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In 1977, David Bowie was working on an album with British musician and producer Brian Eno when he first heard today's "Great Song of the '70s."
Eno had excitedly burst into the studio and said he had "heard the future," and that "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer would change the sound of club music for the next 15 years!"
Bowie was intrigued, and after Eno played the song for him, he enthusiastically agreed.
And they were right!
Earlier in 1977, Donna and her co-writers and producers, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, had released "I Remember Yesterday," Donna's fifth studio album.
"I Feel Love," was the second single from the album, and it had an immediate impact.
In addition to Bowie and Eno, dozens of artists from The Human League to Blondie set their sights on recording "electronic dance music" from that moment on--and throughout much of the '80s.
It also garnered immediate critical kudos--and not just within the recording industry. The Financial Times, for example, called it "one of the most influential records ever made."
As the years passed, an incredible amount of retroactive praise was heaped on "I Feel
Love." Here are just a few examples:
**In 1996, Mixmag Magazine called it "the first electronic disco masterpiece," and in 2013, ranked it at #19 on their list of the "Greatest Dance Tracks of All Time."
**In 2007, Rolling Stone put it on their list of "40 Songs that Changed the World."
**In 2011, England's Guardian (newspaper) called its release "one of 50 key events in the history of dance music."
**Also in 2011, it made Time Magazine's list of the "Top 100 Songs of All Time."
But let's go back to 1977. How did clubbers and radio listeners react to this almost instant change in what they were hearing?
Let's check the charts.
"I Feel Love" was a Top 10 hit in 16 countries...including #1 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, and the UK. In Canada, it reached #4...and in the US, it hit #6 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #9 on the Soul Chart.
As for the clubs, I can personally vouch for its popularity. It was different, but the dancers at She-nannigans and Fanny Hill took to it (and the floor) right away.
At this point, if I were a lawyer, I'd say that the evidence is clear: "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer is not just a "Great Song of 1977," but of all time!
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