Vicki Sue Robinson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vicki Sue Robinson
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| Background information | |
| Born | May 31, 1954 Harlem, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 27, 2000 (aged 45) Wilton, Connecticut, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1970–2000 |
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Vicki Sue Robinson (born May 31, 1954 – died April 27, 2000) was an American actress and singer. She was very famous during the disco music time in the late 1970s. She is best known for her big song from 1976, "Turn the Beat Around".
Contents
Early Life and First Performances
Vicki Sue Robinson was born in Harlem, New York. Her father, Bill Robinson, was an African American actor who performed in Shakespeare plays. Her mother, Marianne, was a folk singer from Europe. Vicki Sue spent most of her early years in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When she was ten, her family moved back to New York City.
Vicki Sue first sang in public in 1960 when she was just six years old. She joined her mother on stage at the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Ten years later, at age 16, she started her professional acting career. She joined the Broadway musical Hair.
After six weeks with Hair, Vicki Sue moved to another Broadway show called Soon. Famous actors like Peter Allen and Richard Gere were also in this show. After Soon ended, she acted in an Off-Broadway play. Critics said she sang with "gentle power" and played the guitar and dulcimer.
Vicki Sue also had small roles in the movies Going Home (1971) and To Find A Man (1972). In 1973, she went to Japan. When she returned, she joined the Broadway cast of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Starting Her Music Career
Vicki Sue first sang on a record in 1972. She was one of many singers from Hair who sang background vocals for Todd Rundgren's album Something/Anything?. In 1973, she worked with Itsuro Shimoda in Japan. She sang on his album and toured the country.
Years later, in 2011, her first four albums for RCA Records were re-released. They were updated digitally and included extra songs.
The Hit Song: "Turn the Beat Around"
In 1975, Vicki Sue was singing background vocals for another artist in New York. Warren Schatz, a music producer, heard her voice. He thought she had the potential to be a disco star. Schatz asked Vicki Sue to record some demo songs. One of these was "Baby Now That I've Found You", which became her first solo song.
Even though that song wasn't a big hit, RCA Records decided to let Schatz produce Vicki Sue's first album. It was called Never Gonna Let You Go. The main song from the album became a top 10 disco hit. But another song, "Turn the Beat Around", started to get a lot of attention.
"Turn the Beat Around" was quickly released as a single. It became the number one disco song on March 20, 1976. By August, it reached the top 10 in the U.S. and stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for about six months. This success helped her album reach number 49 on the charts. The song was also popular in other countries, reaching number 14 in Canada and number 11 in the Netherlands. "Turn the Beat Around" even earned Vicki Sue a nomination for a Grammy Award.
In 1976, Vicki Sue toured all over the United States to promote her hit song. She performed on popular TV shows like The Midnight Special and American Bandstand. She also sang at famous places like Carnegie Hall in New York.
What Came Next
Vicki Sue recorded her second album, also called Vicki Sue Robinson, in late 1976. The first song from this album, "Daylight", was a small hit. The album itself reached number 45 on the charts.
In August 1977, her song "Hold Tight" became a hit. It reached number 67 on the main U.S. chart and number 2 on the disco chart. Her next album, Half and Half, came out in 1978. In 1979, Vicki Sue recorded her last album, Movin' On. She also had a club hit with "Nighttime Fantasy" from the movie Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula. She also appeared in another film called Hoodlums.
The 1980s and Beyond
In 1980, Vicki Sue changed record labels. She recorded "Nothin' But a Heartache", but it was her only song released by that label. She then went back to recording dance music. In 1984, her version of "To Sir with Love" became a surprise top 10 hit in Australia. Her next song, "Everlasting Love", was her last recording for almost 15 years.
However, she did record a fun song called "Grab Them Cakes" in 1985. It was a duet with Junkyard Dog for a wrestling album. Cyndi Lauper even pretended to play the guitar in the song's music video.
Vicki Sue also sang background vocals for other artists, like Irene Cara's hit "Fame" in 1980. She also sang for Michael Bolton and Cher. She became well-known for singing jingles (short songs for commercials). You might have heard her voice in ads for Doublemint gum, Maybelline makeup, and Folger's coffee. From 1987 to 1988, she was the singing voice for characters in the cartoon TV series Jem.
Later Career and Final Years
Vicki Sue gained new attention when Gloria Estefan covered "Turn the Beat Around" in 1994. Because of this, Vicki Sue re-recorded her own version of the song in 1995. This led to her appearing on TV talk shows and working on new music, films, and stage projects.
She sang background vocals on RuPaul's 1996 album and even recorded a duet with him. In 1997, she recorded "House of Joy," which became her only hit song in the United Kingdom. She also sang "My Stomp, My Beat" for the movie Chasing Amy.
In the mid-1990s, disco music became popular again. Vicki Sue joined other disco stars like KC and the Sunshine Band and Gloria Gaynor on a successful world tour.
In 1999, Vicki Sue returned to the theater. She performed in an Off-Broadway musical called Vicki: Behind The Beat. This show was partly about her own life and featured her hit songs and famous jingles. In June of that year, she sang "Pokémon (Dance Mix)" for the Pokémon 2.B.A. Master soundtrack. Three months later, she released her last song, "Move On", which reached number 18 on Billboard's Dance Chart.
Sadly, in September, she had to leave her Off-Broadway show because of poor health. Before her illness became too serious, Vicki Sue played a fairy godmother in the movie Red Lipstick. This movie was released on April 16, 2000.
Death
Vicki Sue Robinson passed away from cancer on April 27, 2000. She was at her home in Wilton, Connecticut, just 11 days after Red Lipstick was released.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US R&B |
US Pop |
AUS |
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| 1976 | Never Gonna Let You Go | 51 | 49 | 78 | |
| Vicki Sue Robinson | 39 | 45 | – | ||
| 1978 | Half & Half | 56 | 110 | – | |
| 1979 | Movin' On | – | – | – | |
| "–" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop |
US R&B |
US Adult Con. |
US Dance |
AUS |
UK |
NLD |
BEL |
FRA |
CAN |
CAN Dance |
||
| 1975 | "Baby Now That I Found You" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1976 | "Turn the Beat Around" | 10 | 73 | 43 | 1 | 28 | 52 | 11 | 17 | 44 | 14 | – |
| "Common Thief" | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "Daylight" | 63 | 91 | – | 9 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11 | |
| 1977 | "Should I Stay" / "I Won't Let You Go" | 104 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11 |
| "Hold Tight" | 67 | 91 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 1978 | "Trust in Me" | 110 | – | – | 16 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| "Jealousy" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "Freeway Song" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 1979 | "Nighttime Fantasy" | 102 | – | – | 21 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1980 | "Nothin' but a Heartache" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1981 | "Hot Summer Night" | – | – | – | 24 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1982 | "Give My Love Back" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1983 | "Summertime Fun" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1984 | "To Sir with Love" | – | – | – | 28 | 7 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| "Everlasting Love" | – | – | – | 37 | 83 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 1985 | "Grab Them Cakes" (duet with Junkyard Dog) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1995 | "For Real" | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1997 | "House of Joy" | – | – | – | – | – | 48 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1999 | "Move On" | – | – | – | 18 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| "–" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||
Filmography
- Going Home – 1971
- To Find a Man – 1972
- Hoodlums – 1980
- Red Lipstick – 2000
Theatre
- Hair – 1970
- Soon – 1971
- Long Time Coming, Long Time Gone – 1971
- Voices From The Third World – 1972
- Jesus Christ Superstar – 1973
- Vicki Sue Robinson: Behind The Beat – 1999
See also
- List of Billboard number-one dance club songs
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart
