Donna Summer

Released: October 5, 1981

Songwriter: Donna Summer Giorgio Moroder

Producer: Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

If people talk then let people talk
We won't hit the ground if we are the talk of the town
People talk gossiping past
Stabbing their words with all of their stares in our back
Let the people talk

If people talk grapevine of lies
Spinning their yarns
Spreading the seeds of our harm

People talk but we know the truth let them all talk
Baby it's still me and you

We'll face the fears and when the rumours blow
All the names they call will never hurt
Sticks and stones may break all of our bones
But all the King's men will put us together again

People talk so let people talk
We won't hit the ground if we are the talk of the town
People talk

People talk so let people talk
We won't hit the ground if we are the talk of the town
People talk grapevine of lies
Spinning their yarns
Spreading the seeds of our harm

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

I’m a Rainbow

From the album

I’m a Rainbow (1981)

Donna Summer popular songs

People TalkDonna Summer

Donna Summer

I’m a Rainbow