Geraldine Hunt
    Geraldine Hunt has earned her place in The DiscoMuseum for two reasons. Though her recorded output is minimal, she has had one of the most enduring classics ever. And she gave us two other disco artists.
     Born Geraldine Milligan in St. Louis Missouri in 1945 her family relocated to Chicago (gosh I love living here!) when she was just two years old. Growing up on Chicago's south side Geraldine came by her musical talent naturally. Her grandmother was a singer on the chitlin circuit in the south and her father had a one-man band on the side. 
     Growing up on Chicago's south side wasn't easy. "On the weekends, we had to sleep on the floor," Geraldine says of her childhood in the 'Windy City.' "They were shooting through the house. I had been beaten up at gunpoint once. It was rough. We were living below middle class."
     Despite the bleak living conditions of her childhood there were the bright spots also. One of these were her years at Hyde Park High School. Her classmate and best friend, who was also like a big sister, was the late Minnie Riperton. Besides Geraldine and Minnie, the shool also produced the girls of the group Coffee who recorded the 1980 hit "Casanova."
     In 1962 she dropped out of high school to record her first record "I Let Myself Go." The record got some play on R&B stations but never became a hit. Still, the lovely, full-throated singer toured and gigged the R&B spots of Chicago's south side. She also did studio work on others' sessions, most notably for Chuck Jackson.
     Around 1964 she became good friends with Marshall (Thompson) & The Chi-Lites. They were always at Geraldine's house singing her their latest tunes. They even played her their top ten 1974 hit "Toby" long before it was even recorded. Marshall left the group the following year and the remaining members truncated their name to simply the Chi-Lites.
     Geraldine's first American R&B chart entry came in 1970 with "You & I," a duet with Charlie Hodges. She had two more small soul hits on Roulette in the early 1970's. When Geraldine left Chicago near the end of the Vietnam War, to entertain American troops in Greenland, she had no idea she would end up in Montreal. "We had no money, we had to work our way back to Chicago. The agent kept giving us gigs and we stayed around Quebec. That gave me time to know the people and I found them to be just incredible." Relocation was an easy decision because Montreal is so charming.
     Shortly after arriving in Montreal, around 1975, she had her first French language hit with "Ne Me Dis Pas Adieu." But international success was still a few years away. She started her own label 6 A.M. records and had several more single releases, none achieved more than a passing play from select radio stations. In the meantime her son Freddie found international success in 1979 when he inked with producer extraordinaire Tony Green. Freddie took "Get Up And Boogie" and "Hollywood" to the top of the international disco charts.
     The proud mother took a cue from her son's disco success and when approached by Unidisc Records decide to give it a try. Producer Mike Pabon, along with Geraldine, put together an eclectic mix of funk, high energy and old skool tunes for release. The first 12" single released on Unidisc was the smoldering "Could We." The song was not intially well received, but after the second 12" hit it was revisited and then saw considerable exposure. Prism Records in New York had always had an amicable business relationship with Canada's Unidisc Records and jumped at the chance to license Hunt's album for American release. The first 12" they pulled from the album was the title track. "Can't Fake The Feeling." The song fast became a radio and club hit worldwide, even though it didn't reach the highest positions in the R&B charts (58) it did go number one on the Club Play list. In Sweden it just got dance radio station play and yet was one of the most wanted and played records of 1980-81. The song is still very popular among D.J.'s and it still works great on any dance floor, that's why it often appears in Disco compilation CD's.
     The second 12" did not fare as well. "No Way" was a high energy number that closely resembled son Freddie's earlier work. The trouble was not with the song, but that her core audience was geared to a funkier sounding Hunt. Prism quickly released "Heart Heart" to appease the R&B crowd. The song brought her back to the dance floors and settled in at number 17 on the Club Play charts. This would be Geraldine's last trip to the charts on her name, but the best was yet to come.
     Rosalind Hunt, Geraldine's daughter, was one half of Cheri, a female duo. In 1982 Geraldine borrowed $900.00 from her son Freddie to produce Cheri's international hit "Murphy's Law." The song was co-written with Daniel Joseph and Freddie shares co-producer credits. The song struck a quirky nerve with dancefloors around the globe and reached number 1 on Club Play charts, number 5 on the R&B charts and number 39 on the Pop charts. Not bad for an unknown Canadian duo produced by mom.
     The duo found success with two more singles "Working Girl" and "Give It To Me Baby." Though neither had the impact of "Murphy's Law." The album went Gold and charted favorably.
     Sadly because of legal reasons the group never released another album. But this was not the first time Geraldine found herself butting legal heads with a record label. Nor was this the first time that Hunt would have a major hit and NOT see the financial rewards.
     In fact she was in litigation at the time that she produced the Cheri album. "I had to take my record label, Prism, to court... The case came about because too many people were involved that had to be paid. So when it was time to renew my contract I refuse to sign with Prism again. In turn they suspended my contract, which meant I could not record or work and I had no money. I won the case but never got paid... However, I have to say that the A&R director Dee Joseph was the best promotion woman in the world. She made "Can't Fake The Feeling" happen and where ever she is - "God bless her." The president of Prism at the time also promised me more control over my projects but when the time came for me to record he started talking down to me saying stuff like "Why are you choosing this or that song, studio or musicians." It was hell. Especially when you consider the fact that I wrote, produced, published, and released two major records on my own label 6 A.M records from Canada. Anyhow, I had no money and my son, Freddie, insisted I take money from him to produce "Murphy's Law" for his sister. It sold almost 2 million copies. All of the money was later stolen by that record company (Venture Records). But boy did it feel good to have been able to prove to myself that although I was going through this ugly court thing I could always count on my talent in the end."
     Always a party person, and being a celebrity in the "disco-era" Geraldine was known to imbibe in alcoholic spirits. As troubles and legal battles descended upon her so too did alcoholism which enhanced her innate volatile personality and got her labeled as difficult; with the help of AA, however, she ceased the destructive addiction. Still, the tag remained, and despite the success of "Murphy's Law," production deals from major companies were not forthcoming.
     Gerladine struggled both professionally and financially for the remainder of the 1980's and most of the 1990's. In the summer of 1998 she had a new record out, a record called "Deep Deep In The Night" on the Benelux based Urban Roots label (a sub-label of Private Life). The record did well and climbed fairly high on the European charts.
     In the new millennium Geraldine returned again with a new real "family album." On the album the whole talented family are united - Geraldine, Freddie and Roz (Cheri) - and it's called "Soultry, Jazzy & Sexy." This is just what this album is all about. It really IS "Soultry", it is "Jazzy" and most of all - it's "Sexy". Except for some new jazzy tunes, including a Gershwin tune, some soulful tunes and dance tracks - there's also both Geraldine's & Cheri's classic hits - "Can't Fake The Feeling" and "Murphy's Law." The CD is available and well worth it's cost. It's refreshing to hear how all three of them have matured both vocally and musically.
     As of current Geraldine keeps busy writing, singing and performing. She spent four years in Japan before returning to her beloved Montreal. She has recently performed at Montreal's top clubs with such local acts as The Arnold Ludvig Trio. She can often be seen at Jazzi'z or the Wax Lounge and is currently looking for a new manager/booking agent and is eager to tour the world again.
     We are happy to see that Geraldine, Roz and Freddie are all alive and well. And with much love and respect we offer our thanks to them. We are proud to feature them in The DiscoMuseum....and hopefully we'll hear more from them in the future?
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