Donna Summer albums discography

Donna Summer discography
Studio albums 17
Live albums 2
Compilation albums 32

The discography of American singer and songwriter Donna Summer features seventeen studio albums recorded between 1974 and 2008, two live albums and a large amount of compilation albums and guest appearances.

Studio albums

Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Record label
US
[1]
US R&B
[1]
AUS
[2]
CAN
[3]
GER
[4]
NL
[5]
NOR
[6]
NZ
[7]
SWE
[8]
UK
[9]
1974 Lady of the Night [A] Groovy
1975 Love to Love You Baby 11 6 7 16 23 9 7 16 Casablanca [B][C][D]
1976 A Love Trilogy 21 16 32 6 24 14 18 41
Four Seasons of Love 29 13 16 31 40
1977 I Remember Yesterday 18 11 4 15 7 6 5 12 13 3
Once Upon a Time... 26 13 44 27 9 24
1979 Bad Girls 1 1 6 1 7 24 3 3 3 23
1980 The Wanderer 13 12 18 54 18 16 15 55 Geffen
1981 I'm a Rainbow[E] Mercury[F]
1982 Donna Summer 20 6 45 32 37 4 3 2 13 Geffen[G]
1983 She Works Hard for the Money 9 5 21 23 14 9 12 47 8 28 Mercury
1984 Cats Without Claws 40 24 91 84 39 19 15 10 69 Geffen[G]
1987 All Systems Go 122 53 72 27
1989 Another Place and Time 53 71 95 60 49 29 16 17 Atlantic[G]
1991 Mistaken Identity 97
1994 Christmas Spirit[H] Mercury
2008 Crayons 17 5 73 142 Burgundy

Live albums

Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications Record label
US
[1]
US R&B
[1]
AUS
[2]
CAN
[3]
GER
[4]
NL
[5]
NZ
[7]
UK
[9]
1978 Live and More 1 4 27 2 25 4 16 Casablanca [I]
1999 Live & More Encore 43 33 75
  • ESP: Platinum
Epic

Compilations

Main compilations

These compilation albums were issued by the record labels to which Summer was signed at the time of their releases. She had full involvement in the putting together of them and recorded new material for them.

Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
Record label
US
[1]
US R&B
[1]
AUS
[2]
CAN
[3]
GER
[4]
NL
[5]
NOR
[6]
NZ
[7]
SWE
[8]
UK
[9]
1979 On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II [J] 1 4 16 10 42 40 39 2 29 24 Casablanca [J]
1994 Endless Summer: Greatest Hits 90 75 10 37 Mercury
2003 The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer 88 65 64 57 27 6 UTV

Other official compilations

These compilation albums were also issued by the record labels to which Summer was signed (or had recently left) at the time of their releases. However, some of them were only released in certain countries (particularly if a certain label was used to distribute Summer's work exclusively in that country/those countries) and none contained any new material from Summer (although The Donna Summer Anthology featured two tracks from the then unreleased 1981 I'm A Rainbow album).

Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
Record label
US
[1]
US R&B
[1]
AUS
[2]
CAN
[3]
GER
[4]
NL
[5]
NOR
[6]
NZ
[7]
SWE
[8]
UK
[9]
1977 Greatest Hits [K] Groovy/Atlantic
The Greatest Hits of Donna Summer [L] 4 GTO
1978 Lo Mejor De Donna Summer Volume 1 [M] Casablanca
Lo Mejor De Donna Summer Volume 2 [M]
1980 Walk Away - Collector's Edition: The Best of 1977-1980 50 54
1985 The Summer Collection: Greatest Hits Mercury
1987 The Dance Collection: A Compilation of Twelve Inch Singles Casablanca
1990 The Best of Donna Summer [N] 76 44 24 Warner Bros.
1993 The Donna Summer Anthology Mercury
2016 The Ultimate Collection [O] 30

