Claudja Barry (born in 1952) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter and actress. Her successful songs were " Down and Counting", "Boogie Woogie Dancin' Shoes" (which peaked at #56 on

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

on June 9, 1979), "Dancing Fever", and others. As an actress, she is known for appearing in the European versions of stage musicals ''AC/DC'' and '' Catch My Soul''.

Early music career

At the age of six, Barry and her family emigrated from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, Ontario, Canada. After graduation from high school, Barry left for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

where she eventually landed a role in the musical ''AC/DC'' by

Heathcote Williams John Henley Heathcote-Williams (15 November 1941 – 1 July 2017), known as Heathcote Williams, was an English poet, actor, political activist and dramatist. He wrote a number of book-length polemical poems including ''Autogeddon'', ''Falling ...

and after that in a German production of '' Catch My Soul''. The play toured Europe where she eventually wound up in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in the spring of 1975. That same year she signed with Hot Foot label and released a single called "Reggae Bump". It was released in Canada under the Hansa label. Barry had some success with her recordings. She had two ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entries, the first being "Dancin' Fever" which peaked at No. 72, off ''The Girl Most Likely'' album, the other song being "Boogie Woogie Dancin' Shoes" (R&B No. 37, Pop No. 56 in 1979) from the album ''I Wanna Be Loved By You'', released in 1978. Both became major mainstream pop hits in Canada (where "Dancin' Shoes" peaked at No. 7 on the ''

RPM 100 ''RPM'' ( and later ) was a Canadian music-industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. ''R ...

'' national chart on 7 April 1979 and remained on the chart for 23 weeks) as well as in Europe. All her studio albums were produced in Germany by Jürgen Korduletsch. In 1976, the soulful ballad, "Love for the Sake of Love", received airplay and in 1979, the single, "Boogie Tonight", from the ''I Wanna...'' album, received Canadian airplay, sharing the charts with "Dancin' Shoes" and reaching No. 42 on 23 June 1979. Also in 1979, she won a Juno Award for being the Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year.

The 1980s

With the release of her ''Feel The Fire'' album in 1980, Claudja's songs were becoming highly synthesized – this was her final album to feature an earthier, more horn & string approach to the production of her music. In 1981, she made a successful foray into new wave/

Hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...

music with the album '' Made in Hong Kong''. It featured the lead single "Radio Action", which became a moderate club hit peaking at No. 57. In 1985, she appeared in the movie, ''

Rappin' ''Rappin is a 1985 film directed by Joel Silberg, written by Adam Friedman and Robert J. Litz, produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and starring Mario Van Peebles. The film is a sequel to '' Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo'', and is also kno ...

'', starring

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is an American film director and actor best known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991 and '' USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage'' in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Va ...

. The year 1985 also saw the release of the single, "Born To Love" which sounds similar to a Pet Shop Boys or

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

song. This single was produced by Jürgen Korduletsch with New York City based

producer, singer, and songwriter,

Bobby Orlando Robert Philip Orlando (born 1958), also known as Bobby Orlando or just Bobby O, is an American record producer, indie record label owner, songwriter, and musician. He is regarded as an innovator in the hi-NRG genre for developing his signature s ...

. "Born To Love" peaked at No. 14 on Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Dance format radio stations in the United States did not give it major exposure since the album it was lifted from was a UK-only release. On the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, she has had much more success: six Top 10 hits, including " Down and Counting", which spent a week at No. 1 in 1986. At the time, the song also became only her third single to chart outside of the Billboard Club Songs chart in the U.S., peaking at a No. 98 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 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 ...

. Barry had further successes on that chart with the singles "Can't You Feel My Heartbeat" (No. 33 R&B) and "Secret Affair" (No. 60 R&B). "Down and Counting" was the lead single from her album, ''I, Claudja'', her only full-length record for Epic Records.

The 1990s

After her run at Epic did not result in another album, she focused her music career on her fans in Canada and abroad. She still remained active recording a pair of underground club classics during the early 1990s. The singles "Love Is An Island" (1991) and "Summer of Love" (1992) are highly regarded club hits to those who know them. She covered a

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

song called "When 2 R in Love" in 1992 on Radikal Records. In 1993, the German euro-dance project General Base featured Barry as lead singer for their single "''Poison''", which got a greater success. "Summer of Love" was successful enough that it maintains radio airplay on some radio stations such as

WMPH WMPH (91.7 FM, "Super 91.7") is Delaware's first high school radio station, located in Wilmington. The Brandywine School District Board of Education owns the license granted by the FCC. The call letters WMPH stand for Mount Pleasant High and o ...

. Both singles became major hits outside of the U.S. A Christmas/Holiday Dance album titled, ''Disco'round The Christmas Tree'' was released on Radikal Records in 1995, then an extended mix compilation titled, ''Disco Mixes.'' Before the decade ended, she recorded another song called, "Reach Out For Me" on Tony Green Organization Records in 1997.

1999 to present

In 1999, R&B artist

Montell Jordan Montell Du'Sean Barnett Jordan (born December 3, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Best known for his 1995 single "This Is How We Do It", Jordan was the primary male solo artist on Def Jam's Def Soul imprint until le ...

sampled the rhythm track from Barry's single "Love For the Sake of Love," for the hit titled, "Get It On Tonite" (No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 ). In the year 2000, Da Brat also released a song with the same sample featuring Tyrese called "What'chu like" which reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. In May 2006, Barry returned to the Billboard charts with "I Will Stand" released on Donna Jean Records. By July the song had reached the Top 10 of the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, peaking at No. 4 before the end of the summer. It received moderate dance radio format airplay. In 2015, Barry's eighth album titled "Come On Standup" was released as a digital download only album release through CDBaby.

Discography

Albums

*1976: '' Sweet Dynamite'' – Lollipop *1977: ''

The Girl Most Likely ''The Girl Most Likely'' (1958) is a musical and comedy film about a young woman who becomes engaged to three men at the same time. The film, a remake of ''Tom, Dick and Harry'' (1941), was directed by Mitchell Leisen, and stars Jane Powell, C ...

'' – Lollipop (aka ''Claudja'') *1978: '' I Wanna Be Loved By You'' – Lollipop *1979: '' Feel the Fire'' – Hot Productions *1981: '' Made in Hong Kong'' – Hot Productions *1987: ''I, Claudja'' – Epic *2015: ''Come On Standup'' – CD Baby / Paradax Records (Digital Download only) ;Compilations *1991: ''The Best of Claudja Barry'' – Hot Productions

References

External links

Claudja's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Claudja 1952 births Actresses from Toronto Black Canadian actresses 21st-century Black Canadian women singers Canadian disco musicians Canadian women pop singers Canadian house musicians Chrysalis Records artists Epic Records artists Hi-NRG musicians Emigrants from British Jamaica to Canada Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Canadian expatriates in Germany Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year winners Living people London Records artists Philips Records artists Polydor Records artists Salsoul Records artists Canadian women in electronic music Musicians from Toronto 20th-century Black Canadian women singers