Lonnie Gordon (born November 8, 1965, Philadelphia) is an American female dance, pop and R&B singer and songwriter. She scored several chart hits during the 1990s, most notably for her 1990 UK top 10 single "Happenin' All Over Again".
Early life and career
editBorn in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gordon moved to the Bronx at an early age. In the early 1980s, she started performing around the Harlem area in clubs as the lead singer of a band called Nythjar. After meeting her husband, she relocated to England in the late 1980s, and retired from the music scene to take care of her daughter Rikki.[1]
Gordon resumed her singing career in 1988 singing lead vocals for club-oriented acts such as Offshore, Deja Vu and most notably, House ensemble Quartzlock, releasing the singles "No Regrets", "Love Eviction" and "You Make Loving Fun". In 1989, she contributed lead vocals to Simon Harris' cover of the On the House song "(I've Got Your) Pleasure Control", which became her first charting single in the UK. The record brought her to the attention of Supreme Records, who offered her a deal in 1989.
The first single on the Supreme label, a cover of First Choice's "Let No Man Put Asunder" (re-titled "It's Not Over (Let No Man Put Asunder)"), was a club hit but did not translate into pop success. For her next single, "Happenin' All Over Again", Gordon collaborated with British hitmaking team Stock Aitken & Waterman (SAW). She had long admired their work with Dead Or Alive, and Supreme acts Mel & Kim and Princess, and was determined to work with them.[1] It was one of the reasons she signed with the record label.[1] The single was released in January 1990. It peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart,[2] and became a huge hit around Europe.
The planned follow-up single, the uptempo "How Could He Do This to Me", was scrapped (and was never released until years later), and the ballad "Beyond Your Wildest Dreams" was released instead in August 1990.[3] The single peaked at No. 48, with Gordon expressing her disappointment over its performance, and its impact on her forthcoming album campaign.[3] She felt that an upbeat song in the vein of her prior hit should have been chosen instead.[3] However she praised the quality of the record and credited producers SAW or making a credible R&B ballad in tune with the trends of the time.[3]
In November 1990, Gordon released her debut album's title track "If I Have to Stand Alone", which had a similar sound to "Happenin' All Over Again". The single charted at No. 68 in the UK.[2] Her debut album, If I Have to Stand Alone, only received a limited release in Europe, Australia (where it peaked at No. 173 on the ARIA Albums Chart[4]) and Japan.
Gordon expressed her deep distress over the failure of the album to reach the potential of its first hit single, confessing it made her doubt herself for many years, but she now places the blame on political and artistic wrangling between her record company and SAW.[5]
In 1991, Gordon flew to Italy and recorded the song "Gonna Catch You", written and produced by the Italo house group Black Box. It was released as a single in the UK where it became a top 40 hit, peaking at No. 32. Due to its inclusion in the Vanilla Ice film Cool As Ice, the song became her debut release in the U.S., where it peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Dance charts and at No. 79 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was Gordon's last release with Supreme Records.
Signed to SBK Records, Gordon released her second album Bad Mood in 1993. The album included two further U.S. No. 1 Dance singles, "Bad Mood", and a remixed version of "Happenin' All Over Again", which also peaked at No. 98 in the Billboard Hot 100. A follow-up single, "Do You Want It", also did well on the dance charts in 1994.
Gordon has hit the U.S. dance chart two more times in 1996, with the songs "Dirty Love" on Geffen Records, which peaked at No. 6, and "If You Really Love Me" released on Big Bang Records, which peaked at No. 42. In 2000, she released the compilation album No Regret, which included many of her singles and album highlights, as well as two new songs. A cover of "He Lives in You", was released as its lead single. Also, in 1997, Lonnie Gordon worked with European dance producers P.O.F., Roland Michael and Demetrius Ross and remixed the single, If You Really Love Me originally written and recorded by Stevie Wonder.
In 2002, Gordon starred as the lead vocalist and narrator for "Zumanity", another side of Cirque du Soleil, in Las Vegas. Working with Cirque du Soleil and moving to Las Vegas was a bold career move that provided an opportunity for Gordon to showcase her strong vocals and stage presence.[5] After leaving Cirque du Soleil, Gordon made her way back to London, England and constantly toured, working with UK-based company Allaboutdivas.com.
In 2007, Gordon established her own label Gordon Records, from which she released four compilation albums including several new songs. She also exhibited her paintings around this time in Las Vegas.
