First Ladies of Disco: 32 Stars Discuss the Era and Their Singing Careers

by James Arena

The female vocalists who pioneered the disco genre in the '70s and early '80s were an extraordinarily talented group of women who dazzled the world with an exciting blend of elegance, soulful passion and gutsy fire. In this book of original interviews, 32 of these singers tell their stories, explaining how they view their music, careers, connection to gay audiences, and their places in dance music history. Interviewed artists The Andrea True Connection ( More, More, More ); Claudja Barry ( Boogie Woogie Dancing Shoes ); Pattie Brooks ( After Dark ); Miguel Brown ( So Many Men So Little Time ); Linda Clifford ( If My Friends Could See Me Now ); Carol Douglas ( Doctor's Orders ); Yvonne Elliman ( If I Can't Have You ); Rochelle Fleming (First Choice -  Dr. Love ); Gloria Gaynor ( I Will Survive ); Debbie Jacobs-Rock ( Don't You Want My Love ); Madleen Kane ( You Can ); Evelyn "Champagne" King (S hame ); Audrey Landers ( Manuel Goodbye ); Suzi Lane ( Harmony ); Cynthia Manley (Boys Town Gang - Ain't No Mountain High Enough ); Kelly Marie ( Feels Like I'm In Love ); Maxine Nightingale ( Right Back Where We Started From ); Scherrie Payne ( I'm Not In Love ); Wardell Piper ( Super Sweet ); The Ritchie Family, 1975-1978: Gwendolyn Wesley, Cassandra Wooten and Cheryl Mason-Dorman ( The Best Disco In Town ); The Ritchie Family, 1978-1982: Theodosia "Dodie" Draher ( Put Your Feet To The Beat ); Barbara Roy (Ecstasy Passion & Pain -  Touch & Go) ; Pamala Stanley ( Coming Out Of Hiding ); Evelyn Thomas ( High Energy ); Jeanie Tracy ( Time Bomb ); Anita Ward ( Ring My Bell ); Martha Wash ( It's Raining Men ); Carol Williams ( Love Is You ); Jessica Williams ( Queen of Fools ) and Norma Jean Wright ( Saturday ). Includes special commentary from producer Michael Zager ( Let's All Chant ), Felipe Rose of Village People ( In The Navy ) and many more. Other books in this dance music Legends of DiscoEurope's Stars of 80s Dance PopEurope's Stars of 80s Dance Pop Vol. 2Stars of 90s Dance PopStars of 21st Century Dance Pop & EDM

Genres: Nonfiction

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

James Arena is a New York-based published author and commentator who has been featured on MSNBC, FOX, SiriusXM, Clear Channel, and other major communications networks. He is the author of STARS OF 80s DANCE POP - THE EUROPEAN EDITION, which features interviews with over 50 international music legends from 9 nations. Arena is also the creator of FIRST LEGENDS OF DISCO and FIRST LADIES OF DISCO, books that placed the spotlight on major pioneering artists of the classic disco music era. James has interviewed over 120 stars of dance music. His first published work was FRIGHT NIGHT ON CHANNEL 9, runner up for book-of-the-year honors at the Rondo Awards. He is a former executive with Bertelsmann Direct North America.

Reviews

[Karl Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, not great look at some of the great females of the era. Sadly some of the stories were a little too superficial (Malden Kane in particular), some left you wanting a whole lot more (Andrea True, Linda Clifford), and some just seemed more like filler.

[George Hamblen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well documented series of short bios of some incredibly talented singers… my only criticism is the book’s font was really small. Was difficult to get through a page. Slowed my down, but content was worth it