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"Love to Love You Baby" is a song by American singer
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 ...
from her second studio album, '' Love to Love You Baby'' (1975). Produced by
Pete Bellotte Peter John Bellotte (born 28 August 1943)Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916–2005 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Index ...
, and written by Italian musician
Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
, Summer, and Bellotte, the song was first released as a
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
in the Netherlands in June 1975 as "Love to Love You" and then released worldwide in November 1975 as "Love to Love You Baby". It became one of the first
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
hits to be released in an extended form. The
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
named it one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, Summer's only selection on this list.


Background

By 1975, Summer had been living in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
for eight years and had participated in several musical theatre shows. She had also released an album in
The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
entitled '' Lady of the Night'' (1974), written by
Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...
and
Pete Bellotte Peter John Bellotte (born 28 August 1943)Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916–2005 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Index ...
and produced by Bellotte, which had given her a couple of hit singles. She was still a complete unknown in her home country when she suggested the lyric "Love to Love You Baby" to Moroder in 1975. He turned the lyric into a full
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
song and asked Summer to record it. The full lyrics were somewhat explicit, and at first, Summer said she would only record it as a demo to give to someone else. However, Summer's erotic moans and groans impressed Moroder so much that he persuaded her to release it as her own song, and "Love to Love You" became a moderate hit in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. 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."


International release and reception

A tape of the song was sent to
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 ...
president
Neil Bogart Neil E. Bogart (born Neil Scott Bogatz, February 3, 1943 – May 8, 1982) was an American record executive. He was the founder of Casablanca Records, which later became Casablanca Record and Filmworks. Life and career Born Neil Scott Bogatz in t ...
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 that he make the track longer - possibly as long as 20 minutes. However, Summer again had reservations; she was not sure of all of the lyrics. Nevertheless, she imagined herself as an actress (namely
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 ...
)"The Greatest Songs Ever! Love to Love You Baby"
Blender.com, 21 November 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, contained 23 "orgasms". By that point, the song was renamed "Love to Love You Baby". It took up the entire first side of the album of the same name, and edited versions were also found on 7" vinyl. Originally released in November 1975, the song became an international disco smash. In the US, it became Summer's first US Top 40 hit, spending two weeks at #2 on the ''Billboard''
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
chart on February 7 and 14, 1976, being held off the number one spot by
Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
's " 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" and logged four weeks atop the ''Billboard''
Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
chart, as well number three on the ''Billboard''
Hot Soul Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
chart. In the UK, upon release in January 1976, the song reached #4 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 ...
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.


Impact and legacy

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
named the song one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll in 1995. '' VH1'' placed "Love to Love You Baby" at #63 in their list of 100 Greatest Dance Songs in 2000. ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' ranked the song 10th in its 100 Greatest Dance Songs in 2006. 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 Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president o ...
cymbals, wah-wah guitars, a funky-butt clarinet riff, and some synth chimes." He continued, "Love to Love You Baby" ..was extended into a seventeen-minute minisymphony at the behest of Casablanca Records chief Neil Bogart, who wanted a soundtrack for his sexual exploits. The song reached number two in the American charts and was largely responsible for the development of the twelve inch single." Donna Summer was forced to stop performing "Love to Love You" live when, "Riots broke out .. hewas in a tent in Italy, 5,000 men, almost no women, and was doing 'Love to Love You, Baby,' fairly scantily clad, and the guys got so wrapped up that they began to push the stage back. And hehad to run off the stage, to ertrailer out the back. And they came to the trailer and started to rock it. hejust 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."


Personnel

*Donna Summer – lead vocals *Pete Bellotte – guitars *Dave King – bass *Michael Thatcher & Giorgio Moroder – keyboards *Martin Harrison – drums *
Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...
, Betsy, Gitta – backing vocals


Track listing and formats

* Original Netherlands 7" (Groovy GR 1211) # "Love to Love You" (3:20) # "Need-a-Man Blues" (?) Note: This original release (without the "Baby" in the title) ran for just over 3 minutes and 20 seconds.
This version was integrated into the 16-minute version found on the album. All subsequent international releases
either contained a new edit of the full album version (lasting just under five minutes) or the original version
(but still adding "Baby" to the title). In some cases (for example, the United States), both versions were found
on different sides of the record.
* US 7" (Oasis OC 401) # "Love to Love You Baby" (4:57) # "Love to Love You Baby" (3:27) * UK 7" (GTO GT 17) # "Love to Love You Baby" (4:57) # "Need-a-Man Blues" (?) * West Germany 7" (Atlantic ATL 10625) # "Love to Love You" (3:20) # "Need-a-Man Blues" (3:09) Note: The word "Baby" appears on the sleeve but not the label * Netherlands 7" (Groovy GR 1218) # "Love to Love You Baby Part I" (3:30) # "Love to Love You Baby Part II" (5:20) Note: This Dutch re-release was issued shortly after the song became a hit internationally, with "Baby" being added to the title * France 7" (Atlantic 10.693) # "Love to Love You Baby (Part 1)" (3:27) # "Love to Love You Baby" (Part 2)" (4:57) * Canada 7" (Oasis OC 401X) # "Love to Love You Baby" (3:22) # "Need-a-Man Blues" (3:12) * Sweden 7" (Polar POS 1209) # "Love to Love You Baby" (3:21) # "Need-a-Man Blues" (3:10) * Spain 7" (Ariola 16575) # "Love to Love You Baby" (3:42) # "Need-a-Man Blues" (4:30)


