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Cover Story

After decades on tour in the U.S. and Europe, Gloria Gaynor, the “Queen of the Discos,” is

prepping for her second act: teach-ing. The vivacious singer, actress and

author is, at 61 years old, back in school and hitting the psychology books. And she’s got a purpose: to one day open a healing and recreational center

in Los Angeles. The famous singer believes it’s important to teach teen parents life skills. She says, “I want to teach them how to survive.”

Gloria is the right woman for the job. She knows a lot about surviving. It’s the message of one of her iconic, chart-topping songs, “I Will Survive.” Still played in nightclubs and on the radio, the song is rated number 97 on Billboard’s “Greatest Songs of All Time.” When released, it sold 14 mil-lion copies and earned her a Grammy Award.

Just as the song has survived the test of time, so too has Gloria. She’s cleared near-tragic obstacles, including a bad fall onstage and severe osteoarthritis (OA). For a time, OA prevented her from dancing—even walk-ing. “My pain put me on the sidelines. I couldn’t dance or participate in activities with family and friends,” she says. “It was a horrible way to live.”

Following her blissBut Gloria still possessed her long-standing passion for singing. That passion reaches back to the time when she was one of six children growing up in a cramped flat in Newark, NJ. Gloria says she had always dreamed of

becoming a singer. “There was always music in our house,” she says. “I lis-

tened to the radio

Gloria Gaynor

“Now I can exercise, dance and do just about everything.”

I WIll SurvIve ANd ThrIve How the Queen of the

Discos Overcame OA

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and lingered. “I started feeling uncom-fortable all the time—especially if I was active.” Despite the pain, Gloria didn’t seek medical attention; she hoped the pain would go away on its own.

Looking for reliefThe pain in her knees became so bad that Gloria went to her doctor. The singer was shocked to learn that she had osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease that causes the cartilage that connects muscles to bones to break down. This form of arthritis can occur in almost any joint, but often affects weight-bearing hips and knees.

“My mother and grandmother both had osteoarthritis so my diagnosis shouldn’t have been a surprise, yet it was,” she recalls (see “Who gets Knee OA?”). “I thought I was invincible.” u

or records by Nat King Cole and Sarah Vaughn.” She brought that passion to school, where she joined both the choir and the glee club. These experiences proved to be excellent training grounds.

After high school, Gloria began singing with house bands in local bars and clubs. Soon, she was on the road, performing and attending auditions. She caught the eye of legendary producer Clive Davis, who signed her to the Columbia record label. In 1975, she recorded her first disco hit, “Never Can Say Goodbye.” By the next year, the National Association of Discotheque Disc Jockeys crowned her disco queen. She fulfilled her childhood dream—and then some.

Taking a fallTwo years later, Gloria took a serious spill onstage. It left her temporarily paralyzed from the waist down—and threatened to derail her career. Emergency surgery repaired her spine. But she spent months in a brace that reached from her hips to her underarms. Undaunted and still in recovery, Gloria recorded “I Will Survive.” It was an instant hit. The singer says she’s not surprised by the song’s staying power. She and her former husband, music pub-lisher Linwood Simon, felt the lyrics were timeless. As she says, “It was relatable.”

In 1995, Gloria, then 45, faced another obstacle. While on tour, she was stopped short by pain in her knees. “When I woke up, I felt stiff. I had twinges of pain climbing stairs,” she recalls. The pain steadily increased—

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Who gets knee OA?By age 85, many Americans may develop symptoms of osteoar-thritis (OA) in at least one knee, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And nearly two in three obese adults will develop the condition at some point.

Genetics plays a big part in whether or not the condition will strike. Typically, you inherit your body—and your joint structure. If members of your family have struggled with knee OA, chances are greater that you will, too. But other factors, including weight, age and any joint trauma you’ve experi-enced, may also play a role.

Over the next 14 years, Gloria tried a number of treatments, but found only short-term relief. Her doctor suggested a knee replacement. Gloria thought she was too young for that. Instead, she became resigned to living with pain and watching life pass her by. “I couldn’t exercise,” she says, “and even walking became terribly painful.” In 2009, Gloria reconsidered her doctor’s suggestion and underwent replacement surgery.

“The therapy and rehab were gruel-ing,” she recalls. “Rebuilding the mus-cles that had atrophied [lost strength and size] was extremely painful—they didn’t want to work.” But within a year, the singer had regained most of her mobility. “Now I can exercise, dance and do just about everything,” she says. Although medicine is controlling the

pain in her right knee, her doctor says she may need that knee replaced, too.

A perennial classicGloria’s popularity continues to flourish. In 2000, she penned an autobiogra-phy, I Will Survive (St. Martin’s Press). In March 2001, her single, “Just Keep Thinking About You,” hit No. 1. And the song “I Will Survive” is featured on the soundtracks of more than a half dozen major motion pictures, including Man on the Moon. In September 2005, Gloria enjoyed another crowning moment. She and her iconic tune were inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. With such accolades under her belt, she con-tinues to perform. And she let’s noth-ing—including OA—stop her.

—Gina Roberts-Grey