Alicia Bridges
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Alicia Bridges (born July 15, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter who co-wrote and performed her international hit " I Love the Nightlife (Disco 'Round)" in 1978.


Early years

Born in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
and raised in the small Cleveland County town of Lawndale, Bridges sang from a very young age, learning to play guitar at the age of 10. At the age of 12, she had her own radio program: ''The Alicia Bridges Show'', broadcast every Saturday on station WADA in
Shelby, North Carolina Shelby is a city in and the county seat of Cleveland County, North Carolina. It lies near the western edge of the Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte-Concord, North Carolina, Concord, North Carolina, NC-South Carolina, SC Charlotte metropolitan a ...
. From age thirteen, Bridges fronted bands that performed in local clubs: "They were pretty rough places ... but these were the only places I could get ... performing experience ... so I had to adjust to that rough environment and learn to survive in it."


Discovery and fame (1970s)

Bridges first recorded for the
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
-based
Mega Records Mega Records was a Nashville, Tennessee-based music label founded in 1970 by former RCA Records executive Brad McCuen along with Harry E. Pratt. Its most successful recording artist was Sammi Smith who also recorded the label's first single.
, with two 1973 single releases of her original material. Despite the lack of success of these releases, Bridges came to the attention of Bill Lowery, who became her manager, subsidizing Bridges over a roughly two-year period. During this time, he canvassed record labels on her behalf, which led to her signing with
Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
in 1977. Bridges's self-titled debut album was the inaugural production by Steve Buckingham, who was assigned to produce Bridges after playing guitar on one of her earliest sessions. Bridges and her personal and songwriting partner Susan Hutcheson had written a song entitled "Disco 'Round", which, at Buckingham's suggestion, was recorded as " I Love the Nightlife", as Buckingham felt that the song was R&B rather than
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
("Disco 'Round" was retained as the song's subtitle): Bridges herself would later admit she had had hopes that the song would be received as a
Memphis soul Memphis soul, also known as the Memphis sound, is the most prominent strain of Southern soul. It is a shimmering, sultry style produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring melodic unison horn line ...
number, calling it "something
Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Tired of ...
might sing". However, club support was a key factor in the success of the track, which became a "sleeper"
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
hit, spending 27 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 with a peak of number five, and also appearing on several international hit parades as evinced by the ''Billboard'''''s'' "Hits of the World" chart. The song was also in the #7 position on the ''Record World'' charts and at #6 on the ''Cash Box'' charts. It was also a "crossover" hit, receiving play even on country music stations. The cover of the 1978 self-titled LP features an early skyline picture of
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
. In 1978, Bridges was a
Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
nominee and was the opening act, performing "I Love the Nightlife". Bridges' self-titled LP, ''Alicia Bridges'', was also rising on the ''Billboard'', ''Cash Box'' and ''Record World'' charts, and the LP remained on the charts for up to 35 weeks. Both the LP and the single release were international successes, and "I Love the Nightlife" went top-40 in the UK and Germany, Spain and other European countries. Bridges's music was especially popular in Japan. She received an
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
Certified
Gold Record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
for the sale of over one million copies of her hit single in the United States, as well as a gold record from Canada. Contrary to the impression created by her success with "I Love the Nightlife", Bridges was primarily a singer of R&B, rock, blues and love songs. "I Love the Nightlife" has a definite back beat and organ similar to early 1970s R&B; the original intention was for "I Love the Nightlife" to be an R&B song, but when Bill Lowery first heard the song, he saw its disco potential: subsequently, a 12" single remix was created by Jim Burgess, ultimately becoming a worldwide club smash. "I Love the Nightlife" has been featured in several movies, including ''
Love at First Bite ''Love at First Bite'' is a 1979 American comedy horror film directed by Stan Dragoti and written by Robert Kaufman, using characters originally created by Bram Stoker. It stars George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin, and Art ...
'', '' The Last Days of Disco'' and ''
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' is a 1994 Australian road comedy film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot follows two drag queens (played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) and a transgender woman (Terence S ...
''. Bridges's second single, "Body Heat", was a rock song with strong electric guitar rhythms. It was a "rock/dance" song released at a time when there was some rivalry between disco fans and rock fans; this time period began to see more songs that mixed the genres of rock and disco to create a "rock/disco" flavor. In an interview, Bridges mentioned
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
as the singer who originally aroused her interest in rock music, but she has always considered herself an R&B singer. She cited
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...
,
Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...
,
Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins Will ...
and
Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...
as her 1970s influences. She said that she did not care for white female singers as a rule, with the exceptions being
Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...
and
Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...
. She complained that white women sounded as though they were "sleepwalking" through their performances. "Yeah, I jump around a lot when I'm performing," she said.


Impostor

In 1983, a woman was arrested in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
for pretending to be Alicia Bridges during a country music convention. Bridges drove from her home in Atlanta to give evidence in the case. Bridges stated that she had been plagued by an impostor for five years.


Recent years

After the 1984 release of the second of two consecutive unsuccessful album releases, Bridges began working as a disc jockey at Atlanta dance clubs. She was working at the
Ponce de Leon Avenue Ponce de Leon Avenue ( ), often simply called Ponce, provides a link between Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, Decatur, Georgia, Decatur, Clarkston, Georgia, Clarkston, and Stone Mountain, Georgia. It was named for Ponce de Leon Springs (Atlanta), Po ...
venue the Atlanta Eagle when her disco classic "I Love the Nightlife" had its 1994 revival due to its inclusion on the soundtrack of the movie ''
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' is a 1994 Australian road comedy film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot follows two drag queens (played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) and a transgender woman (Terence S ...
''. This revival spurred Bridges to perform at retro disco shows for a number of years, before retiring to Charlotte, North Carolina. Alicia Bridges Music Publications was founded in 2006 and has produced three albums. In November 2006, Bridges released a remixed and remastered compilation of her songs titled ''This Girl Don't Care''. In 2007, she released ''Say It Sister''. Her third CD, ''Faux Diva'', was released in 2008; this included a remix of "I Love The Nightlife". Bridges is currently active in the music community as a producer and DJ. Her works, digital versions of her recordings, a blog and videos can be found on her official web sites. In 2009, Bridges was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.


Personal life

Bridges came out as a
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
in 1998. In an interview with ''
The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...
'', Bridges stated that, as a teenager, she realized she was "different from the rest".


Discography


Albums

* 1978: '' Alicia Bridges'' (
Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
, 1978) * 1979: ''Play It as It Lays'' * 1984: ''Hocus Pocus'' * 2002: ''The Collection: I Love the Nightlife'' (compilation) * 2006: ''This Girl Don't Care'' (remixed and remastered compilation) * 2007: ''Say It Sister'' (remastered compilation) * 2008: ''Faux Diva'' (remixed and remastered compilation)


Singles


EP

* 1978: ''The AOR Mini-Album''


See also

*
List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States A one-hit wonder is a musical artist who is successful with one hit song, but without a comparable subsequent hit. The term may also be applied to an artist who is remembered for only one hit despite other successes. This article contains artist ...


References


External links


Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Alicia 1953 births Living people American women pop singers American disco singers American LGBTQ singers American LGBTQ songwriters American lesbian musicians People from Cleveland County, North Carolina LGBTQ people from North Carolina Lesbian songwriters Lesbian singers Polydor Records artists 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people American lesbian writers