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Cheryl Lynn


CHERYL LYNN

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While Cheryl Lynn benefited from timely associations with David Foster and David Paich, Ray Parker, Jr., Luther Vandross, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the major players who co-wrote and/or produced her biggest hits, it can be argued just as easily that the singer provided her collaborators with some of their most significant and opportune career achievements. There's no imagining the platinum breakthrough "Got to Be Real," "Shake It Up Tonight," "If This World Were Mine," and "Encore," all Top Five R&B hits from 1978 through 1983, as hits for anyone but Lynn, a church-raised powerhouse with a consistently vivacious and soaring voice. A songwriter and producer herself, Lynn peaked creatively and commercially during that six-year period with three Top Ten R&B albums, including the gold-certified debut Cheryl Lynn (1978), Instant Love (1982), and Preppie (1983). After six albums for Columbia, Lynn recorded for Manhattan and Virgin, released her last LP in the mid-'90s, and has since performed and recorded intermittently, last heard on the soundtrack for Shark Tale (2004).

A Los Angeleno, Lynn began singing as a youngster in church, where her mother was a musical director, and continued with her congregation's adult choir. In 1976, she put behind her collegiate studies in speech therapy to pursue acting and singing. She spent eight months with the national touring company of The Wiz, beginning as a background vocalist and eventually portraying the Wicked Witch of the West. During this time, at her manager's behest, Lynn reluctantly and successfully auditioned for The Gong Show and returned to perform Billy Preston's and Bruce Fisher's "You Are So Beautiful," for which she received a perfect score. No mere novelty, Lynn stirred interest from several record labels. Columbia signed her at the tail-end of 1977, a year in which the singer, then exiting her teens, was also credited with background vocals on D.J. Rogers' Love, Music & Life and Eddie Kendricks' Slick.

Lynn's solo recorded debut was made in 1978 with "Got to Be Real." A bubbling and sophisticated crossover disco smash, it was written by Lynn with David Foster and David Paich, the latter of whom -- a member of Columbia labelmates Toto -- produced it with his father, Marty Paich. The song topped Billboard's R&B chart and went number 12 pop, and was soon certified gold by the RIAA. As it was climbing the charts, Columbia issued Cheryl Lynn, which reached number 23 on the Billboard 200, went Top Five R&B, and earned a gold plaque, given extra support from the number 16 R&B hit "Star Love" (originally the B-side of "Got to Be Real") and the deep disco classic "You Saved My Day." Around the same time, Toto featured Lynn on "Georgy Porgy," another Top 20 R&B single.

he singer navigated the post-disco era while continually switching up studio partners. After her Barry Blue-produced follow-up, In Love, Lynn worked closely with "Got to Be Real" rhythm guitarist Ray Parker, Jr., who enlisted most of Raydio, along with arranger fellow Barry White associate Gene Page, bassist Marcus Miller, and many more of his distinguished studio session peers, to help cut the 1981 album In the Night. "Shake It Up Tonight," a high-stepping number written by Mike & Brenda Sutton, was its biggest single, topping out at number five on the R&B and dance charts. Lynn then connected with the emergent Luther Vandross for 1982's Instant Love, her second Top Ten R&B LP. Filled with Miller's liquid basslines and Vandross' unmistakable vocal arrangements -- enlivened by the top-tier likes of Tawatha Agee and Fonzi Thornton -- the album most notably contained a cover of Marvin Gaye's "If This World Were Mine." Lynn and duet partner Vandross took the update to number four on the R&B chart. She also joined flutist Hubert Laws that year for a version of "Goodbye for Now," Stephen Sondheim's theme from the film Reds.

Meanwhile, Lynn quietly continued to supply background vocals on sessions for albums by Parker, Vandross, Greg Phillinganes, Betty Wright, and a few other acts. The extracurricular activity didn't impede her creativity. For her fifth album, Preppie, she produced each song with the exception of "Encore," a Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis collaboration that swung a little differently than that duo's preceding success with Klymaxx and the S.O.S. Band. "Encore" became Lynn's second single (and Jam and Lewis' first of dozens) to top the R&B chart, and was also her fourth and final Hot 100 placement. The parent release was Lynn's third Top Ten R&B LP. Two years later, her Columbia period concluded with It's Gonna Be Right, on which she worked with Jam and Lewis, their fellow ex-Time bandmate Monte Moir, and Hubert Eaves III, who had just wrapped up with D Train.

Start OverLynn closed out the decade with Start Over and Whatever It Takes, released respectively on Manhattan in 1987 and on Virgin in 1989. These LPs likewise employed a broad assortment of contributors. Start Over was highlighted by "If You Were Mine," a midtempo groove made with future Rihanna hitmakers Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers that narrowly missed the R&B Top Ten. Whatever It Takes dipped into the dominant new jack swing sound, as heard on "Upset!," a collaboration with Loose Ends and Jesse Johnson (yet another Time alum), but its biggest hit was a plush ballad, "Everytime I Try to Say Goodbye," produced by Lynn and Johnson.

After she sang backup on multiple early-'90s Richard Marx sessions, Lynn made one more album, Good Time, distributed only in part of Europe and Japan. Almost half of the songs were produced by new jack swing catalyst Teddy Riley (Guy, Blackstreet), while Jazzie B. (Soul II Soul) worked with the singer on "Renegade." Since the album's release in 1995, Lynn has retreated from the music industry, but has occasionally performed. "Got to Be Real" was certified platinum in 2001, and four years later was honored by the Dance Music Hall of Fame. Between the two accolades, Lynn and Jam and Lewis reunited to record "Sweet Kind of Life" for the Shark Tale soundtrack.

-- Andy Kellman , All Music Guide


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VIDEOS

Got To Be RealGot To Be Real
Shake It Up TonightShake It Up Tonight
EncoreEncore!
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LINKSTITLEYEAR
Cheryl LynnCheryl Lynn1978
In LoveIn Love1979
In The NightIn The Night1981
Instant LoveInstant Love1982
PreppiePreppie1983
It's Gonna Be RightIt's Gonna Be Right1985
Start OverStart Over1987
Whatever It TakesWhatever It Takes1989
Good TimeGood Time1995


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Discography

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1978 Cheryl Lynn

01. Got To Be Real
02. All My Lovin'
03. Star Love
04. Come In From The Rain
05. You Saved My Day
06. Give My Love To You
07. Nothing You Say
08. You're The One
09. Daybreak (Storybook Children)

1979 In Love

01. I've Got Faith In You
02. Hide It Away
03. Feel It
04. In Love
05. Keep It Hot
06. I've Got Just What You Need
07. Love Bomb
08. Chances
09. Don't Let It Fade Away

1981 In The Night

01. Shake It Up Tonight
02. Show You How
03. In The Night
04. Hurry Home
05. I'm On Fire
06. With Love On Our Side
07. If You'll Be True To Me
08. What's On Your Mind
09. Baby

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1982 Instant Love

01. Instant Love
02. Sleep Walkin'
03. Day After Day
04. Look Before You Leap
05. Say You'll Be Mine
06. I Just Wanna Be Your Fantasy
07. Believe In Me
08. If This World Were Mine

1983 Preppie

01. Encore
02. Fix It
03. Fool A Fool
04. This Time
05. Change The Channel
06. Preppie
07. Love Rush
08. No One Else Will Do
09. Free
10. Life's Too Short

1985 It's Gonna Be Right

01. Fidelity
02. Fade To Black
03. Love's Been Here Before
04. It's Gonna Be Right
05. Let Me Love You
06. Find Somebody New
07. Loafin'
08. Slipped Me A MIckey
09. Tug O' War

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1987 Start Over

01. New Dress
02. Don't Bury Me
03. Don't Run Away
04. Start Over
05. No Curfew
06. If You Were Mine
07. Just Another Pretty Face
08. Everyday
09. Married Man

1989 Whatever It Takes

01. Upset
02. Every Time I Try To Say Goodbye
03. Whatever It Takes
04. Good For Me
05. Overworked 'N' Underloved
06. I Surrender
07. Most Of All
08. The Bottom Line

1995 Good Time

01. on't Wanna Be Mistreated
02. Good Time
03. Ain't Gonna Worry Me
04. If You Feel
05. Take Me For A Ride
06. Guarantee For My Heart
07. All My Loving
08. So Sweet
09. I Forgot
10. Never Thought It Would Rain
11. Got To Be Real '95
12. Renegade
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