| "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Donna Summer | ||||
| from the album Donna Summer | ||||
| B-side | "Sometimes Like Butterflies" | |||
| Released | 1982 | |||
| Format | 7" single, 12" single | |||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||
| Genre | Dance-pop/funk | |||
| Label | ||||
| Writer(s) | Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton, Merria Ross | |||
| Producer | Quincy Jones | |||
| Donna Summer singles chronology | ||||
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"Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)" is a hit single from Donna Summer's self-titled 1982 album.
Contents |
Summer's 1980 The Wanderer album - the inaugural release on Geffen Records - had been certified gold in America although it did not enjoy numerous hit singles as some of her '70s releases had enjoyed. Summer had prepped her next album, I'm a Rainbow - a double set which continued her association with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte , but David Geffen, compelled by the need for what he considered a guaranteed smash, had shelved I'm a Rainbow and assigned Summer to record an album with producer Quincy Jones. Jones was a much sought-after producer at the time, particularly due to his association with Michael Jackson's album Off the Wall.
"Love Is In Control (Finger On the Trigger)" was the lead single off the Jones' produced album Donna Summer. It was written by Jones and Rod Temperton - who'd also written Jackson's "Rock with You". Summer reports that the recording process for this album was challenging, as she was pregnant at the time and unhappy over I'm a Rainbow' being shelved by Geffen Records.
The single was issued in three different versions: the 7" single release (3:42), the LP version (4:19), and a 12" single version (7:04). The 12" version features an instrumental saxophone by Ernie Watts on the B-side.
"Love Is in Control (Finger On the Trigger)" became a major hit, peaking at #10 on the US Hot 100 in the summer of 1982, giving Summer her sixteenth top 40 hit,[1] and reaching #4 on the US R&B Chart. It was Summer's best R&B showing since "Bad Girls" in 1979 -- even using police whistles in the song as in Bad Girls. Although the parent album was certified gold in the US, it did not produce any more major hits and did not prove the powerhouse album Geffen Records had hoped for.
Ironically, Summer would have her biggest success in the 1980s while on Geffen's roster with her next album She Works Hard for the Money and its title cut - which were released by Mercury Records in a one-off arrangement to settle Summer's split with the soon-to-be-defunct Casablanca Records, whose catalogue now resided with Mercury and Casablanca's parent company Polygram Records.
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia ARIA Singles Chart | 17 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 4 |
| Dutch GfK chart[2] | 12 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 6 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart | 48 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 14 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 18 |
| Norwegian VG-lista Singles Chart | 3 |
| South African Singles Chart | 7 |
| Spain | 5 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 13 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 5 |
| UK Singles Chart | 18 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 10 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 4 |
The B-side of the "Love Is in Control" 7" single was a non-album track written by Summer herself, "Sometimes Like Butterflies". It is yet to be released on CD and was covered in 1985 by Dusty Springfield.
In 2001, Sheena Easton covered "Love Is in Control" on her retro-disco album Fabulous. The track was intended as the second single from the album and a UK promo single was issued but the single's release was cancelled.