Occasionally on Margauxville, I post a song that I’m pretty sure everyone in the world must know, but that I just love and am thinking about. Add August 10th to that list, but with a twist. “Love To Love You Baby” by Donna Summer is today’s song, but in its nearly 17 minute, 12″ version. Appropriate for the subject matter, methinks.
In 1975, LaDonna (her real first name) came to producer extraordinaire Giorgio Moroder with the lyric and a rough idea of the song. Moroder was getting more and more into the disco sound and envisioned this as a dance track with orgasmic moans laid on top. Thank God. Donna, however, felt a little weird about that. Finally she was convinced to record it as a demo to sell to someone else to re-record. When it was done, Moroder luckily convinced her to release it.
Enter Casablanca Records President Neil Bogart. He said he’d release it if they came up with a mega-size version. And thus was born the version here. Such a different era of the record industry. Imagine demanding a nearly 20 minute track exist before a label agreeing to put it out these days. “Love to Love You Baby” was a massive hit – her first. Of course with the release also came controversy. Stations banned it and she was often condemned in the media. Time Magazine even counted the number of orgasms in the song. (22)
I am constantly glad that dance clubs like Studio 54, cocaine and lots of scantily clad men (and women) won out and that disco reigned supreme. But this song should come with a warning. Be careful when you download it. Play it just three times and you’ve nearly lost an hour.
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