Donna Summer during My Favorite Decade (Albums)

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A LOVE TRILOGY (1976)

U.S. Album Chart Peaks:
Billboard 200	21
Billboard R&B	16
CashBox	39

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FOUR SEASONS OF LOVE (1976)

U.S. Album Chart Peaks:
Billboard 200	29
Billboard R&B	13
CashBox	37

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I REMEMBER YESTERDAY (1977)

U.S. Album Chart Peaks:
Billboard 200	18
Billboard R&B	11
CashBox	31

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ONCE UPON A TIME... (1977)

U.S. Album Chart Peaks:
Billboard 200	26
Billboard R&B	13
CashBox	24

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LIVE AND MORE (1978)

U.S. Album Chart Peaks:
Billboard 200	1
Billboard R&B	4
CashBox	2

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BAD GIRLS (1979)

U.S. Album Chart Peaks:
Billboard 200	1
Billboard R&B	1
CashBox	1

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ON THE RADIO (1979)

U.S. Album Chart Peaks:
Billboard 200	1
Billboard R&B	4
CashBox	2

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WALK AWAY (1980)

U.S. Album Chart Peaks:
Billboard 200	50
Billboard R&B	54
CashBox	91

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THE WANDERER (1980)

U.S. Album Chart Peaks:
Billboard 200	13
Billboard R&B	12
CashBox	8

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I'M A RAINBOW (Recorded 1981, released 1996)

U.S. Album Chart Peaks:
Billboard 200	-
Billboard R&B	-
CashBox	-

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DONNA SUMMER (1982)

U.S. Album Chart Peaks:
Billboard 200	20
Billboard R&B	6
CashBox	14

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SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY (1983)

U.S. Album Chart Peaks:
Billboard 200	9
Billboard R&B	5
CashBox	9

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CATS WITHOUT CLAWS (1984)

U.S. Album Chart Peaks:
Billboard 200	40
Billboard R&B	24
CashBox	38

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Covering the Covers: There Goes My Baby

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This series looks at some of the covers that came out during the years 1976-85 or songs that were originally released during that time period and subsequently covered. Boring, rote covers need not apply. Looking for artists that can take a song and add their own blend of spice. As the lovely Kate Pierson of The B-52's once said about the Talking Heads cover of "Take Me to the River": It's a rare thing that a band can do a cover song and make it their own. Simply put, they made Al Green's 'Take Me to the River' into a Talking Heads song."

Today's study: There Goes My Baby, written by Benjamin Nelson, Lover Patterson & George Treadwell, original released by The Drifters.

Released: April 1959 (Atlantic) Produced by: Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller

U. S. Billboard Charts:
Hot 100	2
R&B	1

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Released: July 1984 (Geffen) Produced by: Michael Omartian Album: Cats Without Claws

U. S. Billboard Charts:
Hot 100	21
R&B	20

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Charting the Charts: Donna Summer - Once Upon a Time (1977)

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Here's a look at how the 1977 Donna Summer album Once Upon a Time fared on the album charts in various publications:

1977
Date	Billboard 200	Billboard R&B (60)	Cashbox 200	Cashbox R&B (75)
Nov 19			95	50
Nov 26	48	31	80	33
Dec 3	40	21	54	24
Dec 10	36	14	43	17
Dec 17	31	13	35	14
Dec 24	29	18	30	11
Dec 31	29	18	26	8

1978
Date	Billboard 200	Billboard R&B (60)	Cashbox 200	Cashbox R&B (75)
Jan 7	27	18	25	7
Jan 14	26	18	24	7
Jan 21	26	24	31	10
Jan 28	30	24	35	12
Feb 4	29	21	37	13
Feb 11	43	25	48	14
Feb 18	89	26	59	18
Feb 25	130	26	59	22
Mar 4	130	26	60	22
Mar 11	126	29	72	23
Mar 18	120	32	75	26
Mar 25	115	32	85	29
Apr 1	111	32	102	32
Apr 8	109	32	118	32
Apr 15	104	35	132	36
Apr 22	104	44	167	37
Apr 29	104	50	195	38
May 6	99	51	200	46
May 13	97	53		55
May 20	95	58		61
May 27	93			75
Jun 3	89			68
Jun 10	104			66
Jun 17	104			65
Jun 24	108			65
Jul 1				70
Jul 8			195	71
Jul 15			191
Jul 22			189
Jul 29			188

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Album ad #70

Donna Summer - She Works Hard for the Money (1983)

Donna Summer - Bad Girls (1979)

Released: April, 1979 (Casablanca) Produced by: Giorgio Moroder & Pete Bellotte Peak on the US Billboard 200: 1 (6 nonconsecutive weeks*) Peak on the CashBox 200: 1 (5 nonconsecutive weeks)

Side One	Side Two
Hot Stuff Bad Girls Love Will Always Find You Walk Away	Dim All the Lights Journey to the Center of Your Heart One Night in a Lifetime Can't Get to Sleep at Night
Side Three	Side Four
On My Honor There Will Always be a You On My Honour All Through the Night	Our Love Lucky Sunset People

*Bad Girls battled Supertramp's Breakfast in America album for the top spot during the summer of 1979 before Get the Knack was released.

