Giovanni Giorgio Moroder is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance music. His work with synthesizers had a large influence on several music genres such as Hi-NRG, Italo disco, new wave, house and techno music.
"Nights in White Satin" is a song by the Moody Blues, written and composed by Justin Hayward. It was first featured as the segment "The Night" on the album Days of Future Passed. When first released as a single in 1967, it reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and number 103 in the United States in 1968. It was the first significant chart entry by the band since "Go Now" and its recent lineup change, in which Denny Laine and Clint Warwick had resigned and both Hayward and John Lodge had joined.
"Flashdance... What a Feeling" is a song from the 1983 film Flashdance with music by Giorgio Moroder and lyrics by Keith Forsey and the song's performer, Irene Cara. Moroder had been asked to score the film, and Cara and Forsey wrote most of the lyrics after they were shown the last scene from it in which the main character dances at an audition for a group of judges. They felt that the dancer's ambition to succeed could act as a metaphor for achieving any dream a person has and wrote lyrics that described what it feels like when music inspires someone to dance. The song wound up being used for the scene they watched as well as during the opening credits as the main character is shown working as a welder.
"Diamonds" is a song by American trumpeter Herb Alpert from his 27th studio album, Keep Your Eye on Me (1987). Released as the second single from Keep Your Eye on Me on March 14, 1987, by A&M Records, the song features lead and background vocals by American singers Janet Jackson and Lisa Keith.
"On the Radio" is a song by American singer and songwriter Donna Summer, produced by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder, and released in late 1979 on the Casablanca record label. It was written for the soundtrack to the film Foxes and included on Summer's first international compilation album On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II.
What a Feelin' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Irene Cara. Released on November 2, 1983, this album is a continuation of the work that Cara began with producer Giorgio Moroder on the soundtrack to the 1983 film Flashdance. The dance-pop song she co-wrote with Moroder and Keith Forsey for the film, "Flashdance... What a Feeling", went to number one on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 and foreshadowed the style of this album, which was unlike her R&B-heavy debut. Although Cara was more accustomed to composing music, she relinquished most of those duties to Moroder here and shifted much of her songwriting focus to lyrics.
"The Longest Time" is a doo-wop song by Billy Joel, released in 1984 as the fourth single from the 1983 album An Innocent Man. Following the theme of the album in paying tribute to Joel's musical influences, the song is presented in the style of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. It reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. In the United Kingdom the song reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Never Ending Story" is the title song from the English version of the 1984 film The NeverEnding Story. It was produced and composed by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder and performed by Limahl. Limahl released two versions of the song, one in English and one in French. The English version featured vocals by Beth Anderson, and the French version titled "L'Histoire Sans Fin" featured vocals by Ann Calvert.
Flashdance: Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 1983 American romantic drama film Flashdance, which tells the story of Alex Owens, a welder and exotic dancer who dreams of becoming a professional ballerina. The nightclub performances by Alex and her co-workers and other set pieces involving training and auditioning provided opportunities to present the songs that would make up the soundtrack album. The film's music supervisor, Phil Ramone, made selections that he felt were the best fit for their respective scenes, and composer Giorgio Moroder contributed additional tracks in the process of scoring the film. One of his contributions, "Flashdance...What a Feeling" by Irene Cara, became available as a single in March 1983, weeks before the film's April 15 release, and eventually spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine" is written and recorded by Bob Dylan for his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. He released the song as a single twice during his career, once in 1974, which reached number 66 on the US chart, and again in 2007, appearing at number 51 on the UK chart.
"I Need Your Loving" is the second single to be taken from the British synthpop group The Human League's 1986 album, Crash. This song was written by Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, David Eiland, Langston Richey, Danny C. Williams and H. Randall Davis.
American Gigolo is the soundtrack album to the 1980 movie of the same name, starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. The music was composed and performed by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder and was released worldwide on the Polydor label. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200 album chart. All the cuts from the soundtrack also went to number two for five weeks on the disco/dance charts.
D.C. Cab: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 1983 film D.C. Cab. The producers selected artists for the album who were popular with a young, black audience, and the popularity of one of the film's stars, Mr. T, prompted the film's distributor to release the film four months earlier than planned. D.C. Cab performed poorly at the box office, and the soundtrack peaked at number 181 on the album chart in Billboard magazine.
"No More Words" is a song by American new wave band Berlin from their third studio album, Love Life (1984). It was released on February 27, 1984, as the album's lead single. The single was the band's first top-40 entry on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 23 on May 12, 1984. The song was featured in the 1985 film Vision Quest. In the United States, the song was re-released in 1985 as a B-side to Madonna's single "Crazy for You", which was also featured in Vision Quest.
"America" is a song written by Sammy Johns, and recorded by American country music artist Waylon Jennings. It was released in September 1984 as the first single from his compilation album Waylon's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2. The song reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
"Why Me?" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey, and the song's performer, Irene Cara, that was the first official single to be released from Cara's 1983 album, What a Feelin', making it the follow-up to the songwriting trio's previous project for Cara, "Flashdance... What a Feeling". This new collaboration, however, was described as having more of a hard rock edge and had lyrics that conveyed the difficulties in a relationship.
"Breakdance" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder, Bunny Hull, and the song's performer, Irene Cara. Moroder's obsession with the dance hit "Rockit" by Herbie Hancock fueled his composition of the music, and Cara was inspired by the street performers she saw growing up in the South Bronx to write lyrics about what was then called breakdancing. Released in March 1984, it was the third single that originated on her What a Feelin' LP and her first to make the top ten in the US since the album's title track went to number one almost a year earlier. "Breakdance" also charted in several other countries and had a dance remix that was also well received.
"You Were Made for Me" is a song written by Eddie Brown and the song's performer, Irene Cara. It was the fourth and final single that originated on her 1983 LP What a Feelin' and the only ballad included on it. While Giorgio Moroder had written the music for most of the songs on the album, Cara is credited as the composer on "You Were Made for Me". Whereas the previous singles spawned dance remixes and did well on the pop and R&B charts, "You Were Made for Me" had its biggest success on the Adult Contemporary charts in the US and Canada. It was also her last chart hit in the US.
"Cuba" is a 1978 song by the Gibson Brothers taken from their album of the same name.
"The Dream " is a song written by Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte, and the song's performer, Irene Cara, for the 1983 film D.C. Cab. Although not included on initial pressings of Cara's What a Feelin' LP, the decision to release the film four months earlier than originally slated prompted an arrangement for her album to be reissued with the song. A slightly different version was also included on the film's soundtrack album; an edited version was released on the 7-inch single, and the 12-inch single included a much longer dance remix.
