''The Wanderer'' is the eighth

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 ...

. It was released on October 20, 1980 and marked a musical departure for Summer, being an album influenced by

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and new-wave whilst previous albums all fell under the

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 ...

music category. The inaugural release of the

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

label, it became a Top 20 album in the United States, with the title track reaching No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; Other singles failed to enter the top ten. However, the record was more unsuccessful on the charts than her previous album " Bad Girls", which topped the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

for five weeks. This album had been out of print but was re-released on December 9, 2014, on the Driven by the Music label (remastered/bonus tracks). A reissue was released for purchasing and streaming for the 40th anniversary on October 16, 2020. It features the original tracks and 7 additional remix tracks. The album sold over 600,000 copies in the United States.

Background and release

Summer had made her name the previous decade as the most successful female artist of the

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 ...

genre, releasing a vast selection of hit singles and albums on

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 ...

. During this period however, Summer had felt that the label had exploited her and made her portray a sexually orientated image ("The First Lady of Love") with which she never felt comfortable. The label had also taken over other elements of Summer's personal life, to the point where she felt she had no control over her life or career. Having come out of a period of depression and rediscovering her

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

faith, Summer had made the decision to break away from Casablanca and file a lawsuit against them. After leaving Casablanca, Summer became the first artist to be signed to the newly established

. By 1980, banners reading "disco sucks" were seen everywhere and disco records became flops. Summer decided to leave the disco sound behind. The album was co-written and produced 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 ...

, who had produced the vast majority of Summer's hits since their partnership with her began in 1974. Production for ''The Wanderer'' was rushed; Geffen wanted to get new product out because of Casablanca's plans to release ''Walk Away'', another greatest hits collection. "We would have liked to do more tweaking, and have more time for production. But we just had to let it go," said

Harold Faltermeyer Hans Hugo Harold Faltermeier (born 5 October 1952) is a German musician, composer and record producer. Faltermeyer is best known for composing the "Axel F" theme for the feature film ''Beverly Hills Cop'', an influential synth-pop hit in the 1 ...

about the recording of the album. "Cold Love" gained Summer a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nomination for

Best Female Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for works (songs or albums) conta ...

. Summer's rediscovered Christian faith was documented in the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

song "I Believe in Jesus", for which she also received a nomination for Best Inspirational Performance. As a child Summer had sung in gospel choirs, so this song was a chance for her to go back to her roots.

Critical and commercial reception

The album peaked at number 13 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Album Chart – selling 600,000 copies in the US – and the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

hit number 3 on the US singles chart. However, two follow-up singles – "

Cold Love "Cold Love" is a song by American singer Donna Summer, released as the second single from her album '' The Wanderer''. The song was written by Harold Faltermeyer, Keith Forsey and Pete Bellotte and produced by Bellotte and Giorgio Moroder. It pea ...

" and " Who Do You Think You're Foolin'" – barely reached the Top 40. The album and its singles attained limited success on the UK charts. None of the singles cracked the UK Top 40. Critics, however, were largely positive. ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'' rock critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote, "She loves a good hook the way she loves her own child. And you can (still) dance to her." Bil Carpenter in his review for ''AllMusic'' website gave the album four and a half stars out of five and elected "Cold Love" and "Night Life" as the best songs of the album.

Track listing

Personnel

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

*Harold Faltermeyer, Sylvester Levay –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, *Steve Lukather, Jeff Baxter, Tim May –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Les Hurdle, John Pierce, Lee Sklar – bass *

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 A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Gary Herbig – Sax Solo *

Trevor Veitch Trevor Veitch (born May 19, 1946 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian musician/record producer who has worked behind the scenes on many pop trends from the 1960s to the present. He is mostly known for his involvement in the popular 1960s ...

– Musical Contractor *Bill Champlin, Tom Kelley, Carmen Grillo

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

*Harry Langdon Jr. – photography

Charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wanderer 1980 albums Donna Summer albums Albums produced by Giorgio Moroder Albums produced by Pete Bellotte Geffen Records albums