I Will Survive also frequently recalled as a symbol of female strength and as a gay anthem. In 2016, the Library of Congress deemed Gaynor's original recording to be "culturally, historically, or artistically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Recording Registry. Originally released as the B-side to a cover version of the Righteous Brothers song "Substitute", "I Will Survive" became a worldwide hit for Gaynor when disc jockeys played that side of the record instead. "Substitute" appeared on the "Billboard" Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart for four weeks in October–November 1978, peaking at No. 107. "I Will Survive" then
Gloria Gaynor family was relatively poor, but Gaynor recalls the house being filled with laughter and happiness, and the dinner table being open to neighborhood friends. They moved to a housing project in 1960, where Gaynor went to South Side High School. "All through my young life I wanted to sing, although nobody in my family knew it", Gaynor wrote in her autobiography. Gaynor began singing in a night club in Newark, NJ., where she was recommended to a local band by a neighbor. After several years of performing in local clubs and along the Country's east coast Gaynor began her recording