Got to Be Real

"Got to Be Real" is a song by American singer Cheryl Lynn from her 1978 self-titled debut studio album. The song, which was Lynn's debut single, was written by Lynn, David Paich and David Foster, and is one of the most popular and well-known in disco music.

"Got to Be Real"
Single by Cheryl Lynn
from the album Cheryl Lynn
B-side"Come in from the Rain"
ReleasedAugust 14, 1978[1]
RecordedApril 1978
StudioSunset Sound Studios
(Hollywood, California)
GenreDisco[2]
Length5:07
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Cheryl Lynn singles chronology
"Got to Be Real"
(1978)		 "Star Love"
(1979)
Alternative cover

Recording

For the recording, David Shields played bass, David Paich played keyboards, James Gadson played drums and Ray Parker, Jr. was the session guitarist.

Chart performance

In the United States, "Got to Be Real" spent three weeks at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart in early 1979.[3] Along with the album tracks "Star Love" and "You Saved My Day", "Got to Be Real" peaked at number eleven on the National Disco Action Top 40 chart.[4] The song was used for a 2010 UK TV advertising campaign for Marks & Spencer, a department store, and it re-entered the main charts at number 78 for the week ending April 4, the next week peaking at number 70.[5][6]

Legacy

"Got to Be Real" was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame on September 19, 2005. RIAA Platinum Certification. In 2017, ShortList's Dave Fawbert listed the song as containing "one of the greatest key changes in music history".[7]

Track listing and formats

US 7-inch vinyl single

  1. "Got to Be Real" – 3:42
  2. "Come in from the Rain" – 3:35

US 12-inch vinyl single

  1. "Got to Be Real" – 5:10
  2. "Come in from the Rain" – 3:35

Charts and certifications

Cover versions

Appearances in other media
  • The song was prominently featured in the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning, which chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the poor, African American and Latino gay and transgender community involved in it.
  • It appeared on the "lipsync for your life" segment in the second season of drag queen reality competition RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars.
  • Whit Stillman's film The Last Days of Disco includes the song on its soundtrack.
  • In 1998, in the first-season episode "Head Case" of the sitcom Will and Grace, Will sings this song in the bathroom while he shaves, to which Grace responds "We're just like fifty men and a mirrored ball away from being a gay disco".
  • The song was also included as a playable song in the North American version of Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA 2.
  • In 2001, the song appeared in the fourth season Sex and the City episode, "The Real Me", where Carrie Bradshaw becomes a model for a day.
  • The song also appeared in a Hanes Her Way commercial in 2002.
  • In 2002, the song was used in Undercover Brother when the titular character successfully parachuted off The Man's self-destructing base in the end of the film.
  • In 2006, the song featured in The Pink Panther, during some of the New York scenes.
  • In March 2010, UK department store Marks and Spencer used "Got To Be Real" in adverts for their new Spring Collection.
  • In November 2010, American Dad! Season 6 Episode 3 Best Little Horror House in Langley Falls featured this song when Roger started a disco number as he helps Stan think how to compete his haunted house with Buckle's.
  • The song also is used as the theme song for italian cinema show Supercinema.
  • The song features in the final scene of the film Night At The Museum: Secrets of the Tomb.

See also

References
  1. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  2. AllMusic Review by Andy Kellman. "Cheryl Lynn - Cheryl Lynn | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 368.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 162.
  5. "Got to Be Real Official Charts Company history". OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 2011-29-5.
  6. "Cheryl Lynn Official Charts Companyhistory". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
  7. "The 19 greatest key changes in music history". ShortList. October 1, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  8. Flavour of New Zealand, 15 April 1979
  9. "Top 100 1979-02-10". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2014-11-13.
  10. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  11. "Top 100 Hits of 1979/Top 100 Songs of 1979". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  12. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1979". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  13. "British single certifications – Cheryl Lynn – Got to Be Real". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2020-08-09. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Got to Be Real in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  14. Davies, Chris (September 1998). British and American hit singles: 51 years of transatlantic hits, 1946-1997. BT Batsford. p. 1374. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  15. https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/29514/erik/
  16. "倖田來未、ペプシCM曲シングル＆ベスト映像集発売決定". Tower Records. June 23, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
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