45 years ago today, Donna Summer released the ground-breaking double album "Bad Girls"

Toot toot, hey, beep beep!

I love this album and have bought it multiple times in many formats and reissues.

Suck suck hey fuck fuck

I pisses me off that Corpse says “Donna Summers”. It’s DONNA SUMMER, fool!

A forgotten album, but it was excellent.

Sunset People just ooozed cocaine and poppers.

Forgotten by YOU r5. Not by me and many many others.

R5 is probably Corpse stewing in dementia

If it wasn't for Donna Summer, we wouldn't have Madonna, Janet, Beyonce, Rhianna, etc.

R9 that isn’t a good argument as Madonna is stale, Janet causes people to stay home, Beyoncé is a glory hog and Rihanna looks like Wil Smith.

Too bad she was such a hateful cunt.

The last GREAT thing she ever did. Hot Stuff is one of my favorite album openers of all time. Just slams the doors down!

My first year of college and playing at all the frat parties.

It still sounds fantastic.

One of the things about all Donna's 70s albums with Giorgio Moroder is that the album tracks are as good as the singles. Not a single dud song on any of those albums.

I wouldn't say every track but much better than the average

One Night In A Lifetime and My Baby Understands are great.

I just love the whole sleazy yet glamorous at the same time vibe of the album. Kind of what the disco era was all about - sleaze and glamour coexisting.

It’s too bad she didn’t do a Bad Girls album tour in the 2000’s to commence the anniversary years of the album. She had some sparks of great moments in the 80s but Bad Girls was her last great album.

I know Bruce Sudano gets blamed for her career decline but watching the documentary her daughter made he didn’t seem as involved as was thought.

Her collaborators (Moroder, Faltmeyer and Forsey) all sailed easily into the first half of the 80s musically.

Donna made a big mistake when she had a falling out with Moroder. She had some good songs in the 80s, but her 70s catalog is unparalleld. They were magic together.

Side 4 is PERFECT

By all accounts, Summer didn't have a falling out with Moroder - Geffen did. He fired Moroder after they delivered "I'm A Rainbow" in 1981, and replaced him with Quincy Jones ( "Donna Summer", 1982).

Moroder got irritated with Donna after she got all Jesusy.

[quote]For two years before she died (in 2012, from lung cancer), Donna Summer lived here, too, a couple of floors down. She and Moroder had grown apart after she’d switched labels. “David Geffen pushed her to make music that wasn’t right for her. It was a big mistake in my opinion,” says Moroder, who produced two slightly commercially disappointing Geffen albums for Summer before Quincy Jones took control on 1982’s Donna Summer.

[quote]Divergent personal beliefs turned that professional fissure into a fault. “Donna became quite religious,” says Moroder, as he strides past a wall of gold and platinum records. “She made me record a dance song about Jesus, dear God. And she really did not like gays — her attitude was sometimes difficult in the ’80s.” (Summer has denied ever making anti-gay statements.) “We were never ‘estranged,’ but for a long time we did not have the relationship we once did.”

Her last good album. Her career took a nosedive and she lost her place in the industry shortly thereafter. Madonna made her debut in 1983 and the public was like, "Donna, who?"

I miss her so badly.

Donna Summer at the Hollywood Bowl was my first concert. Bad Girls was at the top of the charts, the stadium was packed, and she hit every note perfectly. All the gay boys held up their candles and lit Bics through Dim All The Lights. It felt like we were all floating away into the night.

R25 Strange that this concert took place on July 2, 1979 and she included "No More Tears" in the set list, when the song wasn't even written yet, never mind recorded.

Was Donna or Diana Ross a bigger pop star during the 1970s?

I don't remember her singing it, R26, but since Streisand recorded it that same summer for Wet, it must have been already written?

I'd say Diana in the early 70s and the Donna in the mid-to-late 70s.

When Ross struck out on her own, Gordy was pushing her as 'the ebony Streisand'. He was giving her pop songs to record (some the same as Streisand and The Carpenters), and pushing her movie career. She had some success with that.

When Summer entered the music scene in 1975 with her big disco hit 'Love to Love You', Gordy changed gears with Ross, and tried to make her a disco star ('Love Hangover') and go after Summer's success.

Summer eclipsed Ross in the late 70s, but Ross came roaring back on top in 1980 with her album Diana.