A remastered special edition CD of her unreleased UK 1990 album, If I Have to Stand Alone, was released in April 2009 on the Cherry Pop record label, with additional unreleased mixes from PWL's vaults.
In 2009, "Catch You Baby", a re-recording of the 1991 hit, "Gonna Catch You", was released by Positiva/EMI as a digital-only download in early August 2009, with a host of mixes, including mixes by Pete Hammond and 7TH Heaven.
In 2010–2011, Gordon again toured the UK and Europe as well as performing at major HIV / AIDS benefits worldwide.[citation needed]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [4] |
SWE | ||
| If I Have to Stand Alone |
|
173 | 42 |
| Bad Mood |
|
— | — |
Compilation albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| No Regret |
|
| Very Best of Lonnie Gordon |
|
| Anthems, Vol. I |
|
| Anthology Vol. 1 |
|
| Anthology Vol. 2 |
|
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [2][6] |
AUS [4] |
BEL (FLA) [7] |
FRA [8] |
GER [9] |
IRE [10] |
NED [11] |
NZ [12] |
SWE [13] |
US [14] |
US Dance [15] | ||||
| 1989 | "It's Not Over (Let No Man Put Asunder)" | 91 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | If I Have to Stand Alone | |
| 1990 | "Happenin' All Over Again" | 4 | 33 | 25 | 24 | 44 | 3 | 35 | 43 | 14 | — | — | ||
| "Beyond Your Wildest Dreams" | 48 | 104 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "If I Have to Stand Alone" | 68 | 147 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1991 | "Gonna Catch You" | 32 | 145 | — | 37 | — | — | 27 | — | — | 79 | 1 | Cool as Ice | |
| 1993 | "Bad Mood" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | Bad Mood | |
| "Happenin' All Over Again '93" (US only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 98 | 1 | |||
| 1994 | "Do You Want It" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | ||
| 1996 | "Dirty Love" | — | 157 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | Non-album single | |
| "If You Really Love Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 42 | |||
| 1998 | "Beat the Street '98" (UK only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Happenin' All Over Again '98" (US only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1999 | "Everybody's Talking" (AUS/NZ only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001 | "He Lives in You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | No Regret | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | ||||||||||||||
As featured artist
edit| Year | Title | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | US Dance | ||
| 1987 | "Cinco de Mayo" (by Tropical Beat) | — | — |
| 1988 | "All Work and No Play" (by Offshore) | — | — |
| "No Regrets" (by Quartzlock) | — | — | |
| 1989 | "(I've Got Your) Pleasure Control" (by Simon Harris) | 60[16] | 23[17] |
| "Beat the Street" (by Love Inc.) | — | — | |
| 1990 | "We Got the Love" (by Touch of Soul) | 46[18] | — |
| 1995 | "Love Eviction" (by Quartz Lock) | 32[2] | — |
| 1996 | "A God That Can Dance" (by Shield) | — | — |
| 2001 | "Falling in and Out of Love" (by Orienta-Rhythm) | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released. | |||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 54: Happenin' All Over Again on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Official Charts > Lonnie Gordon". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ a b c d "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 61: Hey There Lonely Girl to Rhythm Of The Rain on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
- ^ a b c Australian peak chart positions:
- Top 50 peaks: "australian-charts.com > Lonnie Gordon in Australian Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- "Beyond Your Wildest Dreams", "If I Have To Stand Alone" (single), "Gonna Catch You" and If I Have To Stand Alone (album): "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 15 July 2015". imgur.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
- All ARIA chart peaks to March 19, 2018: "Response from ARIA re: Lonnie Gordon ARIA chart history, received 19 March 2018". Imgur.com. Retrieved March 20, 2018. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
- ^ a b "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 64: If I Have To Stand Alone to Breakaway on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 232. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Ultratop > Lonnie Gordon in Ultratop Vlaanderen" (in Dutch). Hung Medein. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ "lescharts.com > Lonnie Gordon dans les Charts Français" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Lonnie Gordon – Happenin' All Over Again (single)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – All there is to know > Search results for 'Lonnie' (from irishcharts.ie)". Fireball Media, via Imgur.com. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl > Lonnie Gordon in Dutch Charts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ "charts.org.nz > Lonnie Gordon in New Zealand Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com > Lonnie Gordon in Swedish Charts". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ "Billboard > Lonnie Gordon Chart History > Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 23, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ "Billboard > Lonnie Gordon Chart History > Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 23, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ "Official Charts > Simon Harris". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ "Billboard > Simon Harris Chart History > Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 23, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ "Official Charts > Touch of Soul". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
