Taana Gardner, named after the Taana River in Nairobi, had gotten her start in 1979 by doing the vocals on "Spooks In Space" by Aural Exciters (a. k. a. Kid Creole and the Coconuts). Soon after Taana gave us "Work That Body" and "When You Touch Me" on her LP for West End.
In 1980 West End Records released "Heartbeat" and had it mixed by the late Larry Levan. It went on to be the top selling 12 inch record in West End history.
