Yvonne Gage (born December 20, 1959) is an American singer from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Active since the late 1970s, she has done background vocals for artists prior to and after her own solo success. As a session musician, she has provided vocals for many well known artists, including the incomparable Queen of Soul -

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

, Michael McDonald,

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

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, Ashford & Simpson, Kem, Janelle Monáe, and

Kindred the Family Soul Kindred the Family Soul, also referred to as simply Kindred, is an American neo soul duo consisting of married couple Fatin Dantzler (born in 1973 in Camden, New Jersey) and Aja Graydon (born September 25, 1978 in Los Angeles, California). Signed ...

Biography

Gage began singing in the church choir. At 14, She joined a local R&B band, The Soulettes, and sang with them for seven years. During this time, the band was renamed "First Love", then simply "Love", and released an album, ''Love at First Sight,'' under the independent Chicago International Music label in 1980. However, Gage already had left the band at the time of release, to become a backing vocalist for

Captain Sky Daryl L. Cameron (born July 10, 1957, in Chicago, Illinois), better known as Captain Sky, is an American musician and singer. Captain Sky’s funk-based musical style, futuristic costumes, and psychedelic imagery are similar to those of Geor ...

. While touring with him, and beside acts such as Cameo,

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' from 1974 to 1979. The song " Home" from t ...

Kleeer Kleeer was an American New York City–based funk, disco and post-disco band, which was formed in 1972 under the name The Jam Band, as a backup group to different disco bands and vocalists. Members * Woodrow "Woody" Cunningham (lead vocalist an ...

and

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, she met Don Burnside, Captain's Sky producer at the time. He produced her first solo single, "Garden of Eve", in 1981 for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. The track managed to enter the

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart, and rank at number 36. Burnside also introduced her to then playing new wave band

. Gage took part in their ''

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'' tour, appearing alongside

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and

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. After finishing touring, she recorded a commercial for Ultra-Curl, before going back to studio.

''Virginity'' (1984)

Gage then went to record her first album, ''Virginity.'' It was produced by Burnside, and released in 1984 under Chicago International Music. Its

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

featured mildly risque figures of the singer wearing a seal-fur coat. The album features a song called "Doin' It in a Haunted House," which was heavily inspired by, and described as the "unofficial answer to

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's '

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'" by ''Billboard''. Although the song was released on

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/ CBS Records like "Thriller," producer

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sued Gage for plagiarism. According to her, he "wasn't interested in collecting any money, he just wanted to kill errecord." "Doin' It in a Haunted House" reached number 45 in the

UK Singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and 78 on the US

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, then called the "Black Singles" charts. "Lover of My Dreams," another single taken from the album, also entered the UK Top 40 charts, ranking at number 79 for three weeks. That would be her last single to enter the charts. She later released singles in 1990, 2002 and 2011, but never meeting with her 1980s success again. In 1999, she collaborated once again with Ministry, contributing backing vocals on ''

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'''s "Eureka Pile." She is also a vocal teacher at Chicago's Roosevelt University.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gage, Yvonne Living people 1959 births Singers from Chicago 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women