Geraldine Hunt ( Milligan; February 10, 1945 – October 27, 2022) was an American R&B singer best known for the 1980 No. 1 Hot Dance Music/Club Play hit "

Can't Fake the Feeling "Can't Fake the Feeling" is 1980 disco single written by Geraldine Hunt and Kathleen Dyson It was performed by Geraldine Hunt and is a track from her album, ''No Way''. Chart performance The single hit number one on the dance chart in the United ...

Early life

Hunt's parents are Rosie Lee Vickers and Frank Milligan. Her father was a

one-man band A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical or electronic contraptions. One-man bands also often sing while they perform. The simplest type of "one-man ban ...

, and her grandmother, Louella Reed, was a singer on the Chitlin Circuit. In 1947 her family relocated to Chicago. While growing up on Chicago's south side Hunt discovered her musical talent. Living in that part of Chicago was not easy; recalls Geraldine. "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." Despite the bleak living conditions of her childhood, there were bright spots also. A notable time in her life was her years at Hyde Park High School. Her classmate and best friend at school was the late American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer-songwriter

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single " Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use ...

. Besides Hunt and Riperton, the school also produced a girl group called Coffee who covered

Ruby Andrews Ruby Andrews (born Ruby Stackhouse; March 12, 1947) is an American soul singer. Her best known songs include "Casonova (Your Playing Days Are Over)" (1967), "You Made A Believer (Out Of Me)" (1969), and "Everybody Saw You" (1970). Biography Rub ...

' "Casanova" in 1980.

Career

Hunt began her recording career as a teenager with several singles released from 1962: she had her first glimmer of success in 1970 when "You & I" a duet with Charlie Hodges reached No. 45 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in '' Billboard'' and in 1972 Hunt's remake of "

Baby I Need Your Loving "Baby I Need Your Loving" is a 1964 hit single recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song was the group's first Motown single and their first pop Top ...

" reached No. 47 R&B. In 1975 Hunt relocated to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec where she recorded her first album in 1978, the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

-oriented ''Sweet Honesty''. In 1980 Hunt's second album ''No Way'' yielded the track "Can't Fake the Feeling" which reached No. 1 on the club chart in ''Billboard'' where it spent a total of seven weeks: with

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

radio then being disco-resistant "Can't Fake the Feeling" had little mainstream success reaching No. 58 R&B. However the track did afford Hunt a hit in France at No. 10 and charted in the UK at No. 44. In 1982 she helped write and produce some of the music for Chéri. In 2014, Hunt was honored for her contributions to composing and publishing music at the 25th Anniversary SOCAN Montreal Gala Celebrates Music Creators and Publishers.

Personal life

Hunt was the mother of three children; Rosalind Hunt of the musical group Chéri, singer

Freddie James Freddie James is a former American football coach. He played under Billy Nicks at Prairie View A&M in the late 1950s, before working in a steel plant for a couple of years, then as a physical therapist in Houston, Texas. His former coach Nicks ...

and professor/writer Jeanne Croteau. She had seven grandchildren.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Sweet Honesty'' (1978) * ''No Way'' (1980)

Compilation albums

* ''Can't Fake the Feeling'' (1993)

Singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Geraldine 1945 births 2022 deaths American dance musicians American rhythm and blues singers American expatriate musicians in Canada 20th-century Black Canadian women singers Canadian dance musicians Canadian rhythm and blues singers Hyde Park Academy High School alumni Musicians from St. Louis Musicians from Montreal 20th-century African-American women singers