Donna Summer

Released: July 19, 1992

Songwriter: Rod Temperton Donna Summer Steve Lukather Quincy Jones David Foster

Producer: Quincy Jones

Straight outta school but still just a fool
Thought the streets were paved with gold
He moved off the block and
Found he was lost
In a world he'd never known
He had to hustle so he could pay the rent
Played all the aces and wound up president
You see it's okay
Got to find your own way
Keep on trying all day
And you know your time will come
You'll get your chance to run

You're livin' in America
You're livin' in the home of the dream
You're livin' in America
Just make it what you want it to be

Soap opera child with hope in her eyes
Lookin' for a starrin' role
She came into town and acted the clown
Had a long, long way to go
Waitin' on tables and pumpin' gasoline
She served and agent
Now she's a movie queen
You see it's okay
Got to find your own way
Keep on tryin' all day
And you know the time will come
For each and everyone

You're livin' in America
You're livin' in the home of the dream
You're livin' in America
Just make it what you want it to be

You'll stand alone on a long hard road
With a crowd that you can't see
Just start by steppin' out
Then let your mind run free

You're livin' in America
You're livin' in the home of the dream
You're livin' in America
Just make it what you want it to be

It's okay
You're livin' in the USA
Find your dream
You know that dream can set
You free

It's okay
We're part of the United State
You and me
Can be just what we wanna be
He's okay
He left the block and reached
The top
She's all right
The agent put her name in lights

He's okay
He's paid his rent he's president
She's all right
She's on your TV screen tonight

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

Donna Summer

From the album

Donna Summer (1982)

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Livin’ in AmericaDonna Summer

Donna Summer

Donna Summer