Gloria Gaynor – Burning The Ground: DjPaulT's 80's and 90's Remixes

Burning The Ground Exclusive 1979

NEW 2023 Transfer
NEW Meticulous Audio Restoration

Originally posted August 13, 2012

The song that really fought to find its audience, I Will Survive first surfaced as the B-side to a long-forgotten single before eventually becoming a Studio 54 anthem. Its status as one of the best LGBTQ+ Pride songs is tinged with sadness – arguably a last stand against the backlash of homophobia that would secure disco’s first demise and add so much extra suffering to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, then just around the corner. This transatlantic chart-topper would overwhelm Gaynor’s career but, as defining moments go, it’s in a class of its own.

“I Will Survive” is a song by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 as the second single from her sixth album, Love Tracks (1978). It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. A top-selling song, it is a popular disco anthem, as well as being certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Originally released as the B-side to a cover version of the Righteous Brothers song “Substitute”, “I Will Survive” became a worldwide hit for Gaynor when disc jockeys played that side of the record instead. New copies of the record were eventually pressed with “I Will Survive” as the A-side (“Substitute” itself peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, equaling to number 107 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart).

As a disco number, the song was unique for its time by virtue of Gaynor’s having no background singers. And, unlike her first disco hits, the track was not pitched up to make it faster and to render Gaynor’s recorded voice in a higher register than that in which she actually sang. Most disco hits at the time were heavily produced, with multiple voices, overdubs, and adjustments to pitch and speed. “I Will Survive” had a much more spare and “clean” sound. Had it been originally planned and released as an A-side, it would almost certainly have undergone a substantially more heavy-handed remix.

The song received the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording in 1980, the only year the award was given. It is ranked #492 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time”, and ranked at #97 on Billboard magazine’s “All-Time Hot 100”. In 2000, the song was ranked #1 in VH1’s list of the 100 greatest dance songs.

SIDE A:
I Will Survive 8:02

SIDE B:
Yo Vivire (Spanish Version) 7:52

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1979	I Will Survive	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#1
1979	I Will Survive	U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks	#9
1979	I Will Survive	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#1
1979	I Will Survive	U.S. Billboard Hot Black Singles	#4

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Polydor – PD D 512
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo, 56
Country: US
Released: 1979
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Disco

CREDITS:

Arranged By [Strings, Horns] – Dave Blumberg*
Co-producer, Arranged By [Rhythm] – Freddie Perren
Producer – Dino Fekaris
Written-By – Dino Fekaris, Freddie Perren

NOTES:
Produced for Grand Slam Productions

Promotion Copy – Not For Sale

Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi