Jabara was in the original cast of the stage musicals Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar. He took over the role of Frank-N-Furter in the Los Angeles Production of The Rocky Horror Show when Tim Curry left the production to film the movie version in England. He appeared in John Schlesinger's 1969 film Midnight Cowboy, as a hippie handing out pills at the counterculture party, and in Schlesinger's 1975 film The Day of the Locust, where he sang a cover of the Marlene Dietrich song "Hot Voo-Doo" in drag. In the 1978 film Thank God It's Friday he played the role of Carl, the lovelorn and nearsighted disco goer, and he also contributed as a singer on two tracks on the original soundtrack album. In 1981 Jabara starred in another John Schlesinger film, the comedy Honky Tonk Freeway, as truck driver/songwriter T. J. Tupus, hauling lions and a rhino.
Songwriter and singer
Jabara wrote the book, music, lyrics and starred in an aborted Broadway musical, Rachael Lily Rosenbloom which played the Broadhurst Theatre in New York City in 1973. It closed in previews prior to its official opening and was never reviewed by the press. No recording was made of the score, which featured both Jabara's trademark disco music as well as more traditional Broadway-style numbers. Jabara released his debut album, Shut Out, in 1977. Jabara's solo albums on the disco label Casablanca Records include three duets with Donna Summer: "Shut Out", "Something's Missing " and "Never Lose Your Sense Of Humor". Donna Summer performed his song "Last Dance" for the 1978 film Thank God It's Friday winning Jabara the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song, the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song as well. In 1979 he co-wrote with Bruce Roberts Barbra Streisand's US top 3 hit "The Main Event/Fight" - the title theme from her film The Main Event before the pair penned their biggest success with the international smash No More Tears recorded as a duet by Striesand and Donna Summer. In 1981 he penned the song "No Jinx" for Bette Midler as the theme tune to her movie "Jinxed!". Diana Ross scored a 1982 UK top hit with his song "Work That Body", included on her Platinum album Why Do Fools Fall in Love. In 1982, Sylvester's former backing singers The Two Tons agreed to record his song "It's Raining Men", previously rejected by both Summer, Streisand, Cher and Ross. Renaming themselves The Weather Girls the song became an international hit, topping the US Dance chart and peaking at #2 in the UK. That song was re-recorded in 1998 by drag supermodel RuPaul and Martha Wash as "It's Raining Men... The Sequel" and later by Geri Halliwell in 2001 when it reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart. The original Weather Girls' recording of "It's Raining Men" was included on Jabara's 1983 album Paul Jabara & Friends which significantly included one of the first recordings by then 19-year-old Whitney Houston on "Eternal Love" as well as a Jabara/Diana Ross co-write "Ladies Hot Line." Other songs Jabara had covered by major artists include "Hope" by Billy Preston, "Two Lovers" by Julio Iglesias and "This Girl's Back In Town" by Raquel Welch. In 1986, Jabara released his final album - the concept musical featuring guest vocals from Leata Galloway, Diva Gray and Pattie Brooks. In 2005, a workshop of a musical entitled Last Dance played New York City. It was a musical assembled from Jabara's well known disco songs and told the story of a modern-day teenager who goes back in time to spend one night at Studio 54.
