Donna Summer

Released: August 23, 1991

Songwriter: Larry Henley Keith Diamond Eve Nelson Donna Summer Anthony L. Smith

Producer: Keith Diamond

I can tell
By the way you stare at me

(Talk):
It's deep...real deep
Your mind's messed up
Words just don't come easily

(Talk):
It should be natural
Your invitation...baby
Turned my head around
Quiet conversation
Language without sound

Body talk...work your body
Everybody let your body talk
Body talk...work your body
Everybody needs some body talk

The guy with me
He's just a friend of mine

(Talk)
It's purely platonic
So if you're tuff enuff
Baby step across the line

(Talk)
Girlfriend don't bite
My imagination...baby
Bound to blow my mind

Body talk...work your body
Everybody let your body talk
Body talk...work your body
Everybody needs some body talk

Body talk
I can hear your body talk
Speak to me baby
Body talk
I can hear your body talk
Speak to me baby
Body talk
I can hear your body talk
Body talk
I can hear your body, body, body, body
Talk

I get the picture...baby
Come on over here
Your lips ain't moving
But I hear you loud and clear

(Chorus out)

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

Mistaken Identity

From the album

Mistaken Identity (1991)

Donna Summer popular songs

Body TalkDonna Summer

Donna Summer

Mistaken Identity