Biography
Samantha Sang, an Australian pop vocalist, first rose to attention through her 1970s collaborations with the Bee Gees and through the singles she issued under the name Cheryl Gray toward the end of the 1960s. Born Cheryl Lau Sang in Melbourne in 1951, she received her earliest musical guidance from her father, Reg Sang, who performed and taught vocals as Reg Gray. Her professional path began with victories in several vocal competitions, which led in 1966 to the HMV release of “The Real Thing” under the Cheryl Gray moniker. Further HMV singles followed, among them “In a Woman’s Eyes” and “You Made Me What I Am,” while she also became a frequent presence on Australian television programs.
In 1969 Sang moved to England in pursuit of wider prospects and soon attracted the interest of the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb. He arranged an introduction to his manager, Robert Stigwood, who offered her a recording contract and advised the change to Samantha Sang as her professional name. That year she issued the single “Love of a Woman,” written by Barry and Maurice Gibb, then continued with Labi Siffre’s “Nothing in the World Like Love” before her visa expired and she returned to Australia. By 1975 she had joined Polydor and released the album Samantha Sang and Rocked the World. She later contributed the song “When Love Is Gone” to the 1977 cult film Bilitis and appeared in the stage musical The Magic Show.
During a 1978 visit to France, Sang reunited with the Bee Gees while they worked on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. In those sessions Barry and Robin Gibb composed the song “Emotion” for her. Issued as a single that same year and featured as the title track of her album, “Emotion” achieved worldwide success, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Additional Bee Gees material on the album included “Charade.” Sang returned in 1979 with the album From Dance to Love. Outside her own recordings she has supplied backing vocals for David Wolfert, Francis Lai, Carole Bayer Sager, and Eric Carmen. Although “Emotion” remained her greatest commercial triumph, she retains a devoted audience and continues to perform and record internationally.
In 1969 Sang moved to England in pursuit of wider prospects and soon attracted the interest of the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb. He arranged an introduction to his manager, Robert Stigwood, who offered her a recording contract and advised the change to Samantha Sang as her professional name. That year she issued the single “Love of a Woman,” written by Barry and Maurice Gibb, then continued with Labi Siffre’s “Nothing in the World Like Love” before her visa expired and she returned to Australia. By 1975 she had joined Polydor and released the album Samantha Sang and Rocked the World. She later contributed the song “When Love Is Gone” to the 1977 cult film Bilitis and appeared in the stage musical The Magic Show.
During a 1978 visit to France, Sang reunited with the Bee Gees while they worked on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. In those sessions Barry and Robin Gibb composed the song “Emotion” for her. Issued as a single that same year and featured as the title track of her album, “Emotion” achieved worldwide success, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Additional Bee Gees material on the album included “Charade.” Sang returned in 1979 with the album From Dance to Love. Outside her own recordings she has supplied backing vocals for David Wolfert, Francis Lai, Carole Bayer Sager, and Eric Carmen. Although “Emotion” remained her greatest commercial triumph, she retains a devoted audience and continues to perform and record internationally.
Albums
Singles
