Turn the Beat Around

This was Vicki Sue Robinson's only hit. She performed on Broadway prior to recording the song and later mounted a successful off-Broadway one woman show. She also sang in commercials, including the "We're All Connected" spot for New York Telephone, and did background vocals on the hit "Fame." Robinson got her start in showbiz by joining the cast of the stage musical Hair. Nor was this her last stage appearance - she also went back to Broadway as part of the cast of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. She died of cancer on April 27, 2000 at 45.

The lyric to this song is all about the music itself, with Robinson savoring the music and at times describing literally what's going on: "Hear the scratch of the guitar scratching" "The drums go rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat" To "turn the beat around" means to start a drum pattern over.

In the '70s, this was a disco standard that earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Female Vocal. It was written by the keyboard session players Pete and Gerold Jackson.