Donna Summer

Released: August 23, 1991

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

Producer: Keith Diamond

Only you...

(Talk):
And the man and woman fall in love
And it's magic...pure magic!
(work that magic)
All alone
On a night like this
With nothing to do
But think about you

Under the moon
Two lovers kiss
And all I can do
Is think about you

I fall in love with you
Day after day after day
Baby in New York heartbeat
A herd of wild horses
Could not keep me away
And that's no promise
That's a guarantee

(Chorus):
Without your
My heart is frantic
Distant love can become tragic
When we touch
It's so romantic
Only you can work that magic
Only you...can work that magic (x3)

In my heart
I hold your hand
I'm gonna be true
So true to you baby

And I've decided
To make a love stand
Next to you, right next to you baby
I fall in love with you (etc)

(Chorus)
When the night
Comes closing in
Be there for me, be there baby

We'll sail away
To a magic land
Stay forever...stay forever

Tenderly you call my name
Turned my heart into a burning flame

(chorus)
Without you
My heart is frantic
When we touch
It's so romantic
So romantic
C'mon now...work it
Work that magic (x4)

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

Work That MagicDonna Summer

Donna Summer

Mistaken Identity