Forget those TV ‘survivors’ – Ms. Gaynor is the real thing

Like a solid gold bartender, Gloria Gaynor has been listening for decades.

Ever since she recorded the emancipation anthem “I Will Survive” in 1979, strangers have approached her with stories of disappointment, loss and – most of all – perseverance.

The original disco diva was doing a radio call-in show a few years afterward when she heard from a woman who underwent open-heart surgery.

“Right in the middle of it, her husband came in and said he wanted a divorce,” recalls Gaynor, 56.

Then a nurse brought the patient a recording of “I Will Survive.”

“It encouraged her to come to terms with it and realize she could live without him,” Gaynor says.

These days, she is still belting her signature tune, along with fresher, discofied R&B dance tracks, and working on jazz, gospel and Christmas albums.

Oh yeah, and a book, too, collecting stories about – what else? – survival.

Hundreds of fans have testified on her Web site (www.gloriagaynor.com) about how they’ve overcome poverty, cancer and unrequited love while latching onto “I Will Survive” as motivation.

Ultimately, Gaynor hopes to include recollections from celebrities and politicians as well as “normal people.”

Fellow disco/gospel singer Candi Staton and controversial infomercial peddler Kevin Trudeau (“Natural Cures ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About”) already have submitted tales.

Maybe Ivana Trump will contribute, too.

“Every time she sees me she tells me that song helped her with her divorce from The Donald,” Gaynor says.

Born Gloria Fowles, she first sang as part of an obscure R&B crew, the Soul Satisfiers, before MGM Records discovered her. In 1975, Gloria Gaynor had her first hit with a cover of the Jackson 5’s “Never Can Say Goodbye.”

But it was “I Will Survive” that brought Gaynor everlasting fame. The song, which has since been recorded more than 200 times, was awarded the first and only Grammy for Best Disco Recording.

At the time, Gaynor said she recognized the song as empowering in that it helped her accept her mother’s death and aided her own recovery from spinal surgery after falling over a microphone.

In her 1987 autobiography, “I Will Survive: The Book,” she describes her drug abuse, two abortions, marital problems and born-again Christianity.

Now Gaynor is enmeshed in what she considers her greatest challenge: college. She’s studying for a bachelor’s degree in behavioral sciences at the New York Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

“I want to go into the ministry of counseling, professionally, and continue singing,” she says. “I just really feel that I should be doing more to empower women than sing.”

The birthday bunch

Actress Rita Moreno is 74. Singer David Gates (Bread) is 65. Actress Donna Mills (“Knots Landing”) is 63. Singer Brenda Lee is 61. Actress Linda Day George is 61. Actress Teri Garr is 57. Actress Bess Armstrong is 52. Singer Jermaine Jackson is 51. Bassist Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) is 47. Actress-comedian Mo’Nique (“The Parkers”) is 37. Rapper-actor Mos Def is 32. Actor Rider Strong (“Boy Meets World”) is 26.