Whatever Happened to Judy Cheeks?

Remember Judy Cheeks? The preacher’s daughter and supremely underrated vocalist can make a fair claim to having been one the most versatile and enduring dance music vocalist of the last 30 years.

Example: Judy released her debut album in 1973, and had a top 10 hit in the heyday of disco with “Mellow Lovin'”. Her singles were repeatedly mixed by Tom Moulton on Salsoul twelve inches throughout the late ’70s. She then pulled off what few vocalists (or artists in general, as my colleague DEL has pointed out in his Foundations series) were able to manage, careerwise, by reinventing herself in the ’90s not with edits or remixes but with brand new tracks like this:

So whatever happened to Judy Cheeks? She’s still a working musician and is returning to her family roots of sorts with a new contemporary gospel album called True Love Is Free. The first single, “Happy”, dropped today on iTunes. It’s not especially danceable but there are supposedly remixes by Mikey Gallagher forthcoming on her own Mozan Music imprint. More presumably below:

Happy on iTunes
official site
Facebook page