Barbara Pennington

Pennington was born in Chicago and began her musical career when she was discovered by Danny Leake and introduced to Hi-NRG and soul record producer Ian Levine who had come to the United States in search of new talent for his burgeoning record label.[1]

By the early 1980s, she had scored several disco hits, then several more Hi-NRG hits across mainland Europe. Her Stateside success was more variable, but not a failure. "Twenty Four Hours a Day" also became a disco hit in the U.S., peaking at #4 on the Club Play Chart, and "You Are the Music in Me" which peaked at #20 in 1977.[2]

Her single "On a Crowded Street", from the album Out of the Darkest Night, became popular on both sides of the Atlantic in 1985. Follow up singles such as "All American Boy", "Don't Stop the World", "Way Down Deep in My Soul", "Fan the Flame", and "Out of the Darkest Night" all became major European hits, while remaining relatively unknown in the U.S.[1]

Pennington retired in the early 1990s. Her final release was the 1995 compilation album, The Very Best of Barbara Pennington.

• Allmusic.com biography