Donna Summer

Released: October 20, 1980

Songwriter: Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

Producer: Giorgio Moroder Pete Bellotte

Debra waiting on the corner
Flaring smile and daring style
Big G cruising, neon flashing
Lost and found
Tinsel town
Daytime orphans join the circus
Climb the rope and walk the wire
To feel the night and music playing
Feed the fire
To feed the fire
Nightlife, only living for the nightlife
It's the only kind of nightlife
I only come alive for nightlife
Couples coasting, singles searching
Loners lost among the crowd
Action turning on reaction
Loosen up
Fool around
Pretzel vendor, first class spender
Limousine and ketchup dream
Pinball hall and roulette roller
Every scene
For everything
Nightlife, only living for the nightlife
It's the only kind of nightlife
I only come alive for nightlife

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

The Wanderer

From the album

The Wanderer (1980)

Donna Summer popular songs

NightlifeDonna Summer

Donna Summer

The Wanderer