Renée Geyer

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Renée Geyer.

Renée Geyer (born September 11, 1953) is an Australian singer most often identified with soul music, who also achieved several hit singles as a mainstream pop singer.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, Geyer's singing career began in the early 1970s as a vocalist with the jazz band Dry Red and Sun. The band released one album before Geyer departed in 1972. After working for the next few years with various groups, she released her first solo album It's A Man's Man's World in 1974. The title track, a James Brown cover version became her first hit single. "Heading In The Right Direction" also reached the top twenty in 1976. During this time, Geyer also participated in the 1975 Election Campaign of the Liberal Party, singing the party's campaign theme song "Turn On The Lights", the second most known Australian political song behind the 1972 Labor Campaign theme song, "It's Time".

Her US-recorded album Moving Along, released in late 1976, provided her with her biggest Australian hit to date with the single "Stares and Whispers", and also attracted considerable attention in the United States when radio stations began playing several of the album's tracks. Geyer's record company RCA Records were aware that her vocal style had led many listeners to incorrectly assume that she was black, and they urged her to keep a low profile until her popularity had grown, even suggesting that the American release of the album should not include her photograph. Known for her uncompromising and direct personal manner, Geyer refused to allow this deception and insisted on marketing the album complete with a cover photograph of what she later referred to as "my big pink face". With the album's release, interest in Geyer subsided in the United States, an event that Geyer would later blame on her headstrong decision in regard to her marketing. She did earn respect within the recording industry and for several years worked in Los Angeles as a session vocalist.

In 1980 she signed with Mushroom Records and released the album So Lucky. The album took her away from the US-style soul and R&B she had so closely identified with and added a salsa and reggae style. The single "Say I Love You" became the biggest hit of her career when it reached number 5 on the Australian singles charts.

She continued to record and perform as a solo artist over the next decade. She also performed as a session vocalist most notably on Sting's "We'll Be Together".

In 1994 she published her autobiography, Difficult Woman (also the title of an album). In 1999 she made a comeback with the album Sweet Life, and in 2003 received her first ARIA Award nomination for her album Tenderland.