1983 re-issue

Following the dance chart success of the Patrick Cowley remix of Summer's "I Feel Love" in 1982, Casablanca Records/
PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...
re-issued her first hit single "Love to Love You Baby". However, the single failed to make an impact on the charts the second time around, and it would be the label's final single re-release of tracks from the Donna Summer back catalog in the 1980s. In 1984, Casablanca Records was closed by PolyGram. * UK 7" (Casablanca CAN 1014) # "Love to Love You Baby" (Part One) – 3:35 # "Love to Love You Baby" (Part Two) – 4:12 * UK 12" (Casablanca CANX 1014) # "Love to Love You Baby" (Come On Over to My Place Version) – 16:50 # "Love to Love You Baby" (Come Dancing Version) – 8:10 (A Young and Strong mega-edit) Note: The "Come On Over to My Place Version" is in fact the original full-length album version


1990 re-release

* Germany CD single (Casablanca 874 395-2) # "Love to Love You Baby" – 4:15 # "I Feel Love" – 5:39 # "Bad Girls" – 3:54 # "On the Radio" (long version) – 5:51


2013 release

# "Love to Love You Baby" (Giorgio Moroder Remix) (featuring Chris Cox) (4:15)


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


Cover versions and samples

*The refrain "Love to love you" can be heard predominantly in the background of
Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...
' 1976 hit "
Love Hangover "Love Hangover" is a song by the Motown singer Diana Ross, recorded in 1975 and released as a single on March 16, 1976. It rose to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Hot-Selling Soul Singles. It also hit number one on the Record World ...
". *In 1982, Indian singer
Sharon Prabhakar Sharon Prabhakar (born 4 August 1955) is an Indian pop singer, theatre personality and public speaker. Personal life Prabhakar was born to a Punjabi father who was a public servant, and a Christian mother who was a music teacher. Along with her ...
recorded a cover of the song in Hindi, entitled "Aaj Ki Raat" on her album "Disco Mastana", released on Multitone records. * Bronski Beat recorded a Medley with
Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. ...
consisting of I Feel Love, Love to Love You Baby and Johnny Remember Me (by John Leyton). *An excerpt of the song was featured during the first episode of ''
The Brady Bunch Variety Hour ''The Brady Bunch Hour'' is an American variety show featuring skits and songs produced by Sid & Marty Krofft Productions in association with Paramount Television. It ran on ABC from November 28, 1976, to May 25, 1977. The series starred the o ...
'' and a subsequent tell-all book about the show was titled " Love to Love You Bradys." *
Digital Underground Digital Underground was an American alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. Their personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour. Digital Underground's leader and mainstay was Gregory " Shock G" Jacobs (also known as Humpty H ...
made the song the central sample of the song "Freaks of the Industry" on their 1990 debut album ''
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''. *
Samantha Fox Samantha Karen Fox (born 15 April 1966) is an English pop singer and former glamour model from East London. She rose to public attention aged 16, when her mother entered her photographs in an amateur modelling contest run by ''The Sunday Peopl ...
covered her tune into a medley with ''
More, More, More "More, More, More" is a song written by Gregg Diamond and recorded by American artist Andrea True (credited to her recording project Andrea True Connection). It was released in February 1976 as the first single from her debut album by same nam ...
'' from her 1991 album '' Just One Night''. *
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...
sampled the song on the album version of their 1999 song "
I'm Good At Being Bad "I'm Good at Being Bad" is a song recorded by American girl group TLC for their third album ''FanMail''. It was released as a promotional single when " No Scrubs" was distributed to radio. Despite not being commercially released, the track peak ...
". * The Tom Tom Club recorded a cover for their 2000 album " The Good, The Bad, and the Funky." *
Eyedea & Abilities Eyedea & Abilities (often abbreviated as E&A) was an American hip hop duo from Saint Paul, Minnesota, consisting of rapper Eyedea and DJ Abilities. The duo was founded in 1999 and became a prominent figure of the underground hip hop scene, be ...
sampled the bassline for their song "Big Shots", on their 2001 album '' First Born''. "Big Shots" would later feature on the soundtrack to the 2002 video game ''
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''. *
No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...
covered the song on the soundtrack for the 2001 film
Zoolander ''Zoolander'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the '' VH1 Fashion Awards'' television ...
. *
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
also sampled the refrain of the song for her hit " Naughty Girl" on her album '' Dangerously in Love'', which she performed live for the Fashion Rocks Awards 2004. She would later interpolate more elements of the original version in live performances, such as in the
Mrs. Carter Show World Tour The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer Beyoncé. Announced in February 2013 with initial dates in Europe and North America, the tour contained seven legs and 132 shows. It began in Belgrade, Serbia on Apr ...
. *French male model and singer Baptiste Giabiconi covered it as an adaptation and heavy sampling of the hit in 2016, but with added lyrics and new EDM arrangement. His version credited to mononym Giabiconi entered the French SNEP chart at #14 in July 2016. It eventually made it to number 4 in France. * In 2018, the song was included in the Broadway musical '' Summer: The Donna Summer Musical''. *
Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
performed the song as a medley with her 2003 single "
Slow In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude (mathematics), magnitude of the change of its Position (vector), position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per ...
" on her
live stream Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but n ...
concert '
Infinite Disco Infinite Disco was a livestream concert by Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue, held in support of her fifteenth studio album ''Disco'' (2020). It was broadcast on two dates in 2020 and was a joint-venture production by Driift and BMG R ...
'.


See also

*
1975 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1975. __TOC__ Specific locations * 1975 in British music * 1975 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1975 in country music * 1975 in heavy metal music *1975 in jazz Event ...


References


External links

* {{authority control 1975 singles 1976 singles 1983 singles Funk ballads Donna Summer songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Pete Bellotte Songs written by Giorgio Moroder Songs written by Donna Summer Samantha Fox songs Casablanca Records singles Song recordings produced by Pete Bellotte 1975 songs GTO Records singles Polar Music singles Ariola Records singles Atlantic Records singles 1970s ballads Songs banned by the BBC