''Four Seasons of Love'' is the fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American singer-songwriter

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

. Released on October 11, 1976, this

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

became her third consecutive successful album to be certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

in the US. It peaked at #29 on the ''Billboard'' 200. In addition, all the cuts on this album went to number one on the disco chart. This was the third concept album Summer had made, though unlike the previous two which had contained one long track on side one and a small selection of slightly shorter ones on side two, ''Four Seasons of Love'' was more equally balanced. The album told the story of a love affair by relating it to the four seasons. Side one contained " Spring Affair" and "Summer Fever", both disco tracks, and side two contained "Autumn Changes" (a slightly slower disco number) and "

Winter Melody "Winter Melody" is a song by American singer and songwriter Donna Summer released as a single in early-1977 from her ''Four Seasons of Love ''Four Seasons of Love'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer. Releas ...

" (which had an even slower beat), plus a reprise of "Spring Affair". This concept was reflected in the four photos of Summer, one for each season of the year, in a pull-out 1977 calendar included with the original LP album. The photo on the cover was, fittingly, the Summer pic. Summer's "first lady of love" image came across strongly on this album, though her trademark moans and groans were slightly less evident than on previous work. Pics included "Winter" in a fur with a tear on her cheek; "Spring" in a

Scarlett O'Hara Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler is a fictional character and the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind'' and in the 1939 film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Leigh. She also is the m ...

style hoop skirt on a swing; and "Autumn" re-enacting

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

's famous scene from ''

The Seven Year Itch ''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, from a screenplay he co-wrote with George Axelrod from the 1952 three-act play. The film stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, who reprised his stage role. ...

'' with the billowing white dress over the subway grate. This is an allusion to her song "Love to Love You Baby", for which she cites Monroe as an inspiration. As with the previous two albums, ''Four Seasons of Love'' was distributed by different record labels in different countries, including

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently f ...

in the U.S. Edited versions of " Spring Affair" and "

" were released in various places, but neither had a big impact on any charts (although the latter made the Top 30 on the

UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

). The album was also released as a Club Special Edition / Club Sonderauflage in West Germany on the

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

Label.

Track listing

Personnel

* Donna Summer – lead vocals * Thor Baldursson – keyboards, string and horn arrangements *

Keith Forsey Keith Forsey (born 2 January 1948) is an English pop musician and record producer. Early life Forsey began his career as a percussionist in the mid-late 1960s as the drummer for The SpectrumCaptain Scarlet and the Mysterons - The Vault - Chris ...

– drums, percussion * Nick Woodland – guitar * Les Hurdle – bass guitar * Dino Solera – saxophone *

Geoff Bastow K.I.D. was a British musician and the 1980s Italo disco musician best known for his SAM import and club hit "You Don't Like My Music (Hupendi Muziki Wangu?!)" that entered the '' Billboard'' Club charts. The name is a pseudonym used by Geoffre ...

– synthesizer *

Madeline Bell Madeline Bell (born July 23, 1942) is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from America in the gospel show ''Black Nativity'' in 1962, with the v ...

, Sue & Sunny – backing vocals ;Technical * Mixed by Giorgio Moroder * Engineered by Jürgen Koppers * Album Cover Concept by Susan Munao, Joyce Bogart & Donna Summer * Design by Henry Vizcarra & Gribbitt! * Art Direction by Gribbitt! & Chris Whorf * Photography – Mario Casilli

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control 1976 albums Donna Summer albums Albums produced by Giorgio Moroder Albums produced by Pete Bellotte Casablanca Records albums Concept albums