Gloria Gaynor, Back On Top | Music Lifts

In the 14^th edition of Music Lifts (2023), we’re uplifted by iconic disco/R&B singer Gloria Gaynor performing a contemporary gospel song, “Back On Top.”

Welcome to Music Lifts , a column that seeks to highlight songs that encourage, inspire, and uplift the spirit; songs that exude fortitude, positivity, and resolve, even in the face of adversity.  Featured songs aren’t genre-specific; songs may or may not be faith-based. The goal is for these songs to make you feel better – be LIFTED to new heights!  So, for the 14^th edition of Music Lifts (2023), we highlight “Back On Top” as performed by Gloria Gaynor.

“Now I’m back on top / Like I never fell off / I took some knock down punches, but I’m still standing strong.” Hallelujah ! Although set in a minor key, “Back On Top”, a highlight from the 2019, Gloria Gaynor gospel album, Testimony, is an exuberant profession of faith.  Although the Grammy winner (best known for her disco records) has been through her fair share of adversity, she is ‘back on top’ and thanks God for it on this spiritual gem!

“I had a front row seat on a roller coaster ride, you got that right,” she sings in the first verse, adding, “I kept on hoping things would change but I finally realized the devil’s a liar.” Yes! Say that, say that! In the second verse, Gaynor asserts, “Thought I would never see the light of day from under that rock, then I heard that knock / It was Jesus, sweet Jesus.” Of course, it is the chorus that serves as the centerpiece, with the verses leading up to the victory lap.  Still, the bridge section is delightful and uplifting too, where Gaynor delivers shrewd advice: “Keep praying when you can’t get up / Have faith when the going gets rough / Yeah, you gotta keep on running / Soon you gonna reach that summit.” Besides a spirited performance and thoughtful lyrics, the production and sound is awesome – uplifting as well! “Back On Top” gives us soulfulness that fits both the R&B and gospel world with its piano ostinato, soaring organ, and biting horn riffs.

Gloria Gaynor • Testimony • Spring House Productions, Inc. • 2019

Gloria Gaynor, “Back On Top”: Music Lifts No. 14 (2023) [: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Spring House Productions, Inc.; cottonbro studio, Itzel  Sandoval, Neeraj Nagdeve via Pexels]