Hot Stuff – Donna Summer | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning

Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 3 weeks) & R&B (#3); 1979

Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne

Boston-born Donna Summer built her pop music career from Munich, Germany, where she’d teamed up with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and hit paydirt with the erotically charged Love To Love You Baby (#2 Pop, #3 R&B; 1976).

Her next seven chart singles produced only one Top 10 hit, I Feel Love, then 1978’s Last Dance kicked her career into high gear. In 1979 Donna racked up five Top 5 hits, of which three hit #1.

First up was Hot Stuff, written by Bellotte, Keith Forsey (the drummer on Silver Convention’s hits), and Harold Faltermeyer (later the man behind 1985’s #3 Axel F). Hot on Stuff‘s heels came Bad Girls. The two singles danced together in the Top 3 for four weeks before Bad Girls also reached #1.

Finally, Donna’s duet with Barbra Streisand, No More Tears (Enough Is Enough), also reached #1. With Dim All The Lights (#2) and Heaven Knows (#4) Donna was the undisputed top female vocalist of the year.

This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.

Produced by:

  • Giorgio Moroder
  • Pete Bellotte

Lyrics Written by:

  • Pete Bellotte
  • Harold Faltermeyer
  • Keith Forsey

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Ed Osborne

Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).