Diana Ross left The Supremes in 1969, and in the '70s, she was ready to strike out on her own. She hit the ground running in 1970 with hits like "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." Ross began to act as well in the '70s and had hit songs from the soundtracks of "Lady Sings the Blues," "Mahogany" and "The Wiz."
Natalie Cole is the daughter of the legendary Nat King Cole and shares his gift. Her 1975 debut album, "Inseparable," included the mega-hit "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)." She followed it up quickly with hits such as "I've Got Love on My Mind" and "Sophisticated Lady." Cole went on to have more hits in the 1980s and a smash album "Unforgettable...With Love" where she famously performed a duet with a recording of her late father.
Many would argue that if the disco genre had a queen, her name was Donna Summer. She burst onto the music scene in 1975 with the hit "Love to Love You, Baby." She went on to have a string of huge disco hits such as "She Works Hard for the Money," "MacArthur Park" and "Hot Stuff." Summer co-wrote the score for the disco film "Thank God It's Friday," which gave birth to her signature song, "Last Dance."
Gloria Gaynor hit the '70s music scene with the release of her first hit, "Never Can Say Goodbye." Between 1974 and 1979 Gaynor released five albums, which included hits such as "Do It Right" and "Let Me Know." It was in 1979, with the release of her sixth album, "Love Tracks," that Gaynor gave disco and women their empowering anthem with "I Will Survive." The song made Gaynor a superstar and has been included in many films.
Chaka Khan was one of the great black female voices of the '70s. Until the mid-70s she sang in a band called Rufus, with whom she had the funky hits "Sweet Thing" and "Tell Me Something Good." It was on her own, though, that Chaka was able to give the world her soaring vocals combined with rocking dance beats. In 1978, she released her album "Chaka," which included the mega-hit "I'm Every Woman."