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Love to Love You Baby (song)

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"Love to Love You Baby"
A-side label of US vinyl single
Single by Donna Summer
from the album Love to Love You Baby
B-side"Need-a-Man Blues"
ReleasedJune 1975 (Netherlands, as "Love to Love You")
November 26, 1975 (Worldwide, as "Love to Love You Baby")
Recorded1974 (as "Love to Love You")
May–June 1975; Musicland Studios (Munich, West Germany)
(as "Love to Love You Baby")
Genre
Length16:49 (Album version)
LabelOasis (United States/Canada)
GTO (United Kingdom)
Polar (Sweden)
Ariola (Spain/Portugal)
Interfusion (Australia)
Atlantic (France/Germany)
Durium (Italy)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Pete Bellotte
Donna Summer singles chronology
"Little Miss Fit"
(1974) 		"Love to Love You Baby"
(1975) 		"Virgin Mary"
(1975)
Virgin Mary
(1975)
Love to Love You Baby
(1975)
Could It Be Magic
(1976)
Protection
(1983)
"Love to Love You Baby" (re-issue)
(1983)
She Works Hard for the Money
(1983)

"Love to Love You Baby" is a song by American singer Donna Summer from her second studio album Love to Love You Baby (1975). Produced by Pete Bellotte, and written by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder, Summer, and Bellotte, the song was first released as a single 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 hits to be released in an extended form.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named it one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, Summer's only selection on this list.[1]

Background

By 1975, Summer had been living in Germany for eight years and had participated in several musical theatre shows. She had also released an album in The Netherlands entitled Lady of the Night (1974), written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte 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 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.

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."[2]

International release and reception

A tape of the song was sent to Casablanca Records president Neil Bogart in the U.S., 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)[3] 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, contained 23 "orgasms".[3] 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 U.S., it became Summer's first US Top 40 hit, spending two weeks at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 7 and 14 1976[4] being held off the number one spot by Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" and logged four weeks atop the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart,[5] as well number three on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[6]

In the UK, upon release in January 1976, the song reached #4[7] on the UK Singles Chart in spite of the BBC's initial refusal to promote it. They also refused to play it.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

Casablanca Records became responsible for the distribution of Summer's work in the U.S. Bogart was particularly keen for Summer to portray the image of the rich, powerful, sexy fantasy figure with which this song had labeled her.[citation needed] Bogart and his wife Joyce (who also became Summer's manager) would become close friends with Summer once she returned to the United States. However, Bogart also began interfering with aspects of Summer's personal and professional life.[citation needed] She would later become a born-again Christian, leave disco, Casablanca and the Bogarts behind, and file a lawsuit against them.[citation needed] Summer decided to exclude "Love to Love You Baby" from her concert playlists.[citation needed] However, she reintroduced the song into her concert repertoire some 25 years later.

Impact and legacy

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 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.[8]

Slant Magazine ranked the song 10th in its 100 Greatest Dance Songs in 2006.[9]

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 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."[10]

Donna Summer has since been forced to stop performing "Love to Love You" live because, "Riots broke out [...] [She] was 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 [she] had to run off the stage, to [her] trailer out the back. And they came to the trailer and started to rock it. [She] just 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." [11]

Personnel

  • Donna Summer – lead vocals
  • Pete Bellotte – guitars
  • Dave King – bass
  • Michael Thatcher & Giorgio Moroder – keyboards
  • Martin Harrison – drums
  • Lucy, Betsy, Gitta – backing vocals

Track listing and formats

Original Netherlands 7" (Groovy GR 1211)

  1. "Love to Love You" (3:20)
  2. "Need-a-Man Blues" (?)

NB 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)

  1. "Love to Love You Baby" (4:57)
  2. "Love to Love You Baby" (3:27)

UK 7" (GTO GT 17)

  1. "Love to Love You Baby" (4:57)
  2. "Need-a-Man Blues" (?)

