I Remember Yesterday

Last updated
I Remember Yesterday
Summeryesterday.jpg
Studio album by
Donna Summer
ReleasedMay 13, 1977
RecordedOctober 1976 – February 1977
Studio Musicland Studios and Arco Studios, Munich.
Genre Disco
Length35:19
Label Casablanca
Producer Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte
Donna Summer chronology
Four Seasons of Love
(1976)		I Remember Yesterday
(1977)		 Once Upon a Time
(1977)
Singles from I Remember Yesterday
  1. "Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over)"
    Released: May 1, 1977
  2. "I Feel Love"
    Released: July 2, 1977
  3. "I Remember Yesterday"
    Released: September 4, 1977
  4. "Love's Unkind"
    Released: November 29, 1977
  5. "Back in Love Again"
    Released: April 4, 1978

I Remember Yesterday is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer. It was released on May 13, 1977, seven months after the release of her previous album. Like her previous three albums, it was a concept album, [1] this time seeing Summer combining the recent disco sound with various sounds of the past. I Remember Yesterday includes the singles "Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over)", "I Feel Love", the title track, "Love's Unkind" and "Back in Love Again". "I Feel Love" and "Love's Unkind" proved to be the album's most popular and enduring hits, the former of which came to be one of Summer's signature songs.

Contents

The album was recorded in Munich at Musicland Studios and Arco Studios with Summer's long-term collaborators and production team headed by producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. Arrangements were handled by Thor Baldursson. The artwork was designed by Gribbitt! with photography by Victor Skrebneski.

Music

Side One of the LP saw Summer "remembering yesterday" by combining the electronic disco sound with sounds of the 1940s ("I Remember Yesterday"), 1950s ("Love's Unkind") and 1960s ("Back in Love Again"). Side Two consisted of two pop/disco tracks, a ballad and finished with a disco song supposedly representing "the future" that would become one of the most famous songs of that genre – "I Feel Love". With the exception of the ballad "Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over)", all the songs were written in collaboration by Summer, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.

As with Summer's last few albums, different record labels distributed her work in different nations. Some of the labels chose to release the ballad "Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over)" as the first single, with "I Feel Love" as the B-side. However, the impact of the song was so huge that it was soon released internationally as an A-side. Previous disco tracks had usually been backed by an acoustic orchestra, the use of synthesizers would later develop new sub-genres of music such as dance and techno. Summer's repetitive vocals over the backing track helped make the song a massive hit. It finally gave her a follow-up in the US to her initial hit ("Love to Love You Baby"), and made number six on the Hot 100 singles chart. It was also a huge hit in Europe, and became a number one hit in the UK. "I Feel Love" firmly secured Donna Summer's place as the leading female artist of disco music.

Image

Summer's sexually-oriented image seemed less prominent on this album, perhaps due to the slight departure from the regular disco sound and the fusion of this sound with the older sounding songs. In fact the lyrics to "Love's Unkind" in particular were very non-sexual compared to many of the love-themed songs Summer had recorded (the songs tells the story of a schoolgirl with a crush on one of her classmates). A couple of the "newer" styled songs on Side Two were slightly more of a sexual nature – namely "Take Me" and "I Feel Love". Around the same time as the album's release, Summer would further her reputation as a serious and credible artist when she was asked to record the theme song for the film The Deep by famous British composer John Barry. The song, "Down Deep Inside" was also released as a single and became another hit for Summer (Top five in the UK).

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Christgau's Record Guide B− [3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Music Week Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [5]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]

Helped by the phenomenal success of "I Feel Love", the I Remember Yesterday album became her biggest so far. It produced several more hit singles in Europe, notably the title track (a UK Top 20 hit) and "Love's Unkind", which became a number three hit in the UK, making it one of her biggest and most remembered hits there. "Back in Love Again" was also a European single and became a Top 40 in the UK as well. It also peaked at number eighteen on the US Billboard 200, [7] number eleven on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart [7] and number three on the UK Albums Chart. [8] The entire album charted as one entry at number one on the Hot Dance/Disco chart. [9]

Artwork

The album back cover features a provocative image of Summer posing in a long skirt, in a spread-eagle squat, with hands crossed at her crotch. The image was used for the single release of "Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over)" b/w "I Feel Love", and later as the image for the "I Feel Love" single when it became a smash hit.

