Samantha Sang | |
---|---|
Birth name | Cheryl Lau Sang |
Also known as | Cheryl Gray |
Born | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 5 August 1951
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 1966–1981; 1999; 2004; 2007 |
Labels |
Cheryl Lau Sang (born 5 August 1951), known professionally as Samantha Sang, is an Australian singer. She had an earlier career as a teenage singer under the stage name Cheryl Gray, before adopting the stage name she is more widely known as in 1969. She first received nationwide recognition in Australia in 1967, after releasing the top ten single "You Made Me What I Am".
By 1969, Sang relocated to the United Kingdom, where she worked with the Bee Gees, before returning to Australia in 1975. She reconnected with the Bee Gees in 1977 and had an international hit with their song "Emotion", peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, number two in Australia and number eleven in the United Kingdom. The single's parent album, Emotion (1978), reached the top thirty on Billboard 200 and included two other singles.
Sang was born to Reg and Joan (née Clarke) Sang in Melbourne, Australia, [1] the great-great-granddaughter of a Chinese herbalist and surgeon. [2] Both parents were 1940s Radio Revue singers. [3] Her father ran a singing school and performed professionally as Reg Gray. Sang began her career at the age of eight, as Cheryl Gray, by singing on Australian radio [4] and entered and won talent contests. Her first performance on television was at the age of eleven. [5]
In December 1966, she released her debut single, "The Real Thing" (not to be confused with fellow Australian Russell Morris' 1969 hit song "The Real Thing"), under the name "Cheryl Gray". [6] It was issued by EMI Records on their HMV label and was quickly followed by her second single, "In a Woman's Eyes". [7]
Her third single, "You Made Me What I Am", was released in May 1967 and reached number eight on the Go-Set Top 40. [6] [8] Teen magazine, Go-Set ran a poll in August for pop performers and Gray was voted third in the 'Top Girl Singer' category behind Lynne Randell and Bev Harrell. [9] Sang released three more singles on HMV but none charted. [6] She became a singer on Australian television, but she felt her career was limited if she remained in Australia. In 1969, Sang travelled to the United Kingdom where Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees heard her singing and urged his manager, Robert Stigwood, to sign her. Under Stigwood's management she changed her name to "Samantha Sang". Gibb co-wrote "Love of a Woman" with his brother Maurice. [10] Sang's version – with Barry Gibb supplying backing vocals, guitar and producing – was released in August. [6] [11] It was a minor hit in some European countries. [4]
Sang followed with "Nothing in the World Like Love" written by UK pop singer-songwriter Labi Siffre. [6] [12] Visa restrictions forced her out of the UK and she returned to Australia.[ citation needed ]
By 1975, Sang had changed management and signed with Polydor which released three singles and her debut album, Samantha Sang and Rocked the World.
In 1977, she recorded "When Love Is Gone", the theme song for French drama film Bilitis . [13]
She visited Barry Gibb in France whilst the Bee Gees were recording songs for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. A new song, "Emotion", was written for her by Barry and Robin Gibb. The single was co-produced by Barry with the Bee Gees' production team of Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson. Released in 1978, with backing vocals by Barry, it showcased a softer style and became a major hit worldwide. [6] It reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 in March 1978, and earned a platinum record. [14] [15] It peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart and at number two on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. [16] [17]
Her following album, Emotion, although not produced by Barry Gibb, included a version of "Charade", a little-known Bee Gees' song from their 1974 album Mr. Natural . Emotion peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 and achieved a gold record in March 1978. [15] [18] Determined to succeed on her own merits, Sang did not record another Gibb song to capitalise on her success, but chose a disco track, "You Keep Me Dancing", as her next single. It peaked at No. 56 on the US Hot 100 [19] (NZ # 21, [20] Canada AC #10 [21] ) and was followed into the charts by her cover of Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour". [14]
She recorded a cover of Eric Carmen's Top 20 single, "Change of Heart", featured as the B-side of "You Keep Me Dancing". Her third album, From Dance to Love, was released by United Artists in 1979. [6]
