Gaynor was a singer with the Soul Satisfiers, a jazz/pop band, in the 1960s. Her first solo single was "She'll Be Sorry/Let Me Go Baby" in 1965.
Her first real success came in 1975 with the release of her album Never Can Say Goodbye, which established her as a disco artist. The first side of this album consisted of three disco songs ("Honey Bee", "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Reach Out, I'll Be There"), with no breaks in between the songs. This 19-minute dance marathon proved to be enormously popular, especially at dance clubs. All three songs were released as singles via radio edits, and all of them became hits. This album was so instrumental in introducing disco music to the public, that many later believed that Gloria Gaynor had been the first artist to record disco music. "Never Can Say Goodbye" became the first song to top Billboard magazine's dance chart - in that sense, she was the first. Capitalizing on the success of her first album, Gaynor quickly released her second album, Experience Gloria Gaynor, later that same year. While this album was also successful, it was not quite as popular as her previous album in the mainstream.
Some of her lesser-known singles, due to lack of recurrent airplay, include "Honey Bee", "Casanova Brown", and "Let's Make A Deal" which all became hits in the clubs and reached the Top 5 on Billboard's disco charts. After her 1976 album, I've Got You, Gaynor shifted from her hit production team to work with other productions. While it seemed like a good move, her subsequent producers did not seem to match Gaynor's vocal approach and style as well. This caused her the albums that followed, such as 1977's Glorious and 1978's Park Avenue Sound, to be regarded as merely good albums instead of excellent albums.
For the next few years, Gaynor would only enjoy a few moderate hits. However, in late 1978, with the release of her album Love Tracks, she climbed the pop charts again because of her now-signature song "I Will Survive". The lyrics of this song are written from the point of view of a woman, recently dumped, telling her former lover that she can cope without him and does not want anything more to do with him. The song has become something of an anthem of female emancipation, and is still a staple of office parties and karaoke nights. The song was awarded the first and only Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording in 1980 (the category was discontinued upon disco's fall from favor shortly afterward). In 1999, Pixar animator Victor Navone used this song to create an alien music video, which for a time, was a minor internet phenomenon.
Interestingly, "I Will Survive" was originally the B-side when Polydor Records released it in late 1978. The A-side, a song called "Substitute", then a recent worldwide hit for South African girl-group Clout, was considered to be more "radio friendly." Radio DJs flipped the record over, and audience response forced the record company to flip the songs, so that subsequent copies of the single listed the more popular song on the A-side. In late 1979, she released the album I Have A Right, which contained her next disco hit, "Let Me Know (I Have The Right)", featuring Doc Severinsen of The Tonight Show fame on trumpet solo.
Even though she exprienced difficulty having hit records in the U.S. after "I Am What I Am", the majority of her subsequent single chart on the UK Singles Chart. During the late 1990s and the 2000s, Gaynor returned to the American charts. She issued two albums, 2002's I Wish You Love and 2006's The Answer, that were well received with her fanbase.
How High the Moon
Gloria Gaynor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How faint the tune!
Somewhere there's heaven
How high the moon!
There is no moon above when love is far away
Too
Till it comes true that you love me as I love you.
It's where you are
Somewhere there's heaven
How near
How far!
The brightest night would shine if you would come to me soon
Until you will
How still my aching heart
How high the moon.
Somewhere there's music
It's where you are...
Somewhere there's music
Music in the air
Oh
I love this heaven when you're near
I want to hear the music
I want to be where you are.
In Gloria Gaynor's How High The Moon, the lyrics convey a sense of yearning and longing for someone who is not physically present. The song holds a melancholic tone, with the lyrics emphasizing how far away the person is, and how the moon appears to be absent when the two are apart. The line "there is no moon above when love is far away" is particularly striking, as it highlights the impact that distance can have on love, making it feel as though everything else around us fades in comparison.
The song goes on to express a desire for the person's return, with the idea that the brightest night would shine if they were to come back. The repetition of the words 'somewhere' and 'how high the moon' throughout the song add to the feeling that something is out of reach, and that the person's absence is almost unbearable. However, despite the overall sense of sadness and longing, there is also a hint of hope in the lyrics, with the promise that the aching heart will be eased once the love is returned.
Overall, How High The Moon is a powerful portrayal of how love can bring both joy and pain, and how it can create a sense of longing that is difficult to overcome. It is a beautifully written song that is sure to resonate with anyone who has experienced the pain of distance and yearning for someone they love.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere there's music
Music exists somewhere in the world, even though it may not be present in my immediate surroundings
How faint the tune!
The melody may be weak or difficult to discern in the midst of all the other sounds around me
Somewhere there's heaven
There is a place or state of being that is blissful and indescribably perfect
How high the moon!
This ideal place or feeling is beyond my reach, as distant as the moon is from the earth
There is no moon above when love is far away
The absence of love can be lonely and empty, like a sky without the comforting light of the moon
Till it comes true that you love me as I love you.
My hope and longing is for the love to be reciprocated, until that day comes I will remain unfulfilled
It's where you are
The music, and by extension heaven, becomes real and tangible in your presence
How near
The realization of this utopian state is within grasp, as near as you being with me
How far!
Despite the proximity of this happiness, it remains elusive and remote
The brightest night would shine if you would come to me soon
The darkness and coldness of my life without you would be transformed if only you were to come back to me quickly
Until you will
As long as I have to wait for your return
How still my aching heart
My heart is heavy and aching, and remains so without your love and companionship
How high the moon.
The heaven I seek, which can only be achieved by loving and being loved by you, is as distant as the moon
Music in the air
The melody permeates the space, filling it with beauty and harmony
Oh
An exclamation of joy and longing
I love this heaven when you're near
Being close to you creates a sense of heavenly joy and peace
I want to hear the music
I yearn to experience the beauty and wonder of the melody that comes with being with you
I want to be where you are.
My ultimate desire is to be in your company, so that I may experience the happiness that comes with love and togetherness
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Morgan Lewis, Nancy Hamilton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind