Donna Summer

Released: September 15, 1987

Songwriter: Joe Erickson Donna Summer Peter Bunetta

Producer: Rick Chudacoff Peter Bunetta

When I was young, my momma always told me
I still hear her advice
She said don't ever bet against your feelings
Always think twice
Don't go and throw your love away
To some man just for the night
Promises, promises, don't waste your time
If his intentions don't feel right

Your reputation follows you wherever you go
Don't get a bad reputation
Your reputation can't be bought, it can't be sold
Don't get a bad reputation
Don't need a bad reputation

I'm so thankful momma I am waiting
To find someone who
Was looking in the same direction
That you pointed to

I'll never turn and walk away
If my heart gives me the sign
When the one, comes along
He'll understand
That the wait was worth the while

Your reputation follows you wherever you go
Don't get a bad reputation
Your reputation can't be bought, it can't be sold
Don't get a bad reputation
Don't need a bad reputation

(Momma said, she said)
Listen to me, listen to me, listen to me, listen to me
Listen to me, listen to me, listen to me, listen to me

Your reputation follows you wherever you go
Don't get a bad reputation
Your reputation can't be bought, it can't be sold
Don't get a bad reputation
Don't need a bad reputation..

As the unquestioned queen of disco, the one and only Donna Summer lit up the late 70s and 80s with flashy, exuberant vocals and automatic earworms. Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on Dec. 31, 1948, Summer moved to Germany after being cast in a Munich production of Hair. There, she happened to meet Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and the trio conglomerated to form a dynamic music team. With Moroder, Summer forged together her first album, The Hostage, which reached moderate success in Northern Europe. Summer’s big break, however, would come later with the release of 1975’s sexual “Love to Love You Baby”, which became one of disco’s first mainstream hits and reached #2 on the Billboard Charts.

1977 came around with the concept album I Remember Yesterday, which featured the Top 10 single “I Feel Love”. The next year, Summer hit the silver screen with the movie Thank God It’s Friday, whose soundtrack featured one of her own the iconic “Last Dance.” This would later become one of the disco legends' signature songs. “Dance” would take home an Academy Award for Best Original Song, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe, and it jumped to a peak of #3 on the charts.

Yet Summer’s illustrious career was far from finished – Summer’s first live album Live and More featured the single “MacArthur Park”, a melting ballad that was a cover of the Jimmy Webb ballad of the same name. “Park” became Summer’s first – and perhaps most memorable – No. 1 hit, and cemented her status as a vocalist as well as a performer. With the track, she became the first female in modern rock history to hold the top spot in both the Hot 100 and the Billboard 200. 1979, though, would really be the peak of her career.

more tracks from the album

All Systems Go

From the album

All Systems Go (1987)

Donna Summer popular songs

Bad ReputationDonna Summer

Donna Summer

All Systems Go