Once Upon a Time (Donna Summer album)

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Once Upon a Time
Once Upon a Time cover
Studio album by Donna Summer
Released October 31, 1977
Recorded 1977
Genre Disco/pop
Length 69:21
Label Casablanca
Producer Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte
Professional reviews
Donna Summer chronology
I Remember Yesterday
(1977)		 Once Upon A Time
(1977)		 Live and More
(1978)

Once Upon a Time is the sixth album by American singer Donna Summer. It was her first double album and, like her previous few albums, was a concept album, this time telling a modern-day Cinderella-themed story through means of disco music. Summer's previous material had been distributed in different countries by different record labels, including Casablanca in the U.S. Once Upon A Time marked the first occasion where Casablanca would be responsible for distributing her work in most countries (though other labels would still be used for distribution in some nations, namely Philips in The Netherlands), as would remain the case until she would break off her contract with them in 1980.

Unlike previous albums, which had portrayed Summer as a fantasy/sexual figure both in their artwork and material, Once Upon A Time showed her in a white wedding-style dress against a plain light blue background, giving more of an image of a fairytale character. The four sides of the double album were dubbed "Act One," "Act Two" etc, and the inner sleeve was printed in the style of a libretto. The album's gatefold sleeve opened to reveal a full-length picture of Summer in the white dress against a beautiful night sky filled with stars.

Throughout the album, the songs tell the story of a girl who goes from having nothing and leading a lonely life dreaming of what could be, to finally having the man she loves enter her life. The "rags to riches" story is brought into the modern day via the use of the electronic disco sound which is found constantly throughout the album. This would confirm Summer's status as the leading female artist within the disco genre.

Building on the success of "I Feel Love" from earlier the same year, one side of this double album was devoted to pure electronica. Many fans of Summer's uber-producer, Giorgio Moroder, cite two of these tracks in particular - "Now I Need You and "Working The Midnight Shift" - as amongst his (and Summer's) greatest work.

Although it did not become Summer's best-selling album, it sold reasonably well upon its release, making the Top 20 in the US, and being certified Gold by the RIAA that same year. It spawned the European hit single "I Love You", which became her fifth Top 10 in the UK in less than two years and hitting the Top 40 in the US. "Rumour Has It" was also a UK. Top 20.


Contents

[edit] Track listing

All tracks written by Bellotte, Moroder, Summer'

[edit] Act One

  1. "Once Upon a Time" – 4:02
  2. "Faster And Faster To Nowhere" – 3:34
  3. "Fairy Tale High" – 4:25
  4. "Say Something Nice" – 4:44

[edit] Act Two

  1. "Now I Need You" – 6:09
  2. "Working the Midnight Shift" – 5:07
  3. "Queen for a Day" – 5:59

[edit] Act Three

  1. "If You Got It Flaunt It" – 4:43
  2. "A Man Like You" – 3:34
  3. "Sweet Romance" – 4:31
  4. "(Theme) Once Upon a Time" – 0:48
  5. "Dance Into My Life" – 4:10

[edit] Act Four

  1. "Rumour Has It" – 4:57
  2. "I Love You" – 4:43
  3. "Happily Ever After" – 3:51
  4. "(Theme) Once Upon a Time" – 3:58

[edit] Charts

Album
Year Chart Position
1978 UK Album chart 24
1978 Norway's album chart 9
Single
Year Single Chart Position
1977 "I love you" UK single chart 10
1978 "I love you" Norway's single chart 10
1978 "Rumour has it" UK single chart 19

[edit] Cover versions, appearances in other media etc.

"Sweet Romance" has been sampled by Illacoin for his underground hit "By a Stranger", which had guest appearances from Labba and Black Rob and featured on Grand Theft Auto III.


Preceded by
"Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" / "Everybody Dance" / "You Can Get By" by Chic		 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single (all cuts)
December 17, 1977 - January 14, 1978		 Succeeded by
"Supernature" / "Give Me Love" / "Love Is Here" by Cerrone


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