from the upcoming Isolar Tour. [4] [22] She said he wrote the songs "Golden Years" and "Stay" from Station to Station about her, [9] although exactly whom the songs were written for is disputed by Bowie biographers. [23] [24] [25]
Bowie arranged Cherry and two other collaborators into a backing group called The Astronettes and recorded an album with them; however, the album would not be released until 1995 as People From Bad Homes. The album was released without the approval of either Cherry or Bowie, and Cherry was particularly upset that the unfinished demo tracks were released to the public. [6] People From Bad Homes was regarded by some reviewers, notably Chris O'Leary of Pushing Ahead of the Dame and the Bowie chronologies Rebel Rebel and Ashes to Ashes, as a curiosity with little value except to chronicle the history of later Bowie songs, such as "Scream Like a Baby", a reworking of Cherry's "I Am a Laser". [13] However, more positive reviews recognized the album for its proto-new wave tendencies. [14] In 2008, the same recordings were re-released as The Astronettes Sessions. [26]
After the demise of her relationship with Bowie, Cherry joined progressive jazz supergroup GO. [27] The group was a collaboration with Steve Winwood, [7] former Santana drummer Michael Shrieve, and Stomu Yamashta. [28]
After GO, Cherry returned to Chicago to embark on a solo career. Her first solo album was Ripe!!!, released by RSO Records in 1980 [note 2] and produced by Curtis Mayfield. [31] Ripe!!! was originally intended to be produced by Gil Askey for Curtom Records, but he was uncomfortable with her work with Bowie. [10] The album made a minor impact on the Billboard Black Albums Chart, [14] but was held back by being a disco album released at the height of the anti-disco backlash. [31] Two singles were released, "Love Is Good News" [32] and "I Just Can't Shake This Feeling". [33] The minor success of the album combined with Cherry's history was enough for her to sign a deal with Capitol Records shortly after. [14]
Cherry's second album Streetcar Named Desire was released by Capitol Records in 1982. It was produced by Bob Esty, who had worked with Donna Summer, Barbra Streisand, and Cher. [8] Streetcar Named Desire was commercially unsuccessful, [34] as were the two singles spawned off it, "Streetcar Named Desire" [35] and "Love To Be Touched". [36] Its lack of success was ascribed in part to racial stereotypes in the music industry; pop radio stations reportedly stopped playing the album after discovering Cherry was a black artist making 'white' music. [37] Contemporary critical reception was positive, describing the album as "electric, heart-pumping funk" and drawing connections to Grace Jones and Debbie Harry. [38] [39]
Picture Me, Cherry's third studio album, was released in 1987. It was her most successful solo attempt, producing two Top 40 dance hit singles, but fell below the label's commercial expectations. [7] [14] The continued disco influence of the album was labelled as a factor in Cherry's failure to break into mainstream pop music. [34] It was, however, successful enough for Cherry to be heralded as one of a number of women changing the face of contemporary pop. [40] Picture Me received mixed reviews, being described as "slick and sexy synth pop", but also as a lean album of overplayed "skimpy grooves". [41] [42]
Cherry would not release another solo record until the EP Spend the Night in 1997, which was most known for its cover of "Forget Me Nots" by Patrice Rushen. [10] Spend the Night was released by J-Bird Records, [31] one of the first record labels to distribute primarily via the Internet. [43] After Spend the Night, Cherry self-distributed a number of singles in the early 2010s. [10] [34] In 2019 she signed to the independent label Wake Up! Music, [44] through which she released a cover of Bowie's "Let's Dance" [9] and the nu-disco single "Testify Love". [45]
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Cherry also worked as a backup singer to R&B musician Luther Vandross. [46] The pair had met many years earlier as backup singers to Bowie, and they built a close relationship, with Cherry referring to him as like a brother. [8] As Vandross' friend and backup, she played a unique role in his stage shows; her glamour-fuelled aesthetic sensibility frequently outshone his, with stage shows built around her and other backup singers rather than the nominal main attraction. [47] The dresses Cherry wore on stage frequently cost more than his own outfits. [48] Vandross' focus on Cherry and Lisa Fischer as a core part of his stage show caused problems for other backup singers, who were required to sink into the background and not outshine them, and treated harshly if they were thought to catch too much attention. [49] Cherry's place in Vandross' stage show has been analyzed for its significance and the implications for Vandross, a flamboyant figure with extensive speculation about his private life and sexual orientation. [48]
Cherry has also sung backup for Chaka Khan [7] and Robert Palmer. [50] In 2013 she appeared in 20 Feet from Stardom , a documentary about backup singers. [50]
David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, and his music and stagecraft had a significant impact on popular music.
Let's Dance is the 15th studio album by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 14 April 1983 through EMI America Records. Co-produced by Bowie and Nile Rodgers, the album was recorded in December 1982 at the Power Station in New York City. The sessions featured players from Rodgers' band Chic and the then-unknown Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan on lead guitar. For the first time ever, Bowie only sang and played no instruments.
Young Americans is the ninth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 7 March 1975 through RCA Records. A departure from the glam rock style of previous albums, the record showcased Bowie's interest in soul and R&B. Music critics have described the sound as blue-eyed soul; Bowie himself labelled the album's sound "plastic soul".
