Donna Summer

Released: February 26, 1974

Songwriter: Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

Producer: Pete Bellotte

There's a good there's a bad
Some are gay, some are sad
There's a right, there's a wrong
Those who fit don't belong

Well I'm the bad
And I've got to admit
That I'm sad
I'm a little misfit
I'm in the wrong
And that's the truth of it
I don't belong
I'm a little misfit

There's the sun there's the rain
Those in love those in pain
Some succeed while others fail
Some will ease someone tells

Well I'm in the rain
And I've got to admit
That I gonna pay
I'm a little misfit

Though I've failed
That's the truth of it
See me tell
I'm a little misfit

Life's so hard when you're far from everything
Life's so cold when you know you have no friends

Well I've lost
And I've got to admit
That I've paid the cost
I'm a little misfit

I still grow
And that's the truth of it
I'll always fall
I'm a little misfit

Well I'm bad
And I've got to admit
That I'm sad
I'm a little misfit

Well I'm bad
And that's the truth of it
That makes me sad
I'm a little misfit

Well I'm lost
And I've got to admit
That I've paid the cost
I'm a little misfit

I'm so poor

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

Lady of the Night

From the album

Lady of the Night (1974)

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Lady of the Night