Donna Summer

Released: October 31, 1977

Songwriter: Donna Summer Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

Producer: Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

Well he searched and searched for nights and days
Till he found the one he loved
And he wrapped her in his arms again
And then he thanked the stars above
That he found what he'd been looking for
And he stared her in the eyes

He said "I love you"
He said "I love you"
Love you, love you

She stared him right back in the eyes
With a look of disbelief
Then she gazed off into somewhere else
Was it real or just a dream?
And she pulled him, oh so close to her
And she whispered in his ear

She said "I love you"
She said "I love you too"
Love you, love you, love you

So together they will always be
Until the stars fall from the sky

They said "I love you"
Yes, I really do
They said "I love you"
Yes, I do
I do, I do, I do, I do

So together they will always be
Until the stars fall from the sky
So if you find someone you love a lot
You must never let them go
You just hold them tight with all your might
And you say three little words

You say "I love you"
You say "I love you"
You say "I love you"
You say "I love you"

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

On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II

From the albums

Once Upon a Time (1977)
Live and More (1978)
On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II (1979)
The Summer Collection: Greatest Hits (1985)
The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer (2003)

Donna Summer popular songs

I Love YouDonna Summer

Donna Summer

On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II