Donna Summer

Released: August 23, 1991

Songwriter: Larry Henley Keith Diamond Anthony L. Smith

Producer: Keith Diamond

Watching raindrops, slowly falling
Painting pictures on the window pane
Feelings my heart cannot explain
Oh the silence, sounds like music
Seems like I can hear a melody
Baby that's what you do to me

(Chorus):
One thing I'm sure of
Whether it's wrong or it's right
I only want to be with you, tonight
And if you want me to
Baby ask me to stay
Heaven's just a whisper away

Feel the magic, taking over
Please don't stop before we lose control
Baby just let your feeling go
Soft and tender, like the morning
We get closer than we've ever been
We're almost to the rainbow's end

(Chorus):
I heard the winds of forever
Calling out my name
It's paradise, when I'm with you
I will never be the same

Please don't wake me if I'm dreaming
'cause this time, this one is coming true
So glad to share my dreams with you

(Chorus

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

Heaven’s Just a Whisper AwayDonna Summer

Donna Summer

Mistaken Identity