Donna Summer

Released: October 31, 1977

Songwriter: Donna Summer Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

Producer: Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

Say that you like me the way I am
Just take some time out to understand
It may not be much, but I do all I can
Say something nice

I'd never do it to one of you
I'd say something nice if it wasn't true
I'd make you feel better when you're feeling blue
I'd say something nice

Say something nice, only once or twice
Say something nice, only once or twice
Say something nice

I wanna hear that I'm beautiful
But you wouldn't say it even if I were
Wearing my diamonds and a coat of fur
You wouldn't say nothin' nice

Tell me you think that my hair's real nice
Don't stand around and just criticize
Can't you understand that when a person tries
You say something nice

And it's oh so hard, oh so hard
To listen to the words that you say
Oh, say something nice, just once or twice
It wouldn't hurt, don't you see

I wanna hear something nice, say something nice
Say something nice, just once or twice
It don't hurt you at all, say something nice

Say something nice baby, only once or twice
Say something nice
Say something nice baby, only once or twice
Say something nice

Hey don't you hear me, hey don't you hear me
Hey don't you hear me, hey don't you hear me

Say something nice

Say something nice

And it's oh so hard, and it's oh so hard
And I'm dying to hear what I've never heard (fade 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

Once Upon a Time

From the album

Once Upon a Time (1977)

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Say Something NiceDonna Summer

Donna Summer

Once Upon a Time