Miscellaneous compilations

  • Star Collection (1977, Warner Music Group, Germany)
  • Star Gold (1977, Global, Germany)
  • 12"ers (1990, Japan)
  • The Complete Hits Collection (4-CD box set) (1991, Mercury, Japan)
  • Donna Summer Best (1991, Japan)
  • The Dance Collection (1991, Phonogram, France)
  • This Time I Know It's For Real (1993, Warner Music Group, Europe)
  • Donna Summer Retrospective (box set of back-to-back 12" singles) (1994, PolyGram, USA)
  • The Complete Donna Summer (1994, Razor & Tie, USA)
  • Master Series (1997, Mercury, Europe)
  • Greatest Hits (1998, Polygram, USA [charted at #194])
  • Millennium Edition (1999, Europe)
  • Greatest Hits (2001, France)
  • The Best Of/Millennium Collection (2003, Mercury, USA)
  • The Ultimate Collection (2003)
  • Gold (2005, Universal, USA)
  • Chronicles (box set of first three international original albums) (2005, Universal, USA)
  • The Best Of/Millennium Collection, Volume 2 (2006, USA)
  • ICON (2013, USA)
  • Playlist: The Very Best Of Donna Summer (2013, USA)
  • I Feel Love: The Collection (2013, Europe)

Remix albums

Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
Record label
US
[1]
US R&B
[1]
AUS
[2]
CAN
[3]
GER
[4]
NL
[5]
NOR
[6]
NZ
[7]
SWE
[8]
UK
[9]
2013 Love to Love You Donna 97 Verve

Film soundtracks

Song(s) featured Year Album Label Note(s)
"Theme from The Deep (Down, Deep Inside)" 1977 Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack "The Deep"[14] Casablanca The soundtrack, composed by John Barry, features two versions of the same track, the "main" version of which became a hit single for Summer.
"Theme from The Deep (Down, Deep Inside) (A Love Song)"
"With Your Love" 1978 Thank God It's Friday (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)[14] Casablanca Summer, who also appeared in the film, is credited as the performer of three songs for the soundtrack (plus a reprise of "Last Dance") and also wrote and sang background vocals on the song "Take It to the Zoo", performed by Sunshine, a group composed of her sisters. When released as a single, "Last Dance" would become one of the biggest hits of Summer's career and one of her signature songs.
"Last Dance"
"Take It to the Zoo"
"Last Dance (Reprise)"
"Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus"
"On the Radio" 1980 Foxes (Music from the Original Motion Picture)[15] Casablanca Soundtrack album by various artists with music written and produced by Giorgio Moroder (although different lyricists were used, Summer herself being credited with the lyrics on this track). The song previously appears on Summer's 1979 compilation album On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2 in both its full length and edited versions (with the track being credited as "written and recorded for the motion picture 'Foxes'"). The edited version was released as a 7" single in late 1979 and a 12" single with a longer instrumental part and the omission of the final verse (replacing it with a repeat of the second verse) was also available. It is in fact the 12" version featured on this soundtrack, which also features an instrumental of "On the Radio" credited to Moroder alone. "On the Radio" became a Top 5 hit for Summer.
"Highway Runner" 1982 Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Music from the Motion Picture)[15] Full Moon [P] Track from Summer's shelved 1981 album I'm a Rainbow that made its first appearance on this soundtrack album the following year.
"Romeo" 1983 Flashdance (Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture)[15] Casablanca Track from Summer's shelved 1981 album I'm a Rainbow that made its first appearance on this award-winning soundtrack album two years later.
"Let It Be Me" 1996 Ordinary Miracle[16] N/A While no soundtrack for the film Ordinary Miracle has been released, this song (produced by Narada Michael Walden) can be heard playing over the end credits.
"Whenever There Is Love" 1996 Daylight (Music from the Motion Picture)[16] Universal Soundtrack to a Sylvester Stallone film. The song, a duet with longtime collaborator Bruce Roberts was released as a single and also in a dance remix. A French version entitled "Tant Qu'il Y Aura L'Amour" was also issued and a Spanish version features on the Spanish DVD of the film.
"Dreamcatcher" 2000 Naturally Native (Original Soundtrack Recording)[17] Silver Wave Film soundtrack featuring one song by Summer.
"The Power of One" 2000 Pokemon 2: The Power of One (Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture)[17] Atlantic Film soundtrack featuring one song by Summer, also released as a single.

