Gloria Fowles (born September 7, 1943), better known as Gloria Gaynor, is a… Read Full Bio ↴Gloria Fowles (born September 7, 1943), better known as Gloria Gaynor, is an American singer-songwriter born in Newark, New Jersey, USA. She is best-known for her disco era hits "I Will Survive" (Hot 100 #1, 1979), "Never Can Say Goodbye" (Hot 100 #9, 1974), "Let Me Know (I Have A Right)" (Hot 100 #42, 1980) and "I Am What I Am" (Hot 100 #82, 1983). Some of her other hits include "I Never Knew", "Just Keep Thinking About You", "Last Night", "Mighty High", "Be Soft With Me Tonight", "Strive", "Let's Mend What's Been Broken", "This Love Affair", "Love Is Just A Heartbeat Away" and "Casanova Brown".

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.

I Will Always Love You
Gloria Gaynor Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If I should stay
Well, I would only be in your way
And so I'll go, but yet I know
That I'll think of you each step of my way
And I will always love you
I will always love you
Bitter-sweet memories

That's all I have, and all I'm taking with me
Good-bye, oh, please don't cry
Cause we both know that I'm not
What you need

I will always love you
I will always love you

And I hope life, will treat you kind
And I hope that you have all
That you ever dreamed of
Oh, I do wish you joy
And I wish you happiness
But above all this
I wish you love
I love you, I will always love

I, I will always, always love you
I will always love you

I will always love you
I will always love you

Overall Meaning

The song "I Will Always Love You" by Gloria Gaynor is a powerful ballad that encapsulates the emotions of a break-up. The first part of the song expresses the decision of the singer to leave the person she loves because she knows that she would only be in the way. The decision is painful, but she feels like it's the right thing to do. However, she cannot help but to think about the memories they shared, and she will always love that person, even though they will not be together.

In the second part, the singer addresses her loved one directly. She hopes that life will treat him kindly and that he finds all the happiness he deserves. Even though they are saying goodbye, she still wishes him the best, and most importantly, that he finds love. She closes the song by reassuring her loved one that she will always love him, even though they are no longer together.

The song is not only a powerful love song, but it portrays a mature and selfless way of parting from someone. It shows that even though we may have to let go of someone, the love we have for them will always remain.

Line by Line Meaning

If I should stay
In the event that I decide to remain by your side

Well, I would only be in your way
I fear that I might end up obstructing your path to greatness

And so I'll go, but yet I know
I must leave, but not without the knowledge that

That I'll think of you each step of my way
I will always have you on my mind no matter where life takes me

And I will always love you
My love for you will never fade

I will always love you
I will always hold a special place for you in my heart

Bitter-sweet memories
The memories we have are filled with happiness and sadness

That's all I have, and all I'm taking with me
Those memories are all I will carry with me as I leave

Good-bye, oh, please don't cry
Farewell, but try not to shed tears for me

Cause we both know that I'm not
Because we both know that I am not

What you need
The person you deserve to spend your life with