“Got To Be Real” was Cheryl Lynn’s studio debut, and her biggest hit.
It followed the fame she’d achieved on The Gong Show—a TV talent contest hosted by Chuck Barriss. She got a perfect score of 30 points, singing Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkZHzqJZ6iQ
As...
[Chorus]
What you think, ah!
What you feel, now
What you know, ah!
To be real!
What you think, now
(I think I love you, baby)
What you feel now
(I think I need you, baby)
What you know ah
Oooh, ah
To be real!
[Verse 1]
Ooh, your love's for real now
You know that your love is my love
My love is your love
Our love is here to stay
[Chorus]
What you think, ah
(I think I love you, baby)
What you feel, now
(I think I need you, baby)
What you know, ah
Oh, ah
To be real!
[Verse 2]
Ooh, your love's for real now
You know that your love is my love
And my love is your love
Our love is here to stay
Yeah, yeah, hey, hoo!
[Chorus]
What you think, ah!
(I think I love you, baby)
What you feel, now
(I feel I need you)
What you know, ah!
Oh, ah
To be real!
What you think, ah!
(I think I love you)
What you feel, now
(I feel I need you, oh oh)
What you know ah!
To be real!
(It's got to be real)
To be real!
(It's got to be real)
To be real!
[Instrumental]
[Chorus]
What you think, ah!
What you feel, now
What you know, ah!
To be real!
What you think, ah!
(Oh, ah, what you feel, now)
What you feel, now
(Oh, ah, what you know, now)
What you know ah!
(Tell you again)
To be real!
(Oh yeah, ha!)
To be real!
(Got to be real, it's got to be real)
To be real!
(Got to be real, it's got to be real)
To be real!
(It's got to be real, it's got to be real)
To be real!
(It's got to be real, it's got to be real)
To be real!
(Oh, real, real, real, real, real, real, real)
Got To Be Real was written by David Foster & David Paich & Cheryl Lynn.
Got To Be Real was produced by Marty Paich & David Paich.
It seemed so for a moment on Twitter as Cheryl Lynn seemed pretty peeved that Anita Baker had blocked her without cause. The heat up had both singers trending heavily for several days, until the truth came out: Cheryl Lynn never had a Twitter account and was instead being impersonated by an overzeal...
I wrote the lyrics David Foster/and David Paich composed the track. I recor[d]ed the backgrounds first then the lead vocals. The process was smooth, and fun. My goal was to have fun and create my own sound and hoped that people would appreciate it.
— Cheryl Lynn via Twitter, 2023