Gloria Gaynor Shares the Songs That Shaped Her Life
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- Gloria Gaynor grew up in Newark, New Jersey, with five brothers and one sister, and first fell in love with music when her mother sang "Willow Weep for Me" to her at age five or six.
- Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was Gaynor's first single purchase — the moment a neighbor mistook her hallway singing for the radio convinced her to pursue singing professionally.
- "Never Can Say Goodbye" was Gloria Gaynor's first major hit and, in her words, "changed everything," taking her from someone with a dream to someone living it, with bigger audiences and global travel.
- "I Will Survive" was Gaynor's one-time karaoke pick — she performed her own anthem drunk on a dare at her birthday party about 20 years ago.
- Tavares' "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel" is a song Gloria Gaynor can no longer listen to because her ex-husband used to sing it to her.
- Gloria Gaynor headlines Boogietown in Walton-on-Thames on 11 July.
Why it matters: The profile gives fans rare personal context for the woman behind "I Will Survive," tracing her from a Newark childhood to the song that made her a star and the gospel standard on her latest album. The intimate revelations — including a song now off-limits because of her ex-husband — arrive as she prepares to headline Boogietown in Walton-on-Thames on 11 July, offering UK audiences a deeper lens on her live set.
