Donna Summer

Released: May 13, 1977

Songwriter: Tony Macaulay

Producer: Pete Bellotte Giorgio Moroder

Cold and lonely night, you don't have to leave at all
A car rolls up outside on time, a moment from your call
And handshake seems more fitting than a kiss
Such a shame that you and I should have to end like this

Can't we just sit down and talk it over
Surely you can ask the better way
Strange that you're the one so set on leaving
And I'm the one who said last night that it was all too late

Can't we just sit down and talk it over
Who knows, maybe in a little while
We'll forget our pride, and the things we said last night
And maybe you and I can talk it out

Tonight stay somewhere warm, they say it's gonna freeze
You may not find a place at all, so be sure and take your keys

I can almost taste the silence now
Does it really matter still
Who was wrong, who let who down

Can't we just sit down and talk it over
Who knows, maybe in a little while
We'll forget our pride, and the things we said last night
And maybe you and I can talk it out

Hold on, hold on
Surely you and I can talk it out
Hold on, hold on
Surely you and I can make it right
Hold on, hold on, yeah
Can't we just sit down and talk it over
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on

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 Remember Yesterday

From the album

I Remember Yesterday (1977)

Donna Summer popular songs

Can’t We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over)Donna Summer

Donna Summer

I Remember Yesterday