Donna Summer’s 10 greatest songs, ranked

1 August 2024, 15:20

Donna Summer = 'Queen of Disco'. Picture: Getty

By Thomas Curtis-Horsfall

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She was dubbed the 'Queen of Disco' for good reason.

But before Donna Summer burst into the international charts throughout the era of disco, she'd been pursuing a music career for some years beforehand.

Living in numerous European cities like Munich and Vienna after settling sail from her native Boston, Massachusetts, Summer carved a path acting and singing in musicals.

It was her meeting with synth-pioneer Giorgio Moroder, however, which propelled the songstress toward the glittering discotheque dance floors.

She subsequently evolved into one of the most influential figures of the decade, her uncompromising blend of outright hedonism, sensuality, beauty and talent empowering women worldwide.

Sadly, Donna died in 2012, though her music lives on and sounds as vibrant as ever - there's seldom been a night out when Summer's music hasn't urged people to dance.

That said, we've ranked the ten very best of Donna Summer's songs from top to bottom. Here goes:

'This Time I Know It’s For Real'

Donna Summer - This Time I Know It's For Real (Official Music Video)

At the turn of the eighties, disco music went seriously out of fashion, so Donna Summer pivoted towards sassy synth-pop.
As the decade went on however, she jumped on the Stock Aitken Waterman trend - responsible for pop classics for Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley and more - whose sound was dominating the charts.
'This Time I Know It's For Real' proved to be an inspired decision, offering Summer a brief chart comeback in 1989 as the single reached number three in the UK and number seven in the US, though it'd be her final ever charting hit.
'State Of Independence'

Donna Summer "State of Independence"

'State Of Independence', a song originally recorded by Yes frontman Jon Anderson and new age visionary Vangelis, was certainly a curveball for Donna Summer to cover.
But miraculously it worked, despite the aforementioned artist's bewildering lyrics.
Helmed by producer extraordinaire Quincy Jones, he invited his famous friends in Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Loggins and Stevie Wonder to chip in with the choir-like recording, with Jones claiming this experience gave him the inspiration for collaborative charity effort 'We Are The World' three years later.
'On The Radio'

Donna Summer - On The Radio {VJ’s Edit} [Remastered]

Donna Summer wrote 'On The Radio' for Adrian Lyne's teen drama Foxes which starred Jodie Foster, and used the character's story for inspiration having been suffering from a bout of writer's block.
In a 2013 interview with NPR, Summer revealed: "I knew who the person was. I knew who the person was in the song, I knew who she needed to be, I knew what she was going through, I knew what had to be said. And so as soon as I got all of the personal information on the character, I was able to go into the studio, stand on the microphone and sign the song pretty much verbatim, the way you hear it."
A huge hit for Donna, 'On The Radio' was the final of her eight top five hits in the US charts.
'No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)' with Barbra Streisand

Donna Summer - No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (Duet With Barbra Streisand)

Penned by songwriter Paul Jabara, 'No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)' saw Donna Summer join forces with Barbra Streisand for the dizzying duet which featured on the latter's 1979 album, Wet.
However, according to Jabara, it was hot and heated in the studio as the pair were intimidated by one another, jostling for superiority over the microphone.
"There was Streisand, hands flaring, and Donna, throwing her head back - and they're both belting, sparking each other," Jabara told Us. "It was a songwriter's dream. Seeing them on their stools opposite each other was so mind-boggling, my head nearly turned 360 degrees, like Linda Blair's did in The Exorcist."
The end result turned out to be pretty dreamy for Summer and Streisand, as the song topped the US charts on 24th November 1979, the first duet between two female singers to do so.
'Last Dance'

Donna Summer - Last Dance (from VH1 Presents Live & More Encore!)

