Prior to her appearance on The Wiz, Cheryl taped an episode of the Gong Show in the early part of 1976. She went on to win the competition while singing Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful." Lynn later told Dick Clark during her appearance on American Bandstand that after the episode aired, in the fall of 1976, record industry executives were calling about her soon after the win.
Success and later career
After signing with Columbia Records, Lynn released her first and biggest hit, "Got to Be Real," which was penned by Toto's keyboardist David Paich, David Foster and Lynn. The song peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the R&B chart. The success of the single prompted a full scale debut album. Titled, Cheryl Lynn, it was produced by Paich. The album sold over a million copies and peaked at #5 on Billboard's R&B albums chart and #23 on Billboard's top 200 album charts. The follow-up single, "Star Love," also became a hit —reaching the top twenty on both the R&B and Dance charts.
During Cheryl's debut album's run, members of the rock group Toto were putting together their debut album. During the production Lynn was asked to provided the female backing vocal on the single, "Georgy Porgy." The single peaked at #48 on Billboard's Pop charts. Although Toto would go on to chart more than a dozen pop hits throughout the years, it was Lynn's vocal on "Georgy Porgy" that aided the group in charting their one and only R&B (#18) and Dance (#80) hit on the Billboard charts.
In 1981, Ray Parker, Jr. produced "Shake It Up Tonight," a major club R&B hit from Lynn's third album, In The Night. The following year, Luther Vandross was called on to produced Cheryl's fourth album, Instant Love. The second single off the album, "If This World Were Mine" —a 1982 duet with Luther Vandross that covered a Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell song, has become an urban contemporary classic. For her fifth album, Preppie, Cheryl took it upon herself to produce most of the tracks with the exception of the single "Encore" (#1 R&B hit) —written and produced by the Minneapolis funk duo, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. It became Lynn's second #1 single on the U.S. Billboard R&B Charts. Her final top ten hit in the 80s was released in 1989: "Every Time I Try To Say Goodbye," from her eighth album, Whatever It Takes.
The 1990's
Cheryl began the 90's without a record contract. During this period she did session work on Richard Marx albums Rush Street and Paid Vacation. She also worked with Luther Vandross on his album Your Secret Love . In 1995, after a six year hiatus from recording her own material, Lynn teamed up with producer/songwriter Teddy Riley, (formally of the New Jack Swing group Guy), to record her ninth album, Good Time. It was released in Japan, the UK and later in the United States as an imported CD and featured the club favorite single "Guarantee For My Heart."
2000 to present
During the new millennium Lynn toured Japan and did the occasional gig in the U.S., performing at charity events in her hometown of Los Angeles. She performed on ABC's The Disco Ball... A 30-Year Celebration, which aired in January 2003. In 2004 she recorded the song, "Sweet Kind Of Life," which was also written and produced by Jam & Lewis, for the animated film and soundtrack to Shark Tale.
On September 19, 2005, Lynn's signature song "Got to Be Real" was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. She is considered an influence on some of today's R&B female singers, including Mary J. Blige, who, along with Will Smith, covered Lynn's signature song, "Got to Be Real", also for the soundtrack of the animated film Shark Tale.
daybreak
Cheryl Lynn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How can I ever leave this place beside you?
You were the only one I ever cried to
The night is through
And now it's heartache
I should be home before he sees it's daybreak
Light from the sky is shining through the curtain lace
And now it's daybreak
We were just sitting and talking
Oh, who would have thought we'd be spending the night
Dreading the light of daybreak?
And now it's daybreak
We were like storybook children
Hey, but, like all good fairytale, this one must end
Here is the end it's nearly daybreak
How can I ever leave this place beside you?
You were the only one I ever cried to
The night is through
How can I ever leave?
In the night I'm suppose to leave
But what can I do?
What can I say, what can I do? But pray
Cheryl Lynn's song Daybreak is a story of a woman spending the night with someone who she is not supposed to be with. These lyrics tell the tale of two people who sit and talk all night, realizing they never meant to spend the night together. The singer is in a state of heartache and is dreading the light of daybreak because she has to go home before her partner finds out about her night. She reflects on how she never meant to stay, but now she cannot bring herself to leave.
The lyrics are filled with emotions that are relatable to many people who have found themselves in similar situations. The singer is feeling a mix of guilt and longing, which is evident in the line, "How can I ever leave this place beside you? You were the only one I ever cried to." She is crying because she knows she has to leave, but she doesn't want to. The lyrics show how sometimes people end up in situations they never intended, and it's hard to find a way out of it.
Overall, Cheryl Lynn's Daybreak is an emotional song about regret and longing. It tells the story of a woman who finds herself in a situation she never intended but cannot bring herself to leave.
Line by Line Meaning
Daybreak
The arrival of morning
How can I ever leave this place beside you?
I am having a hard time saying goodbye to you
You were the only one I ever cried to
You are the only person I ever felt comfortable enough to cry in front of
The night is through
The night has come to an end
And now it's heartache
I am feeling emotional pain
I should be home before he sees it's daybreak
I need to leave before my significant other notices I am not home
Light from the sky is shining through the curtain lace
The sun's rays are peeking through the curtains
I never really meant to stay
I did not intend to spend the night
And now it's daybreak
Morning has arrived
We were just sitting and talking
We were spending time together having a conversation
Oh, who would have thought we'd be spending the night
It was unexpected that we would end up spending the night together
Dreading the light of daybreak?
Feeling anxious about the morning and having to leave
We were like storybook children
We were happy and carefree like children in a storybook
Hey, but, like all good fairytale, this one must end
This enjoyable time must come to an end
Here is the end it's nearly daybreak
This is the end of our time together, morning is approaching
How can I ever leave?
It is difficult to say goodbye
In the night I'm suppose to leave
I was supposed to leave during the nighttime
But what can I do?
I don't know what to do
What can I say, what can I do? But pray
All I can do is hope for the best
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Spencer Proffer, David Pomeranz
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dhowell06
Amazing! Her voice gives me chills. One of the most underrated singers of all time.
@davidstevenson2076
Darryl Howell i so agree ..this is un- equalled
@sofumba
Bruh!!! She was so UNSUNG....you should listen to "In Love" ...OMG
@kathmatazz
53 years old and this womans voice continues to bring me to tears in this song! Wht a deeply powerful and meaningful song for me.
@edge150
The Quantum Leap episode had me looking for this song everywhere. So beautiful to see the young lady dance to this song.
@starkid77
+Edge1 I'm glad to find it too, took me years to find it because I didn't even know it was a real song on an actual album. I'm so happy to hear the whole song finally and all the words. I don't have to look for that episode anymore, but I would watch it again if that episode came on.
@turtleboy991
Ditto
@dhowell06
Chilling voice! Outstanding song! Can't stop listening
@kaka7279100
This WOMAN here has so much power and clarity another underrated singer!🎼fly like lillith.
@CazBeaunont
First heard this on quantum leap which im a huge fan of. Beautiful song