Tonight is the 16th studio album by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 24 September 1984 through EMI America Records. The follow-up to his most commercially successful album Let's Dance, it was written and recorded in mid-1984 at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Canada, following the conclusion of the Serious Moonlight Tour. Bowie, Derek Bramble and Hugh Padgham co-produced the album. Many of the same personnel from Let's Dance and the accompanying tour returned for Tonight, with a few additions. Much of Bowie's creative process was the same as he used on Let's Dance, similarly playing no instruments and offering little creative input to the musicians.
"The Man Who Sold the World" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The title track of Bowie's third studio album, it was released in November 1970 in the US and in April 1971 in the UK by Mercury Records. Produced by Tony Visconti, it was recorded at Trident and Advision Studios in London in May 1970, towards the end of the album's sessions; Bowie recorded his vocal on the final day of mixing for the album, reflecting his generally dismissive attitude during the sessions. Musically, it is based around a "circular" guitar riff from Mick Ronson. Its lyrics are cryptic and evocative, being inspired by numerous poems including the 1899 "Antigonish" by William Hughes Mearns. Bowie's vocals are heavily "phased" throughout and have been described as "haunting".
"Golden Years" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, released by RCA Records on 21 November 1975 as the lead single from his tenth studio album Station to Station (1976). Partially written before Bowie began shooting for the film The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), the song was mostly compiled in the studio and was the first track completed for the album. Co-produced by Bowie and Harry Maslin, recording took place at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles during September 1975. Due to Bowie's heavy cocaine use, he later recalled remembering almost nothing of Station to Station's production.
"Young Americans" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie from his ninth studio album of the same name. It was mostly recorded in August 1974 at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia and was debuted on the Soul tour the following month. The song featured contributions from then-unknown singer Luther Vandross, who conceived the backing vocal arrangement. An embracement of R&B and Philadelphia soul, the song presents an Englishman's impressionist portrait of America at the time, featuring various characters and allusions to American totems and events.
"John, I'm Only Dancing" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, originally released as a non-album single on 1 September 1972. A glam rock and R&B number, the lyrics describe a situation in which the narrator informs his lover not to worry about the girl he is with because he is "only dancing" with her. Although ambiguous, many interpreted it as concerning a gay relationship. Recorded in London in June 1972, it was boosted by a low-budget promotional video directed by Mick Rock. It reached number 12 in the UK; RCA refused to release it in America due to its suggestive lyrical content.
Cherry Vanilla is an American singer-songwriter, publicist, and actress. After working as an actress in Andy Warhol's Pork, she worked as a publicist for David Bowie, before becoming a rock singer. She subsequently became a publicist for Vangelis.
Geoffrey Alexander MacCormack, better known as Warren Peace, is an English vocalist, composer and dancer best known for his work with David Bowie in the 1970s.
"Fascination" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie and the American musician Luther Vandross for Bowie's Young Americans album in 1975. The song originated from a Vandross song called "Funky Music " which The Mike Garson Band used to play before Bowie concerts in 1974.
"Right" is a song by the English musician David Bowie from his album Young Americans, released on 7 March 1975. Recorded on 14–18 August and 20–24 November 1974 at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia, "Right" is the last of four tracks on side one of Young Americans, and the B-side of the single "Fame", released in August 1975.
"Can You Hear Me?" is a ballad by the English musician David Bowie from his 1975 album Young Americans. Bowie called it a "real love song", written with someone in mind, but he did not identify them. The song was released as a single in November 1975 on the B side of "Golden Years".
"Scream Like a Baby" is a song written by David Bowie. It appears on the 1980 album Scary Monsters .
Santa Monica '72 is a live album by David Bowie, recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 during the Ziggy Stardust Tour. Taken from KMET FM's radio broadcast, it was available only as a bootleg for more than 20 years; according to author David Buckley, possessing a copy was the test of a "proper Bowie fan". The recording was issued semi-legally/officially and without Bowie's approval by the Golden Years label in 1994, with Griffin Music handling the American release in 1995.
Labyrinth is a soundtrack album by David Bowie and composer Trevor Jones, released in 1986 for the film Labyrinth. It was the second of three soundtrack releases in which Bowie had a major role, following Christiane F. (1981) and preceding The Buddha of Suburbia (1993). The soundtrack album features Jones' score, which is split into six tracks for the soundtrack: "Into the Labyrinth", "Sarah", "Hallucination", "The Goblin Battle", "Thirteen O'Clock", and "Home at Last".
Linda Clifford is an American R&B, disco and house music singer who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "Runaway Love" and "Red Light".
The 1980 Floor Show was a rock musical spectacle featuring English rock musician David Bowie as the protagonist, held at the Marquee Club in Soho, London, on October 18–20, 1973. It was broadcast in the United States by NBC on November 16, 1973, as part of the series The Midnight Special, and presented the last performance of Bowie as his character Ziggy Stardust.
I'm Only Dancing is a live album by the English musician David Bowie. It had a limited release on 29 August 2020 for Record Store Day as a double LP and double CD. It was recorded on the second half of the Diamond Dogs Tour in 1974, which is known as "the Soul Tour" due to the influence of the then-unreleased material Bowie had begun recording for Young Americans (1975). I'm Only Dancing marks the first time performances from this portion of the tour have been officially released.