Gloria Gaynor ~ Never Can Say Goodbye 1974 Disco Purrfection Version

Clifton Davis was a triple threat, an actor, singer and a songwriter. In 1971, the Jackson Five recorded his “Never Can Say Goodbye“ and was rewarded with a #1 R&B hit for three weeks and barely missed repeating that feat on the Hot100 by peaking at #2 unable to dislodge Three Dog Night’s #1 megahit “Joy To The World“. As an actor, he came to my attention starring in the sitcom “That’s My Mama“ with Theresa Merritt and Ted Lange. Later on in 1971, when Gloria Gaynor was working with Columbia Records executive Jay Ellis to record her first single for them the first version of “Honey Bee“ that upon release played in the clubs, but failed to gain radio’s attention. That song suffered from a lack of a proper production style on the fuzz guitar intro contributed and after the failed to chart and was re-recorded with help from Meco Menardo. He also was involved with her next single, the blazing disco cover of Never Can Say Goodbye that had exploded in the clubs, topping the disco chart for five weeks and then stormed the pop charts by peaking at #9. The song and the album were both big sellers and it resulted in her coronation as “The Queen Of The Discos“ by the National Association of Discotheque Disc Jockeys in 1975. It only lasted a year when an upstart vocalist named Donna Summer would claim the throne with “Love To Love You Baby“ but Gloria got there first. Many assume that “Never Can Say Goodbye“ was her first single but you may not be aware that her debut single was released in 1965 for Jocida records, “She’ll Be Sorry“ that did not chart.