Donna Summer - I Feel Love
The song reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, number six on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and number nine on the Hot Soul Chart. It quickly became popular in gay dance clubs and was adopted as a gay anthem. “I Feel Love” is ranked #411 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Before “I Feel Love”, most disco recordings had been backed by acoustic orchestras although all-electronic music had been produced for decades. Giorgio Moroder’s innovative production of this disco-style song, recorded with an entirely synthesized backing track, spawned imitators in the disco genre, and was influential in the development of techno.
According to David Bowie, then in the middle of recording of his Berlin Trilogy with Brian Eno, its impact on the genre’s direction was recognized early on: “One day in Berlin … Eno came running in and said, ‘I have heard the sound of the future.’ … he puts on ‘I Feel Love’, by Donna Summer … He said, ‘This is it, look no further. This single is going to change the sound of club music for the next fifteen years.’ Which was more or less right.”
I was so sad to hear of Donna’s death. And then so soon afterwards to hear of Robin Gibbs’. I grew up loving disco so...