R28 Paul Jabara wrote the song in the beginning of August, hoping his two favorite singers would record it. It took him a couple of days to bring Streisand and Summer together, and then they agreed to record it. He had to do some re-writes first (to fit into Barbra's "Wet" themed album). The two singers met in the studio for the first time on August 14, 1979 and it took until the end of August to get the final product (recording), after many recordings and edits. It was then released five weeks later (first week of October).

[quote] Summer eclipsed Ross in the late 70s, but Ross came roaring back on top in 1980 with her album Diana.

Donna Summer eclipsed EVERYONE in the late 70s. Her chart success was unprecedented. "Bad Girls" is monumental and still a start-to-finish classic.

Hardly ground-breaking.

She was r33. Very much so.

R33 You're really not familiar with the album, are you ? She was the first black female artist to fuse dance and rock in the same songs ('Hot Stuff', 'Bad Girls', etc) - something which Michael Jackson would copy and perfect on 'Thriller'. (He had credited Summer's 'Bad Girls' for inspiring him then). She is the first woman to win the 'Best Rock Vocal Female' at the Grammys (it was a new category for them back in 1980).

Donna Summer and Whitney Houston in 1986. I always found it extremely unsettling that Donna passed at age 63 and was born in 1948, Whitney passed at age 48 and was born in 1963 while they both passed in 2012. A little peculiar isn't it?

Sheesh I feel so old.

R36 also peculiar is an aversion to the verb DIE.

I thought it was rather peculiar that Dick Clark passed away a month before Summer. Clark was notorious for never letting anyone guest host AB in all the years he was on - except one person: Donna Summer. He first had her on in 1975, and took quite a liking to her. He had her on as often as he could and on the early years of 'New Year's Rockin' Eve' - and she accepted his invitations, knowing it was a great way to promote her singles. I believe it was in 1980 that he allowed her to 'guest host' AB, and she promoted her album 'The Wanderer'. They had developed a strong friendship since then.

Ahem.,...

R40 go back in the toilet

Loved it. I saw her perform years ago and it was one of the gayest concerts I've ever attended.

She made some incredible music.

Summer was pissed Neil Bogart released No More Tears while her own Dim All The Lights was still climbing the charts. The song peaked at number 2 and Donna thought it cost her a 3rd number one from the bad girls album which would’ve been a first for a female artist to have 3 number one hits on one album.

Wasn’t Barbra trying to win some cool mom points with Jason by working with Donna and The Bee Gees after he told her they were his favorite performers.

Here’s the bad girls demo.

Enormously talented and accomplished, but when she found God she became her own worst enemy.

True r45

R40 "diana" was Ross' best album as a solo singer, but not 'groundbreaking' by any means, nor does it come close to Summer's "Bad Girls".

R44 Not correct. Bogart had nothing to do with the release of the single.

The deal for "No More Tears" was that Columbia Records (Streisand's label) would release the 7" single to radio and retailers, while Casablanca (Summer's label) would release the 12" to retail and dance clubs. There was a deal that Columbia would hold off releasing the single for three weeks, to give Summer's "Dim All The Lights" a chance to hit #1 with no competition from herself. In return, Casablanca agreed not to release Summer's "Greatest Hits" album nor the 12" single until four weeks after Columbia released "Wet" from Streisand (which was the first week of October, 1979). This would give Streisand enough time to get to the top of the album's chart. Both labels had a gentleman's agreement, and both artists were happy with the agreement.

When Columbia released "Wet" in early October, they broke their agreement and went ahead releasing the 7" single on the same day. Bogart and Summer were furious (Streisand has always claimed she had no knowledge of their decision). Casablanca, in retaliation, released Summer's "Greatest Hits" and the 12" single within days of Streisand's album, rather than wait until November.

The 7" single, the 12" single and Summer's "Greatest Hits" album all landed at #1.

The only ones who lost out on this last minute decision was Summer not getting another solo #1 hit, and Streisand, when her album stalled at #6 as Summer's sailed past her and hit #1.

It’s a curious or perhaps a poor choice of words to use “stalled’ to describe a billboard hot 200 top 10 album. In this case #6.

It did stall at #6. Streisand and Columbia were hoping for a fourth #1 album to close out the 70s.

