Donna Summer

Released: October 31, 1977

Songwriter: Donna Summer Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

Producer: Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

Father dear, don't you hear me
I'm alone, and I can't sleep from crying
Father dear, well if you hear me
I've been held closely by a stranger

Sweet romance
The moment that my eyes first saw him
In a glance
I knew right from the start that I adored him
Sweet romance
I may never see the man again, so help me find him
So help me find him

Listen, if you find him
Won't you tell him just how much I love him
Father, I've only got you
Please, won't you make him love me too

Sweet romance
The moment that my eyes first saw him
In a glance
I knew right from the start that I adored him
Sweet romance
I may never see the man again, so help me find him
So help me find him

Oh, oh, oh
Sweet, sweet

Sweet romance
The moment that my eyes first saw him
In a glance
I knew right from the start that I adored him
Sweet romance
I may never see the man again, so help me find him
So help me find him

Father, hear me calling
You're the only one I can turn to
My life has been so empty
And he could fill my emptiness too

Sweet romance
The moment that my eyes first saw him
In a glance
I knew right from the start that I adored him
Sweet romance
I may never see the man again, so help me find him
Help me, help me

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)

Donna Summer popular songs

Sweet RomanceDonna Summer

Donna Summer

Once Upon a Time