Geraldine Hunt ( Milligan; February 10, 1945 – October 27, 2022) was an American-Canadian R&B singer best known for the 1980 No. 1

Hot Dance Music/Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

hit " Can't Fake the Feeling".

Early life

Hunt's parents are Rosie Lee Vickers and Frank Milligan. Her father was a

one-man band A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical or electronic contraptions. One-man bands also often sing while they perform. The simplest type of "one-man ban ...

, and her grandmother, Louella Reed, was a singer on the Chitlin Circuit. In 1947 her family relocated to Chicago. While growing up on Chicago's south side Hunt discovered her musical talent. Living in that part of Chicago was not easy; recalls Geraldine. "On the weekends, we had to sleep on the floor, gangs were shooting through the house; I had been beaten up at gunpoint once, It was rough. We were living below middle class." Despite the bleak living conditions of her childhood, there were bright spots also. A notable time in her life was her years at Hyde Park High School. Her classmate and best friend at school was the late American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

singer-songwriter

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American soul singer and songwriter best known for her 1974 single " Lovin' You", her five-octave vocal range, and her use of the whistle register. Born in 1947, Riperton grew ...

. Besides Hunt and Riperton, the school also produced a girl group called "Coffee" who covered Ruby Andrews' "Casanova" in 1980.

Career

Hunt began her recording career as a teenager with several singles released from 1962: she had her first glimmer of success in 1970 when "You & I" a duet with Charlie Hodges reached No. 45 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' and in 1972 Hunt's remake of "

Baby I Need Your Loving "Baby I Need Your Loving" is a 1964 hit single recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song was the group's first Motown single and their first pop Top ...

" reached No. 47 R&B. In 1975, Hunt relocated to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec where she recorded her first album in 1978, the

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 ...

-oriented ''Sweet Honesty''. In 1980, Hunt's second album ''No Way'' yielded the track "Can't Fake the Feeling" which reached No. 1 on the club chart in ''Billboard'' where it spent a total of seven weeks: with

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 ...

radio then being disco-resistant "Can't Fake the Feeling" had a small mainstream success reaching No. 58 R&B. However the track did afford Hunt a hit in France at No. 10 and charted in the UK at No. 44. In 1982, she helped write and produce some of the music for Chéri. In 2014, Hunt was honored for her contributions to composing and publishing music at the 25th Anniversary SOCAN Montreal Gala Celebrates Music Creators and Publishers.

Personal life and death

Hunt was the mother of three children; Rosalind Hunt of the musical group

Chéri Cheri or Chéri may refer to: People Given name *Cheri (given name) * Cheri Ben-Iesau, American painter, muralist, author * Cheri Blauwet (born 1980), American wheelchair racer * Cheri Dennis (born 1979), American singer * Cheri DiNovo (born 1 ...

, singer

Freddie James Freddie James (born 1937) is a former American football coach. He played college football under Billy Nicks at Prairie View A&M University in the late 1950s, before working in a steel plant for a couple of years, then as a physical therapist i ...

and professor/writer Jeanne Croteau. She had seven grandchildren. According to an announcement from her son Freddie, Hunt died on October 27, 2022; her cause of death was not disclosed.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Sweet Honesty'' (1978) * ''No Way'' (1980)

Compilation albums

* ''Can't Fake the Feeling'' (1993)

Singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Geraldine 1945 births 2022 deaths American dance musicians American rhythm and blues singers American expatriate musicians in Canada 20th-century Black Canadian women singers 20th-century Canadian women singers Canadian dance musicians Canadian rhythm and blues singers Hyde Park Academy High School alumni Singers from St. Louis Musicians from Montreal 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers