Gloria Gaynor may be best known for her 1978 hit ‘I Will Survive,’ but at 82, the Queen of Disco is positively thriving. And she has lost none of her sass, since releasing the dancefloor classic, that sold 15 million copies. “Don’t call me an icon,” she bellows. “I’m not dead yet.” Far from it. Gloria is playing Bradford Live on Friday and Boogietown in Walton-on-Thames on Saturday, as well as promising fans new music soon.
Speaking from her home in New Jersey, USA, she says: “I’m definitely a survivor. I have survived four spine surgeries, three knee surgeries, the death of my mother, the death of all my siblings. But I feel strong. Extremely blessed. I’m still thriving, beyond surviving. I just feel great about my life. I think my life is awesome.”
As for her most famous song, which is still both a feminist and a gay anthem, she says: “When I first read the lyrics, I was in a back brace, because I’d had surgery on my spine. I knew immediately it would be a hit. I believed at that moment that anybody that was going through anything, emotionally or physically, would be encouraged, uplifted, empowered by the song. People tell me their stories, the things that they’ve survived.”
Recalling an incident after a concert in Italy many years ago, she continues: “Afterwards, this young woman thanked me for the song. She said, ‘things have been really, really hard for me, and I was going to go home so that I could commit suicide. But now that I’ve heard that song, I know where my strength can come from, and I don’t have to die’. We were standing there. We were both crying. If I only recorded that song for her, it’s enough.”
Meanwhile, Gloria has survived immense tragedy herself. Her sister, Irma Proctor, died, aged 45, in December 1995, after being brutally beaten in the street in New Jersey by 18-year-old Rasheed Wallace, after courageously intervening to help a neighbour he was assaulting. Wallace was jailed.
Gloria, who has no children, but dotes on her 23 nieces and nephews, says: “She was the life of the party. The minute she came into the room, the party started. She was so uplifting. Her daughter, my niece, is just like it – so her spirit lives on.”
One life regret for Gloria, who divorced her husband and manager-of-26-years, Linwood Simon, in 2005, was marrying him too soon. Currently happy to be single, her 2025 record, Fida Known, explored finding happiness after a toxic relationship.
She says: “If we’re talking regrets, it’s not that I wish I hadn’t married my husband, but I wish I hadn’t married him when I did, because I wasn’t ready for marriage. And I certainly wasn’t ready for him. I still believe in love. But I haven’t found love again. It would have to hit me like a ton of bricks. After my divorce, One Less Bell to Answer, and One Less Egg to Fry, [sung by the 5th Dimension] doesn’t sound like a sad song to me.”
Gloria, whose hits include I Am What I Am, considers herself a feminist. She says: “I’ve learned recently that I am. I don’t need a man, I can make it on my own. But I love men. I had five brothers that I grew up with, and I love them.” Gloria says her faith in God is the most important thing in her life now. She explains: “It has helped me in those dark times. Jesus is my first cup of coffee and my last cup of tea.”
In a dazzling career, Gloria has won two Grammy Awards and made 20 studio albums, releasing her latest EP, Happy Tears, last year. Performing for everyone from royalty to Hollywood stars, she says of the late Prince Philip: “He was really sweet, a true gentleman.”
But she says Michael Jackson was one of the most fascinating people she has ever met. Recalling a dinner party with him at actress and singer Liza Minelli’s house, she remembers him flicking jellybeans at someone’s head “like a mischievous child.”
She also recalls his son, Blanket, refusing to eat the sweets, saying: “I’m not allowed.” She says: “One minute he’s a child himself, and the next minute he’s a good parent. I’d just seen two completely different sides of Michael Jackson.”
Meeting again the night before 9/11 at a Jackson 5 reunion concert at Madison Square Gardens, New York, she says: “I was one of the acts. He came into the dressing room and introduced himself to me… as if I didn’t know him. I dedicated I Will Survive to him and the next day he called me and thanked me.”
Looking forward to dancing at her gigs this weekend, Gloria admits: “It’s a little more difficult getting around than it was. I’m not sprinting. I have a trainer that I exercise with three times a week.” Keen to promote the benefits of exercise, she says: “My message to young people is to please make exercising a part of your weekly regimen.
“Exercise at least three times a week for at least half an hour. If you don’t, when you get older, and you don’t even have to be as old as I am, you’ll go to do something and your body will say, ‘Um, no, we don’t do that anymore’. If you don’t use it, you will lose it. It hinders your freedom if you don’t have the mobility.”
Enjoying daily dancing, at the top of Gloria’s playlist is Crazy in Love by Beyonce. She says: “I Will Survive is not one of the songs that gets me dancing. That gets me singing. Brick House is still my favourite song to dance to.”
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And she loves watching TV. Gloria laughs: “I’m a TV addict. I like detective shows. I like sci-fi. I love Marvel Comics. And I love to cook for my girlfriends. I think my friends would say my signature dish is one that I call Chicken à la Gaynor.”
Planning to release some gospel influenced music soon, Gloria says: “I intend to continue doing new music. I want to do some more gospel music.” But she will never abandon her disco roots. She says: “Disco music is alive and well and living in the hearts of music lovers around the world. I intend to continue performing until I can’t do it anymore.” Maybe then she will finally accept being called an icon.
*For more information on upcoming tour dates, see HERE. Stream Gloria’s new five song EP, “Happy Tears,” HERE
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
