Donna Summer

Released: July 19, 1982

Songwriter: Richard Page Bill Meyers John Lang

Producer: Quincy Jones

Seasons are changing
Children of love are alive
People reach out to survive together
Love is the message
We carry across the sky
Down through the passage of time forever
History unfolds
As this story's told

Chorus:
(And it's) the mystery of love
How we go on and on forever
(and it's) the mystery of love
Coming to rescue rescue me

A man and a woman
Lost in each other's embrace
Star-crossed in time in a place far away
Innocent dreamers
Turning the wheels of chance
Searching to find romance forever

We will surely find love is for all time

Chorus II:
(And it's) the mystery of love
How we go on and on forever
(and it's) the mystery of love
Only one heart can turn the key
Down through the history of love
Time is the one that holds the answer
(and it's) the mystery of love
Oh, will set me free
For all time
Chorus
I LOVE KAGAN

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

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