On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2

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On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2
On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2 cover
Compilation album by Donna Summer
Released October 15, 1979
Genre Disco, pop, rock, soul, R&B
Length 71:20
Label Casablanca
Producer Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte, Gary Klein
Professional reviews
Donna Summer chronology
Bad Girls
(1979)		 On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2
(1979)		 The Wanderer
(1980)

On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2 is a double compilation album released by Donna Summer in 1979. It was her fourth consecutive double album, and also made her the first person ever to take three consecutive double albums to the Number One spot on the U.S. album chart. This would become Summer's third multi-platinum album to date.

In the early stages of Summer's recording career, her work had been distributed in different countries by different record labels. Varying compilations had been released by these labels. In 1977, Casablanca Records (who had previously been responsible for distributing her work in the U.S.) became responsible for distributing her music in most nations and On the Radio became the first proper international compilation album released by them after years of many successful disco hits. (NB: There were still some countries, such as The Netherlands where other labels continued to distribute her work. A similar compilation was released by Philips Records in this country). The album spanned Summer's career from her breakthrough, the raunchy "Love to Love You Baby" right through to the more rock-influenced tracks of her Bad Girls album. The majority of the tracks were either remixed and/or edited, largely to fit such a big number of tracks onto two records.

The compilation also contained two brand new tracks. The first of these was the pop/disco flavoured "On the Radio" (which opened the album, and closed it in a longer version). Written for the film Foxes, this song was reminiscent of some of her other hits ("Last Dance", "MacArthur Park", "Dim All the Lights") in that it started off with a slow beat. The longer version at the end of the album, like the full-length version of "Last Dance", also contained a slow part in the middle. The song was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category. A longer version was used on the Foxes movie soundtrack release, but omits the final "...now I'm sittin' here with the man I sent away long ago" verse, opting for a repeat of the third instead.

The second new track was a duet with Barbra Streisand entitled "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)". Like "On the Radio", it also had a slow beginning but evolved into a disco number. An early example of girl power, the song was released as a 12" Disco Single (with provocative cover - black and white photo of Summer and Streisand in merry widow bustiers, Streisand's favourite font used for the titles) towards the end of 1979 and hit the Number One spot on the American singles chart (making it Summer's fourth chart-topper there). It was also a big international hit, making Number Three in the U.K. At the beginning of 1980, the shorter version of "On the Radio" was also released as a single, and became Summer's ninth Top 5 on the U.S. singles chart.

On the Radio proved to be Summer's final release with Casablanca Records. She had not been happy for some time with the label's treatment of her - she felt exploited and that she was being made to portray a sexual image with which she was not comfortable. At one point this had driven her to depression and suicide attempts. However by 1979 she had become a born-again Christian and rediscovered herself. She remained with the label for her Bad Girls and On the Radio albums, and then signed a deal with Geffen Records in 1980.

[edit] Track listing

Side A:

  1. "On the Radio" (Moroder, Summer) - 4:00
  2. "Love to Love You Baby" (Bellotte, Moroder, Summer) - 4:07
  3. "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It" (Bellotte, Moroder, Summer) - 3:24
  4. "I Feel Love" (Bellotte, Moroder, Summer) - 3:20
  5. "Our Love" (Moroder, Summer) - 3:43

Side B:

  1. "I Remember Yesterday" (Bellotte, Moroder, Summer) - 4:46
  2. "I Love You" (Bellotte, Moroder, Summer) - 3:12
  3. "Heaven Knows" (Bellotte, Mathieson, Moroder, Summer) - 3:30
  4. "Last Dance" (Jabara) - 4:56

Side C:

  1. "MacArthur Park" (Webb) - 3:54
  2. "Hot Stuff" (Bellotte, Faltermeyer, Forsey) - 2:54
  3. "Bad Girls" (Esposito, Hokenson, Sudano, Summer) - 3:05
  4. "Dim All the Lights" (Summer) - 4:11
  5. "Sunset People" (Bellotte, Faltermeyer, Forsey) - 4:32

Side D:

  1. "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" - duet with Barbra Streisand (Jabara, Roberts) 11:46
  2. "On the Radio" (Long Version) (Moroder, Summer) - 5:50



[edit] Charts

[edit] Album

Year Chart Position
1980 USA Billboard 200 1
1980 UK Album chart 24
1980 Norway 39
Single
Year Single Chart Position
1979 "On the radio" UK's single chart 32
1979 "On the radio" Norway's single chart 6
1979 "No more tears (Enough is enough)" UK's single chart 3
1979 "No more tears (Enough is enough)" Norway's single chart 3


Preceded by
The Long Run by Eagles		 Billboard 200 number-one album
January 5 - January 11, 1980		 Succeeded by
Bee Gees Greatest by The Bee Gees