Got to Be Real

Recorded for Cheryl Lynn’s 1978 self-titled debut album, with the session built around Cheryl Lynn, David Paich, David Foster, and players including David Shields, James Gadson, and Ray Parker Jr. The album was cut at Studio 55, Sunset Sound, Western Recorders, and CBS Recording Studios. Released in August 1978 as Lynn’s debut single, it became her breakthrough and reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 while also going to No. 1 on Hot Soul Singles in early 1979. It established Lynn as a major disco and R&B voice from the start. The song became Lynn’s signature record, was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in 2005, and has remained a durable pop-culture staple through films, television, and frequent sampling and covers. Its use in Paris Is Burning helped закрепить its association with drag culture and “realness.”