After a few years as an actress Douglas decided to concentrate on her music career and in the early 1970s she landed the role of lead singer for the reformed soul group The Chantels. She toured the U.S. with the group for a while before receiving a record contract with Midland International Records in 1974 as a solo act. The first single released under the label, “Doctor’s Orders”, became a hit, reaching #2 on Billboard magazine’s Disco chart, #9 R&B and #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The follow up single “A Hurricane Is Coming Tonite” became a minor hit, reaching #81 on Billboard’s Hot 100. In 1976 she hit #1 on the disco chart with “Midnight Love Affair” / “Crime Don’t Pay”, both from her second album Midnight Love Affair. The single also reached the #96 spot on Cash Box magazine’s top 100 chart. The following year she recorded the track “You Make Me Feel the Music” for the soundtrack to the 1977 motion picture The Haunted. “So You Win Again” was arranged by Michael Zager whose presence on Douglas’ 1978 album release Burnin’ resulted in a critical (if not commercial) upswing. Burnin’ also featured Douglas’ version of the Bee Gees’ “Night Fever” - not a Zager arrangement - which became Douglas’ only entry in the UK Singles Chart at #66. Douglas’ 1979 album Come Into My Life was an obvious bid to re-charge her club popularity: only six tracks long with production by Greg Carmichael who had enjoyed several disco hits with studio groups, but the single “I Got The Answer” was only a mild club success. Although she did not appear in the disco themed movie Saturday Night Fever, Douglas was enough of a disco star that her name appears on the marquee of the disco featured in the movie. Even though Douglas would go on to chart over a half-dozen other hits on the U.S. disco chart, none of them would reach the success on the mainstream pop charts like “Doctor’s Orders”.In 1981, Douglas’ cover of the Three Degrees’ “My Simple Heart” was released on 20th Century Records as by then the Midland International (aka Midsong) was defunct. “My Simple Heart” was also Douglas’ debut on Carrere Records based in Paris where Douglas lived for a time: in the early 1980s Carrère handled Douglas’ European releases while in the US Douglas was signed to O’Loughlin’s Next Plateau label. Her last album to date ‘I Got Your Body’, renamed ‘Love Zone’ in the US and Canada, was released in 1983 including her latest four 12” singles from 1981 to 1983: “My Simple Heart”, “You’re Not So Hot”, “I Got Your Body” and “Got Ya Where I Want Ya”. The cut “You’re Not So Hot” reached #71 in France (1982). The retro-boom of the 1990s put Douglas back on the road touring and making personal appearances at a number of special events including the Martin Luther King Concert Series, Beatstock ‘97, Saturday Night Fever 20th Anniversary Reunion and the Dance Music Hall of Fame ceremony. In 2003, she returned to the recording studio when she was invited to sing backing vocals on Wanda Dee’s Goddess Is Here! CD. During this period, she also re-recorded a number of her hits, which were also released. |
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