Donna Summer - I Feel Love

by **Blondini** » Thu May 17, 2012 10:01 pm

by **Blondini** » Fri May 18, 2012 5:01 pm

UK ITUNES:

32. I Feel Love (12" Version) - Donna Summer
50. I Feel Love - Donna Summer
112. I Feel Love (12" Version) - Donna Summer

ALBUMS:

320. I Remember Yesterday - Donna Summer

by **francisplaiy** » Fri May 18, 2012 7:26 pm

One of her biggest hits ever,
actually an all time classic.

by **CrazyCrazy** » Fri May 18, 2012 9:19 pm

I like a few of her hits but this is the only one I really enjoy.

by **Blondini** » Fri May 18, 2012 11:01 pm

To a synth-head like me, Giorgio Moroder is like royalty. I love the 1992 version by my alltime top ten band Curve (from Ruby Trax - the NME covers album that Manics' M*A*S*H Theme was from). Doesn't do much with it vocally but sonically it's filled with great electro-rock flourishes and lifts the original into the heavens.

Of course, Kylie paid "homage" to it on Light Years and also medleyed the two songs. Madonna did it live - medleyed with Future Lovers. Bronski Beat and Marc Almond had a hit with their medley of the song with Johnny Remember Me (also has a bit of Love To Love You Baby thrown in!).
Personally don't like the last two versions.

I still can't bring myself to listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers version.

by **Dreams** » Sat May 19, 2012 2:46 am

Iconic record.

It's a shame it isn't represented amongst her other great songs entering the US iTunes chart. At least it's getting the appropriate recognition over in the UK.

by **Blondini** » Sat May 19, 2012 5:10 pm

Dreams wrote:Iconic record.

It's a shame it isn't represented amongst her other great songs entering the US iTunes chart. At least it's getting the appropriate recognition over in the UK.

It got to #6 there, didn't it? It should be. That's all to do with radio controlling what Americans listen to. The track was too electronic, too cutting edge for radio to give it the attention it deserved. Unlike say Heart Of Glass which broke down the boundaries.

by **Thriller** » Sun May 20, 2012 12:56 am

I love the original and I love the 1995 remix by Rollo even more.

by **Merci** » Sun May 20, 2012 3:05 am

Allison Goldfrappucino took notes from this song, and if she said she didn't she'd be lying!

by **NothingFails** » Sun May 20, 2012 7:17 am

Blondini wrote:
Dreams wrote:Iconic record.

It's a shame it isn't represented amongst her other great songs entering the US iTunes chart. At least it's getting the appropriate recognition over in the UK.
It got to #6 there, didn't it? It should be. That's all to do with radio controlling what Americans listen to. The track was too electronic, too cutting edge for radio to give it the attention it deserved. Unlike say Heart Of Glass which broke down the boundaries.

Well, before I Feel Love, Donna had only made the top 40 once with Love To Love You Baby, I Feel Love was in a sense the song that was a breakthrough for her as something besides someone who made sensual albums for the discos and bedrooms. Neither A Love Trilogy nor Four Seasons Of Love had a top 40 single in the US, but I Feel Love changed her fortunes here.

Though in hindsight its funny because 1978-1980 were Donna's peak years in the US where every single was a top 10 smash, while in the UK her career fell during those years compared to the highs of 1976-1977.

by **Blondini** » Sun May 20, 2012 6:32 pm

45 UK

by **RichyRich** » Sun May 20, 2012 9:18 pm

I'm shocked. Barely one page

This is one of the if not THE most important club records ever made. What dj hasn't stolen from this track? This track is forever Iconic.

by **Thriller** » Mon May 21, 2012 3:11 pm

Music Week wrote:Although not previously recognised as such, I Feel Love is actually a UK million seller. OCC data shows that physical sales of the single - number one in 1977, number 21 in 1982 and number eight in 1995 - total 956,400, while subsequent digital sales of 94,520 give the track a grand total of 1,050,920 sales up to close of business on Saturday.

by **remiell** » Mon May 21, 2012 3:16 pm

1,050,920

Great! 8-)

My favourite song from her.

by **summer** » Mon May 21, 2012 3:20 pm

Dreams wrote:Iconic record.

by **denise** » Tue May 22, 2012 8:17 am

RichyRich wrote: This is one of the if not THE most important club records ever made. What dj hasn't stolen from this track? This track is forever Iconic.

by **Vindrag** » Tue May 22, 2012 1:04 pm

Blondini wrote:Timeless

by **Dreams** » Tue May 22, 2012 4:32 pm

Blondini wrote:
Dreams wrote:Iconic record.

It's a shame it isn't represented amongst her other great songs entering the US iTunes chart. At least it's getting the appropriate recognition over in the UK.
It got to #6 there, didn't it? It should be. That's all to do with radio controlling what Americans listen to. The track was too electronic, too cutting edge for radio to give it the attention it deserved. Unlike say Heart Of Glass which broke down the boundaries.

I'm talking from more of a 'how well remembered/celebrated of a classic is it today' standpoint. Of course the song is very critically recognized and loved to this day but it's criminally underrated by the public (which like you say, has a lot to do with American radio's resistance to it, especially in the recurrent sense). I'm not even sure if it managed to make the top 200 on iTunes after her death when it was her biggest seller in the UK by some distance in the days following her death.

I remember even when she was alive it was never in her top five biggest sellers on iTunes.

by **Graham76man** » Tue May 22, 2012 9:51 pm

A few facts about why the song came about for you.
Her real name is LaDonna Andrea Gaines, she was touring in the musical "Hair" and eventualy settled in Germany. Working with Moroder she sang backing vocals on his version of "Son of My Father". She married Helmut Sommer in 1973 and started releasing records for the European market. But the UK and US ignored the records. Moroder decided to create "love to love you baby" a 3 minute pop single for her, to get her into those countries. But she was really embarresed singing it :oops:

The Boss of Casablanca records however would only take it on if the record was longer. So it became a 12inch running at over 16 minutes! The record was rushed released and nobody noticed till too late that "Sommer" had become "Summer"!
Prior to it's release Casablanca records was going bust and it's boss Neil Bogart had sent out a Christmas card with the message "In every desert there is an oasis".
So Giorgio turns up with the Donna record on the label "Oasis". And so as you can imagine Neil took that as a sign!

I feel love was actually inspired by Kraftwerk's "Autobahn" record from 1975.
Part of it's appeal also when it first came out was the stereo sound and deep bass. Perfect for Hi-Fi buffs and I remember it being on the decks of many Hi-Fi shops being used as test record in 1977. You could really see the cones of the sub-woofers move when that record was played. It's cert that's why it appealed to the disco market also.

by **Thriller** » Tue May 22, 2012 10:08 pm

Nice story 8-)

I love reading the history behind classic songs.

by **ECE** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:56 pm

francisplaiy wrote:One of her biggest hits ever,
actually an all time classic.

Yup, I discovered it through Madonna actually