Donna Summer

Released: September 11, 1984

Songwriter: Donna Summer Bruce Sudano Michael Omartian

Producer: Michael Omartian

I was stranded in the dark
Trying to find an open door
So alone

Chains were wrapped around my heart
Didn't know what love was for
No more
Heard these voices in my head
Telling me you'll never escape
No you can't get away

When the spirit in me said
Your love could show me the way
My whole life changed on that day

Now I'm walking in the light
All aglow
All I see is sunshine in my eyes
Skies of blue, it's true

I'm free
Out from under shadows
The only thing that matters
Is that you've worked a miracle in me
I'm free
Now when clouds surround me
They have no place around me
All because your love has set me free
I'm free

From the time that I knew
That I could find love in you
My heart's been renewed
Now all my dreams are coming true
I'm free

I was frightened in the cold
Desperate when you found me in time
You saved me from the world

Got my life back in control
Chased away the madness in my mind
You saved me right in time

Now my future's looking up
Skies of blue, all because of you
Got the sunshine in my life
All aglow, baby, don't you know

I'm free
Out from under shadows
The only thing that matters
Is that you've worked a miracle in me
I'm free
Now when clouds surround me
They have no place around me
All because your love has set me free
I'm free

From the time that I knew
That I could find love in you
My heart's been renewed
Now all my dreams are coming true
I'm free

I'm free
Out from under shadows
The only thing that matters
Is that you've worked a miracle in me
I'm free
Now when clouds surround me
They have no place around me
All because your love has set me free
I'm free

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

Cats Without Claws

From the album

Cats Without Claws (1984)

Donna Summer popular songs

I’m FreeDonna Summer

Donna Summer

Cats Without Claws