Cast recordings

Song(s) featured Year Album Note(s)
"Wassermann" 1968 Haare (Deutsche Originalaufnahme)[14] The original German cast recording of the musical "Hair." Donna Gaines is credited as a joint lead vocalist on some songs ("Wassermann"/"Luft"/"White Boys"/"Schweben Im Raum"/"Finale") and sings as part of the ensemble on the others listed. "Wassermann" was also released as a single in Germany, making it her first single release.
"Donna"
"Manchester"
"Ich Bin Ein Farbiger"
"Ich Hab Kein..."
"Luft"
"Ich Bin Reich"
"Bergab"
"Haar"
"Hare Krishna"
"Wo Geh' Ich Hin"
"White Boys"
"Schweben Im Raum"
"3500"
"Die Letzten Sterne"
"Finale"
"Light Sings" 1971 The Me Nobody Knows (Original German cast recording)[14] The English-language version of "The Me Nobody Knows" sung by the German cast. For reasons unknown, Summer is credited as "Gayn Pierre." Her main song as a lead vocalist is "How I Feel," but she can also be heard on other tracks.
"This World"
"How I Feel"
"If I Had a Million Dollars"
"Sounds (Reprise)"
"Fugue"
"Sounds"
"Black"
"Let Me Come In"
"Licht singt" 1971 Ich Bin Ich (Original German cast recording)[14] The German-language version of "The Me Nobody Knows" sung by the German cast. The German version of "How I Feel" however is sung by a different person, although "Gayn Pierre" is still credited on several tracks.
"Die Welt"
"Hätt ich eine Million Dollars"
"Schall"
"Fuge"
"Schwarz"
"Schall (Reprise)"
"Laß mich herein"
"Bereitet den Weg" 1971 Godspell (Original German cast recording)[14] The original German cast recording of the musical "Godspell." The original LP credits "Gayn Pierre" and the CD credits "Donna Summer." Although she is only credited on two tracks ("Oh, segne Gott mein' Seel" and "Du bist das Licht der Welt"), she can be heard in the background on many of the other tracks.
"Gott, hilf den Menschen"
"Tag für Tag "
"Lernt eure Lektion"
"Oh, segne Gott mein' Seel"
"Dann hat sich's gelohnt"
"Gut und schön"
"Di bist das Licht der Welt"
"Kehr um, oh Mensch"
"Geschieht euch recht, was kommt"
"Warum mußt du gehen?"
"Wir beschwör'n dich"
"Auf den Weiden"
"Finale"
"Lang' leb' Gott"
"Tag für Tag"
"Elizabeth Recitative" 2000 Child of the Promise (A Musical Story Celebrating the Birth of Christ)[15] A concept album written by Christian writers Michael and Stormie Omartian telling the story of the Nativity of Jesus through music, on which Summer sings the part of Elizabeth.
"When the Dream Never Dies"
"Mary and Elizabeth Recitative"
"I Cannot Be Silent"

