TNB Night Owl – Donna Summer

A couple of weeks ago, someone noticed that Donna Summer was left out of the Ladies’ Night Night Owl, and I’m here to tell you that was intentional. All the artists included on that playlist, with the exception of Diana Ross, only had one or two major hits in their careers. Diana Ross was included only because that particular tune went perfectly with the tracks around it, like the perfect wine to go with a classy dinner. Donna Summer was left out for the simple, straightforward reason that she had dozens of #1 hits in her career, and deserves her own spotlight (Diana Ross certainly does too).

Donna’s fame took off in 1975 with Love to Love You Baby. Prior to that, she performed for several years in the German production of Hair, singing the German version of Aquarius (“Wassermann”) under her married name, Donna Gaines. She changed her surname to Summer in 1974, after her divorce.

This list only includes songs that made it into the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It does not include the dozens of other hits (most of which were #1) on the Dance Club Songs chart, otherwise we’d be here all night and the next two nights as well – the lady had a lot of hits. There’s a reason she was called the Queen of Disco and sold something like 140 million records worldwide, making her one of the most popular recording artists of all time.

1975
Love to Love You Baby (4:16) #2

1977
I Feel Love (5:56) #6

1978
Last Dance (3:20) #3

1978
MacArthur Park (3:57) #1

1978
Heaven Knows (3:31) #4
(with Brooklyn Dreams)

1979
Hot Stuff (5:15) #1

1979
Bad Girls (4:56) #1

1979
Dim All the Lights (4:42) #2

1979
No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (4:49) #1
(with Barbra Streisand)

1979
On the Radio (4:05) #5

1980
The Wanderer (3:48) #3

1982
Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger) (3:44) #10

1983
She Works Hard For The Money (5:21) #3

1989
This Time I Know It’s for Real (3:39) #7

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About Richard Doud 622 Articles
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