Lydia Murdock is an American singer who had at least two dance hits. Her best known one was "

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

" which was a hit in the UK and Canada. She also charted in the UK with " Love on the Line".

Background

Lydia Murdock is an American

pop singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

from New Jersey She is best known for her

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's "

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 3, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson, produ ...

", known as "Superstar", where she portrayed Billie Jean saying that she's "mad as hell" in the song's lyrics. The song was a hit, peaking at #14 in the UK in October 1983.

Career

Superstar

On the week of 7 October, 1983, "

" made its debut at no. 36 on the ''

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

'' National Airplay / 40 chart. On the week of 8 October, her single was a breakout in Canada and was at 5-15 on radio CKOI-FM in Montreal. It had also made its debut at no. 50 on the ''

RPM Weekly ''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. ''R ...

'' Top 50 Singles chart. It peaked at no. 26 on the ''RPM'' chart on week seven on the week of 19 November. It held that position for another week. On the main UK chart, the single made its debut on 17 September and spending ten weeks in the charts, it peaked at no. 14. Murdock's single won her an award. She came fourth in the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' 1983 Black Contemporary Singles Awards New Female section with Diane Richards,

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Alfie Silas Alfie Silas is an American singer who has had a long career as a session singer. She has also had success as a solo artist and has had five hits on the r&b charts during the 1980s. Background Alfie Silas has been described by ''Cash Box'' as havin ...

and Pamela Nivens at 1, 2, 3 and 5 respectively. Superstar also made the ''Euro Tip Sheet'' European Top 100 Singles chart. On the week of 30 April, it had moved up from 86 to 62.

Further activities

Murdock recorded the Michael Burton composition, "Life in America" which was produced by Jerry Gabinelli and Burton. A club mix by D.J. Raphael Negron was released in 1984 in 12" format on Team Entertainment TRS 3003.

Love on the Line

Murdock recorded the single "Love on the Line" which was released in 12" format in the US on Team Entertainment TRS3006. It was written by Michael Burton and produced by Gerry Gabinelli,

Bobby Eli Bobby Eli (born Eli Tatarsky; March 2, 1946 – August 17, 2023) was an American musician, arranger, composer and record producer from Philadelphia. He was a founding member and lead guitarist of Philadelphia studio band MFSB. Overview Bobby ...

, and

Tony Bongiovi Anthony Carmine Bongiovi Jr. (born September 7, 1947) is an American record producer and recording engineer. He is the cousin of musician Jon Bon Jovi. Early life Anthony Carmine Bongiovi Jr. was born on September 7, 1947, in Raritan, New Jerse ...

. It was released in the UK on WEA YZ17T. It was reviewed by James Hamilton who confirmed that it was selling well in the UK. However Hamilton said her lamenting about her man's phone line being busy was a bit nagging. It was also reviewed that same week by Jerry Smith in ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

''. He said that it was a strong dance single and noted the catchy vocal harmonies and sweeping strings. And even though he said that it was another song about telephones, he said that the chorus was memorable, and it should do well. Murdock's song lyrics for "Love on the Line" and her photo was featured in the 25 August 1984 issue of ''Number One'' magazine. That week the single debuted on the UK Disco Top 85 chart at number 55. It was reported by ''Music Week'' in the magazine's 8 September issue that "Love on the Line" had debuted at no. 49 on the ''Music Week'' Top Disco & Dance Singles chart. "Love on the Line" was a recommended single in the 13 October issue of ''

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 ...

''. In Montreal, Canada, " Love on the Line" debuted at no. 40 on the Radio CKGM 98 chart on the week of 1 February, 1985.

Further activities

In 1985 her single "Tonight Tonight" was released in Canada on Unidisc 7UN-190.Discogs
Lydia Murdock – Tonight Tonight
/ref>

Discography

US

Canada

References

External links

* Discogs
Lydia Murdock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murdock, Lydia Year of birth missing (living people) Living people African-American women singers American women singers 20th-century American women American disco singers American women pop singers