Black Star Entertainment Group

807 Washington Avenue

Prospect Heights, New York 11238-6104

www.blackstarbooking.com

Phone: 718. 622. 1830

Fax: 718. 622. 5464

BIOGRAPHY

Newark, New Jersey-born Taana Gardner knew she wanted to act and sing at a very young age.  Her grandmother, a former opera singer, began giving her vocal lessons at the age of five. Before she hit her teens, she was already a playwright with work featured at the Lincoln Center and the Apollo Theatre.

On Thanksgiving Day, 1978, Taana got her break onto the disco scene, when Producer and songwriter Kenton Nix had a song, "Work That Body," that needed vocals.  The song had been approved by legendary Paradise Garage DJ Larry Levan, who had introduced Nix to West End Records (and part club Paradise Garage) owner Mel Cheren.  Cheren had set up a recording session for the song, but the vocalist slated for the session fell ill and Taana was asked to fill in.  She accepted, and gained another gig that day when members of Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band overheard her voice and asked her to sing on a record they were working on, released as Spooks in Space by the Aural Exciters. "Work That Body," remixed by Levan, was an instant hit at the Paradise Garage.  Its success sparked a succession of West End Records classics helmed by Nix, sung by Gardner, and tweaked for maximum dance floor effect by Levan. Taana became a leading vocalist for the New York based label that released some of the finest and most influential disco during the late 70s and early 80s.  "We Can Work It Out," "When You Touch Me," "Just Be a Friend," and "Paradise Express" were released in 1979, and the massive "Heartbeat" and "No Frills" both followed in 1981.  "Heartbeat" later became the basis of Ini Kamoze's ubiquitous 1995 summer hit "Here Comes the Hotstepper," not to mention a source for several producers throughout the years, such as Clivilles & Cole (Seduction),

Gardner took a step back from the limelight for several years to devote time to her children. Then, 1985 saw the release of another Nix production, "Over You," for the YES label. She released a production of her own around the same time for Next Plateau ("You Can't Keep Coming In and Out of My Life"), and a cover of LaBelle's "What Can I Do for You?" appeared on Elegal Records in 1992. In 1998, she teamed up again with Nix and West End for "I'm Comin'."  Four years later, West End issued the Anthology of a Diva compilation.

Gardner has leant her vocal skills to several acts, including Kool & the Gang, Peabo Bryson, Edwin Starr, and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.   In 2007, Gardner took a role in a local play, "When Doves Fly" to pursue her love of acting, another of her passions. 

Still residing in New Jersey, Taana is a house music legend.

"HEARTBEAT"