Cheryl Lynn

Cheryl Lynn, born Lynda Cheryl Smith on March 11, 1957, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She first gained public attention in June 1976 when she appeared on the daytime television program The Gong Show, performing Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful." That appearance led directly to her being hired as a backing vocalist for the national touring company of the musical drama The Wiz, during which she ultimately secured the role of Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, for the production's six-month run. Her Broadway credit for The Wiz dates to 1976.

Lynn's recording career took shape after her Gong Show performance attracted industry attention. When Ahmed Ertegun of Atlantic Records was unable to attend an initial meeting with her, she signed instead with Columbia Records. Her debut single, "Got to Be Real," co-written with keyboardist David Paich of the band Toto and David Foster, reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Rhythm & Blues chart. The song's success drove her self-titled debut album, produced by David Paich and Marty Paich, to sell more than one million copies, reaching No. 5 on Billboard's R&B albums chart and No. 23 on the Billboard 200. A second single from that album, "Star Love," written by Judy Wieder and John Footman, also charted successfully.

Wieder and Footman collaborated with Lynn again on her second album, In Love, which yielded the moderate R&B hit "I've Got Faith in You" and the club hit "Keep It Hot." During this period, Lynn contributed female backing vocals to "Georgy Porgy," a single by Toto from their debut album. The track reached No. 48 on Billboard's popular music chart and stands as the only entry the group placed on both the R&B chart, at No. 18, and the dance chart, at No. 80.

Her third album, In the Night, released in 1981, was produced by Ray Parker Jr. and featured the dance and R&B single "Shake It Up Tonight." Luther Vandross produced her fourth album, Instant Love, the following year. Its second single, "If This World Were Mine," was a duet with Vandross and a cover of the Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell recording. For her fifth album, Preppie, Lynn produced the majority of tracks herself. The exception was the single "Encore," written and produced by Minneapolis funk duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, which became her second No. 1 single on the R&B charts.

Lynn also contributed to film soundtracks during this period. She recorded "At Last You're Mine," written by Michael Bolton, for the 1985 film Heavenly Bodies, and "Steppin' Into the Night" for the 1986 film Armed and Dangerous, with that song and its soundtrack produced by Maurice White.

In 1989, Lynn released Whatever It Takes, her eighth album, which contained the top-ten single "Every Time I Try to Say Goodbye." She entered the 1990s without a record contract, contributing session work to Richard Marx's albums Rush Street in 1991 and Paid Vacation in 1994, as well as to Luther Vandross's 1996 album Your Secret Love. In 1995, after a six-year break from recording her own material, she worked with producer and songwriter Teddy Riley, formerly of the new jack swing group Guy, on her ninth album, Good Time, which was released in Japan, the United Kingdom, and later in the United States as an imported CD. Sony Records/Legacy issued the compilation Got to Be Real – The Best of Cheryl Lynn in 1996, followed by a second compilation, The Real Thing, drawing from her first six albums.

Lynn performed on HBO's Sinbad's Summer Soul Jam 4 in 1998 and on ABC's The Disco Ball... A 30-Year Celebration, broadcast in January 2003. In 2000, she collaborated with hip-hop musician Jay Supreme on his single "Your Love (Encore)," an updated version of "Encore." In 2004, she recorded "Sweet Kind of Life," also written and produced by Jam and Lewis, for the soundtrack to the film Shark Tale. The following year, "Got to Be Real" was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. Collectables Records issued a double CD pairing In the Night and Instant Love in May 2006, marking the first domestic CD release of either album. In April 2010, "Got to Be Real" charted in the United Kingdom for the first time, peaking at No. 70 on the UK Singles Chart. Lynn's singing career had its origins in her church choir during childhood, and she has continued to perform at charity events in her hometown of Los Angeles.