In 1999, residing again in Melbourne, Sang made a short return to live performing, with her father Reg as guest vocalist. In 2004, Sang's three albums were released for the first time on CD in a two-piece set as the compilation The Ultimate Collection.[ citation needed ]
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
AUS [22] | ||
Samantha Sang and Rocked the World | — | |
Emotion |
| 35 |
From Dance to Love |
| — |
And the World Listened |
| — |
Title | Details |
---|---|
The Ultimate Collection |
|
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certification | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUS [22] | UK [23] | US [24] | ||||
1969 | "The Love of a Woman" | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
1972 | "Nothing in the World Like Love" | — | — | — | ||
"It's Been Raining Every Day Since Monday" | — | — | — | |||
1974 | "It Could Have Been" | — | — | — | Samantha Sang and Rocked the World | |
1975 | "Can't You Hear the Music of My Love Song" | — | — | — | ||
1977 | "Emotion" | 2 | 11 | 3 |
| Emotion |
1978 | "You Keep Me Dancing" | 40 | — | 56 | ||
1979 | "I Can Still Remember" | — | — | — | From Dance to Love | |
"In the Midnight Hour" | — | — | 88 | |||
"From Dance to Love" | — | — | — | |||
1981 | "Let's Start Again" (featuring Robert Delon) | — | — | — | Non-album single |
The Go-Set Pop Poll was coordinated by teen-oriented pop music newspaper Go-Set and was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll from 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities. [26]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1967 | herself (Cheryl Gray) | Top Female Singer | 3rd |
1968 | herself (Cheryl Gray) | Top Female Singer | 5th |
TELEVISION
Title | Year | Performance | Type |
---|---|---|---|
1967 | The Go!! Show | Herself as Cheryl Gray | TV series, 8 episodes |
1969 | The Rolf Harris Show | Herself as Cheryl Gray | TV series, 1 episode |
1969 | The Tommy Leonetti Show | Herself | TV series |
1970 | In Melbourne Tonight | Herself sings "Nothing Can Stop Me Now" / "To Love Somebody" | TV series, 2 episodes |
1970 | In Melbourne Tonight | Herself sings "The Love Of A Woman" | TV series, 1 episode |
1972 | Kamahl | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
1972-1975 | The Graham Kennedy Show | Herself sings "Resurrection Shuffle" | TV series, 4 episodes |
1973 | The Graham Kennedy Show | Herself sings "This Is My Life (La Vita)" | TV series, 1 episode |
1973 | The Graham Kennedy Show | Herself sings "Didn't We" | TV series, 1 episode |
1974 | It's Magic | Guest Performer | TV series, 1 episode |
1974-1976 | The Ernie Sigley Show | Herself | TV series, 4 episodes |
1975 | The Ernie Sigley Show | Herself sings "Can't You Hear The Music Of My Love Song" | TV series, 1 episode |
1975;1978 | Countdown | Herself sings "You Made Me What I Am" | ABC TV series, 3 episodes |
1975 | The Graham Kennedy Show | Herself sings "You Made Me What I Am" | TV series, 1 episode |
1975 | The Ernie Sigley Show | Herself sings "Land Of A Thousand Dances" | TV series, 1 episode |
1975 | Samantha Sang And Rocked The World | Herself | TV special |
1977 | Countdown Silver Jubilee Show | Herself | ABC TV special |
1977 | The Celebrity Cabaret | Herself sings "Emotion" / "Where The Love Has Gone" | TV special, US |
1978 | Dick Clark's American Bandstand | Herself | TV series US, 1 episode |
1978-1979 | The Mike Douglas Show | Herself - Singer | TV series US, 3 episodes |
1978 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest - Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
1978 | Top Of The Pops | Herself sings "Emotion" | TV series UK, 1 episode |
1978 | Thank You, Rock 'N' Roll: A Tribute To Alan Freed | Herself sings "Emotion" | TV special, US |
1978 | Countdown | Herself - Co-host sings "Midnight Hour" | ABC TV series, 1 episode |
1978, 1979 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest - Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
1978 | Australian Music To The World | Herself | TV special |
1979 | The Merv Griffin Show | Herself | TV series US, 1 episode |
1979 | The Mike Walsh Show | Guest - Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
1982 | Telethon 1982 | Guest - Herself | TV special |
1989; 1989 | The Bert Newton Show | Herself sings "Old Man River" | TV series, 1 episode |
1989; 1989 | The Bert Newton Show | Herself sings "I've Got My Song To Sing" | TV series, 1 episode |
1989; 1989 | The Bert Newton Show | Herself sings "Resurrection Shuffle" | TV series, 1 episode |
1989 | In Melbourne Today | Guest - Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
1989 | The Bert Newton Show | Herself sings "Waiting For The Last Goodbye" | TV series, 1 episode |
1999;2000 | Good Morning Australia | Herself sings "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" | TV series, 1 episode |
2000 | Good Morning Australia | Herself sings "Resurrection Shuffle" | TV series, 1 episode |
2008 | Wrok Down | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in the mid-to-late 1970s.
Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Along with his younger brothers, Robin and Maurice, he rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popular music. Gibb is well known for his wide vocal range including a far-reaching high-pitched falsetto. Gibb's career has spanned over 60 years.
Cucumber Castle is the seventh studio album by the Bee Gees, released in April 1970. It was produced by Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, and Robert Stigwood. It consists of songs from their television special of the same name, which was named after a song on their 1967 album Bee Gees' 1st. Cucumber Castle is the only Bee Gees album not to feature any recorded contributions from Robin Gibb, as he had left the group before the album was recorded.
"Night Fever" is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees. It first appeared on the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever on RSO Records. Producer Robert Stigwood wanted to call the film Saturday Night, but singer Robin Gibb expressed hesitation at the title. Stigwood liked the title Night Fever but was wary of marketing a movie with that name. The song bounded up the Billboard charts while the Bee Gees’ two previous hits from Saturday Night Fever soundtrack were still in the top ten. The record debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart at #76, then leaped up 44 positions to #32. It then moved: 32–17–8–5–2–1. It remained at #1 for eight weeks, and ultimately spent 13 weeks in the top 10. For the first five weeks that "Night Fever" was at #1, "Stayin' Alive" was at #2. Also, for one week in March, Bee Gees related songs held five of the top positions on the Hot 100 chart, and four of the top five positions, with "Night Fever" at the top of the list. The B-side of "Night Fever" was a live version of "Down the Road" taken from the Bee Gees 1977 album, Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live.
"Jive Talkin'" is a song by the Bee Gees, released as a single in May 1975 by RSO Records. This was the lead single from the album Main Course and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100; it also reached the top-five on the UK Singles Chart in the middle of 1975. Largely recognised as the group's comeback song, it was their first US top-10 hit since "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (1971).
"Too Much Heaven" is a song by the Bee Gees, which was the band's contribution to the "Music for UNICEF" fund. They performed it at the Music for UNICEF Concert on 9 January 1979. The song later found its way to the group's thirteenth original album, Spirits Having Flown. It hit No. 1 in both the US and Canada. In the United States, the song was the first single out of three from the album to interrupt a song's stay at #1. "Too Much Heaven" knocked "Le Freak" off the top spot for two weeks before "Le Freak" returned to #1 again. "Too Much Heaven" also rose to the top three in the UK. In the US, it would become the fourth of six consecutive No. 1s, equalling the record set by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles for the most consecutive No. 1 songs. The six Bee Gee songs are "How Deep Is Your Love", "Stayin' Alive", "Night Fever", "Too Much Heaven", "Tragedy" and "Love You Inside Out". The songs spanned the years of 1977, 1978 and 1979.
"Emotion" is a song written by Barry and Robin Gibb. It was first recorded by Australian singer Samantha Sang, whose version reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. The Bee Gees recorded their own version of the song in 1994 as part of an album called Love Songs, which was never released, but it was eventually included on their 2001 collection titled Their Greatest Hits: The Record. In 2001, "Emotion" was covered by the American R&B girl group Destiny's Child. Their version of the song was an international hit, reaching the top ten on the US Hot 100 chart and peaking in the top five on the UK Singles Chart. English singer Emma Bunton also covered the song on her 2019 album My Happy Place.