Track listing

All tracks written by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte except where noted; all tracks produced by Moroder and Bellotte

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."I Remember Yesterday"4:45
2."Love's Unkind"4:29
3."Back in Love Again"3:54
4."I Remember Yesterday (Reprise)"3:02
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Black Lady" 3:47
6."Take Me" 5:03
7."Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over)" Tony Macaulay 4:25
8."I Feel Love" 5:53

Personnel

Production

Charts

Certifications and sales

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP) [35] Gold100,000*
United Kingdom (BPI) [36] Gold100,000^
United States (RIAA) [37] Platinum1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<i>Bad Girls</i> (Donna Summer album) 1979 studio album by Donna Summer

Bad Girls is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer. It was released on April 25, 1979, by Casablanca Records. Originally issued as a double album, Bad Girls became the best-selling and most critically acclaimed album of Summer's career. It was also her final studio album for Casablanca Records. In 2003, Universal Music re-issued Bad Girls as a digitally remastered and expanded deluxe edition.

<i>Thank God Its Friday</i> (film) 1978 film by Robert Klane

Thank God It's Friday is a 1978 American musical-comedy film directed by Robert Klane and produced by Motown Productions and Casablanca FilmWorks for Columbia Pictures. Produced at the height of the disco craze, the film features The Commodores performing "Too Hot ta Trot", and Donna Summer performing "Last Dance", which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1978. The film features an early performance by Jeff Goldblum and the first major screen appearance by Debra Winger. The film also features Terri Nunn, who later achieved fame in the 1980s new wave group Berlin. This was one of several Columbia Pictures films in which the studio's "Torch Lady" came to life in the opening credits, showing off her moves for a few seconds before the start of the film.

<i>Love to Love You Baby</i> (album) 1975 studio album by Donna Summer

Love to Love You Baby is the second studio album by American singer Donna Summer, released on August 27, 1975, and her first to be released internationally and in the United States. Her previous album Lady of the Night (1974) was released only in the Netherlands. The album was commercially successful, mainly because of the success of its title track, which reached number 2 on the US Pop charts despite some radio stations choosing not to play the song due to its sexually explicit nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Feel Love</span> 1977 single by Donna Summer

"I Feel Love" is a song by American singer and songwriter Donna Summer. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, it was recorded for Summer's fifth studio album, I Remember Yesterday (1977). The album concept was to have each track evoke a different musical decade; for "I Feel Love", the team aimed to create a futuristic mood, employing a Moog synthesizer.

<i>A Love Trilogy</i> 1976 studio album by Donna Summer

A Love Trilogy is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Donna Summer. It was released on March 5, 1976, just eight months after her international breakthrough with the single and album of the same name – "Love to Love You Baby". The bold, sexual nature of that particular song had earned Summer the title 'the first lady of love'. By now Summer's work was being distributed in the U.S. by Casablanca Records, and the label encouraged Summer, Moroder and team to continue in this vein. A Love Trilogy uses the first side for one long disco track in three distinct movements 'Try Me', 'I Know', 'We Can Make It', and coalescing into the "love trilogy" of the title – "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It". Side two contained three additional erotic disco songs, including a cover of Barry Manilow's "Could It Be Magic". The album's artwork showed Summer floating light-heartedly through the clouds, again adding to the image of her as a fantasy figure.

<i>The Wanderer</i> (Donna Summer album) 1980 studio album by Donna Summer

The Wanderer is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, released on October 20, 1980. It marks a musical departure for Summer, being an album influenced by rock and new wave whilst previous albums all fell under the disco music category. Her inaugural release of the Geffen Records label, it became a Top 20 album in the United States, with the title track reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100; other singles failed to enter the top ten. However, the record was more unsuccessful on the charts than her previous album Bad Girls, which topped the Billboard 200 for five weeks.

