Alicia Bridges

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This article is about the singer. For the eponymous album by the singer, see Alicia Bridges (album).
Alicia Bridges
Born (1953-07-15) July 15, 1953 (age 70)
OriginCharlotte, North Carolina, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active1977–present
Websitewww.aliciabridges.com

Alicia Bridges (born July 15, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter who co-wrote and performed her international hit "I Love the Nightlife (Disco 'Round)" in 1978.

Early years

Born in Charlotte, North Carolina and raised in the small Cleveland County town of Lawndale, Alicia Bridges sang from a very young age, learning to play guitar at the age of 10. At the age of 12, she had her own radio program: The Alicia Bridges Show, broadcast every Saturday on station WADA in Shelby, North Carolina. From age thirteen, Bridges fronted bands that performed in local clubs: "They were pretty rough places ... but these were the only places I could get ... performing experience ... so I had to adjust to that rough environment and learn to survive in it."[1]

Discovery and fame (1970s)

Bridges first recorded for the

Nashville-based Mega Records, with two 1973 single releases of her original material. Despite the lack of success of these releases, Bridges came to the attention of Bill Lowery, who became her manager, subsidizing Bridges over a roughly two-year period. During this time, he canvassed record labels on her behalf, which led to her signing with Polydor
in 1977.

Bridges's

Atlanta, Georgia
.

In 1978, Bridges was a

Gold Record
for the sale of over one million copies of her hit single in the United States, as well as a gold record from Canada.

Contrary to the impression created by her success with "I Love the Nightlife", Bridges was primarily a singer of R&B, rock, blues and love songs. "I Love the Nightlife" has a definite back beat and organ similar to early 1970s R&B; the original intention was for "I Love the Nightlife" to be an R&B song, but when Bill Lowery first heard the song, he saw its disco potential: subsequently, a 12" single remix was created by Jim Burgess, ultimately becoming a worldwide club smash.

"I Love the Nightlife" has been featured in several movies, including Love at First Bite, The Last Days of Disco and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Bridges's second single, "Body Heat", was a rock song with strong electric guitar rhythms. It was a "rock/dance" song released at a time when there was some rivalry between disco fans and rock fans; this time period began to see more songs that mixed the genres of rock and disco to create a "rock/disco" flavor.

In an interview, Bridges mentioned Elvis Presley as the singer who originally aroused her interest in rock music, but she has always considered herself an R&B singer. She cited Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle as her 1970s influences. She said that she did not care for white female singers as a rule, with the exceptions being Joni Mitchell and Janis Joplin. She complained that white women sounded as though they were "sleepwalking" through their performances. "Yeah, I jump around a lot when I'm performing," she said.[3]

Impostor

In 1983, a woman was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee for pretending to be Alicia Bridges during a country music convention. Bridges drove from her home in Atlanta to give evidence in the case. Bridges stated that she had been plagued by an impostor for five years.[4]

Recent years

Subsequent to the 1984 release of the second of two consecutive flop album releases, Bridges began working as a disc jockey at Atlanta dance clubs, and she was working at the Ponce de Leon Avenue venue the Atlanta Eagle when her disco classic "I Love the Nightlife" had its 1994 revival due to its inclusion on the soundtrack of the movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. This revival spurred Bridges to perform at retro disco shows for a number of years, before retiring to Charlotte, North Carolina.[5]

Alicia Bridges Music Publications was founded in 2006 and has produced three albums.

In November 2006, Bridges released a remixed and remastered compilation of her songs titled This Girl Don't Care. In 2007, she released Say It Sister. Her third CD, Faux Diva, was released in 2008; this included a remix of "I Love The Nightlife".

Bridges is currently active in the music community as a producer and DJ. Her works, digital versions of her recordings, a blog and videos can be found on her official web sites.

In 2009, Bridges was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.[6]

Personal life

Bridges, who is a

The Advocate.[7]

Discography

Albums

  • 1978: Alicia Bridges (Polydor, 1978)
  • 1979: Play It as It Lays
  • 1984: Hocus Pocus
  • 2002: The Collection: I Love the Nightlife (compilation)
  • 2006: This Girl Don't Care (remixed and remastered compilation)
  • 2007: Say It Sister (remastered compilation)
  • 2008: Faux Diva (remixed and remastered compilation)

Singles

Year Single US[8] UK[9] AUS[10]
1973[11] "Just a Little Lovin' (Just a Little Fun)" — — —
"Love Me Till the Morning" — — —
1978 “I Love the Nightlife (Disco Round)” 5 32 9
1979 "Body Heat" 86 — —
“Rex the Robot” — — —
“Play It as It Lays” — — —
1981 “If You Only Knew” — — —
1984 “Under the Cover of Darkness” — — —
1987 “Hungry Eyes” — — —
1994 “I Love the Nightlife (Disco Round)” — 61 11[12]

EP

  • 1978: The AOR Mini-Album

See also

References

  1. ^ Los Angeles Times 4 February 1979 "Bridges: 'I Ain't Mary Sunshine'" by Dennis Hunt p.78
  2. ^ Daily Record (Morristown NJ) 29 July 2002 "VH1 Looks at Once-Hot Hits" by Kevin McDonough p.B5
  3. ^ "Sultry and bluesy-voiced Alicia doesn't renege on tough image" (March 3, 1979) Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba
  4. ^ "Impostor's identity revealed" (October 23, 1983) Hutchinson News, Hutchinson, Kansas
  5. ^ Atlanta Constitution 29 July 2002 "Divas Get Replay of Fleeting Fame" by Craig Seymour p.D6
  6. ^ "Alicia Bridges — North Carolina Music Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2018-10-12. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  7. The Advocate, archived from the original
    on 2007-06-21, retrieved 2007-09-06
  8. ^ "Alicia Bridges — Billboard". Billboard.
  9. ^ "Alicia Bridges — Full Official Chart History". Official Charts.
  10. ISBN 0-646-11917-6
    .
  11. ^ "Alicia Bridges — Discography". Discogs.
  12. ^ "ALICIA BRIDGES — I LOVE THE NIGHTLIFE (DISCO ROUND) (SONG)". ARIA Charts. australian-charts.com.

External links

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