Donna Summer

Released: July 6, 1979

Songwriter: Pete Bellotte Keith Forsey Harold Faltermeyer

Producer: Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

[Verse-1]
Late night flight, L.A.X.,
Limousine and you're all set
For sunset, for sunset

Riot house a penthouse suite
The street's alive below your feet
On sunset, on sunset

Rainbow girl, whiskey man
Spotting every star they can
On sunset, on sunset

Rock an' roll every night
Underneath them neon signs
On sunset, on sunset

[Chorus]
Sunset people, doin' it right - night after night
Sunset people, night after night - doin' it right
Sunset people, doin' it right - night after night
Sunset people, doin' it right - night after night
Holdin' on to the last breath of life
On sunset, on sunset

[Verse-2]
Smooth haired guys thumbing rides
Linin' up from side to side
On sunset, on sunset

In between pretty girls
Still sixteen but know the world
On sunset, on sunset

Foreign cars full of stars
Tinted glass to hide the scars
From sunset, from sunset

Billboard signs on the strip
Glamorize the latest hits
On sunset, on sunset

[Chorus]

[Pre-Chorus]
Friday night the weekend crowd
Moves on in to get on down
On sunset, on sunset

Life is hot life is fast
People try to make it last
On sunset, on sunset

[Outro]
Sunset people, doin' it right - night after night
Sunset people, night after night - doin' it right
Sunset people, doin' it right - night after night
Sunset people, night after night - doin' it right
Sunset people, doin' it right - night after night

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

Bad Girls (1979)
On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II (1979)
Bad Girls (Deluxe Edition) (2003)

Donna Summer popular songs

Sunset PeopleDonna Summer

Donna Summer

On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II