Samantha Sang ~ Emotion 1978 Disco Purrfection Version

Australia has nurtured a number of successful pop artists like Dave Mason, Olivia Newton John, The Bee Gees and Samantha Sang. Born Cheryl Lau Sang in Melbourne, she also was known professionally as Cheryl Gray, the name she used to release her debut single “The Real Thing“ in 1966. After entering and winning several talent contests, EMI signed her and released two other singles, “In A Woman’s Eyes“ and 1967’s “You Made Me What I Am“ that put her firmly in Australia’s pop landscape. Looking to expand her appeal, she went to the UK in 1969. It was there that Barry Gibb heard Cheryl and convinced Robert Stigwood to sign her. He and brother Maurice wrote the minor hit “Love Of A Woman“ and released it under her stage name of Samantha Sang. A subsequent single written by Labi Siffre (Eminem used a sample of his song “I Got The...“ for his single “My Name Is..“), “Nothing In The World Like Love“ was released, but by then her visa ran out and it was back to Australia. Signing with Polydor in 1975, she released the LP “Samantha Sang and Rocked The World“ which did not sell in great amounts. 1977 saw her visit France and the Bee Gees who were in the midst of recording songs for a little disco movie to be called “Saturday Night Fever“. Barry wrote a new song for her called “Emotion“, designed to capitalize on her softer side. It proved to be the perfect melding of artist with song and became a major worldwide hit, peaking at #3 on the US survey in the spring of 1978. Samantha has retired from the music business, but did a one off live performance with her dad Reg in 1999.