Gloria Smyth (born May 1951), better known as Gloria, is an Irish singer from

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland by population, tenth largest settlement in ...

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

. She rose to fame in Ireland during the 1970s with " One Day at a Time" which spent longer in the Irish charts than any other single to date (90 weeks). She later toured under her married name of Gloria Sherry.

Career

The eldest of nine children, Gloria's father, Jimmy, was the leader of the Arcadians Showband. Her first experience on stage was at the age of 10 when she danced and played accordion with her father's

showband The Irish showband was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. The showband was based on the internationally popular six- or seven-piece dance band. The band's basic repertoire included standard dance numbers and ...

. After leaving school, she found work playing piano with another band, before joining the Maurice Lynch Showband as a singer in the late 1960s. It was as a solo singer however that she made her name in the 1970s. Gloria toured around Ireland singing alongside

Johnny McEvoy Johnny McEvoy (born 24 April 1945) is an Irish singer and entertainer of Country and Irish genre born in Banagher, County Offaly, Ireland. Personal life Johnny was born in 1945, one of four children with two sisters and a brother to John and ...

during the early to mid 1970s before breaking out on her own.Johnny McEvoy profile
irish-showbands.com; accessed 14 March 2018. She began recording Gospel and Country songs in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

and appeared three times on the '' Praise the Lord'' show.Back cover biography for "One Day at a Time"
45cat.com; accessed 14 March 2018. She found her greatest success in the late 1970s with her version of the song " One Day at a Time" which reached No. 1 in the Irish charts. It remained on the charts for 90 weeks - the longest run for any single in Irish chart history (a record it still holds today). The single gained a UK release in December 1978, but failed to attract attention before Scottish singer

Lena Martell Lena Martell (born Helen Thomson; 15 May 1940) is a Scottish singer, with a long career in theatre, television and musicals. She has recorded thirty albums which include the number one UK single with " One Day at a Time" in 1979. Biography Marte ...

scored a UK No.1 with it some months later. It came from her album ''When I Sing for Him'', which was certified silver. She was popular in the dance halls at the time, singing with her backing band, The Mississippi. Gloria announced her retirement in May 2001, when she turned 50. However, she later returned to music, performing with her sister Patrice. They are based in their native Navan, County Meath.

Personal life

She married Don Sherry, a musician with a showband in 1973 and they had a daughter Laura and a son Paul. Gloria and her husband's marriage ended in 2010.

Discography

Singles: *1973 "Tomorrow is Forever" (with the

Band) (Irish charts No.14)Irish Charts - search "Gloria"
/ref> *1977 "I'll Get Over You" (with Mississippi) (No.9) *1977 " One Day at a Time" (with Mississippi) (No.5) *1978 "Liffey Tinker" (No.12) * 1978 "One Day at a Time" (re-issue) (No.1) *1980 "My Younger Days" (No.25) *1981 "Rest Your Love On Me" (with

Brendan Quinn Brendan Quinn (born 26 July 1960) is an Irish middle-distance running, middle-distance runner. He competed in the Athletics at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Men's 3000 metres steeplechase, men's 3000 metres steeplechase at the 1988 Summer Olympi ...

) (No.15) *1981 "Come by the Hills" *1982 "Pal of My Cradle Days" (with Mississippi) (No.17) Albums: *1977 ''Gloria Darling'' *1978 ''When I Sing for Him'' *1978 ''Gloria's Irish Startime'' *1979 ''One Day at a Time'' (re-issue of ''When I Sing for Him'') *1980 ''Gloria''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gloria 1951 births Living people Irish women singers Musicians from County Meath People from Navan