Debbie Gibson - Songs, Electric Youth & 80S

(1970-)

Who Is Debbie Gibson?

Singer Debbie Gibson got her start in the entertainment industry at a young age. After writing her first song at age five, she became a teen pop star in the late 1980s with hits like "Only in my Dreams," "Shake Your Love" and "Foolish Beat" before even graduating from high school. After the release of her successful album Electric Youth (1989), Gibson took a hiatus from music and began finding work on Broadway. While performing on the stage, she was praised for her performances in productions such as Beauty and the Beast (1997) and Gypsy (1998).

Early Life

Deborah Ann Gibson was born on August 31, 1970, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Merrick, New York. Gibson began taking piano lessons from Morton Estrin (who also taught Billy Joel) at the age of five and quickly proved herself a musical prodigy. She wrote her first song, "Make Sure You Know Your Classroom," at age six, and in fifth grade, she composed an opera. "It was called Alice in Operaland," Gibson recalls. "Alice encountered characters in famous operas."

In addition to composing, Gibson also started performing at a very young age. She began acting in community theater productions from the age of five, and as an eight-year-old, she joined the children's chorus at New York City's famed Metropolitan Opera House. Despite her busy schedule as a young songwriter and performer, Gibson found time to enjoy the pleasures of childhood. "I don't ever feel I was robbed of my childhood," she sayid. "I hung on to all that I could."

Gibson built a makeshift studio in her family's garage and began dedicating what little free time she had to writing and recording music. When she won $1,000 in a songwriting contest as a 12-year-old (for a song she had written called "I Come From America") Gibson's parents realized their daughter's musical talents might translate into a career. They hired Doug Breibart to serve as Gibson's manager, and Breibart taught her how to arrange, engineer and produce her own music. By the time she turned 15 in 1985, Gibson had recorded more than 100 of her own songs.