b. Cheryl Lynn Smith, 11 March 1957, Los Angeles, California, USA. 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 showThe 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. 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 Were 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.