It peaked at #6

R49 they were being greedy. Greed often backfires.

R50, yes it peaked at #6 and didn't move up any further to the #1 position. It stalled at #6.

Barbra narrates the excerpt on recording No More Tears from her autobiography.

Barbra didn't go into any detail about the labels releasing the singles and the albums.

She worked hard for her money, so Hard for it honey.

[quote] [R40] "diana" was Ross' best album as a solo singer, but not 'groundbreaking' by any means, nor does it come close to Summer's "Bad Girls".

"diana" was groundbreaking in its own way. Written and produced by CHIC, it is the best realization of Ross as an artist. She was not a songwriter like Summer but she took those killer Chic grooves and nursery school lyrics and imbued them with Ross magic. Those songs would not have been hits for any other artist but they were molded and perfected by Ross' singular spirit and ebullience.

I don't appreciate being excised from the photo at r36. Donna Summer was a dear friend and Whitney was the daughter I never had. Neither would have had a career but for my groundbreaking, trailblazing achievements as the first commercially successful Black female pop artist in music history.

I just received the Kennedy Center Honors and that lesbian with the nose ring butchered "Alfie". Soon I will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and can only imagine the horror that awaits. I have outlived Aretha, Dusty, Tina, Etta, Olivia, Cilla, Karen, Natalie, Donna and my dear Nippy. I deserve respect. Give me my due respect!

Dionne also sang back-up for Donna Summer in 1982 as part of the 'All Star Choir' on 'State of Independence' (along with Michael Jackson and that great singer, Peggy Lipton).

Why, thank you, R58. Enjoy!

The Donna documentary said it was bogarts decision to put no more tears out while dim all the lights hadn’t peaked and it was the beginning of the end of her relationship with bogart/casablanca.

I still think she couldn’t been the female counterpart to Kenny Loggins in the 80s and been a film soundtrack queen.

r60 she turned down several offers for soundrack songs. She was the first one offered I've Had the Time Of My Life but she turned it down because she didn't like the title Dirty Dancing for the film. So stupid.

She hated gays. Now she’s dead. Next.

R60 That's strange because she told a completely different story in her 2003 memoir.

R57 Corpse says “Donna SUMMERS” out of selfish ignorance.

R62 is ignorant

R56 create your own Diane Stan shrine thread

I WAS that Bad Girl.

R60 Perhaps she lied? She was a troubled woman, a hate filled christian, she is burning in whatever hell she believed in.

The guy who wrote Its Raining Men sent the demo to Donna hoping she would record it. She sent it straight back to him with a copy of the bible.

R69 that was when she became a born again Christian. She tried to move away from trashy slut lyrics in the 80s

R69 That's bull. He sent the song to both Donna and Barbra to record another duet for their albums, and she wasn't comfortable with the word "Allelujah" in the lyrics, and asked him to drop the word and replace it with something else. He didn't want to change the lyrics (even though he changed the lyrics to 'Enough is Enough' for Streisand), so she passed. She never sent him a Bible.

He then presented the song to Diana Ross, as a duet with Streisand, but Berry Gordy wouldn't allow her to do it unless Motown released all the versions of the single (the 7" and the 12"). Columbia Records said no, so the duet never happened. (Other singers were rumored to be considered - including Gloria Gaynor and Vicki Sue Robinson - but nothing ever moved forward).

[quote]and she wasn't comfortable with the word "Allelujah" in the lyrics, and asked him to drop the word and replace it with something else.

She really lost her mind in the early 80s. She made several bad career choices and of course her idiot husband who was also her manager didn't help matters.

R72 She also was mishandled by her new label GEFFEN (as was Elton John). He signed two of the biggest, most successful recording acts of the 70s and didn't know what to do with them at his label. Both Summer and John saw their recording careers cool down.

It's been said that in 1982, Streisand's recording contract was up with Columbia, and David Geffen started courting her - trying to convince her to leave Columbia after 20 years and join Summer and John at his label (he promised her tons of money). Jon Peters tried to convince her to make the move. Yet Streisand saw what was happening with Summer and John by then, and wisely renewed with Columbia (for less money than what Geffen offered her). I can only imagine how he would've killed her recording career in the 80s.

Aerosmith was another band that saw their career largely tank at Geffen.

That was a horribly run label.

