Who recorded the hit single "Turn The Beat Around (from "The Specialist") in 1995?

Gloria Estefan recorded “Turn the Beat Around” for the 1995 film The Specialist. Her version became a major mid-1990s dance-pop hit and was also included on her 1994 album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me.

The song was not originally written by Estefan. Gerald Jackson and Peter Jackson wrote it, and Vicki Sue Robinson first recorded it in 1976. Robinson’s disco version was a U.S. hit, making Estefan’s recording a high-profile remake rather than an entirely new composition.

Estefan’s version was produced by her husband, Emilio Estefan Jr., and Lawrence Dermer. It reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart. The energetic percussion and Latin-influenced arrangement fit Estefan’s established musical identity while preserving the song’s disco foundation.

The date can be confusing because Estefan recorded and released the single in 1994, while The Specialist soundtrack and the film became associated with 1995 in some trivia listings. The film starred Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone, and the soundtrack helped introduce the recording to a broad moviegoing audience.