Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Jango Song Of The Day-Irene Cara


Artist:Irene Cara
Song:Flashdance...What A Feeling
Album:Flashdance CD/DVD





In the early 80s, Irene Cara looked like she was poised to be a huge star. She made a big splash in Fame and then had a #1 hit with this theme from the hit film Flashdance. But it didn't happen and I guess she's the subject of "What happened to" features. She was born Mar. 18, 1959 in New York City. She performed as a child in Broadway shows and on TV. She was a regular on the PBS show The Electric Company. Then she started turning up in films like the 1976 film Sparkle and she was in the TV miniseries Roots: The Next Generation. But the 1980 film Fame made her a star and she had a hit single with Out Here On My Own. Irene continued to appear in films and on TV but she wanted to concentrate on her singing career. So she signed with Geffen Records. Her 1982 album Anyone Can See underperformed so Geffen decided to bring in Georgio Moroder to produce her follow up album. Irene was reluctant to work with him. She didn't want to be compared to Donna Summer. They worked out a deal to record music for the upcoming film Flashdance. Irene wrote Flashdance...What A Feeling with Moroder's drummer Keith Forsey and Moroder wrote the music. It topped the charts but the success of the film overshadowed Irene's success and her own album didn't sell and Geffen dropped her. The Flashdance soundtrack was a huge seller. An expanded edition was released in 1997 but is out of print. Paramount released a DVD of the film in 2007 with a bonus CD with songs from the soundtrack. Irene Cara continued to appear in films and recorded an album for Elektra in 1987. She's still around. She has a band called Caramel and recorded the theme to the 2007 film Downtown: A Street Tale. But it's very clear that Irene Cara should have been a much bigger star. Here's the video for Flashdance...What A Feeling by Irene Cara.

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