Summer and Jabara worked together a year before the Barbra Streisand collaboration, on 'Last Dance' which was the theme song to 1978 discotheque-orientated movie Thank God It's Friday.
She even performed in the film, as an aspiring club singer desperate for a shot, so sings 'Last Dance' knowing it's her chance to snatch the spotlight.
Though the film didn't fare quite as well as its main source of inspiration in Saturday Night Fever, Summer didn't fare too badly from the association.
In fact, 'Last Dance' reached number three in the US charts and even bagged Donna an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
'She Works Hard For The Money'

Donna Summer - She Works Hard For The Money

'She Works Hard For The Money' came to Donna Summer after a real-life experience after the Grammy Awards in 1983.
At the after-party, she came across an attendant called Onetta Johnson who was sleeping on the job having already spent an entire day working another job to pay the bills. Thinking "she works hard for her money", Summer scribbled the lyrics down on some loo roll and completed the song in twenty minutes.
Donna performed the song at the Grammy Awards ceremony the following year after it reached number three in the US charts.
She even gave Onetta her due, featuring the attendant on the reverse of the 1983 album sleeve which took the same name as the single.
'Bad Girls'

REMASTERED 4K 60FPS | Donna Summer - "Bad Girls" LIVE (1980)

Donna Summer wrote 'Bad Girls' after her secretary was accosted by the police after walking through Sunset Boulevard, believing she was a prostitute.
Written in 1977, Casablanca Records believed the song's rock music-leaning seedy subject matter would've been better suited to the likes of Cher or Labelle, so she held in back, irked by the label's decision to overlook it.
Oh, how wrong they were - 'Bad Girls' eventually became Donna's biggest hit, staying at number one on the US charts and earning her the rightful title of the 'Queen of Disco'.
Fun fact: Harold Faltermeyer, the man behind the Eddie Murphy-starring Beverly Hills Cop theme 'Axel F' is credited with arrangements on Summer's album, Bad Girls, after Moroder went missing for some sessions.
'Love To Love You Baby'

Donna Summer - Love To Love You Baby • TopPop

Phwoarr, it's a raunchy one, and 'Love To Love You Baby' certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons when Donna Summer arrived on the music scene in 1975.
Summer - who was rumoured to have recorded the orgasmic moans and groans whilst performing an actual sex act in the studio - shed her previous folk-pop image, and her strict Christian upbringing whilst recording the now-classic.
"I let go long enough to show all the things I've been told since childhood to keep secret. I took on this character and eventually, it just fitted me," she later told the Telegraph magazine.
Naturally, conservatives fought to get the song banned in the UK after it reached number four in the charts, whilst it peaked at number two in the US and established Donna Summer as a disco diva in the making.
'Hot Stuff'

Donna Summer - Hot Stuff (The American Music Awards, 1982)

It's a song synonymous with the famous scene in 1997 comedy movie The Full Monty when all of the characters are inspired to strip off after hearing 'Hot Stuff', thrusting their hips in the Post Office queue.
But 'Hot Stuff' was a major hit long before it soundtracked the male stripper troupe.
Featuring on her 1979 album, Bad Girls, 'Hot Stuff' bagged Donna Summer a number one hit in the US as well as a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance the following year.
Despite not being particularly unruly in her private life, Donna could play the role of mischief-maker and sultry vixen with aplomb, proved here with 'Hot Stuff' which proclaims her desire to make things happen with the next man she sets her eyes on.
'I Feel Love'

Donna Summer - I Feel Love (VJ's Edit) [Remastered]

Without doubt, 'I Feel Love' is the greatest song Donna Summer ever committed to tape.
It's certainly the most influential, and in most circles is believed to be the genesis of electronic dance music as we know it.
Club nights wouldn't be the same, perhaps even exist, if it wasn't for Donna and Giorgio Moroder's miraculous, magical ode to the intoxicated levels of emotion you can find in the throes of the dance-floor.
Moroder's landmark musicianship on the song was crafted entirely using the Moog synthesiser, which would popularise the instrument beyond progressive, exclusively thought-provoking music.
Weirdly enough, it was watching the Cantina scene in Star Wars which inspired Moroder to explore what was possible with the Moog:
"I didn't think it sounded like the music of the future - it looked like it, but didn't sound like it. So I thought the only way to do it is to do it with computers - only computers."
That was certainly what Brian Eno thought, telling David Bowie: "I've heard the sound of the future."
Whilst 'I Feel Love' only peaked at number six in the US charts, it became a number one smash in the UK, cemented Donna Summer's status as a music icon and one that would influence music even today.