<i>Four Seasons of Love</i> 1976 studio album by Donna Summer

Four Seasons of Love is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer. Released on October 11, 1976, this concept album became her third consecutive successful album to be certified gold in the US. It peaked at #29 on the Billboard 200. In addition, all the cuts on this album went to number one on the disco chart.

<i>Live and More</i> 1978 live album by Donna Summer

Live and More is the first live album recorded by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, and it was her second double album, released on August 28, 1978 by Casablanca Records. The live concert featured on the first three sides of this double album was recorded in the Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles, California in 1978.

<i>Once Upon a Time</i> (Donna Summer album) 1977 studio album by Donna Summer

Once Upon a Time is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer. It was released on October 31, 1977, and peaked at No. 26 on the US Billboard 200, number thirteen on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 24 on the UK Albums Chart. The entire album charted as one entry at No. 1 on the Hot Dance/Disco chart. Once Upon a Time includes the singles "I Love You", "Fairy Tale High", "Once Upon a Time" and "Rumour Has It". The album did not spawn a hit single as popular as "I Feel Love".

<i>Lady of the Night</i> (album) 1974 studio album by Donna Summer

Lady of the Night is the debut studio album by American singer Donna Summer, released in the Netherlands on February 26, 1974, by Groovy Records. The album contains such European hits as "The Hostage" and "Lady of the Night".

Peter John Bellotte is a British songwriter, record producer and author most noted for his work in the 1970s with Giorgio Moroder and Donna Summer.

<i>On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II</i> 1979 greatest hits album by Donna Summer

On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II is the first greatest hits album by American singer Donna Summer, released on October 15, 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.

<i>The Donna Summer Anthology</i> 1993 compilation album by Donna Summer

The Donna Summer Anthology is a double compilation album by the American singer Donna Summer, released by Polygram Records in 1993. The compilation featured the majority of Summer's best known songs right from the start of her success to the present day. Summer had originally made her name during the disco era in the 1970s and in the decade that followed had experimented with different styles. Most of the tracks on this compilation are the original album versions of the songs, which were sometimes edited down for their release as a single. Included for the first time are two remixed tracks from her then previously unreleased I'm a Rainbow album, which had been recorded in 1981 but had been shelved by her record company at the time. The album also featured the Giorgio Moroder-penned and produced song "Carry On"', marking the first time Summer and Moroder had worked together since 1981. Summer and Moroder, together with Pete Bellotte had written the vast majority of her 1970s disco hits. Four years later, "Carry On" would be remixed and become a big dance hit. It also won Summer a Grammy for Best Dance Recording, her first win since 1984 and her fifth win in total.

<i>Endless Summer: Donna Summers Greatest Hits</i> 1994 greatest hits album by Donna Summer

Endless Summer: Donna Summer's Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, released on November 8, 1994. It contains many of Summer's best known songs, from her 1970s breakthrough to the release of the album. Unlike 1993's The Donna Summer Anthology, which contains the majority of the songs in their original longer forms, Endless Summer generally includes single versions of the songs. However, the version sold in the United Kingdom uses the album version of the track "I Don't Wanna Get Hurt",, not the more club-oriented mix released as a single there.

<i>Live & More Encore</i> 1999 live album by Donna Summer

Live And More Encore is a live album released by Donna Summer in 1999, an edited version of a televised concert of the same name. Released on Sony Music's sublabel Epic, it featured a live concert which had been filmed especially for the VH-1 channel, and also two new dance tracks, including a re-working of "Time To Say Goodbye", a semi-classical song previously made popular by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. Summer's dance version of the song was entitled "I Will Go with You ". Both of the album's two studio recordings, the other being "Love Is the Healer", reached #1 on the US dance charts, with "I Will Go With You" nominated for a Grammy as Best Dance Recording.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love to Love You Baby (song)</span> 1975 single by Donna Summer

"Love to Love You Baby" is a song by American singer Donna Summer from her second studio album, Love to Love You Baby (1975). Produced by Pete Bellotte, and written by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder, Summer, and Bellotte, the song was first released as a single in the Netherlands in June 1975 as "Love to Love You" and then released worldwide in November 1975 as "Love to Love You Baby". It became one of the first disco hits to be released in an extended form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love's Unkind</span> 1977 single by Donna Summer

"Love's Unkind" is a 1977 song written and produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, with lyrics and vocals by Donna Summer. It was recorded for the Donna Summer album, I Remember Yesterday, which combined modern disco beats with sounds of previous decades. "Love's Unkind" was released as a single in Europe in November 1977, reaching number three in the UK, and number 32 in the Netherlands. Though never released as a single in the USA, it topped the dance chart as part of the I Remember Yesterday album, as at that time entire albums could count as one entry on that particular chart. The lyrics are of high school crushes and love triangles.

