Vangie Gunn and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band release new single “Through the Fire”

Vangie Gunn is the featured soloist on Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band in their upcoming release of a remake of the 1984 Chaka Khan hit, “Through the Fire”. “Through the Fire” was originally written by David Foster, Tom Keane and Cynthia Weil and performed for Chaka Khan’s sixth album.

Vangie Gunn has been working as a sought-after session singer in Southern California since 1986. She has worked on hundreds of projects for film, television, video games and radio including: “Star Wars: Rogue One”, “Spiderman: Homecoming”, “Zootopia”, “Evan Almighty”, “A Bug’s Life”, “Jurassic World” and Disney’s Tomorrowland. She is also featured on Disney’s Phineas & Ferb, Jimmy Neutron, and as a soloist on a variety of online video games including World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, and Hearthstone, and The Call Of Duty series.

While working as a jazz/R&B singer, Gunn toured with artists such as Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, Johnny Mathis, Herb Alpert, Barry Manilow, Patti Austin, Justin Timberlake, Melissa Manchester, Jane Monheit, Eric Marienthal, and Take 6.

Vangie Gunn delivers a confident and seamless rendition of the 1984 Chaka Khan hit, “Through the Fire”. The musical arrangement is similar to the Chaka Khan original but with the distinct flavor and style of Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat (big band) sound.

Gunn’s impressive vocal range is apparent even from the opening notes of the song:

“I look in your eyes and I can see
We’ve loved so dangerously
You’re not trusting your heart to anyone
You tell me you’re gonna play it smart
We’re through before we start”

Vangie’s jazzy vocals will delight listeners. It comes as no surprise that musical impresario, Quincy Jones, commented that a big part of Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band’s success is because they always work with “superb soloists”.

The energetic jazz arrangement and the big band sound really gives Vangie a chance to shine in this performance and to showcase her impressive vocal range. Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band includes a talented ensemble of 18 musicians playing keyboard, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, percussion and bass as well as their featured vocalist.

Vangie and Big Phat Band’s version of “Through the Fire” has the same type of 1980s sound as the Chaka Khan (1984) original but with an even jazzier (and slightly more contemporary) feel.

“Through the Fire” is out now and available on Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.