Geraldine Hunt ~ Can't Fake The Feeling 1980 Disco Purrfection Version

Geraldine Hunt was born on February 10, 1945 in St Louis, Missouri to Frank and Rosie Lee Milligan and a family rich with musical talent. Her father was a "one man band", her grandmother Louella Reed toured the eastern, south and northern Mid West areas of the US during the age of racial segregation and played to black only clubs. A move to Chicago in 1947 did not improve her family's financial situation and Geraldine states that "On the weekends, we had to sleep on the floor, gangs were shooting through the house; I had been beaten up at gunpoint once, It was rough. We were living below middle class." She attended Hyde Park High School with Minnie Riperton, with whom she became best friends with. While still in her teens, she released a few singles starting in 1962, but none hit until the 70's when her duet with Charlie Hodges on "You & I" charted at #45 on the R&B survey and then again in 1972 with her cover of "Baby, I Need Your Loving" which peaked at #47. A fateful move to Montreal in 1975 put her in touch with Tony Green, who put out her 1978 LP "Sweet Honesty" that had Denis Lepage arranging and on background vocals, Alma Faye Brooks, and two thirds of the Quebecois girl group Toulouse, Judi Richards and Laurie Niedzielski. It did not provide her breakout hit, she had to wait until she released "No Way" with the funk disco masterpiece "Can't Fake The Feeling" in 1980. That song spent 7 weeks at #1 on the Disco chart, but failed to ignite interest on the Hot 100. There is a connection to the house of Sigma here, The Sweethearts Of Sigma, Barbara Ingram, Carla Benson and Evette Benton handled the background vocals. She passed her musical heritage on to her son Freddy James (Everybody, Get Up & Boogie) and daughter Rosalind Hunt who became one half of the group Cheri who had their own #1 smash with "Murphy's Law" that spent three weeks at #1.