<i>The Ultimate Collection</i> (2003 Donna Summer album) 2003 compilation album by Donna Summer

The Ultimate Collection is a greatest hits three-CD compilation of recordings by American singer Donna Summer released in the Netherlands in early 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giorgio Moroder discography</span>

The discography of Giorgio Moroder includes thirteen studio albums and ten soundtracks, as well as numerous production credits. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records. He produced huge hits for Donna Summer during the late-1970s disco era, including "Bad Girls", "Last Dance", "Love to Love You Baby", "No More Tears ", "Dim All the Lights", "MacArthur Park", "Hot Stuff", "On the Radio", and "I Feel Love", and is the founder of the former Musicland Studios in Munich, a recording studio used by many renowned artists including Electric Light Orchestra, Led Zeppelin, Queen and Elton John.

<i>The Ultimate Collection</i> (2016 Donna Summer album) 2016 compilation album by Donna Summer

The Ultimate Collection is a greatest hits compilation of recordings by American singer Donna Summer released in the United Kingdom in late 2016. The album was certified Silver in the UK.

References

  1. ↑ Channel 5 (2021) Greatest Hits of the 1970s, Part 2. UK Broadcast 7th February 2021.
  2. ↑ Wynn, Ron. "I Remember Yesterday > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  3. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 13, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ↑ Larkin, Colin (1998). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7 (3rd ed.). New-York: Muze UK Ltd. p.  5225. ISBN   1-56159-237-4.
  5. ↑ "Review: Donna Summer — I Remember Yesterday" (PDF). Music Week . May 28, 1977. p. 34. ISSN   0265-1548. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  6. ↑ Smith, Robin (June 11, 1977). "Donna Summer — I Remember Yesterday review" (PDF). Record Mirror . p. 12. ISSN   0144-5804. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Donna Summer > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". AllMusic . Retrieved 2011-03-27.
  8. ↑ "UK Charts > Donna Summer". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 2013-03-13. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
  9. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 249.
  10. ↑ "International Best Sellers" (PDF). Cashbox . December 10, 1977. p. 59. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  11. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W: Australian Chart Book. p. 300. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  12. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Donna Summer – I Remember Yesterday" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 5431a". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Donna Summer – I Remember Yesterday" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  15. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Donna Summer". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 250. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Donna Summer – I Remember Yesterday" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  17. ↑ "International Best Sellers" (PDF). Cashbox . October 15, 1977. p. 59. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  18. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
  19. ↑ "Charts.nz – Donna Summer – I Remember Yesterday". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Donna Summer – I Remember Yesterday". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. December 17, 1977. p. 110. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  22. ↑ Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   84-8048-639-2.
  23. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Donna Summer – I Remember Yesterday". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Donna Summer | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Donna Summer Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Donna Summer Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  27. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 429. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  28. ↑ "Jahreshitparade 1977" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  29. ↑ "The Top 100 Albums of '77". RPM . Vol. 28, no. 14. December 31, 1977. p. 15. ISSN   0315-5994 . Retrieved December 1, 2021– via Library and Archives Canada.
  30. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1977" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts . Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts . Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Top Albums 1977" (PDF). Music Week . December 24, 1977. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021– via worldradiohistory.com.
  33. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End". Billboard . Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Year-End". Billboard . Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  35. ↑ "Les Certifications depuis 1973". infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
  36. ↑ "British album certifications – Donna Summer – I Remember Yesterday". British Phonographic Industry.
  37. ↑ "American album certifications – Donna Summer – I Remember Yesterday". Recording Industry Association of America.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.