Guest appearances

Title Year Album Artist(s) Note(s)
"The Family" 1976 Trouble Maker (entitled The Trouble Maker in Europe)[14] Roberta Kelly Album largely written and produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. Summer's background vocals feature on one track.
"Happiness in the World" 1976 Winterference[14] Tom Winter Summer features as a backing vocalist on one track.
"Shut Out/Heaven Is a Disco" 1977 Shut Out[14] Paul Jabara Summer features as a guest vocalist on one track. "Shut Out" was also released as a single.
"Old Fashioned Girl" 1977 Brooklyn Dreams[14] Brooklyn Dreams Summer features as a backing vocalist on one track. She would continue to work with the Brooklyn Dreams for several years. They sang backing vocals on several of her songs (lead singer Joe "Bean" Esposito also shared lead vocals with her on some, most notably the top five hit "Heaven Knows") and wrote numerous songs with her (including the number one hit "Bad Girls"). Summer would later marry group member Bruce Sudano and continue to write with him for many years.
"Burning Up With Fever" 1978 Gene Simmons[14] Gene Simmons Summer sings background vocals on two tracks.
"Tunnel of Love"
"Mimi's Song" 1979 The Music for UNICEF: A Gift of Song[14] Various Artists Features Summer's spoken introduction to her performance at the UNICEF benefit concert. While she performed the song live at the concert, the version used on the album is in fact from the Live and More album the previous year, which was recorded live at the Universal Amphitheater.
"Heaven Knows" 1979 Sleepless Nights[14] Brooklyn Dreams "Heaven Knows" originally featured on Summer's Live and More album the previous year, with Brooklyn Dreams member Joe Esposito sharing the lead vocals (performing the "echo" parts on the verses), and became a Top 5 hit single. This version on the Brooklyn Dreams's album is a re-recorded version with Summer and Esposito's vocal parts being swapped around.
"Foggy Day"/"Never Lose Your Sense of Humor" 1979 The Third Album[14] Paul Jabara Medley of two songs, "Never Lose Your Sense of Humor" being a duet with Summer. The track was also released as a single.
"Too Much for the Lady" 1979 Joy Ride[14] Brooklyn Dreams Features spoken vocals by Summer.
"No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" 1979 Wet[14] Barbra Streisand The original, full length version of the later Number 1 hit single. A longer version, remixed by Harold Faltermeyer, appears on Summer's compilation album On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2. Edits of both album versions appear on 7" singles issued by Columbia Records (edit of Wet version) and Casablanca Records (edit of On the Radio version), Streisand and Summer's respective record labels. The extended On the Radio version was issued as a 12" single by both labels, making Wet the only release to contain the original version.
"A Lover in the Night" 1980 Won't Let Go[15] Brooklyn Dreams Summer sings background vocals on two tracks.
"I Won't Let Go"
"Pretenders" 1981 Fugitive Kind[15] Bruce Sudano Summer provides background vocals for five tracks on husband and former Brooklyn Dreams member Bruce Sudano's album and is credited as Donna Sudano.
"A Girl Like You"
"True Love"
"Modern Age"
"Talk to Me"
"Walk Hand in Hand" 1982 Disco Round 2[15] Various Artists Previously unreleased track that features on this compilation album released in Germany.
"Incommunicado" 1983 Different Style![15] Musical Youth Summer provides guest vocals on the British group's song that was co-written by Bruce Sudano, after they provided guest singles on her hit single "Unconditional Love" in the same year.
"This Girl's Back in Town" 1986 De La Noche: The True Story – A Poperetta[15] Paul Jabara Summer's final appearance on an original Paul Jabara album.
"Something's Missing" 1989 Greatest Hits... and Misses[15] Paul Jabara A track originally released as a Jabara solo track on his Keeping Time album in 1978. The duet version with Summer remained unreleased until this compilation album eleven years later.
"Carry On" 1992 Forever Dancing[16] Giorgio Moroder The first collaboration between Summer and Moroder for 11 years. The song was released as a single in Germany and, some years later, in a remixed form in other countries, winning the Grammy award for Best Dance Recording in 1998.
"La Vie En Rose" 1993 Tribute to Edith Piaf[16] Various Artist An album of various artists covering songs made famous by Edith Piaf. Summer's version of "La Vie En Rose" was released as a single in France and a promotional single in the United States.
"She Works Hard for the Money" 1994 Grammys Greatest Moments Volume 1[16] Various Artists Live performance of Summer's hit from the 26th Annual Grammy Awards in 1984.
"Does He Love You" 1996 Gently[16] Liza Minnelli A duet cover of the 1993 song originally by Reba McEntire and Linda Davis.
"From a Distance" 1996 One Voice[16] Various Artists An album produced by Summer's long-term collaborator Michael Omartian featuring a cover of the popular song with lead vocals by Summer, Nanci Griffith and Raul Malo.
"Someday" 1996 Mouse House: Disney's Dance Mixes[16] Various Artists Compilation of dance versions of various songs from Disney films. "Someday" was originally featured in The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1996 and performed by Heidi Mollenhauer.
"Black Power" 1998 Moonflowers & Mini-Skirts[14] Peter Thomas Compilation of tracks recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Summer's song is taken from a German television show called 11 Uhr 20, in which she had a cameo as a nightclub diva.
"My Prayer for You" 1999 Sing Me to Sleep, Mommy[16] Various Artists Compilation of original ballads and lullabies featuring one song by Summer.
"When I Look Up" 2000 Vertical[17] Darwin Hobbs Duet with the American gospel singer.
"Rosie Christmas" 2000 Another Rosie Christmas[17] Rosie O'Donnell/Various Artists Christmas album by American comedian Rosie O'Donnell featuring one track by Summer, produced by Ric Wake.
"Take Heart" 2000 The Mercy Project[17] Various Artists Gospel album released on the Christian Word label. Features one song by Summer.
"Someone to Watch Over Me" (Video Version) 2001 Keeping the Dream Alive: Race to Erase MS[17] Various Artists Charity album to raise money for/awareness of multiple sclerosis. This live recording of the Gershwin standard is actually from Summer's 1999 VH-1 special Live & More Encore but was not included on the accompanying album. The other songs performed on the special/video but not released on the album would remain unreleased on CD until 2013 on a compilation entitled Playlist: The Very Best of Donna Summer.
"Power of Love" 2005 So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross[17] Various Artists Tribute to the late Luther Vandross by various artists covering his songs. Summer's version of "Power Of Love" was also released as a maxi-single.
"Are You Brave?" 2005 Songs from the Neighborhood - The Music of Mister Rogers[17] Various Artists Tribute album to the late children's television host Fred Rogers by various artists performing songs used in his popular programme Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Summer performs "Are You Brave?" and is featured in the ensemble of "Thank You For Being You".
"Thank You For Being You"
"MacArthur Park" 2005 Night of the Proms[17] Various Artists Soundtrack of the Belgian concert on which Summer performs two of her hits live. "State of Independence" also features vocals by Jenny Berggren of Ace of Base.
"State of Independence"
"A Whole New World" 2007 At the Movies[17] Dave Koz Summer provides guest vocals for saxophone player Dave Koz on a cover of the song from Disney's Aladdin.

