Donna Summer

Released: February 26, 1974

Songwriter: Pete Bellotte

Producer: Pete Bellotte

I've an emptiness inside
That can only be describe
As a sad song
With the paint all peeling off
All the world I used to know
It's a sad song
He gave my life a meaning
When all hope inside had die
The he took the meaning back
And left me feeling oh disillusioned
He just walked out of my world
Like you'd walk out of a room
Oh you sad song

Sing along with my song
If you're lost and you're alone
Sing along if your song
Has theme of love gone wrong
Sing along and belong
Don't hold back we're growing strong
Sing along sing your song
Sing your sad your sad sad song

Ain't it strange the way life goes
First you're used and then disposed
Like a sad song
Saying love was just a word
Used to keep you hanging there
Like a sad song
You swallowed all those promises
So called upon you are
And following his footsteps
No matter just how far must follow
He just walked out of a room
Oh you sad song

Sing along with my song
If you're lost and you're alone
Sing along if your song
Has theme of love gone wrong
Sing along and belong
Don't hold back we're growing strong
Sing along sing your song
Sing your sad you sad sad song...

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)

Donna Summer popular songs

Sing Along (Sad Song)Donna Summer

Donna Summer

Lady of the Night