She Works Hard for the Money (song)

"She Works Hard for the Money"
Single by Donna Summer
from the album She Works Hard for the Money
B-side	"I Do Believe I Fell in Love"
Released	May 27, 1983
Format	7" single, 12" single
Recorded	March 1983
Genre	Dance-rock, New Wave
Length	4:01
Label	Mercury
Writer(s)	Donna Summer, Michael Omartian
Producer	Michael Omartian
Certification	Platinum (US)
Donna Summer singles chronology
"Love to Love You Baby" (re-issue) (1983) "She Works Hard for the Money" (1983) "Unconditional Love" (1983)

"She Works Hard for the Money" is a 1983 hit single by singer Donna Summer. It was the first single released from the album of the same name.

Summer performed the song on the 1984 Grammy Awards. The live performance was released on the 1994 album Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume I.

Premise

The song, co-written by the singer, told a story of a woman who "works hard for [her] money". It was based on an actual encounter that Summer had with an exhausted bathroom attendant.

History

Built on a rock-dance fusion, the song became a hit for Summer and one of the singer's signature songs, reaching number one for a three-week stay atop the R&B chart (her first since 1979), number three on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, and number three on the dance chart. It was a number twenty-five hit in the UK.

Music video

The music video for the song, directed by Brian Grant, debuted on MTV and became the first video by an African-American female artist to be placed in "heavy rotation" (a term used by MTV at the time to indicate a frequently-aired video). The video shows a woman, working as a waitress in a diner, who is burdened with many situations in her life such as work and raising two unruly and ungrateful children. It is also seen that she has abandoned her hopes of being a ballerina. Summer appears as an observer through a kitchen window, a woman who assists the fallen-down protagonist of the video, and, at the end, a leader of a troupe of women, in various work uniforms, who have taken to the streets to signify their independence and gain recognition for their "hard work". The protagonist is also seen dancing in the street with them. In a parody of the image created by this video, Summer herself appears in the Frank Sinatra video for "L.A. Is My Lady", released in 1984, as a waitress who serves a patron and then wipes her brow.

Official versions

• "She Works Hard for the Money" - (7" single version) - 4:10
• "She Works Hard for the Money" - (LP version) / (Album Version) - 5:19
• "She Works Hard for the Money" - (12" single version) - 6:15
• "She Works Hard for the Money" - (Instrumental version - B-side of 12" single) - 5:47

Chart positions

Chart (1983)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	3
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	1
Australian Singles Chart	2
Canadian Singles Chart	2
Dutch Top 40	18
French Singles Chart	4
German Singles Chart	11
Irish Singles Chart	26
Italian Singles Chart	27
Oricon Japanese International Chart	52
New Zealand Singles Chart	23
Norwegian Singles Chart	9
Spanish Singles Chart	6
Swedish Singles Chart	5
Swiss Singles Chart	10
UK Singles Chart	25

Preceded by "Juicy Fruit" by Mtume

Billboard Hot Black Singles number-one single July 30, 1983 – August 13, 1983

Succeeded by "Get It Right" by Aretha Franklin

Cover versions

In 2006, Australian girl group Young Divas covered the song on their self-titled debut album.