The late, great Aretha Franklin once said: “Music does a lot of things for a lot of people. It’s transporting, for sure. It can take you right back, years back, to the very moment certain things happened in your life. It’s uplifting, it’s encouraging, it’s strengthening.”
It surely has been for Gloria Gaynor. The Grammy-winner singer is the subject of director Betsy Schechter’s compelling new documentary Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive. The outing, which became an Audience Favorite at the recent Palm Springs International Film Festival, tracks the disco diva’s legacy, which took flight nearly five decades ago upon the release of her chart-topping disco hit “I Will Survive” in 1978. That song, which has sold more than 14 million copies to date, became the quintessential anthem for jilted lovers and anybody moving through life’s most pressing challenges.
Gaynor opens up about her own troubles in the documentary — from martial woes to extreme health challenges — but there’s a depth and sweetness to this screen experience that elevates it beyond just a career retrospective. The singer is on a mission to defy music industry naysayers here and produce a Gospel album called Testimony. That creative hook works well across the board, creating a music documentary experience comparable to other greats, such as 20 Feet to Stardom and Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice. Gloria Gaynor shared more about the film and her journey in excerpts from this exclusive newmoviesdailyinterview.
The Eight-Year Journey Making I Will Survive
Documentaries about singers hold a special place in the hearts and minds of cinephiles, from the deeply moving (Amy) to the wonderfully whimsical (Searching for Sugar Man). To that end, Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive is a rare gem and a unique comeback journey tale. It begins back in 2015 when Gaynor set out on a mission to produce a Gospel anthem. Switching musical genres, especially later in an artist’s career, is typically frowned upon, but Gaynor ventures forth.
Director Betsy Schechter and Gloria Gaynor endured an eight-year journey to get this film made. It floats back and forth through time here, moving from Gaynor’s modern-day efforts to make a new album, then diving back to the birth of her career with hits like “Never Can Say Goodbye” and “I Will Survive,” which was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. The doc also delves into Gaynor’s onstage fall in 1978 which left her paralyzed for a time, and the lifelong effects thereafter. Ironically, the song “I Will Survive” hit too close to home, and it might never had reached its iconic heights if the singer hadn’t intervened, as Gaynor shared with newmoviesdailyhere:
“I didn’t know what was going to be on the B side [of the record]. The record company president had asked me to record one particular song, and…when they wrote down the words for me, because they didn’t have the recording of it, I was like, ‘What are you, nuts? You’re going to put this on the B-side?’ I’m thinking, ‘I’m relating to these lyrics… I’m standing here in a back brace, hoping that I’ll survive this surgery and the fact that my mother just passed away a few years prior, and that’s something I never thought I’d survive.’ So, I knew people are going to be relating everything they’re going through that feels insurmountable and yet hope they will survive.”
How Gloria Gaynor Flipped Fate
To be sure, Gaynor had to speak up and convince the record company “I Will Survive” was far too important to exist on the B side.
“We took it to Studio 54 and when it was played, the audience immediately responded to it. I thought, ‘This jaded audience responds to something this quickly, this is a hit. I gave them a 25-disc box of recordings and told him to give them to DJs around New York City. They did that and they played it, and people responded, began to request it, calling radio stations and record stations. They had to be forced to flip it.”
The disco track never lost its luster, in fact. A Rolling Stone poll deemed it one of The Best Disco Songs of All Time. The Library of Congress noted Gaynor’s hit was culturally significant, paving the way for it to be preserved in the National Recording Registry. With all these highs came some serious lows, which the doc uncovers layer by layer.
Resilience During Challenging Times
When asked how Gaynor remained grounded during the great times and tougher life transitions, particularly her accident and the surgeries that followed, or even the uncertainties surrounding her marriage to Linwood Simon in 1979, she said:
“I didn’t quite stay grounded. I didn’t want to do things that I wasn’t really interested in doing, but I was too insecure and too weak to just do what I wanted to do. So, I followed him, and I allowed him to take me in a direction that I really didn’t want to go. Then I got stopped one night because of my faith and because of God’s faithfulness. He stopped me dead in my tracks, caused me to turn around, and go in a completely different direction. Then life completely changed for me.”
As this documentary about reinvention and the power of a stellar second act unfolds, expect to be moved. Testimony, the Gospel album Gaynor is seen working on here, eventually won several Grammy Awards. But long before the documentary’s journey, Gaynor had second thoughts before moving forward with it. “My first thoughts were, ‘What are we going to reveal? And how much do I want to reveal?’” she mused. “And then I came to, ‘Well, if you’re not going to reveal anything substantial, you might as well not do it.”
She added:
There was a hesitation in the beginning, because you see people on social media just really hanging all the dirty laundry out, and for what purpose? I thought if I’m going to reveal things that are personal to me, then it’s got to be for a purpose, and it’s got to do some good for others. Otherwise, it’s purposeless.
Thoughts on a Possible Gloria Gaynor Biopic
Most of all, Gaynor says she hopes the documentary allows audiences to realize that: “With faith and determination, you can survive anything. You can do anything you want. I don’t even remember whether I said it in the film, but I hope readers get it from this interview: No one can stop you from getting what God has for you except you.”
In the meantime, here in the 21st century, music biopics are something to savor, from Rocketman and Elvis to Bohemian Rhapsody and Tick, Tick… Boom! If Gaynor had her way, who would she like to see play her in a feature film? She’s quick to answer: “Taraji P. Henson” (The Color Purple, Empire).
Watch the interview for more banter about the music industry, singers Vicki Sue Robinson, Donna Summer, and Denise Williams, and more. Catch Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive exclusively in theaters for a special Fathom screening February 13. Learn more here.