Joni Mitchell’s Geffen records ran from bland to unlistenable, save for Night Ride Home, which is a favorite of mine.

Elton John’s Geffen output is mixed, but the albums on the whole were a bit better than the late seventies stuff he’d been putting out. I especially like Jump Up! and Too Low for Zero.

I have always loved Summer’s The Wanderer, but the rest of the Geffen stuff falls flat for me. I was really excited for I’m a Rainbow to finally be released, but it seemed padded with filler and the best songs on it had already appeared on soundtracks

I don’t believe any singer has ever captured me quite like Donna Summer. I miss her.

[quote]I was really excited for I’m a Rainbow to finally be released, but it seemed padded with filler and the best songs on it had already appeared on soundtracks.

Keep in mind, what has been released of that album is not the finished product. Geffen stopped all production on the album after he heard these unfinished tracks - there was much more work to be done on each of these tracks. Also, some of these tracks weren't going to make it to the final cut - other songs were written to finish off the album, but not fully recorded. I would love for the sound engineers and the rest of the crew go in and 'polish this album up' and present to us what should have been.

Donna should've stayed with Casablanca, in spite of the drama that happened. They knew how to market her and what songs she should do. I agree that the Geffen years were pretty shaky. She still had good material but there was also stuff that just didn't hit right.

Geffen ruined whatever career potential Jennifer Holliday may have had because he didn’t know what to do with her and most of what she recorded for the label has been unavailable in any digital format for decades - though I just noticed her first solo album, Feel My Soul, and 1985’s brilliant Say You Love Me have FINALLY been released to streaming in their entirety! Go listen! Say You Love Me is full of great tracks including Hard Times For Lovers, No Frills Love, the title track plus He’s a Pretender and the album closer, her Grammy-winning rendition of the Duke Ellington/Mahalia Jackson classic, Come Sunday.

I don’t think Streisand’s Wet was ever going to power its way to No. 1. It was pretty MOR, even for the time, and thought to be a pretty flimsy concept for an album. I mean, it contained what could kindly be referred to as a novelty cover of Splish Splash. The duet with Summer went to No. 1 but Streisand’s follow up single, Kiss Me In The Rain, peaked at like No. 38. It was No More Tears that powered the album to No. 6. The rest of the record was pretty tepid stuff.

I was surprised in the memoir when Streisand admitted that she didn’t even remember recording the follow up to Guilty, a pretty underwhelming album called Emotion, but at least that makes sense. That record had her recording a Jim Steinman tune called Left In The Dark that ripped off his own Bonnie Tyler hit, Total Eclipse of the Heart, and duetting with DL fav Kim Carnes. It was mind-boggling stuff.

Left In the Dark is a good song.

When Hot Stuff and Bad Girls were both in the Top 3 of the Billboard singles chart - the former at No. 1, the latter at No. 3 - that had to be one of the best times in American pop music history. And the album was so brilliant because it had real breadth - there wasn’t a time of day when at least one of its four sides weren’t suitable to listening to. The third side was pretty much devoted to original ballads, it was beautiful. The whole album was a real journey. You could imagine listening to it all night.

If you say so, R80. Perhaps for another singer. Streisand’s vocal is pretty shrill. She doesn’t sound like somebody who waits up until a quarter to three for anybody.

Bad Girls is a fabulous album. It pretty much set the blueprint for every female pop star that came after, right up to today.

To think when she played the track of 'Bad Girls' for Neil Bogart in the Spring of 1978, he requested she hand it over to Cher, whom he just signed with his label. He thought Cher would have a monster hit with it. Summer said in her memoir that though she liked Cher and admired her, she was not going to be writing songs for her - so she refused.

And she always said that 'Dim All The Lights' was originally written for Rod Stewart's album 'Blondes Have More Fun' (released at the end of 1978), but she decided to keep it for herself - and include it on her album.

I also love the demo version of Bad Girls. Maybe this was the one she played for Bogart?

R85 I believe that was the one, yes.

Here's another demo of 'Bad Girls' which was used in the documentary - this could've been the one which she played for Bogart in Spring, 1978.

I love Dim All The Lights.

I wasn't even born until '76 and I love all over her 70s/Casablanca stuff. Sublime.

R21 Scrapping “I’m A Rainbow” was a big mistake.

