Donna Summer

Released: October 5, 1981

Songwriter: Pete Bellotte Sylvester Levay

Producer: Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

Seems every star is out tonight to light our love
So round the moon so full and bright so high above
But if you look real closely there's only me, there's only you
And when you hold me closely, yeah

And now the sky melts in the sea like they are one
It's hard to tell where one first starts and where ends one
That's the way our love is
You part of me me part of you

That's just what love is

Sweet you got the sweetest emotion, baby
Sweet, sweet emotion
Sweet you got the sweetest emotion
Sweeter than sweet
Sweeter than sweet
Sweeter than sweet

You took me from the surface to a deeper deep
Showing me that you
And you are life for me
Our love will last forever
Me loving you, you loving me
We'll always be together oh

Sweet you got the sweetest emotion
Sweet, sweet emotion
Sweet, sweet emotion
Sweet you got the sweetest emotion
Sweeter than sweet
Sweeter than sweet
Sweeter than sweet

Sweet, you got the sweetest emotion
Sweet, you got the sweetest emotion
Listen baby
Listen to me
Sweeter than sweet
Sweeter than sweet
Sweeter than sweet
You got the sweet emotion, yeah
Listen to me

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

Sweet EmotionDonna Summer

Donna Summer

I’m a Rainbow