- Born
- Birth nameCheryl Lynn Smith
- Raised in the church in Los Angeles, California, Cheryl Lynn was once too shy to sing church solos. By 1978, she was a speech pathology major in college. With her singing talents known primarily by her family and her then-boyfriend, she had not considered a career as a singer. Yet her boyfriend, Delbert Langston, issued an ultimatum: she would have to demonstrate her ample pipes on The Gong Show (1976) or else he would stop dating her. The bashful Lynn sung "You Are So Beautiful". Winning the contest, soon she was receiving phone messages from Atlantic Records' producer Ahmet Ertegun and Elektra Records' Bob Krasnow. A recording contract from Columbia Records soon followed and a pairing with producer-composer David Paich. Lynn enjoyed a string of hits in the late 1970s through the 1980s, among them were "Got To Be Real", "Star Love", "Shake it Up Tonight", "If This World Were Mine" (duet with Luther Vandross) and "Encore". She was also the female vocalist on the original version of the now-standard Soul-Pop classic, "Georgy Porgy", by the rock group TOTO. Not unlike other singers who came to prominence in the short-lived Disco era, Lynn saw a decline in her record sales by the late 1980s. She remains, however, one of the most talented and best remembered vocalists from that era. In the mid-1990s, Cheryl released her last album to date, "Good Time", as well as "Got To Be Real-The Best Of Cheryl Lynn". For all of her fans and music lovers that enjoy sincere, passionate vocals, her return to the recording studio with a new album would be more than welcome.- IMDb Mini Biography By: L. J. Allen-2
- Cheryl's signature record, "Got To Be Real", was inducted into the "Dance Music Hall Of Fame" on September 19, 2005.
- Cheryl recorded a version of the Lynsey de Paul/Barry Blue song, "Love Bomb", for her album, "In Love", produced by Barry. This track is featured, along with "Got To Be Real" and the Melissa Manchester/Carole Bayer Sager song, "Come in from the Rain", on the Cheryl Lynn compilation, "The Real Thing".
- Landed the role of the Wicked Witch of the West in the national touring company play of "The Wiz" in 1976.
- She is a lifelong Democrat.
- She belongs to the United Methodist church.
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