GOT TO BE REAL Performed By Cheryl
Lynn - 1978
on CD The Best of Cheryl Lynn - Columbia Legacy DIPD 089269
The essence of Cheryl Lynn is the spirit of spontaneity. Her
voice thrills you with a pure, contagoius and liberating joy.
Cheryl Lynn Smith, was born on 11 March 1957, in Los Angeles,
California and raised in the Church of The Living God. Her Mother, Opal Smith, was the
minister of music. The full-throated Lynn became a hit-maker at the height of disco's
popularity, singing dance tunes that retained the gospel vocal approach of classic soul.
Lynn grew up in the church where her mother was a minister of music. Her break into
the music business came in 1976 after she won as a contestant on the US television
amateur talent show The Gong Show. Before signing with Columbia, however, she spent half a
year with a touring company of The Wiz , a black musical based on the Wizard Of Oz story.
Lynn achieved a million-seller with her very first record, 'Got To Be Real', reaching
number 1 R&B and number 12 pop in 1978, This song Charted on 9/9/78 for 26 Weeks.
Other chart entries followed, notably 'Shake It Up Tonight' (US R&B number 5),
'Encore' (US R&B number 1), and 'If You Were Mine' (US R&B number 11). She also
enjoyed success in 1982 with an excellent remake of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell hit,
'If This World Was Mine' (US R&B number 4), on which she duetted with Luther Vandross.
Her success in the UK was minimal, with only 'Encore' briefly entering the charts in 1984.
