New Book Offers Tales of Disco-Inspired Redemption

For millions of people, singer Gloria Gaynor’s 1978 smash  “I Will Survive” is a ridiculously infectious disco classic, the kind of song you can’t help but crank up to 11 when it comes over the car radio.

But for a subset of those fans, the Newark native’s signature hit means a lot more.

There’s the attractive young woman who had defined herself by her looks, only to be forced to reassess her life after a car accident left her disfigured. A survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp has drawn inspiration from the song. So has a firefighter who was on the scene of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

Those stories and dozens of others are recounted in Gaynor’s new book, “We Will Survive: True Stories of Encouragement, Inspiration and the Power of Song,” which goes on sale Dec. 1.

Gaynor was at the downtown headquarters of Audible.com Thursday to talk about the book -- which is also being released in recorded format by Audible -- her Newark childhood, and how “I Will Survive” was almost condemned to B-side obscurity.

“When I was a little girl, this was a wonderful place to grow up,” said Gaynor, who now lives in Somerset County but spent her early years on Howard Street. “”All the neighbors made music, someone would sing, someone would drum. When I was older and I went to other areas nearby, I didn’t see that. I felt bad for them.”

Seated in front of an audience of Audible employees just a few feet from a conference room named in her honor -- which is complete with a glittery disco ball -- Gaynor said record company executives were at first reluctant to actively market the song, so Gaynor took matters into her own hands, promoting it among DJs at New York City's Studio 54, the renowned '70d-era nightclub. Soon, the song caught on by word-of-mouth and radio stations were inundated with play requests.

“And the rest, as they say,is history,” said Gaynor.  

The song, about a woman who vows to carry on after ending a destructive romantic relationship, touched a deep chord with many fans in America and around the world, who over the years wrote to Gaynor to share their stories of how they too persevered under trying circumstances. Gaynor, who’s also voicing the audiobook version, collected 40 of those stories for “We Will Survive.”

Those stories, Gaynor said, reveal that "I Will Survive" did more than just launch  countless off-key karaoke sing-alongs. It was also, she believes, her way of playing part in a larger, divine plan.  

“I believe we who are blessed by God should use those blessings for others,” she said.