Donna Summer

Released: October 5, 1981

Songwriter: Donna Summer Pete Bellotte

Producer: Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

On big alley stands a lady waiting
For awhile
Acting out an untold story like a
Wounded child
But the mystery of the circumstance
Won't hide
She believes true love survives
True love survives

Waiting for her long lost lover
Returning from the war
Though I know she knew the truth
She also knew much more
And the answer that she gave to all of us
Whispered low saying
True love survives
True love survives

Is she dreaming does she know
A secret I can't see
Maybe there's a trace of truth
In all that she believes

For one day I took a look deep down inside
A voice cried saying true love's alive
True love survives

Only love will last forever true love will survive
Only love will last forever true love will survive

True is love is never-ending
It's giving all and not pretending
It's holding on although your heart
Feels dead

A quarter of a century of years
Have gone by
Still the dream of this peculiar
Lady's kept alive
So I'm holding tight to one who I desired
A burning fire saying true love survives
True love survives

Only love will last forever
Only love will last forever

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

True Love SurvivesDonna Summer

Donna Summer

I’m a Rainbow