"Carry On" is a song by American singer Donna Summer and Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer Giorgio Moroder. The song was first released on Moroder's 1992 album ''Forever Dancing''. It was written by Moroder and Marietta Waters, and produced by the former. It was released as the album's first and only single by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

. The following year, the song closed Summer's two-disc set ''

The Donna Summer Anthology ''The Donna Summer Anthology'' is a double compilation album by the American singer Donna Summer, released by Polygram Records in 1993. The compilation featured the majority of Summer's best known songs right from the start of her success to t ...

''. During the 1970s Moroder had co-written and co-produced many of Summer's disco hits, and this song marked the first time the two had worked together in more than a decade. The recording features background vocals by Summer's children, Brooklyn and Amanda Grace Sudano, along with co-writers Waters and Moroder, and Larry Lee. "Carry On" was released as a single 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 ...

in 1992 and some years later was remixed and became an international hit, reaching #25 on the U.S. Dance charts in 1997 and #65 on the UK singles chart in 1998. That same year it won the first Grammy award for

Best Dance Recording The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...

Critical reception

On the 1997 release, Barry Walters for '' The Advocate'' said, "As a personality, Summer remains a ditz, but as a voice of the dance floor, she remains the ultimate artist, and this soaring survival anthem reminds us why. The words may deal with perseverance, a theme we know all to well, but the melody and her performance is all about transcendence. It's been decades since Summer has sounded as if she's singing about us, for us, with us." Same year, Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' wrote, "A biggie on European import, this rousing track could resuscitate Summer's life at pop radio, while giving her ever-loyal and patient disciples a batch of new remixes on which to feast. She is the picture of pure exuberance here, once again affirming why she remains an unmatchable vocalist in the minds of anyone who has ever tripped the club fantastic." He added, "The new versions by

Eric Kupper Eric Kupper is an American keyboardist, arranger, songwriter, remix artist, DJ, and record producer of French descent. Biography Eric Kupper began playing in bands in his formative years, and got his real start in the mid-1980s working as a keybo ...

, Chris Cox, and Outta Control are all quite nice, though it's hard to move away from the original Moroder production, which is as bright as a sunny Sunday-afternoon tea dance." Pan-European magazine '' Music & Media'' commented on the original 1992 release, "With its strong melodic hooks, this is a worthy successor to the chartbusters these artists created in the '70s and early '80s. A must for both pop and dance programmers."

Charts

References

{{authority control Donna Summer songs Giorgio Moroder songs 1992 singles 1997 singles Songs written by Giorgio Moroder Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording Dance-pop songs Song recordings produced by Giorgio Moroder 1992 songs Virgin Records singles