Today’s classic song of the day is a hot track from the disco era, “Turn the Beat Around” by Vicki Sue Robinson. Released in February of 1976, this single hit #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, #15 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Disco chart.
“Turn the Beat Around” was written by brothers Gerald and Peter Jackson of the R&B group Touch of Class. It was originally intended for that group’s debut album but their label didn’t like the song. The engineer for those recordings, Al Garrison, had given a demo of the track to his girlfriend, singer Vicki Sue Robinson; her response was, “Oh man, I’ve gotta have that song!”
Well, with “Turn the Beat Around” no longer wanted for his own band’s album, Peter Jackson reluctantly gave Ms. Robinson the song for her upcoming debut album. She cut her lead vocals in a single take on September 25, 1975, at RCA Studios in New York and her version became a smash on the club circuit.
Almost twenty years later, “Turn the Beat Around” was recorded by Gloria Estefan for the 1994 Sylvester Stallone/Sharon Stone film, The Specialist. The track became a hit all over again, hitting #13 on the Billboard Hot 100, #14 on the Cash Box Top 100, #4 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, and #1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart. Ms. Estefan’s version was remarkably faithful to the original while leaning heavily into her Miami Sound Machine roots.
