"Coming Out of the Dark" is a single by American singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan. It was released on January 10, 1991 worldwide by Epic Records as the leading and first single of the album, Into the Light. It was written by Estefan, her husband Emilio Estefan, Jr. and Jon Secada, and produced by Estefan Jr., Jorge Casas and Clay Ostwald. It became the singer's third number one in the United States and second number one in Canada (solo and with Miami Sound Machine). This is the first single released after Estefan's accident on March 20, 1990—an 18-wheeler rammed her tour bus, nearly causing the singer's death—when her "Get on Your Feet Tour" was in progress. It is also the first song that Estefan performed publicly after recovering. The song is inspired by the near-fatal accident and also is dedicated to Emilio Estefan, Jr., Gloria's husband.
The song is a soul ballad which includes the use of a choir. Among the voices in the choir are Gloria's colleague, the Cuban singer Jon Secada, and the R&B singer Betty Wright (both had participated in backing vocals on Gloria's album, Cuts Both Ways as well as Into the Light). The title was inspired by a phrase her husband had written on a piece of paper as a helicopter transported her for delicate surgery to repair her broken back. Gloria explained to Billboard: "My husband had been in one of the helicopters traveling from one hospital to the other. It was really dark and gray, and he was traumatized. He got this ray of light that hit him in the face, and he got the idea for 'Coming Out of the Dark.'" SongFacts.com
Gloria was careful not to turn Into the Light into a pity party. "I hate pity," she told the Los Angeles Daily News. "I'm very self-reliant and independent, and I'm used to that role. I don't like people feeling sorry for me. So I wrote 'Coming Out of the Dark' to let the people around me know how important they are to me. But that was as far as I wanted to go with the accident. I didn't want this to become 'the album on the accident.' What am I going to sing - 'Oh, this bus hit me'?"
Last Updated: June 12, 2021