Germany 7" (Atlantic ATL 10625)

  1. "Love to Love You" (3:20)
  2. "Need-a-Man Blues" (3:09)

NB The word "Baby" appears on the sleeve but not the label

Netherlands 7" (Groovy GR 1218)

  1. "Love to Love You Baby Part I" (3:30)
  2. "Love to Love You Baby Part II" (5:20)

NB 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)

  1. "Love to Love You Baby (Part 1)" (3:27)
  2. "Love to Love You Baby" (Part 2)" (4:57)

Canada 7" (Oasis OC 401X)

  1. "Love to Love You Baby" (3:22)
  2. "Need-a-Man Blues" (3:12)

Sweden 7" (Polar POS 1209)

  1. "Love to Love You Baby" (3:21)
  2. "Need-a-Man Blues" (3:10)

Spain 7" (Ariola 16575)

  1. "Love to Love You Baby" (3:42)
  2. "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 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)

  1. "Love to Love You Baby" (Part One) – 3:35
  2. "Love to Love You Baby" (Part Two) – 4:12

UK 12" (Casablanca CANX 1014)

  1. "Love to Love You Baby" (Come On Over to My Place Version) – 16:50
  2. "Love to Love You Baby" (Come Dancing Version) – 8:10 (A Young and Strong mega-edit)

NB: 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)

  1. "Love to Love You Baby" – 4:15
  2. "I Feel Love" – 5:39
  3. "Bad Girls" – 3:54
  4. "On the Radio" (long version) – 5:51

2013 release

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

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[32] Gold 75,000^
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions and samples

See also

References

  1. ^ Henke, James. "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  2. ^ Cromelin, Richard (17 May 2012). "Donna Summer: 'The audience was groaning worse than I was' – a classic interview from the vaults". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  3. ^ a b "The Greatest Songs Ever! Love to Love You Baby" Archived 2010-12-31 at the Wayback Machine Blender.com, 21 November 2006. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 612.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco 1974-2003, (Record Research Inc.), page 249.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 556.
  7. ^ Official Charts Company info OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  8. ^ "Rock On The Net: VH1: 100 Greatest Dance Songs". www.rockonthenet.com.
  9. ^ "100 Greatest Dance Songs". Slant Magazine. 30 January 2006. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  10. ^ Shapiro, Peter. Turn the Beat around : the Secret History of Disco. London, Faber and Faber, Inc., 2009.
  11. ^ McLean, Craig. "Donna Summer: Too Hot to Handle." The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 13 June 2008.
  12. ^ David Kent's "Australian Chart Book 1970-1992" Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  14. ^ "Love to love you baby in Canadian Top Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  15. ^ Medien, Hung. "Love to love you baby in French Chart". Archived from the original on 19 March 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2013. You have to use the index at the top of the page and search "Donna Summer"
  16. ^ "Love to love you baby in Italian Chart". HitParadeItalia (it). Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  17. ^ "Love to love you baby in Irish Chart". IRMA. Retrieved 10 July 2013. Only one result when searching "Love to love you baby"
  18. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Donna Summer" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  19. ^ a b "Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  20. ^ "Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby". Top 40 Singles.
  21. ^ "Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby". VG-lista.
  22. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  23. ^ "Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby". Singles Top 100.
  24. ^ "Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. ^ "1976 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive - 7th February 1976". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  26. ^ a b c "Donna Summer > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
  27. ^ "Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby" (in French). Les classement single.
  28. ^ Australian-charts.com Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  30. ^ "Old-Charts". Old-Charts. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  31. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  32. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Donna Summer – Love to Love You Baby". Music Canada.
  33. ^ "American single certifications – Donna Summer – Love to Love You Baby". Recording Industry Association of America.
  34. ^ "amazon.com: Love to Love You Bradys: The Bizarre Story of the Brady Bunch Variety Hour". Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  35. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-good-the-bad-and-the-funky-mw0000088205
  36. ^ Seen on April 4, 2013 Archived January 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  37. ^ LesCharts.com: Baptiste Giabiconi - "Love To Love You Baby" song page
  38. ^ LesCharts.com: Baptiste Giabiconi - "Love To Love You Baby" page
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