AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Vicki Sue Robinson

Artist:Vicki Sue Robinson
Song:Turn The Beat Around
Album:Disco Nights Vol. 1; Divas of Dance





The 1976 single Turn The Beat Around was one of the biggest hits of the disco era. It was the only big hit for Vicki Sue Robinson. Some of her other songs charted so she is not technically a one hit wonder. But it's the only song you will care about. She was born May 31, 1954 in Harlem, NY. Her father Bill Robinson was a black Shakesperean actor. This is not Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Her mother Jolly Robinson was a folk singer from Europe. She grew up in Philadelphia and then New York. Vickie Sue appeared with her mother at the Philadelphia Folk Festival when she was six years old. Vicki Sue was still in high school when she joined the Broadway cast of Hair. Then she moved to the cast of Soon which was not successful. She was also in the Broadway cast of Jesus Christ Superstar. Then she gets into studio work on Todd Rundgren's 1972 album Something/Anything. And she toured Japan with Itsuro Shimoda. So she's in a recording studio in 1975 and producer Warren Schatz really likes her voice. Fortunately for Vicki Sue, Schatz is the VP of A&R at RCA Records. Her first single is a cover of The Foundations' Baby Now That I've Found You. That led to the 1976 album Never Gonna Let You Go. Turn The Beat Around reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. And it topped the dance charts worldwide. The song was written by Gerald and Peter Jackson of the R&B group Touch of Class. Associated Studios recording engineer Al Garrison allowed them to cut a demo one Sunday afternoon as long as they were quick because his girlfriend was picking him up for dinner. The girlfriend was Vicki Sue Robinson. She wanted the song immediately but they planned to record it on their next album. But their label passed on it and they gave it to Vicki Sue. The rest is history. Never Gonna Let You Go is available on CD but it's expensive. You can get Turn The Beat Around on this various artists budget comp from Polygram's Rebound label. This is the full album version. A lot of CDs have the radio edit. Vicki Sue recorded three albums for RCA. But she was unable to repeat the success of Turn The Beat Around. When Schatz left RCA for Ariola, Vicki Sue went with him. After one single for Ariola and a few singles for small labels, Vicki Sue returned to session work. She became a jingle singer and she sang in the animated series Jem. After Gloria Estefan covered Turn The Beat Around in 1994, Vicki Sue returned to performing live and she toured with other disco artists. And she had a one woman show in 1999. Vicki Sue Robinson died of cancer on Apr. 27, 2000 at age 45. Here's Vicki Sue Robinson performing Turn The Beat Around on The Midnight Special. The girl playing bass is Wendy Simmons. She appeared on Vicki Sue's second album. It was her only recorded appearance.