Cheryl Lau Sang (born 5 August 1951), known professionally as Samantha Sang, is an Australian singer. She had an earlier career as a teenage singer under the stage name Cheryl Gray, before adopting the stage name she is more widely known as in 1969. She first received nationwide recognition in Australia in 1967, after releasing the top ten single "You Made Me What I Am". By 1969, Sang relocated to the United Kingdom, where she worked with the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

, before returning to Australia in 1975. She reconnected with the Bee Gees in 1977 and had an international hit with their song "

Emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

", peaking at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number two in Australia and number eleven in the United Kingdom. The single's parent album, ''

'' (1978), reached the top thirty on ''Billboard'' 200 and included two other singles.

Life and career

Early life

Sang was born to Reg and Joan (née Clarke) Sang in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, the great-great-granddaughter of a Chinese herbalist and surgeon. Both parents were 1940s ''Radio Revue'' singers. Her father ran a singing school and performed professionally as Reg Gray. Sang began her career at the age of eight, as Cheryl Gray, by singing on Australian radio and entered and won talent contests. Her first performance on television was at the age of eleven.

1966-1974: First recordings

In December 1966, she released her debut single, "The Real Thing" (not to be confused with fellow Australian

Russell Morris Russell Norman Morris (born 31 July 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s. On 1 July 2008, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) reco ...

' 1969 hit song " The Real Thing"), under the name "Cheryl Gray". It was issued by

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...

on its

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

label and was quickly followed by her second single, "In a Woman's Eyes". Her third single, "You Made Me What I Am", was released in May 1967 and reached number eight on the ''Go-Set'' Top 40. Teen magazine, ''Go-Set'' ran a poll in August for pop performers and Gray was voted third in the 'Top Girl Singer' category behind Lynne Randell and Bev Harrell. Sang released three more singles on His Master's Voice but none charted. She became a singer on Australian television, but she felt her career was limited if she remained in Australia. In 1969, Sang travelled to the United Kingdom where

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Along with his younger fraternal twin brothers, Robin Gibb, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Maurice, he rose to global fame as a member ...

of the

heard her singing and urged his manager,

Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer, and impresario, best known for managing musicians such as Cream, Andy Gibb, and the Bee Gees; theatrical produc ...

, to sign her. Under Stigwood's management she changed her name to "Samantha Sang". Gibb co-wrote "Love of a Woman" with his brother Maurice. Sang's version – with Barry Gibb supplying backing vocals, guitar and producing – was released in August. It was a minor hit in some European countries. Sang followed with "Nothing in the World Like Love" written by UK pop singer-songwriter Labi Siffre. Visa restrictions forced her out of the UK and she returned to Australia.

1975-1990s: Mainstream success

By 1975, Sang had changed management and signed 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 ...

which released three singles and her debut album, ''Samantha Sang and Rocked the World''. In 1977, she recorded "When Love Is Gone", the theme song for French drama film '' Bilitis''. She visited Barry Gibb in France whilst the Bee Gees were recording songs for the ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...

'' soundtrack. A new song, "

", was written for her by Barry and

Robin Gibb Robin Hugh Gibb (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He gained global fame as a member of the Bee Gees with elder brother Barry and fraternal twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his own successfu ...

. The single was co-produced by Barry with the Bee Gees' production team of

Albhy Galuten Albhy Galuten (born Alan Bruce Galuten; December 27, 1947) is an American technology executive and futurist, Grammy Award-winning record producer, composer, musician, orchestrator and conductor. Career Musical career Galuten attended Berkle ...

and Karl Richardson. Released in 1978, with backing vocals by Barry, it showcased a softer style and became a major hit worldwide. It reached number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in March 1978, and earned a

platinum record Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording and reproduction, recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video ...

. It peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart and at number two on the Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...

Singles Chart. Her following album, ''Emotion'', although not produced by Barry Gibb, included a version of " Charade", a little-known Bee Gees' song from their 1974 album '' Mr. Natural''. ''Emotion'' peaked at No. 29 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and achieved a gold record in March 1978. Determined to succeed on her own merits, Sang did not record another Gibb song to capitalise on her success, but chose a disco track, "You Keep Me Dancing", as her next single. It peaked at No. 56 on the US Hot 100 (NZ # 21, Canada AC #10) and was followed into the charts by her cover of

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded more than 50 songs that made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the '' ...

's " In the Midnight Hour". She recorded a cover of

Eric Carmen Eric Howard Carmen (August 11, 1949 – March 2024) was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of the Raspberries, with whom he recorded the hit " Go All the Way" and four albums. He embarked on a so ...

's Top 20 single, " Change of Heart", featured as the B-side of "You Keep Me Dancing". Her third album, ''From Dance to Love'', was released by

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

in 1979.

1999-present: Later years

In 1999, residing again in Melbourne, Sang made a short return to live performing, with her father Reg as guest vocalist. In 2004, Sang's three albums were released for the first time on CD in a two-piece set as the compilation ''The Ultimate Collection''.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Awards and nominations

Go-Set Pop Poll

The Go-Set Pop Poll was coordinated by teen-oriented pop music newspaper ''

Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...

'' and was established in February 1966 and conducted an annual poll from 1966 to 1972 of its readers to determine the most popular personalities. , - , 1967 , herself (Cheryl Gray) , Top Female Singer , style="background:tan;", 3rd , - , 1968 , herself (Cheryl Gray) , Top Female Singer , 5th , - TELEVISION

References

External links

Official website
archived at .
Pop Archive feature "Emotion"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sang, Samantha 1951 births Australian dance musicians Australian disco musicians Australian expatriates in England Australian women pop singers Australian people of Chinese descent EMI Group artists Living people Singers from Melbourne Private Stock Records artists 20th-century Australian women singers 21st-century Australian women singers