Geraldine Hunt obit

"Can't Fake The Feeling" singer Geraldine Hunt dies at 77

 

 She was not on the list.

(October 29, 2022) She possessed a rich strong voice that shone largely under the radar for more than two decades before driving right to the top on her #1 smash single, “Can’t Fake The Feeling.” Today we say a sad goodbye to singer Geraldine Hunt, who has died at age 77. The news was reported on social media by her son, singer Freddie James.

The St. Louis-born, Chicago-raised Hunt discovered her musical talent, even as she navigated the hardscrabble South side of Chicago. She began performing publicly in high school, and released several unsuccessful singles in the late 60s.

1970 brought Hunt’s first national success on the beautifully soulful duet ballad “You and I” with Charles Hodges, which hit the Top 50. She charted again with a Stax-ified cover of the Four Tops’ “Baby I Need Your Loving.” Hunt’s career really took off after she relocated to Montreal in the late 70s, recording her first full albums. A dance track from her second LP, 1980’s “Can’t Fake The Feeling,” shot to the top of charts around the world and became her signature song. It also opened up television performances for her, including syndicated hit Solid Gold.

Hunt’s recording career stalled after her first big hit album, and she battled over royalties with the Prism Records label. She stayed active writing for and producing other artists, including her teenage son Freddie James (the Juno Award nominated “Get Up And Boogie”) and the duo Cheri (“Murphy’s Law”), and occasionally released singles of her own independently.

For our money, while Geraldine Hunt had only a brief moment on top, we will forever remember her as a talented singer who got us moving and grooving during the golden age of dance music.

Hunt's parents are Rosie Lee Vickers and Frank Milligan. Her father was a one-man band, and her grandmother, Louella Reed, was a singer on the Chitlin Circuit. In 1947 her family relocated to Chicago. While growing up on Chicago's south side Hunt discovered her musical talent. Living in that part of Chicago was not easy; recalls Geraldine. "On the weekends, we had to sleep on the floor, gangs were shooting through the house; I had been beaten up at gunpoint once, It was rough. We were living below middle class."

Despite the bleak living conditions of her childhood, there were bright spots also. A notable time in her life was her years at Hyde Park High School. Her classmate and best friend at school was the late American soul singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton.[2] Besides Hunt and Riperton, the school also produced a girl group called Coffee who covered Ruby Andrews' "Casanova" in 1980.