Chart entered : 17 January 1976
Chart peak : 4
Number of hits : 38
We now say hello to perhaps pop's most under-rated superstar who not only racked up an impressive tally of hits but with this one introduced a whole new format into pop music. And yet beyond recalling perhaps half a dozen hits and that she died fairly recently the average man in the street wouldn't be able to tell you much about her.
She was born Ladonna Gaines in Boston in December 1948. Before leaving school she joined a local blues group called Crow and moved to New York . They split up after failing to get a deal but Donna stayed in the city and got a part in a production of Hair. When it moved to Munich she went with it and quickly learned the language. She sang on the German soundtrack album and in 1968 released her first single as Donna Gaines, a German language version of "Aquarius" ( aka "Wasserman" ). The intro of atonal noises brings back terrifying memories of Scott Walker but it soon settles down to showcase that soaring voice, already fully-formed although she's let down by a rather plodding arrangement.
It wasn't a hit but Donna was making a name for herself in Germany. She made a brief appearance singing a song called "Black Power" in the German TV show 11 uhr 20 in 1969 and appeared in a number of musicals including The Me Nobody Knows, Showboat and Godspell. In the latter she worked alongside and befriended Karen Peterson sister of Bee Gee Colin and through that ended up in London with the other non-Gibb Bee Gee Vince Melouney to make her first English language single in 1971. "Sally Go Round The Roses " is a cover of a 1963 US hit for one-hit-wonder girl group The Jaynettes. Donna updates it as an urban soul number perhaps looking to get some blaxploitation movie action but it's let down by Melouney's clumsy production.
In 1972 she released her third single in Germany ""If You Walkin Alone" which she co-wrote, a likable if inexpertly composed pop soul number which failed to sell despite having a scantily-clad Donna on the sleeve. The following year she married her Godspell co-star Helmut Sommer and their daughter Mimi followed shortly afterwards. She was doing modelling and session work under the pseudonym "Gayn Pierre" and in 1973 went to the Musiclands Studio to do some vocals for the American group Three Dog Night. The studios were owned and run by the Anglo-Italian duo Pete Belotte and Giorgio Moroder. They immediately recognised Donna's talent and signed her up to a partnership deal from which a deal with the Groovy record label followed
The first single the trio came up with at the beginning of 1974 was "Denver Dream " a slice of Cher -like pop melodrama sung from the point of view of an abandoned baby sister. It's got a strong Abba-like tune but is a bit chorus-heavy ; you end up wanting to hear a bit more of Donna rather than the massed backing choir. It was released in France, Belgium and Holland but made no impact . It was quickly followed by the even more melodramatic "The Hostage" which Donna sings as a wife receiving ransom demands from the kidnappers of her husband. With the interruptions for the phone messages it's corny as hell but still very enjoyable with Donna belting out the song over a proto-Hi NRG bass line. It's also similar in feel to Thunderthighs's classic Central Park Arrest ( which it pre-dates ) though not quite in that league. It reached number two in Holland but its unhappy ending meant it got a frosty reception in Germany where memories of their tragically bungled handling of the 1972 Olympic terrorist attack were still very raw.
The success of "The Hostage" gave the green light for her debut LP "Lady of the Night " to be released there. It's an unashamedly pop album with the single undoubtedly the best track although Donna's conviction does invest the Eurovision corn of "Domino" and "Sing Along " with some emotional weight. Donna released the title track as a follow up but it doesn't work for me; the lyric about prostitution doesn't suit either the Shangri-las pop sound or the early disco groove that it switches between although Donna obviously liked it as she continued to perform it after breaking big. It reached number 4 in Holland where Donna seems to have had a semi-residency on the comedy show Sjef Van Oekel's Discohoek and number 40 in Germany
At the beginning of 1975 she suggested the title "Love To Love You Baby" to her colleagues and they came back with a full song in a Barry White slow disco vein. Donna with her Christian background was somewhat taken aback by the erotic nature of the lyrics but once persuaded she threw herself into it with gusto accompanying each line with orgasmic moans and groans outdoing Jane Birkin on Je T'Aime.... At first it was only released in Holland without the "Baby" where it made number 13 but Moroder knew it had something and sent a tape over to his friend Neil Bogart at Casablanca who played it a house party . The guests demanded repeat plays and Bogart requested a much longer version.
Once again Donna was a bit reluctant to comply but went back into the studio to record a 17 minute version whilst lying on the floor. When crassly asked by an interviewer if she'd touched herself she replied "Yes well actually I had my hand on my knee". Someone from the BBC eventually counted up and claimed there were 23 orgasms on the track ( he would have been worn out if he's strummed along ). Obviously this could not be fitted onto a 7 inch single so it went on a 12 inch single for those who didn't want to fork out for the LP where it took up the whole of the first side. It probably wasn't the first 12 inch single but it was the first worldwide hit to be available in the format. It's not just Donna's groans that make the record though; it's the spare European precision of the backing, the wintry synth chords that frame the singer's inferno , moving from the heat of the dancefloor into the chill of the bedroom giving disco a whole new avenue to explore. Donna and her cohorts would themselves move things along further with another groundbreaking hit a couple of years hence.
The BBC didn't like it of course so I didn't get to hear at the time and couldn't work out why Tom Browne and Top of the Pops were ignoring it. Since then I have ahem, used it . I'm not giving details of time or place but what I can say is that while it worked OK for me the Other said it reminded her too much of Burt Reynolds and now-unfashionable aftershaves proving that you can't always rescue a great record from its context.
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