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Billboard, May 5, 1979, p. 78

CashBox, May 5, 1979, p. 15

Robert Christgau (Village Voice)

You tend to suspect anyone who releases three double-LPs in eighteen months of delusions of Chicago, but Donna is here to stay and this is her best album. The first two sides, four songs per, never let up--the voice breaks and the guitars moan over a bass-drum thump in what amounts to empty-headed girl-group rock and roll brought cannily up-to-date. Moroder makes his Europercussion play on side four, which is nice too, but side three drags, suggesting that the rock and roll that surfaces here is perhaps only a stop along the way to a totally bleh total performance. Me, I still love my Marvelettes records. A-

ed. note: Mr. Christgau writes a C plus review then gives the album a grade of A minus? That's why I love the guy's reviews.

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U.S. Billboard charted singles:	Hot 100	Disco	R&B	AC
Hot Stuff	1	1	3
Bad Girls	1	1	1
Dim All the Lights	2	1	13	44
Walk Away	36		35

22nd Annual Grammy Awards
"Hot Stuff"	Best Female Rock Vocal Performance	Won
"Bad Girls"	Best Female Pop Vocal Performance	Nominated
"Bad Girls"	Best Female R&B Vocal Performance	Nominated
"Dim All the Lights"	Best Disco Recording	Nominated
Bad Girls	Album of the Year	Nominated

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To call this thing a concept album about prostitution might be a stretch, but let's go there anyway.  It's easier to call it a concept album about sex. I was twelve when this released so both sex and prostitution were things we didn't discuss at our house (I was a preacher's kid).  That made this forbidden music which made it that much more attractive to me, naturally.

"Ma’am, who is this Queen of Disco?" (SNL, 4/15/2000)

The first LP (sides 1 & 2) is a great stand-alone album that sees disco moving to a slightly harder sound - Giorgio Moroder sure knew what he was doing.  Tracks are carefully segued with no breaks just like a good DJ would mix it, so there's no need to skip any of those tracks.  In addition to the three hits ("Bad Girls," "Hot Stuff," "Dim All The Lights"), I'm particularly fond of "Journey to The Center Of Your Heart" and the funky chorus of "One Night In A Lifetime." We're not as lucky with side three which bogs down with ballads.  Not that Summer can't pull off a good ballad, but that's not why I buy her music.  Side four gets us back with a return to the more synth-oriented sound that hearkens back to "I Feel Love."  The album ends with the wonderful but overlooked "Sunset People."

I didn't own this album when it was released.  I mistakenly thought there wasn't much need to own it since I could hear the hit songs on the radio (bad pun intended). A single album (sides one and two with "Sunset People" subbed in for "Love Will Always Find You") would have easily rated a grade of A+, but I had to dock the thing a few points for side three.

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Note: much of this post's content has previously appeared on this blog. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Thank God It's Friday soundtrack (1978)

"After 5000 years of civilization, we all need a break."

It's Friday night and everyone is headed to the hot disco, The Zoo. The Commodores are scheduled to play if the roadie shows up with the instruments while Nicole (Donna Summer) dreams of becoming a disco star. Other characters are there to win the dance contest, or to put a little excitement into a blind date or fifth anniversary festivities.  This flick didn't last long in theaters and is currently rated at 30% over at Rotten Tomatoes.  But, oh! the soundtrack...

Casablanca Records issued a three disk soundtrack album which peaked at #10 in its 27 weeks on the Billboard 200. The featured song, Donna Summer's "Last Dance," became a critical and commercial success, winning the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and Grammy Awards for 1) Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and 2) Best R&B Song. Sadly, the "Disco" category wasn't instituted at The Grammy Awards until the following year or there would have been a battle royale between TGIF, Saturday Night Fever, and anything by Chic. But I digress.

Side One	Side Two
"Thank God It's Friday" by Love and Kisses "After Dark" by Pattie Brooks "With Your Love" by Donna Summer "Last Dance" by Donna Summer	"Disco Queen" by Paul Jabara "Find My Way" by Cameo "Too Hot Ta Trot" by The Commodores "Leatherman's Theme" by Wright Bros. Flying Machine "I Wanna Dance" by Marathon
Side Three	Side Four
"Take It To The Zoo" by Sunshine "Sevilla Nights" by Santa Esmeralda "You're the Most Precious thing in My Life" by Love and Kisses	"Do You Want the Real Thing" by D.C. LaRue "Trapped in a Stairway" by Paul Jabara "Floyd's Theme" by Natural Juices "Livin' Lovin' Givin'" by Diana Ross "Love Masterpiece" by Thelma Houston "Last Dance (Reprise) by Donna Summer
Special Bonus 12" Single
"Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus)" by Donna Summer

This is normally where I list the songs included in the movie in the order the music appeared in the film, but why reinvent the wheel? Friend o' the blog (and regular contributor of CD longbox pictures) Dirk Digglinator already did the work way back in 1996! In celebration of our Summer of Summer celebration, Dirk graciously submitted a photo of his meticulous work and I'm happy to present it below. Many thanks, Dirk.

