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Taana Gardner | |
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| Born | September 3, 1960 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | West End |
Taana Gardner (born September 3, 1960) is an American disco and post-disco [1] singer who found her success through West End Records since 1979. She is also a former member of the Aural Exciters.
Born in Newark, New Jersey (where she currently resides), Taana is the granddaughter of a professional opera singer. Her musical career began at the age of eleven when she became active in theater and joined the Harlem Children's Theater Group. Her theater debut was at Lincoln Center as the high priestess in the "Land of the Egyptian," a musical which she also co-wrote. Taana went on to perform with the Dance Theater of Harlem and the National Black Theater.
Vocalist Taana Gardner was one of the leading lights of West End Records, a New York City label that released influential disco during the late 1970s and early ‘80s. At a young age, Gardner knew that she wanted to act and sing. Her grandmother, a former opera singer, began giving her vocal lessons at the age of five. Before she hit her teens, she was already a playwright; her work was featured at the Lincoln Center and also at the Apollo.
Despite having an accomplished background at an early age, it was something of a fluke that she became involved with the disco scene. Producer and songwriter Kenton Nix had a song, "Work That Body," that needed vocals. An early instrumental version of the track had been auditioned and approved by the Paradise Garage DJ Larry Levan, and Levan immediately introduced Nix to West End (and part Paradise Garage) owner Mel Cheren. Cheren set Nix up, but the singer who was slated to record the vocals fell ill on the day they were supposed to be laid down. Nix's brother, who worked for Gardner's father, called up the Gardner household that day—Thanksgiving Day, 1978—and invited Taana down. Taana accepted, recorded her vocals, and also gained another gig that same day when members of Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band overheard her voice and asked her to sing on the record they were working on. (This record actually turned out to be Spooks in Space by the Aural Exciters, released on Ze.)
"Work That Body," remixed by Levan, was an instant hit at the Paradise Garage, sparking a succession of West End classics helmed by Nix, sung by Gardner, and tweaked for maximum dance floor effect by Levan. "We Can Work It Out," "When You Touch Me," "Just Be a Friend," and "Paradise Express" came later in 1979, and the massive "Heartbeat" (the basis of "Lyrics 2 the Rhythm," the song from the "New Jack City" soundtrack by The Essence, Ini Kamoze's ubiquitous 1995 summer hit "Here Comes the Hotstepper," and De La Soul's 1989 hit "B.U.D.D.Y. Remix") and "No Frills" both followed in 1981.
Gardner took a step back from the limelight for several years to devote time to her children. 1985 saw the release of another Nix production, "Over You," for the YES label. She released a song produced by Guy Vaughn and Shedrick Guy of FlyGuy Production, co-produced by her around the same time for Next Plateau ("You Can't Keep Coming In and Out of My Life"), and a cover of LaBelle's "What Can I Do for You?" appeared on Elegal in 1992. In 1998, she teamed up again with Nix and West End for "I'm Comin'." Four years later, West End issued the Anthology of a Diva compilation. Gardner has also lent her skills to several acts, including Kool & the Gang, Peabo Bryson, Edwin Starr, and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, horns, electric piano, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars.
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture in the late 1970s, as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat.
Larry Levan was an American DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the modern dance club. He developed a cult following who referred to his sets as "Saturday Mass". Influential post-disco DJ François Kevorkian credits Levan with introducing the dub aesthetic into dance music. Along with Kevorkian, Levan experimented with drum machines and synthesizers in his productions and live sets, ushering in an electronic, post-disco sound that presaged the ascendence of house music. He DJ'd at Club Zanzibar in the 1980s as well, home to the Jersey Sound brand of deep house or garage house.
Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" or the "Gay-rage", was a New York City discotheque notable in the history of dance and pop music, as well as LGBT and nightclub cultures. The 10,000 square feet (930 m2) club was founded by sole proprietor Michael Brody, and occupied a building formerly located at 84 King Street in the SoHo neighborhood. It operated from 1977 to 1987 and featured notable resident DJ Larry Levan.
Charles Arthur Russell Jr. was an American cellist, composer, producer, singer, and musician from Iowa, whose work spanned a disparate range of styles. Trained in contemporary experimental composition and Indian classical music, Russell relocated to New York in the mid-1970s, where he became associated with Lower Manhattan's avant-garde community and eventually embraced the city's disco scene.
Amy Paulette "Amii" Stewart is an American disco and soul singer and dancer who found prominence with her 1979 U.S. Billboard number 1 hit cover of Eddie Floyd's song "Knock on Wood", often considered a classic of the disco genre. Stewart scored further international hits including "Light My Fire" (1979) and "Friends" (1985). Stewart is the stepsister of actress-singer Miquel Brown and aunt to Brown's actress-singer daughter Sinitta.
Gwendolyn Guthrie was an American singer-songwriter and pianist who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Peter Tosh, and Madonna, among others, and who wrote songs made famous by Ben E. King, Angela Bofill and Roberta Flack. Guthrie is well known for her 1986 anthem "Ain't Nothin' Goin' on But the Rent," and for her 1986 cover of the song "(They Long to Be) Close to You."
Madeline Bell is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from America in the gospel show Black Nativity in 1962, with the vocal group Bradford Singers.
Change is an Italian-American post-disco group formed in Bologna, Italy, in 1979 by businessman and executive producer Jacques Fred Petrus (1948–1987) and Mauro Malavasi. They were heavily influenced by the disco band Chic. The current incarnation of the group formed in 2018.
Deborah Cooper is an American professional dancer, musician, singer,backup singer, award-winning composer and entertainer, with several number one and top charting dance music and house music hits.
Teri Lynn DeSario is an American singer-songwriter from Miami, Florida.
Garage house is a dance music style that was developed alongside Chicago house music. The genre was popular in the 1980s in the United States and the 1990s in the United Kingdom, where it developed into UK garage and speed garage.
West End Records is an American music record label based in New York City. Led by co-founder Mel Cheren, West End was one of the most prominent labels in dance music's history, along with Prelude Records, Salsoul Records, and Casablanca Records. West End Records helped introduce the twelve-inch single, the vinyl format popularized by disco music in the 1970s and promoted the nascent garage house music pioneered by DJ Larry Levan in Paradise Garage. West End Records was acquired by Verse music group in 2010. On June 29, 2015, Verse Music was acquired by BMG Rights Management.
"Heartbeat" is a 1981 dance single by Taana Gardner. It was arranged by Dennis Weeden and Kenton Nix, and released by West End Records, with the more famous club mix created by Larry Levan. It reached the Billboard R&B chart at No. 10 and the No. 6 on the dance chart. It has sold over 800,000 copies.
"Funky Sensation" is a song released in 1981 by American singer Gwen McCrae.
The New Jersey sound or Jersey sound is a genre of house music originating in Newark, New Jersey during the early 1980s. It is a type of deep and garage house with an emphasis on soulful vocals influenced by Newark's gospel legacy.
Camille Filfiley, known professionally as Camille, is an American singer best known for her recordings with Eumir Deodato and her prominence in the early 1990s freestyle music and dance music genres.
Tony Humphries is an American electronic musician and DJ. He was one of the earliest proponents of house music and has been instrumental in spreading the genre on both sides of the Atlantic.
Chantal Curtis was a singer who had a disco hit in 1979 with "Get Another Love". She had some recordings released earlier under a different name. She died in Israel in 1985 having been hit by a bullet that was intended for her boyfriend. During her short career she had worked with Pierre Jaubert and Vladimir Cosma.
Melvin Cheren was a record executive who helped start the Paradise Garage, also known as "Gay-rage", a New York City gay discothèque popular in the 1970s and '80s.
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