Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: Evelyn "Champagne" King

Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip:

Evelyn "Champagne" King

In my own personal big gay church there is a wing dedicated to those who belong to the Rhythm Nation. These divas got us to think, encouraged us to love and respect ourselves, made us feel sexy as hell and... most importantly, got us to dance! One diva has been bringing the magic to dance floors for decades and to this day manages to get our feet moving to the beat.

Evelyn "Champagne" King.

As sparkling, effervescent and delicious as the beverage that is her namesake.

The lady knows how to lay down a groove. Simply. Honestly. Truthfully.

At the age of 16, she enjoyed a Top 10 Hit which helped define the latter half of the disco era. 

As she matured, she began to explore additional musical styles, keeping our feet moving the entire time.

Her appeal has always been across the board and she's never stopped; decade after decade, she's been out there, sharing the love.

Eventually, she joined forces with the Divas of Dance (Martha Wash, Linda Clifford) and introduced a whole new generation of club kids to their music, thanks to their club hit Show Some Love.

To this day, the lady sparkles and shines, delivering up soulful spoonfuls of dance at its finest.

The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from her lips.

The topic? How it all began...

"King Amateur hour at home! When we weren’t watching television, we’d put on our own show! Everyone did something: sing, play an instrument. Sometimes we’d go on until four in the morning and all the neighbors figured we were having a big party! We used to think that maybe we could go out there as a family like The Jacksons, something like that. But it was always big fun!"

 

"It just so happened that my mother, my father and my sister were all working up at Philly International Records and I was helping out part time."

"One day my sister got sick and my mother asked me to take her place, so I did. As I was cleaning the ladies room, I was singing a Sam Cooke song, A Change Is Gonna Come. An executive of the record company (producer T. Life) walks by the room and from the hallway says, 'Who's singing in there? Come out here.' He told me right there on the spot that he was going to make me a star, but you know how that is, people tell you so many different things, so I didn’t really take it too seriously."

"(T.) Life had given me a couple of songs: Till I Come Off The Road and Smooth Talk. I learned them, we had a couple of rehearsals and we recorded them. Everyone figured I’d be real nervous but it was really okay. I just went in there and sang. It’s what I’d been waiting for all my life — I’d been ready for it and now it’s happening."

Shame - Evelyn "Champagne" King

Love Come Down - Evelyn "Champagne" King

Everybody - Evelyn "Champagne" King w/ Miguel Migs

And one last parting shot...

"My nickname was "Bubbles" and "Champagne" is bubbles on the rocks!"

Show Some Love - First Ladies of Disco

(John LePage + Brian Cua Remix)