Dirk also submitted this 2019 update/errata/confirmation to the above list:
4. I Wanna Dance - Marathon  Maddy & Jennifer...
6. From Here To Eternity (1) - Giorgio  Tony enters the ‘Zoo’
7. From Here To Eternity (2)
8. Romeo And Juliet (1)
25. Je T’aime (Moi Non Plus) (1)
32. Je T’aime (Moi Non Plus) (2) - Donna Summer  Sue & Dave (‘Baba-Kazoo’) argue
33. Romeo And Juliet (2) - Alec R. Costandinos  Dave (‘Baba-Kazoo’) swallows his wedding ring
34. In Hollywood (Everybody Is A Star) - Village People  Maddy leaves Jennifer...
38. I’m Here Again - Thelma Houston  (?? / Confirmed)

So now you can remove the "(Nearly)" qualifier from the title of the above list. Consider it definitive and MFD approved! 👍

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Previous MFD movie soundtrack breakdowns:
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
FM (1978)
Grease (1978)
The Last American Virgin (1982)
Roller Boogie (1979)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
The Sure Thing (1985)
Sixteen Candles (1984)
200 Cigarettes (1999)
Valley Girl (1983)
Vision Quest (1985)

Donna Summer's Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

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On Wednesday, March 18, 1992, Donna Summer was honored with the 1,952nd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Summer's star is located in front of 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, adjacent to the Roosevelt Hotel. The press release for the event states that Donna sang a special song at the event, "Friends Unknown." It also indicates that O.J. Simpson was present for the unveiling, along with Kelly LeBrock and Steven Seagal. The entire press release can be found here.

YouTuber "hiwayrunner" has posted several videos of the event (caution: early '90s fashions and hair):

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Bracketology: Donna Summer Singles, Champion

In a photo finish, I'm giving the edge to "Last Dance" and declaring it to be Donna Summer's best single. According to an interview with songwriter/producer Bob Etsy, the genesis of the single wasn't without controversy:

After "Shut Out" was recorded, Paul [Jabara] told me he locked Donna in her hotel bathroom in Puerto Rico and forced her to listen to a cassette of a rough song idea called "Last Dance." [...] Luckily, Donna liked the song. Paul asked me to do an arrangement so Donna could make a demo for Neil Bogart, the head of Casablanca Records, who had to OK it. Because they were producing with Motown Records a film ultimately named Thank God It's Friday, it was to be Donna Summer's song. So, working on the arrangement with Paul, I changed some of the chords and extended the "hook" to repeat 3 times to finish the last phrase of the chorus. I also added a bridge to build to a climax and suggested a ballad intro a la "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and another ballad in the middle of the song building again to a high note for the last chorus ending. To our knowledge, this had never been done in a disco track. I was willing to do this idea, and confident that it would work. We did the piano/vocal with Donna and me of the full version including the two ballad sections and the ending in one "pass". At the finish Donna ad-libbed "that's all folks!" and we all applauded! I recorded the full track in one day, rhythm in the morning, horns and strings during the day. That same night, Giorgio Moroder recorded Donna's vocal exactly as she sang the demo, in two takes, and banning me from attending the session. In spite of the fact Giorgio didn't like the song and didn't want Donna to sing in a full voice style, I thought I would be at least credited for co-producing the track and co-writing the song with Paul. He ultimately took credit for it. And Paul Jabara took the Oscar. I learned a bitter lesson from that...

But that's one man's story. Here's another: This song was popular when I was in 8th grade and it was the tradition in my small town to have a year end "8th grade dance" at the local country club (see photo below). So, on May 16, 1980, my classmates and I dressed up in our Sunday best and hit the parquet dance floor for a few hours. As the dance ended, the DJ naturally chose "Last Dance" to close things out and I danced with a girl who was one of my good friends. Turns out that dance marked the beginning of an on-again, off-again tumultuous romantic relationship that would last until 1985. "I Feel Love" can't possibly compete with that.

Your humble blogger at said dance looking
like a bit player from Saturday Night Fever, Jr.

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Bracketology: Donna Summer Singles, Finals

My personal semi-final picks. Upsets to follow:

• I realize that "Bad Girls" was the immensely popular title track from an immensely popular double album, but I prefer "I Feel Love" and simply feel both its writing and production are better. Plus, I told you in yesterday's post that "I Feel Love" would continue its streak of upsets.
• "MacArthur Park" is an epic suite written by the incomparable Jimmy Webb, but I just can't resist Last Dance. I'll even watch Thank God It's Friday because of it.

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