She Works Hard for the Money

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She Works Hard For The Money
She Works Hard For The Money cover
Studio album by Donna Summer
Released 1983
Genre Pop, Dance, Soul, R&B
Length 42:06
Label Mercury
Producer(s) Michael Omartian
Donna Summer chronology
Donna Summer
(1982)		 She Works Hard For The Money
(1983)		 Cats Without Claws
(1984)


She Works Hard for the Money is an album by Donna Summer released in 1983. Summer had made her name as the biggest female star of the disco era during the 1970s. Having signed to Geffen Records in the early 1980s, she had gained some success during the post-disco era but had encountered problems in that Geffen had refused to release some of her material. The She Works Hard For The Money album was initially turned down by Geffen, so Polygram Records were approached. Polygram had taken over Casablanca Records, to which Summer was signed at the height of her fame the previous decade. She had left them after a dispute which by now was resolved, so they agreed to release the album on their Mercury label.

This project became Summer's most successful since the disco era. She Works Hard For The Money was more pop/dance orientated than her last couple of albums, but also contained some soulful ballads including "Love Has A Mind Of Its Own", a duet with gospel singer Matthew Ward. It also contained a reggae-styled song called "Unconditional Love" which also featured vocals by young black British group Musical Youth. Lyrically, the album dealt with subjects such as social injustice ("Stop, Look and Listen"), Jesus Christ ("He's a Rebel") and missing children ("People, People"). Many fans saw the album as a "return to form" for Summer - she was once again presented as a strong, powerful woman very much in control. During the 1970s, Summer's management had worked hard to portray her as a powerful, sexual fantasy figure to the point where they had become too involved in her personal life (which led to a period of depression for Summer before becoming a born-again Christian and filing a lawsuit against her record label). Since the disco era, Summer had experimented with different genres including New Wave and rock, and some felt she had got a little "lost" in trying to find her musical place in the new decade. She Works Hard for the Money firmly established her place as a 1980s pop/dance diva.

Summer was credited with writing or co-writing every track on the album, mostly alongside Michael Omartian, who was also given production credits. It became her first Top 10 album in the U.S. since 1979 and produced a massively successful hit single in the form of the title track. The sleeve of the single and album pictured Summer as a waitress who "works hard for the money" and the song was a tribute to "the working woman." It was accompanied by a high-profile music video which became the first by a black artist to be heavily promoted on MTV. The song shot to Number 3 on the Hot 100 American singles chart, making it her biggest hit there since "The Wanderer" three years previously. The song was also given a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Three more singles were released from the album - firstly the aforementioned "Unconditional Love" which gave Summer her fourteenth U.K. Top 20 hit (and also a Number 3 placing on the U.S. R&B chart), followed by the more moderate hits "Stop, Look and Listen" and the soulful duet "Love Has A Mind Of Its Own" with Matthew Ward.

The song "He's A Rebel" gained Summer the Grammy award for Best Inspirational Performance, her first win since 1979.

[edit] Track listing

  1. She Works Hard For The Money (Donna Summer, Michael Omartian) 5:19
  2. Stop, Look and Listen (Donna Summer, Michael Omartian, Greg Phillinganes) 5:52
  3. He's A Rebel (Donna Summer, Michael Omartian, Jay Graydon) 4:22
  4. Woman (Donna Summer, Bruce Sudano, Michael Omartian, Jay Graydon) 4:19
  5. Unconditional Love (Donna Summer, Michael Omartian) 4:42
  6. Love Has A Mind Of Its Own (Donna Summer, Bruce Sudano, Michael Omartian) 4:16
  7. Tokyo (Donna Summer, Bruce Sudano, Michael Omartian) 4:19
  8. People, People (Donna Summer, Bruce Sudano, Michael Omartian) 4:06
  9. I Do Believe (I Fell In Love) (Donna Summer) 4:35

[edit] Personnel

  • Horns: Jerry Hey, Chuck Findley, Gary Grant, Dick Hyde, Charlie Loper
  • Art direction and design: Chris Whorf/Art Hotel
  • Photography: Harry Langdon
  • Compact disc design by: Rick Hunt

[edit] Production

  • Recorded and mixed by John Guess
  • Recorded and mixed at Lion Share Studios, Los Angeles, CA.; Hollywood Sound Recorders, Hollywood, CA.; Rhema Studio, Beverly Hills, CA.
  • Assistant Engineers: Larry Ferguson, Ross Pallone
  • Mastered by Steve Hall at Future Disc Systems, Hollywood, CA.; Bernie Grundman A&M Mastering Studios, Hollywood, CA.
  • Production coordinator: Yvonne Garcia
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