1978 Donna Summer – Live And More
Live and More is the first live album recorded by American singer Donna Summer, and it was her second double album. The live concert featured on the first three sides of this double LP album was recorded in the Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles, California in 1978. This album was released on August 28, 1978 by Casablanca Records.
During the concert, Summer performs a large number of her disco songs – both her hit singles, and a selection of songs from her previous album, Once Upon a Time. However, in this album, Donna also experimented with other musical styles such as jazz, in a medley she named “The My Man Medley”. It consisted of the George Gershwin song, “The Man I Love”, together with “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good” and the old standard “Some of These Days”, neither of which she recorded previously. She also performed a version of the ballad “The Way We Were”, originally recorded by Barbra Streisand for the film of the same name, again, never previously recorded by Summer, but a big favorite of her live concerts. This was followed by a self-written ballad called “Mimi’s Song”, dedicated to her young daughter, Mimi. She was present at this concert for Summer to sing the song to her, and she is heard on the recording saying goodnight to the audience! The concert ends with one of Summer’s best-known songs in the United States – “Last Dance”. This hit song was included on the soundtrack of the film Thank God It’s Friday, in which Summer had also acted. The composer, Paul Jabara, won an Academy Award for Best Song from a motion picture, and Summer herself won her first Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance with this song. A personal favorite of Summer’s, it was one of the first disco songs to feature a slow ballad-tempo both at the beginning and in the middle of the song. This would become a format that Summer would use on several other songs. Some versions of “Last Dance” have the slow part removed from the middle but keeps it at the beginning. The full version, however, was sung at this concert.
The fourth and final side of this double LP album contained a new studio recording entitled “MacArthur Park Suite”, which is a medley of four songs including the main song “MacArthur Park”, originally recorded as a ballad by the Irish actor Richard Harris. Summer’s disco version was edited and issued as a single, and it became one of her biggest hits – her first number one song on the American Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and a Top five song in the United Kingdom. This song also earned Summer a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Another song in the medley, “Heaven Knows” was an American Top five hit, and it featured vocals by Joe Esposito of the Brooklyn Dreams musical group. That group included the musician Bruce Sudano, whom Summer would later marry.
Live and More would become Summer’s first number one double album in the United States, and achieved double platinum status in the U.S.
Tracks
1 Once Upon A Time (Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte) 3:03
2 Fairy Tale High (Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte) 2:20
3 Faster And Faster To Nowhere (Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte) 2:09
4 Spring Affair (Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte) 2:34
5 Rumour Has It (Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte) 2:34
6 I Love You llot(Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bete) 3:38
7 Only One Man (Bill Conti, Donna Summer, Virgil Weber) 2:06
8 I Remember Yesterday (Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte) 3:52
9 Love’s Unkind (Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte) 2:37
10 My Man Medley: 6:25
11 The Man I Love (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) 0:00
12 I Got It Bad And That Ain’t Good (Duke Ellington, Paul Webster) 0:00
13 Some Of These Days (Shelton Brooks) 0:00
14 The Way We Were (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Marvin Hamlisch) 3:23
15 Mimi’s Song (Donna Summer, Virgil Weber) 4:28
16 Try Me, I Know We Can Make It (Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte) 4:14
17 Love To Love You Baby (Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte) 3:23
18 I Feel Love (Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte) 6:54
19 Last Dance (Paul Jabara) 5:50
20 MacArthur Park (Jimmy Webb) 8:27
21 One Of A Kind (Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte) 4:57
22 Heaven Knows (Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte) 2:38
23 MacArthur Park (Reprise) (Jimmy Webb) 1:32
Biography
Musicians
Live part:
Bass | Sal Guglielmi |
Drums | Keith Forsey |
Drums | Richard Adelman |
Guitar | Pete Woodford |
Clavinet | Greg Mathieson |
Keyboards | Doug Livingston |
Moog | Greg Mathieson |
Synthesizer | Virgil Weber |
Sax | Dick Spencer |
Sax | Don Menza |
Sax | Joe Romano |
Trombone | Bill Reichenbach |
Trombone | Bruce Paulson |
Trombone | Bob Payne |
Trombone | Dick Hyde |
Trumpet | Bobby Shew |
Trumpet | Rich Cooper |
Trumpet | Dalton Smith |
Cello | Victor Sazer |
Violin | John Santulis |
Violin | Pavel Farkas |
Violin | Mari Tsumura |
Violin | Teri Schoerbrua |
Violin | Jay Rosen |
Violin | Lya Stern |
Viola | Leonard Selic |
Viola | Robert Adcock |
Percussion | Ken Park |
Percussion | Bob Conti |
Background Vocals | Carlene Williams |
Background Vocals | Dara Bernard |
Background Vocals | Mary Ellen Bernard |
Vocals | Donna Summer |
Studio Part (MacArthur Park)
Bass | Mike Porcaro |
Drums | Keith Forsey |
Guitar (Solo) | Jay Graydon |
Guitar | Ben Benay |
Keyboard | Greg Mathieson |
Sax | Jon Kip |
Sax | Gary Herbig |
Sax | David Luell |
Trombone | Dick Hyde |
Trumpet | Steve Madaio |
Percussion | Keith Forsey |
Background Vocals | Chris Bennett |
Background Vocals | Donna Fein |
Background Vocals | Carolyn Dennis |
Vocals | Joe Esposito |
Liner Notes
Producer – Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte
Arranged By – Greg Mathieson
Concertmaster – John Santulis
Conductor – Greg Mathieson, Mike Warren
Contractor – John Fresco
Engineer (Live Recording) – Gary Ladinsky, Jurgen Koppers, Steve Smith
Engineer (Studio) – Erik Zobler, Jurgen Koppers, Steve Smith
Engineer (Mixing) – Jurgen Koppers
Mastered By – Brian Gardner
Graphics – Henry Vizcarra, Stephen Lumel
Photography – Francesco Scavullo
Typography – Tom Nikosey
Mastered At Allen Zentz Recording
Mixed At Westlake Studios
Mixed At Rusk Sound Studios
Recorded At Universal Amphitheatre
Phonographic Copyright Casablanca Record And Filmworks Inc
Copyright Casablanca Record And Filmworks Inc