“Sweet Emotion” and “Turn To Stone” would have been hits.

I see Geffen's point in dropping I'm a Rainbow.

Disco was deader than dead when that was delivered in 1980, so it made sense that he would steer the Disco Queen in a different direction, toward people perceived as the future (Michael Jackson's producer Quincy Jones) instead of the people she'd been working with since 1975.

Ironically, Giorgio Moroder and Blondie turned the rock/disco of "Bad Girls" into the #1 song of 1980, "Call Me."

But there wasn't anything of that level on "I'm a Rainbow." It was all kind of bland and drifty. But as others have said, it was probably just a bunch of polished-up demos that were undeveloped.

* - delivered in 1981

I can’t find the article about Donna where she made the homophobic remarks…what year was that?

I thought it was Hot Stuff that Bogart wanted Donna to give to Cher?

The documentary said she made some flippant remark about Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve or something like that, like a joke that fell flat, the press then started to add on to it and she didn’t address it until I think it was New York magazine who published the AIIDS I’d gods punishment comment and that’s when she finally addressed it and sued. It was also right around the time her mistaken identity album came out and she said radio dropped her in part because of the article.

So that is it? And she got blackballed by the gays for a misunderstanding?

R90 I agree. Yet Geffen felt she needed to 'build on her black audience' so he paired her with Quincy Jones for a more R&B album, which was good but not a standout.

There is a theory which has long been rumored, but if you think about it - it makes sense:

In 1983, Summer delivered "Hard for the Money" to her old label 'Mercury / Casablanca' (as she owed them one more album according to the lawsuit settlement). 'Hard for the Money' was the second album she delivered to Geffen and he shelved. As we all know, she had her biggest hit with that album since 'Bad Girls'. Geffen was furious. Supposedly, he decided he wanted her off his label at that point - but the only way would be to buy out the rest of her contract, or if her sales dropped low enough where he could let her go without financial repercussion.

It's been summized that he is the one who started 'the rumor' back in 1984, just when she was releasing 'Cats Without Claws'. Figuring she would lose her gay audience and radio play, her sales would be so low he could finally drop her. Unfortunately, sales weren't as bad as he hoped and she scored another top 20 single. He had to keep her.

In 1987, she was still fighting the rumors - and she released 'All Systems Go'. She had lost quite a bt of her audience by then, who had turned to Madonna and others. Radio didn't support her, and for the first time she didn't crack the Hot 100 on the albums chart. Geffen was then able to drop her - which he did in 1988 without releasing her next big hit album - "Another Place And Time".

R97, Geffen is believed to have started the rumor but earlier. It was the leverage he used to shelve "I'm A Rainbow" and separate her from Moroder. She was red-hot when she signed to Geffen and Summer wanted to have 100% creative control. Geffen was such a control freak that he tanked "The Wanderer" because he didn't like the direction they were going and wanted to cool the ardor of her diehard fanbase.

Geffen is a motherfucker. Even worse than Clive Davis.

The Donna Summer album with Quincy almost bankrupt Geffen Records. They spent a fortune on it and it was the biggest flop of the year. Geffen then had less money to spend on his other artists. Geffen and Quincy sent Donna out to write with other big songwriters before they recorded the album and nothing was clicking. Donna didn't like anything and seemed disengaged from the get-go. Quincy's frustration with her can be heard in the final product.

Bad Girls was Donna's last good album. Other than She Works Hard for the Money(a truly great pop song), everything that came after was terrible and not worth listening to.

Donna "Summers."

She saw quite a few.

But she didn't stay hot for many of them.

I enjoy Laura Branigan’s cover of Dim All The Lights

Hi Corpse r101

Dim All The Lights

Except R97, I remember hearing about her homophobic remarks at least as early as 1982.

R105, I wonder if you can remember all your passwords or family birthdays but you remember the exact year 42 years ago that you first heard this! It was that significant an event?

Surely you're referring to dear Donna, R103.

The smallest wart on my labia has more life than you do, for that matter.

R71 read this dumbo, and next time do your fucking research before blabbermouthing crap.

That song was ubiquitous the summer of 1979. I first liked it when it came out but by the time it left the charts I couldn't stand it.