"How Deep Is Your Love" is a pop ballad written and recorded by the Bee Gees in 1977 and released as a single in September of that year. It was ultimately used as part of the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever. It was a number-three hit in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 on 25 December 1977 and stayed in the Top 10 for 17 weeks. It spent six weeks atop the US adult contemporary chart. It is listed at No. 27 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. Alongside "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever", it is one of the group's three tracks on the list. The song was covered by Take That for their 1996 Greatest Hits album, reaching No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks.
"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" is a song released by the Bee Gees in 1971. It was written by Barry and Robin Gibb and was the first single on the group's 1971 album Trafalgar. It was their first US No. 1 single and also reached No. 1 in Cashbox magazine for two weeks.
"Heartbreaker" is a song performed by American singer Dionne Warwick. It was written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees for her 1982 studio album of the same name, while production was helmed by Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson under their production moniker Gibb-Galuten-Richardson. Barry Gibb's backing vocal is heard on the chorus.
"First of May" is a song by the Bee Gees with lead vocals by Barry Gibb, released as a single from their 1969 double album Odessa. Its B-side was "Lamplight". It also featured as the B-side of "Melody Fair" when that song was released as a single in the Far East in 1971 as well as in 1976 and 1980 on RSO Records. It was the first Bee Gees single to be released after lead guitarist Vince Melouney had left the group.
"I Just Want to Be Your Everything" is a song recorded by Andy Gibb, initially released in April 1977 as the first single from his debut album Flowing Rivers. It reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, starting on the week ending 30 July 1977, and again for the week ending 17 September 1977. It was Gibb's first single released in the United Kingdom and United States. His previous single, "Words and Music" was only released in Australia. It is ranked number 26 on Billboard's 55th anniversary All Time Top 100.
"Run to Me" is a song by the Bee Gees, the lead single from the group's album To Whom It May Concern (1972). The song reached the UK Top 10 and the US Top 20.
"Alive" is a ballad recorded by the Bee Gees for their album To Whom It May Concern. It was the second and last single from the album released on 10 November 1972 worldwide. The song was credited to Barry and Maurice Gibb and produced by the Gibbs and their manager Robert Stigwood.
"Love Me" is a song recorded by the Bee Gees, released on the 1976 album Children of the World. It was also included on the compilation albums Bee Gees Greatest and Love from the Bee Gees, which was released only in the UK.
"Charade" is a ballad written by Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb released in 1974 by the Bee Gees. It was the third and final single released from the Mr. Natural album. Like the parent album, the single was not a hit and only managed to climb to #31 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart in late 1974. It did reach the Top 10 in Chile, peaking at #7.
"(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" is a song penned by Barry Gibb and Blue Weaver and recorded by the Bee Gees in 1977 on the Saturday Night Fever sessions but was not released until Bee Gees Greatest (1979). A different version was released in September 1978 as the third single by Andy Gibb from his second studio album Shadow Dancing.
"Railroad" is the first solo single released by Maurice Gibb, best known as a member of the Bee Gees. It was released in April 1970. Like the Bee Gees' songs from 1967 to 1972, the single was released by Polydor in most parts of the world while in the US and Canada it was released by Atco. In Canada it was also released by Atlantic and Cotillion. Gibb did not release a follow-up single until 1984 when he released "Hold Her in Your Hand".
Emotion is the second album by Australian singer Samantha Sang, released in 1978. It features her biggest hit "Emotion" as well as her follow-up hit, "You Keep Me Dancin'".
Gibb-Galuten-Richardson were a British-American record producing team, consisting of Bee Gees founding member and British singer-songwriter Barry Gibb, American musician and songwriter Albhy Galuten and American sound engineer Karl Richardson. They produced albums and singles for Andy Gibb, Samantha Sang, Frankie Valli, Teri DeSario, Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton and Diana Ross.
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