Donna Summer

Released: July 19, 1982

Songwriter: Rod Temperton David Foster Donna Summer

Producer: Quincy Jones

Deep in the night, when you're
Away from me
I'm reachin' out just to touch you
In my dreams
Countin' the hours 'till you'll be
Here again
So hard to wait, got to have you
Close to me
'cause baby

You, turn my nights to day
When your love, love is just a
Breath away

Somethin' inside has taken
Over me
So baby, can't you see you
Captured my heart
I can't disguise the things you
Make me feel
I should have known this was
Magic right from the start

'Cause baby, you turn my nights to day
When your love, love is just a breath away
We, we don't have a word to say
Our hearts can speak a thousand ways
When love is just a breath away

Take me, take me into paradise
Show me
All the love that's in your eyes
Light up my life

You, you turn my nights to day
When your love, love is just a breath away
We, we don't have a word to say
Our heart can speak a thousand ways
When love is just a breath away
You, you turn my nights to day
When your love, love is just a breath away

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.

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Donna Summer

From the album

Donna Summer (1982)

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Love Is Just a Breath AwayDonna Summer

Donna Summer

Donna Summer