Donna Summer

Songwriter: Ringo Starr

"Back off, boogaloo", I said
Back off, boogaloo, come on
Back off, boogaloo, boo

"Back off, boogaloo", I said
Back off, boogaloo, come on
Back off, boogaloo, boo

Back off, boogaloo
What 'you think you're gonna do
I got a flash right from the start

Wake up, meat head
Don't pretend that you are dead
Get yourself right off the cart

Get yourself together now
And give me something tasty
Everything you try to do
You know it sure sounds wasted

"Back off, boogaloo", I said
Back off, boogaloo, you think you're a groove
Standing there in your wallpapers shoes
And your socks that match your eyes

Get yourself together now
And give me something tasty
Everything you try to do
You know it sure sounds wasted

Back off, boogaloo
What 'you think you're gonna do
I got a flash right from the start

"Back off, boogaloo", I said
Back off, boogaloo, come on
Back off, boogaloo, boo

Back off, boogaloo, come on
"Back off, boogaloo", I said
Back off, boogaloo, boo
Nice time around

"Back off, boogaloo", I said
Back off, boogaloo, come on
Back off, boogaloo, boo

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

Summernight

From the album

Summernight (1984)

Donna Summer popular songs

Back Off BoogalooDonna Summer

Donna Summer

Summernight