Disco has never been my thing; I only made it through 42 seconds of this before hitting Pause. But there's no reason we all have to like the same things and, anyway, songs such as this weren't meant to be listened to on headphones in one's living room while the cat is asleep beside me - they were designed for a 1970s dance floor.
Vicki Sue Robinson (1954-2000) was born in Harlem. She came from a creative family: her father was a Shakespearean actor and her mother was a folk singer. She started her career on the stage, briefly becoming a member of the cast of Hair at the age of 16. She was also in the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1973.
"Turn The Beat Around", her second single, reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #14 nationally in Canada. It was later covered by Laura Branigan and Gloria Estefan. Estefan's version was popular enough to put Ms. Robinson back in the limelight; in the 1990s, she went on a world tour with several other disco artists. She died, too young, of cancer a little over a month before her 46th birthday.
Created July 21, 2026.