Deborah Cooper
Fatback, Change, C+C Music Factory, then club hits with Victor Calderone and Tony Moran: the long career of house vocalist Deborah Cooper.
- American singer and songwriter Deborah Jean Cooper, credited as Debra Cooper on Change’s 1984 album.
- Sang with Fatback, Change and C+C Music Factory.
- In the 2000s she topped the US club chart with Victor Calderone’s “Are You Satisfied” and worked with Tony Moran.
Deborah Cooper’s voice runs through four decades of American dance music. She sang with the funk band Fatback, joined the group Change, sang lead and backing vocals for C+C Music Factory, then topped the US club chart again in the 2000s with house producers such as Victor Calderone.
Fatback and Change
Born Deborah Jean Cooper, she started out as a singer with the Fatback Band and appears on its albums Man With the Band (1977) and Brite Lites, Big City (1979). From 1981 to 1985 she was a member of Change, the disco and R&B group. On their 1984 album Change of Heart, released by Atlantic and RFC Records, she is credited for vocals and backing vocals as Debra Cooper.
C+C Music Factory
In 1991 she was a guest vocalist on Clivillés & Cole’s “A Deeper Love”, and she became a lead and backing singer for their project C+C Music Factory. She appears on Gonna Make You Sweat (1990) and on “Things That Make You Go Hmmmm…” (1991). “Keep It Comin’ (Dance Till You Can’t Dance No More!)”, credited to C+C Music Factory featuring Q-Unique and Deborah Cooper, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1992. On 8 February 1992 she sang “A Deeper Love” solo on Saturday Night Live.
She has also worked widely as a session singer, with credits on records by Mariah Carey, Lalah Hathaway, Diana Ross and Natalie Cole.
New York club records
The late 1990s and 2000s brought club records under her own name. She sang on Robi Rob’s Clubworld’s “Reach” (1997) and on Peter Rauhofer and Victor Calderone’s “Do It Properly” (2000). In 2001 she recorded “Are You Satisfied” with Calderone; it spent two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, and in 2002 she won an ASCAP award for writing it.
Her partnership with Tony Moran produced “Real Love”, released by Emerge and a No. 4 club hit, “Live You All Over” (2005, No. 2) and “Heartbeat” (2013, No. 3 on Dance Club Songs). In 2009 she sang on Erick Morillo’s “I Get Lifted”.
In the mix
Her records belong to the big-voiced side of American house, where the singer carries the track. For more American vocal house from the early 1990s, keep digging with “Show Me Love” by Robin S and “Gypsy Woman” by Crystal Waters.
FAQ
Is Debra Cooper the same singer as Deborah Cooper?
Yes. Deborah Cooper is credited as Debra Cooper for vocals and backing vocals on Change’s 1984 album Change of Heart.
Did Deborah Cooper sing with C+C Music Factory?
Yes. She was a lead and backing vocalist and is featured on “Keep It Comin’ (Dance Till You Can’t Dance No More!)”, a US club No. 1 in 1992.
What is Deborah Cooper’s biggest house hit?
“Are You Satisfied”, recorded with Victor Calderone in 2001. It spent two weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s club chart and won her an ASCAP award as a writer.
