Cheryl Lynn (bornLynda Cheryl Smith; March 11, 1957)^[1][2] is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is best known for her songs during the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, including the 1978R&B/disco song "Got to Be Real" from her albumCheryl Lynn.^[3]

Cheryl Lynn's singing career began with her churchchoir when she was a young girl. she appeared on an episode ofThe Gong Show,^[2] a daytime entertainment TV show in June 1976,^[1] performingJoe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful". Soon after, she was hired as a backing vocalist for the national touring company of the musical dramaThe Wiz.^[1] Eventually, she obtained the role of Evillene, theWicked Witch of the West during the six-month national tour.

After her performance onThe Gong Show,Ahmed Ertegun ofAtlantic Records was unable to attend an initial meeting with Lynn, with the result that she was contracted withColumbia Records.^[1] She released her first and best-known song, "Got to Be Real", which wascomposed by Lynn alongside keyboardistDavid Paich (of the bandToto) andDavid Foster.^[4] The song peaked at No. 12 on theBillboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on theRhythm & Blues chart.^[1] The success of the single prompted her debut album,Cheryl Lynn, which was produced by Paich andMarty Paich. It sold more than a million copies and hit No. 5 onBillboard magazine'sR&B albums chart and No. 23 on theBillboard 200. The next single from the album, written by Judy Wieder and John Footman, "Star Love", also became a success.

Wieder and Footman joined songwriting forces with the artist for her second album,In Love.^[1] The first single, "I've Got Faith in You", was a moderate hit on the R&B chart. The follow-up single, "Keep It Hot", was a club hit. During this time, members of therock music group Toto were producing their debut albumToto. During the production Lynn was asked to provide the female backing vocal for one of the album's singles, "Georgy Porgy".^[5] The single scored No. 48 onBillboard's popular music chart. Although Toto would go on to chart more than a dozenpop and rock songs throughout the years, Lynn's vocal was credited for the group's charting their only R&B (No. 18) anddance (No. 80) hit on theBillboard chart.^[6]

In 1981,Ray Parker Jr. was called in to produce Lynn's third album,In the Night.^[1] It featured thedance andR&B single, "Shake It Up Tonight".^[1] The next year,Luther Vandross was asked to produce Lynn's fourth album,Instant Love. The second single from the album, "If This World Were Mine", a 1982duet with Vandross that was acover version of a previousMarvin Gaye andTammi Terrell song.^[1] For her fifth album,Preppie,^[1] Lynn produced most of the tracks, with the exception of the single "Encore", which was written and produced by theMinneapolisfunk music duo,Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It became Lynn's second No. 1 single on the R&B charts.^[7]

Lynn also recorded soundtracks for feature films, including a song written byMichael Bolton entitled "At Last You're Mine" for the 1985 filmHeavenly Bodies, and the track "Steppin' Into the Night" for the 1986 feature filmArmed and Dangerous. The song and the film's soundtrack were produced byMaurice White.^[8]

In 1989, Lynn released the top 10 single "Every Time I Try to Say Goodbye", from her eighth album,Whatever It Takes.^[1]

She began the 1990s without a record contract. She did mostly session work forRichard Marx^[5] albums,Rush Street (1991) andPaid Vacation (1994), as well as Luther Vandross' 1996Your Secret Love album. During 1995, after a six-year hiatus from recording her own material, Lynn teamed with producer/songwriterTeddy Riley (formerly of thenew jack swing music groupGuy), to record her ninth album,Good Time. It was released in Japan and the UK, and later in the United States as an imported CD. It featured on the nightclub-fave single album "Guarantee for My Heart".

In 1996,Sony Records/Legacy releasedGot to Be Real – The Best of Cheryl Lynn, which included Lynn's most successful recordings from her years with Columbia Records. This was followed soon by another compilation CD,The Real Thing, which featured other recordings from Lynn's first six albums.

Two years later, she performed onHBO'sSinbad's Summer Soul Jam 4 (1998), hosted by comedianSinbad.^[9]

During the new millennium, Lynn toured Japan and did an occasional gig in the United States, performing at charity events in her hometown of Los Angeles. In 2000, she worked withhip-hop musicianJay Supreme on his single "Your Love (Encore)", which was an updated version of "Encore." She performed onABC'sThe Disco Ball... A 30-Year Celebration, broadcast during January 2003. In 2004, she recorded the song "Sweet Kind of Life," which was also written and produced by Jam & Lewis, for the soundtrack to the 2004 filmShark Tale.^[5] In 2005, Lynn's song "Got to Be Real" was inducted into theDance Music Hall of Fame.^[5] On May 23, 2006,Collectables Records re-released her 1981 albumIn the Night and 1982'sInstant Love, in a double CD package form. It was the first time ever that either album was released as a CD in the United States.

Lynn is considered an influence on some of today's R&B female singers, includingMary J. Blige, who, alongsideWill Smith, covered Lynn's song ("Got to Be Real").Japanese pop singerKumi Koda covered the song for her 2010 single albumGossip Candy.

In April 2010, "Got to Be Real" charted for the first time in the UK, peaking at number 70 on theUK Singles Chart.^[10]

• Got to Be Real: The Best of Cheryl Lynn (1996,Legacy/Columbia)

• List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

• Cheryl Lynn at Soul Legends
• Cheryl Lynn at MySpace
• Cheryl Lynn atIMDb

• 1957 births
• Living people
• 20th-century African-American women singers
• 20th-century American women singers
• 20th-century American singers
• American expatriates in Japan
• American women pop singers
• American soul singers
• American disco singers
• American boogie musicians
• Singers from Los Angeles
• Virgin Records artists
• Columbia Records artists
• American rhythm and blues singers
• Contestants on American game shows
• 21st-century African-American musicians
• 21st-century African-American women

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