Label associations

Summer's debut album, Lady of the Night was released only in the Netherlands by Groovy Records. This was followed by her first international release, Love to Love You Baby, issued by Giorgio Moroder's Oasis Records in association with Casablanca Records in the United States and Canada. (At this time Summer would again become based in the United States, having lived in Germany for several years previously.) While Casablanca would become the main label responsible for managing Summer, Groovy continued to distribute her work in the Netherlands and other labels were used to distribute her work in other countries, such as GTO in the United Kingdom, Atlantic in Germany and France, Polar in Sweden and Durium in Italy.

From 1977's Once Upon a Time... album, Casablanca would take over the distribution of Summer's albums in most countries (though her releases in the Netherlands would be issued by Philips and [until 1978 and 1979 respectively] would continue to be issued by Atlantic in Germany and France). As a result, some of her former labels released hits compilation albums in an attempt to cash in on losing her: GTO even scored a Top 5 placing in the United Kingdom with The Greatest Hits of Donna Summer. Summer remained with Casablanca, who helped make her one of the biggest stars in music and "The Queen of Disco" until the end of 1979, when she left due to personal and professional disputes with them and filed a lawsuit against them.

Summer became the first ever artist to be signed to David Geffen's Geffen Records in 1980 and, after refusing to release her second album recorded for them (in 1981), requested that she no longer worked with long-term collaborator Giorgio Moroder, who had produced and co-written the vast majority of her hits in the previous decade. From the following album, (issued in 1982), her Geffen work outside North America would be distributed by Warner Bros. Records, the umbrella company to Geffen.

By 1983, Casablanca had been bought out by PolyGram Records, who informed Summer that she still owed them an album as per her legal settlement with Casablanca. Geffen reportedly refused to release much of her material in the remainder of the decade and, after they refused to release her album Another Place and Time in 1988, Summer left the label. However, Warner Bros. released the record in Europe the following year where it became a success, resulting in Summer being signed to their Atlantic label in North America. She remained signed to Atlantic and Warner Bros. until the early 1990s.

Summer again signed to PolyGram's Mercury label, who released two hits compilation albums, her 1994 Christmas album and the previously unreleased second Geffen album from 1981. By the end of the decade, she was signed to Sony's Epic Records, who released a live album. Her final album, in 2008, was released by Sony's Burgundy Records.

Recording rights

In 1990, Geffen Records was sold to MCA Records, which was owned by alcoholic beverage-maker Seagram and in 1998, PolyGram and its imprints were purchased by Seagram, which merged the company with its MCA Records label and imprints to create the gigantic Universal Music Group. This had the result of Summer's MCA, Oasis, Casablanca, Geffen, and Mercury releases now being owned by one conglomerate, Universal Music. This catalogue of Summer's material stretches from 1971 to 1987 for Universal Music Group. Post 1987, the masters to her recordings released by Geffen/Warner Bros, Atlantic Records, Epic Records and Burgundy Records are part of her personal estate.

References

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