Disco went mainstream in the largest possible way in 1978 after the smashing success of the soundtrack to the motion picture Saturday Night Fever which spent an unprecedented 24 consecutive weeks - almost half a year! - atop the charts. Casablanca Filmworks and Barry Gordy's Motown rushed into production on their own disco movie: Thank God It's Friday.
Despite the disco dancing lady with a torch in opening Columbia Pictures logo, HERC cannot recommend the movie on its own merits. It is of the "one night in the life" genre and centers around the Zoo Disco and the variety of patrons and performers it attracts one Friday night. It is recommended as a "before they were stars" exercise as it features both Jeff Goldblum and Debra Winger in early roles in their respective careers. Also in the cast is the woman who would later become the lead singer of Eighties synth group, Berlin, Miss Terri Nunn. Her co-star, Valerie Landsburg, made her debut in the film and would go on to star in the TV series based on the movie Fame.
In an effort to make it bigger than the monster selling Fever, the soundtrack to Thank God It's Friday was a double album with a bonus 12" single. Like Fever, several of the included songs had been previously released while others were written and recorded especially for the film. The album included three songs by established Motown artists, including an on-screen performance by the Commodores, yet only managed to crack the Top 10.
There are an additional 15 tracks featured in the movie that were not included on the soundtrack album including a pair by the Village People (a Casablanca act who would go on to star in their own movie) and two more by the Commodores. So a complete Thank God It's Friday soundtrack would include 33 songs; more than enough music for a night at the disco.
There are an additional 15 tracks featured in the movie that were not included on the soundtrack album including a pair by the Village People (a Casablanca act who would go on to star in their own movie) and two more by the Commodores. So a complete Thank God It's Friday soundtrack would include 33 songs; more than enough music for a night at the disco.
Among the songs recorded for the film was the hit single, "Last Dance" written by Paul Jabara (he plays "Carl" in the movie and performs two songs on the soundtrack album) and performed by Donna Summer, who also has a role in the movie as an aspiring singer trying to persuade the club's DJ to let her perform. Featuring a ballad intro that built to a climax and then another slow part followed by the song's soaring finale, it was the first disco song structured in such a way and it became a blueprint for dance club songs that followed in its wake.
"Last Dance" would eventually become the #1 Disco Song of 1978 and nab 2 Grammys, a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Song prompting critic Leonard Maltin to quip: "perhaps the worst film ever to have won some kind of Academy Award."
Within 13 months of the song's release, Donna Summer would go on to have four #1 singles on the Pop charts and an unprecedented three consecutive double-albums top the Album charts: Live & More, Bad Girls and On The Radio.
 |
| scan courtesy Nincompoopery |
 |
| scan courtesy mediazilla.net |
 |
| scan courtesy totalsoundrecording.com |
HERC's second favorite Donna Summer track is performed in this next video - she even talks about the writing of the song and does her vocal impersonation of the fellow superstar recording artist she wrote it for.
This next video is HERC's favorite Donna Summer track, a duet with the vocal group Brooklyn Dreams where she met her husband, Bruce Sudano, who is NOT the one singing with her in the video - he's the clean-shaven guy on the left.
HERC did not know that this was going to be today's Friday Flim Fest post when he started to write it last week. With the news of Donna's untimely passing, it only seemed fitting to turn it into a tribute to the woman and her music. She was more than a woman, more than a diva and so much more than just a disco artist - she enjoyed a genre-crossing career in the Eighties, scored 14 Hot Disco/Dance Chart #1s over an incredible 35 year span and even won the very first Grammy given for Female Rock Performance for her rock/disco hybrid hit "Hot Stuff".
As the soundtrack album to Thank God It's Friday is not currently available via Spotify, the following playlist is all Donna Summer - it's HERC's mix of her many greatest hits compilations through the years featuring album cuts, single edits and glorious extended 12 inch remixes. As all of her music is not on Spotify either, HERC did what he could. Prayers, peace and positivity to all of Donna's family, friends and fans.
If you're still a little curious about the movie Thank God It's Friday, here's a trailer:
And here's HERC's favorite song from the soundtrack:
I was able to get onto an NPR broadcast with my Donna Summer memory. They only used a brief segment but... if anyone wants to check it out, please do.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/programs/tell-me-more/
Herc, if you wish to remove the link, feel free.
I didn't see THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY at the theater, but saw it countless times on HBO. I wanted to be DJ Bobby Speed, and DJ in that booth, have access to records that, no surprise, were primarily on Casablanca. Who knew? I always thought Ray Vitte, who was also in CAR WASH, was the coolest, a bad ass if you will, and it would have been cool to have seen him work if he had lived.