From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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"Got to Be Real" is a song by Cheryl Lynn from her self-titled album released in 1978. The song, which was Lynn's debut single, was penned by David Paich, David Foster, and Lynn, and has since been called one of the defining moments in disco. For the recording, David Paich played keyboards and Ray Parker Jr. was the session guitarist. The song peaked at number twelve on the pop singles chart and number one on the R&B chart. On September 19, 2005, "Got to Be Real" was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. This song was also heavily sampled for a remix of Beyonce's Irreplaceable, released in 2006.

The song was prominently featured in the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning. The song was also included as a playable song in the North American Home Version of Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA 2. In the 3rd episode of Will and Grace 'Head Case', Will sings this song in the bathroom while he shaves, to which Grace responds "We're just like fifty men and a mirrored ball away from being a gay disco".

Covers, Samples

• Father MC sampled the song for his song "I'll Do 4 U" on his 1990 album Father's Day.
• Lisa Lougheed covered the song on her 1993 album Peace & Harmony.
• C+C Music Factory sampled this song in "Do You Wanna Get Funky" from the 1994 album Anything Goes!.
• Mariah Carey and Patti LaBelle performed the song for a TV special honouring LaBelle in 1998.
• Mary J. Blige and Will Smith covered the song for the soundtrack to the 2004 animated film Shark Tale.
• Young Divas included a cover version on their second album New Attitude (album).
• Dynamic Duo Sampled the song
• Nettai Tropical Jazz Big Band covered the song on their 2000 album My Favorite.