Donna Summer

Released: October 31, 1977

Songwriter: Donna Summer Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

Producer: Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

[Voice monologue over "Once Upon A Time" instrumental]

Once upon a time, there was a girl
She lived in the land of never-never
Where everything real is unreal
And only fairy tales come true
Something like me and you

But she believed that what she dreamed of could be real
So she strived on to make it come true
Fighting odds, not knowing what would come of her
Never giving up the hope within her

She carried on and on, because she believed
That once, once in a time in her lifetime
The things so unreal would be real

And in the morning, one day when she awoke
To find herself surrounded by the same old room
She was disappointed

So she dreamed and she dreamed
And she dreamed and she dreamed and she dreamed
And she said that fairy tales do come true
'Cause I believe, I believe

And she kept trying, and she kept right on fighting
Till one day she met a man who held her tight
And she fell in love

Once upon a time, in the land of never-never
Where all things real are unreal
There lived a girl who believed
That all things could be possible

And one day she did awake
And found herself somewhere else
Beside her a brand new face
Of someone that she loved

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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(Theme) Once Upon a TimeDonna Summer

Donna Summer

Once Upon a Time