Yes, it was. It was astonishing how quickly that travelled. I remember the year because I was in high school at the time, I remember who my friends were. I was already going to gay bars in Detroit, heard about it there and from my gay friendly drama teacher we used to hang out with and who took some of us to Cobo to see Diana Ross.

We didn’t have passwords back then. Also, fuck off.

R100 I'm not sure how 'Donna Summer' album almost bankrupted Geffen, or can be called 'the biggest flop of the year'.

The album peaked at #20 on the Hot 200 Albums (hardly a 'flop position'), stayed on the Album charts for 37 weeks (20 weeks more than 'The Wanderer') , had two Top 40 singles (one peaked at #10) and a third single which just 'nicked' the Top 40, peaking at #41. The album was certified Gold

Do people really think that Donna Summer having just become a born-again Christian in the early Reagan era in the U.S. really didn't make homophobic remarks and instead believe that David Geffen made it up to alienate her gay fan base?

R11 I love her 1982 album Donna Summer produced by Quincy Jones. Love Is In Control (Finger on the Trigger) is a jam. I like Sheena Easton’s cover version from 2001 too.

[Quote] Bad Girls was Donna's last good album. Other than She Works Hard for the Money(a truly great pop song), everything that came after was terrible and not worth listening to.

R100 you’re suckin’ air up your ass.

R108 SFgate is your source? Seriously?

My favorite cut from the Quincy produced album was this…

I also love the Donna Summer album, she did an amazing job with Lush Life.

"State of Independence" has always been my favorite song by her. I've turned so many of my younger friends on to her in the past few years by playing that one song.

R112 I agree, that is just made up crap by mega fans trying to change history, whacko Jacko fans pull this shit everyday. Georgio Moroder, who worked with Donna for years, said in that interview posted up thread that Donna didn’t like gays.

I was 12 when I got my first album, Live & More. There is no one like her.

Rolling Stone (I know) lists Bad Girls as one of the best rock n roll albums of all time.

I met her at Elaine’s in 1995. She was incredibly beautiful and so sweet. That smile. The day she died my father called me and just said, “I’m sorry, honey.”

From her later songs, I like This Time I Know it’s For Real. I’m posting this version so you can hear the worst backup singers of all time. Yes, her husband is one of them. Watch 1:48 mark. I love seeing her pissed off.

The MacArthur Park suite was legendary.

I don’t see r112 because it’s a pos. I’m assuming r120 is too.

I love Dinner With Gershwin from her All Systems Go album. A Brenda Russel penned track.

I also like I Don’t Wanna Get Hurt and This Time I Know It’s For Real from her 1989 album Another Place And Time. The Stock, Aitkin, Waterman production was in synch with Donna 💯.

When Love Cries from her 1991 album Mistaken Identity is stellar. Produced by Keith Diamond.

Fame (The Game) from Donna’s last album 2008’s Crayons is fab.

The clip at R121 says so much.. I saw her live numerous times and whether with her regular band or backed by an orchestra like that clip, she would give her all and the people behind her would sound awful, from the backup singers--left to right, husband, sister, plumber--to the band--pharmacist, gardener, driver. It was amateur hour behind her, always. She needed a kick ass manager to come in, kick them out, tell her she needed new arrangements, get a band in there that sounded like they should be playing on a concert stage, not in a garage, and tell her that a tour is not a church and no one went to see her for the Jesus songs she'd slip in at the end of the second act. Her husband was and remains an idiot. With a real manager, the gay rumor would have been addressed and her career would have remained productive instead of a twelve year gap filled by annual greatest hits compilations.

100% r128. She needed a competent, professional management team to give her a polished stage act with real musicians and backup singers and set design and tell her to knock it off with the Jesus shit. Her audience wasn't coming to her shows to hear about God. The HBO doc showed clips of her in concert where she'd stop the show and talk about being born again. It was cringe, and a real manager would've told her point blank that it was ruining her brand. And yes, the anti-gay rumors would've been addressed right at the very beginning instead of being allowed to grow for years before any response was made. Her husband really was a fucking idiot and had no idea what the fuck he was doing as her manager.

What Donna really needed was Roger Davies for her manager, who totally revamped Tina Turner's stage show and sound in the 80s and was instrumental in her huge comeback. Think of what he could've done with Donna.

R123 what is a poss?

I remember my mom playing her records LOUD