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~ Today is the birthday of American singer and songwriter, Donna Adrian Gaines, better known as Donna Summer. who burst out during the 1970's disco era and became famous as the "Queen of Disco".
I was in my mid-thirties, at my physical prime and a dancing fool on the disco floor when I heard Love to Love You Baby for the first time and what flashed through my mind was an old song from the 1960's, the explicitly erotic Je t'aime... moi non plus by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin. Then I went bananas!
date & photographer unknown
I don't remember which one but I remember dancing ecstatically at a disco, on New Year's Eve of 1975 and Love To Love You
came on. It was 1975 when the song started but the DJ had timed it so
the song would end exactly at midnight; it was 1976 when it did! What
a wonderful way to bring in the New Year with what would become the
love of my life!
It was only years later that I discovered JJe t'aime... moi non plus was indeed, the inspiration for Love To Love You.
From Wikipedia:
In the summer of 1974, Summer approached producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte with an idea for a song. A re-issued 45 of Je t'aime... moi non plus
was back on the charts, prompting Summer to pen her own 'racy' song. At the same time, Moroderr was interested in developing
the new disco sound that was becoming popular, and used Summer's idea to develop the song into an overtly sexual disco track.
Love to Love You Baby was released on December 6, 1975 and was the highest new entry that week at #55 when Fly, Robin, Fly by Silver Convention was on its second week at #1. Produced by Pete Bellotte and written by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder, Summer, and Bellotte, the song was first released as a single in the Netherlands in June 1975 then released worldwide in November 1975.
From Wikipedia:
In an interview in 1976, Summer responded to a number of questions that
she claimed she'd been asked about the process of recording the song:
"Everyone's asking, 'Were you alone in the studio?' Yes, I was alone in
the studio. 'Did you touch yourself?' Yes, well, actually I had my hand
on my knee. 'Did you fantasize on anything?' Yes, on my handsome
boyfriend Peter."
A tape of the song was sent to Casablanca Records president Neil Bogart
in the US, and he played it at a party at his home. Impressed with the
track, Bogart continued to play it over and over all night. He later
contacted Moroder and suggested he make the track longer - possibly
as long as 20 minutest, he wanted a soundtrack for his sexual exploits. However, Summer had reservations; she was
not sure of all of the lyrics. Nevertheless, she imagined herself as an
actress (namely Marilyn Monroe)
playing the part of someone in sexual ecstasy. The studio lights were
dimmed so that Summer was more or less in complete darkness as she lay
on the floor.
The final recording lasted over 16 minutes, and according to the BBC, contained 23 "orgasms".
According to Peter Shapiro,
a freelance British music journalist, the song was marked by "little
more than Donna Summer simulating an orgasm over a background of blaxploitation cymbals, wah-wah guitars, a funky-butt clarinet riff, and some synth chimes."
Summer was forced to stop performing the song live when, a riot broke out, she was in a tent in Italy, 5,000 men, almost
no women, and was singing Love to Love You Baby
scantily clad
and the guys got so wrapped up that they began to push the stage back.
She had to run off the stage, to her trailer out the back and
they came to the trailer and started to rock it. She thought, "I'm going
to die today, I'm not going to get out of here. It's not the
kind of song you just want to throw out there."
In the UK, upon release in January 1976, the song reached #4 on the UK Singles Chart in spite of the BBC's initial refusal to promote it. They also refused to play it.
As a result of the success of the song, Summer would be named "the
first lady of love," which labeled her with a sexually oriented, fantasy
image from which she would struggle to free herself.
From Hansen Cakes:
For the launch of the song, the founder of Casablanca records, Neil Bogart, had Gary Hansen of Hansen Cakes
in Los Angeles make a Donna Summer cake. Casablanca Records paid for
two first class plane tickets for the cake and had two people escort the
cake to New York.
photo: Steven Ferdman/Patrick McMullan
Donna Summer died of lung cancer at her home in Florida on May 17, 2012. In 2018, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical opened on Broadway to overwhelming audience reaction night after night.
Love To Love You Baby
Shorewood Packaging
photo of gatefold interior by Styrous®
Shorewood Packaging
detail photos by Styrous®
Shorewood Packaging
detail photos by Styrous®
Tracklist:
Side 1:
Love To Love You Baby - 16:50
Side 2:
Try Me, I Know We Can Make It - 17:55
Companies, etc.
Side 1:
Love To Love You Baby - 16:50
Side 2:
Try Me, I Know We Can Make It - 17:55
Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Casablanca Record And Filmworks, Inc.
Distributed By – Casablanca Record And Filmworks, Inc.
Mastered At – Allen Zentz Mastering
Produced For – Say Yes Productions
Printed By – Shorewood Packaging
Distributed By – Casablanca Record And Filmworks, Inc.
Mastered At – Allen Zentz Mastering
Produced For – Say Yes Productions
Printed By – Shorewood Packaging
Credits:
Mastered By – Brian Gardner
Producer – Pete Bellotte
Written-By – Summer*, Moroder*, Bellotte*
Producer – Pete Bellotte
Written-By – Summer*, Moroder*, Bellotte*
Notes:
Released in a uni-pack styled gate-fold picture cover. The 12" was designed specifically for Valentine's Day 1977.
Release billing as per front cover:
Love To Love You Baby
Includes the songs
"Love To Love You Baby" (16:50) and "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It" (17:55)
by
Donna Summer
"The First Lady Of Love"
Released in a uni-pack styled gate-fold picture cover. The 12" was designed specifically for Valentine's Day 1977.
Release billing as per front cover:
Love To Love You Baby
Includes the songs
"Love To Love You Baby" (16:50) and "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It" (17:55)
by
Donna Summer
"The First Lady Of Love"
A-side: ℗ 1975 Casablanca Records, Inc. and Oasis Records, Inc.
B-side: ℗ 1976 Casablanca Records, Inc.
An Oasis Recording.
Printed in U.S.A.
LP housed in company sleeve.
Some of the front sleeve artwork (as well as the white typeface) is embossed.
Uni-Pak
B-side: ℗ 1976 Casablanca Records, Inc.
An Oasis Recording.
Printed in U.S.A.
LP housed in company sleeve.
Some of the front sleeve artwork (as well as the white typeface) is embossed.
Uni-Pak
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Side A Variant 1): NBLP-7041-A6-KMC AZ ❀
Matrix / Runout (Side B Variant 1): NBLP-7041-B7-KMC AZ ❀
Matrix / Runout (Side A Variant 2 Etched): NBLP-7041-A7-KMC AZ ❀
Matrix / Runout (Side B Variant 2 Etched): NBLP-7041-B6-KMC AZ
Matrix / Runout (Side B Variant 1): NBLP-7041-B7-KMC AZ ❀
Matrix / Runout (Side A Variant 2 Etched): NBLP-7041-A7-KMC AZ ❀
Matrix / Runout (Side B Variant 2 Etched): NBLP-7041-B6-KMC AZ
Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby
Label: Casablanca – NBLP 7041
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Compilation
Country: US
Released: Jan 1977
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Funk, Disco
UMG ~ Donna Summer
YouTube links:
Label: Casablanca – NBLP 7041
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Compilation
Country: US
Released: Jan 1977
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Funk, Disco
Viewfinder links:
YouTube links:
Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - Je t'aime... moi non plus
Silver Convention - Fly Robin Fly
I Love To Love You (Live)
I Love To Love You (single) (3 mins., 26 sec.)
Happy New Year, Everyone!
Styrous® ~ Sunday, December 31, 2023
