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| The Queen Samantha |
| Despite a long and successful career littered with several club smashes, the lady pictured above is NOT Queen Samantha. Yes she probably toured, and maybe even sang as the Queen, but in fact the Queen Samantha was a product of Harry Chalkitis. The reason I state this is pure and simple...listen to all the Queen Samantha records one after another and you'll agree that the vocals (vocalists) change from song to song. Beginning with the 1978 cover of "The Letter" Chalkitis mined a vein that struck gold. Thanks to a super remix by none other than acclaimed DJ Jim Burgess, "The Letter" became a top 40 club hit. The Atoll Records album was licensed for American consumption by Henry Stone and his Marlin subsidiary. The following year proved that Harry, along with wife Myriam, could write as well as produce quality international music. Queen Samantha 2 would spawn two massive hits that would surpass their first outing. "Take A Chance" backed with "Sweet San Francisco" were released on a TK 12" single and received the remix treatment from Steve Thompson and Michael Arato. Surely the seductive percussion parts of the songs made them classic mix-alongs of the day. By 1980 disco had collapsed here in the states, but worldwide it still thrived and flourished. Producer Charles Ibgui held on to the Queen Samantha idea and released one 12" single on the Atoll label that year. "Funky Celebration" and it's b-side "Close Your Eyes" found their way to high-energy starved clubs from coast to coast. I remember mixing it with the Duncan Sisters "Too Damn Hot" to many an audiences delight. Not willing to lose the moment Ibgui and Chalkitis had attained they quickly released "Mama Rue" to, once again, critical acclaim. The following year Ibgui and Chalkitis released another 12" single as The Queen Samantha. 1982's "Give Me Action" was fully conceived and conducted by Chalkitis, but this time Gloria Brooks was given credit as vocal soloist. Perhaps that's Gloria pictured above? Once again the name and product scored a chart topping success, this time in a different more downbeat vein. One final 12" single appeared in 1983. Bernie Bernthaler remixed the previously released "Close Your Eyes" for California's Megatone label. The song became a bigger smash the second go round, oddly enough either version is conspiciously absent from the 1994 compact disc "The Best Of Queen Samantha." After 5 years the Queen Samantha line of releases ended. Chalkitis who had maintained a separate solo career under his own name continued on before slowly disappearing into the vast wasteland of studio muscians. As with all the tributes here we chose to honor those that have brought us such pleasure, if anyone can add to the mystery of The Queen Samantha please let us know. UPDATE ON QUEEN SAMANTHA!: Hi there, I think I am the right person to solve the Mystery of Queen Samantha. Well, I am Harry Chalkitis, I am Greek living now in Athens, during the years of Queen Samantha I lived in Paris. I am really impressed of your knowledge of disco history, which also include Queen Samantha. You're so right regarding the vocals which I used on the different recordings, the whole project started when I was touring in South Africa. I wrote a few tunes and from the atmosphere in Africa, I got idea of the name Queen Samantha. Back in Paris I started to produce the first tracks "The Letter" , and for the time, I didn't have any singer to represent The Queen Samantha project. When I recorded the album Queen Samantha "Close your Eyes", there I used Gloria Brooks from Chicago to represent Queen Samantha project. I am still writing music, I have now a group called Mediterranean Spirit, style ethnic pop. Best Regards Harry Chalkitis |
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