Could Donna Summer's "Sunset People" Be A Hit Toda

**Mario** · November 17th, 2004, 11:16 PM

Hello Guys...This past weekend while driving down a very wet and foggy desert, I had my CD player cranked up listening to Donna Summer's Anthology. I couldn't get over that pounding beat behind "Sunset People" and realizing how ahead of it's time that song truly was. The sound is incredible... so out of its time! Giorgio Moroder was a genius! I started to hypothetically wonder: Would today's dance audiences go for "Sunset People" if it were a hit today? :-?
Or is it too slow for today's dance standards? Is it too 70's for today's musical tastes?

Take Care, Guys... Mario 8)

**Spellbound** · November 18th, 2004, 12:28 AM

do you mean on the charts or among the dance clubbers?

among todays clubbers in my age group no it is too slow and does not have enough bass

and it has vocals that are not repetitive so i would say no

as far as on the charts it would all depend on how much muscle casablanca had in todays industry

i do not know about back then but right now regular rotationon the radio and on television is not cheap. you have to have a necessary budget set aside to make sure it is a hit

i have always hated the words HIT and HITS

**markydefad** · November 18th, 2004, 12:13 PM

Originally Written by Spellbound

do you mean on the charts or among the dance clubbers?

among todays clubbers in my age group no it is too slow and does not have enough bass

Spellbound,

"Sunset People" is around 144 BPM--VERY FAST--even for today's speed freaks. :lol:

**Spellbound** · November 18th, 2004, 12:45 PM

maybe i should adjust the pitch control next time i listen to it

but i am sure it wouldnt sound right anywhere past +4

it would sound weird

most current house, drum and bass, techno, trance will usually be spun at +3, +6, sometimes even +8 and still sound ok

i prefer the slower music but people who are into hard house at +6 are not going to get into the slower older records

i even find myself having to adjust the pitch on my disco records to at least +3 because they seem WAY too slow when played at the normal speed

**Rab** · November 18th, 2004, 12:57 PM

I couldn't get over that pounding beat behind "Sunset People" and realizing how ahead of it's time that song truly was. The sound is incredible... so out of its time! Giorgio Moroder was a genius! I started to hypothetically wonder: Would today's dance audiences go for "Sunset People" if it were a hit today?

:-?

Sunset People ahead of its time??? HOW?? Sunset People was an excellent tune! And today all the music SUCKS! So, how could it be ahead of its time?? Even the lyrics of this song are very 1979. Just because Sunset People has the sound of synthesizers instead of the usual percussion & brass doesn't mean anything.

Would dance audiences today go for Sunset People IF it were released today instead of 1979? Probably not, because people today have no taste or class. They think having "class" is something you "buy". The fact of the matter is, the younger generation has no idea what they missed. Everything sucks today, unless your an immigrant.

**Videoskooter** · November 18th, 2004, 01:50 PM

I don't know. Maybe Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliot can ruin this one too, than it sure would be a hit!

**Salsoul1975** · November 18th, 2004, 04:28 PM

Sunset People was a fine song but unfortunately overlooked among all of Donna Summer's records because it was only an album cut (from "Bad Girls"). No, I don't think the song would be a hit today if released. The lyrics reflect a different time in America, one that is no more. There is a sense of vitality in those lyrics that would be bland by today's standards. If one wants vitality in 2004, one would have to write a song of nothing but the usual let-me-see-your-thong-and-getting-a-piece-of-that-hairy-root lines.

As for the sound overall, it is fast and metronomic but if it were released as a single today, it would be deemed "retro". I think Summer's stellar Now I Need You (from "Once Upon A Time") would have a better chance if released today. That song was ahead of its time, as was I Feel Love. Sunset People put electronica to good use, but you could also say the same for the song that preceded it on the "Bad Girls" album, Lucky, which was also overlooked because of its album cut status.

**dvdjamm** · November 19th, 2004, 05:20 AM

i think it would be a big dance hit now,but it would have about 6 to 8 remixes including a couple of trance remixes,a couple of techno mixes and a retro disco mix.....

**Eurodancemix** · November 19th, 2004, 07:12 AM

With some minor remixing (punching up the drum track), it could probably be a hit today.

One disco track that *really* amazes me is "Fly With The Wind" by the Peter Jacques Band. Who knew someone would compose a Trance song back in 1979?

**Nano** · November 19th, 2004, 03:26 PM

"Sunset People" is great 8)

I'm sure if you let the main lyrics out, it can be put in a techno-trance set without problem.

**markydefad** · November 19th, 2004, 03:46 PM

Giorgio, Bellotte & Donna were working at such a high creative peak in the late Seventies. There were so many songs from "Bad Girls" that could have been released as singles after "Hot Stuff", "Bad Girls" and "Dim All the Lights"....but the ultimate DISCO SUPERSTAR pairing of Donna with Barbra was released in the fall of 1979....making another single from "Bad Girls" like say 'Our Love" or "Sunset People" unnecessary. The next release was a Greatest Hits compilation and that featured the new song "On The Radio"....and then it was almost too late for G & Donna. The music changed; disco was out. I wish they could have kept on creating more music in the vein of "Sunset People" instead of "turning the stone" to the pop/rock of "I'm a Rainbow" whick has some good moments...but few GREAT ones. :(

BTW, has anyone seen the new Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs list in the current issue?

Donna places 2 songs in there: "Hot Stuff" (around #100!!) & "I Feel Love" later...said to be the blueprint for all the music of the 80s .

I'll have to remember to bring the mag and list the other "dance-oriented" stuff.

Let's just say there will be "Stayin' Alive," "Good Times," "Lady Marmalade," "Billie Jean," "Like a Prayer," and "Dancing Queen" in there.

NO COSTANDINOS OR MIDNEY OR CERRONE ALLOWED!!! :lol:

**FrontPage22** · November 20th, 2004, 10:54 AM

This is one of my fave Donna tunes. Very hypnotic. Whether or not it could be a hit now? I don't know. Maybe as sort of an end of the evening tune at a good club where classics got as much air as run of the mill tunes. I'd play it.

It's very 1979 in subject matter though....you can see Donna crusing the strip in your mind's eye (how cheesy did that sound?:)

**Bona boy** · November 22nd, 2004, 04:12 AM

'Sunset People' was actually released as a single here in the UK & got to no.46 in the pop charts in June 1980. Strange that Phonogram chose to release it so long after the Bad Girls LP came out but I was still happy that they did as I love this track; for me it was a continuation of her 'Now I Need You/ Working The Midnight Shift/ I Feel Love' sound from '77 with its sequencer-a-go-go style. This style was totally brilliant IMO but I don't see why so many people say it infuenced house music as house seems to rarely use sequecers in the way Giorgio M.did. :-?
Anyhow, it all went tits-up when 'The Wanderer' came out 3 months later & I knew there & then that it was all over for Ms.Summer & Mr.Moroder. :cry:

**ol'skinflint** · May 22nd, 2006, 03:54 PM

it probably WOULD work at a rave or something. I'll bet people may appreciate "The Wanderer" now too, though it seemed quite grating when it was released. And did anyone hear Debra Messing destroy "Love to Love You Baby" when trying to make a porno tape for her vacant husband on "Will and Grace?" Donna sure seems "hot" all over again right now. She recently got a very good review of one of her recent live shows not too far from my area, and even had "Love to Love You" sampled by Beyonce recently. Then I saw Donna and her husband being interviewed on a show about their daughter's acting gig; Donna looked incredible. I know I'm not the only one wondering why she hasn't released much new music lately. I guess "I Will Go With You" is her most recent recording...

**needlefingers** · May 23rd, 2006, 08:27 AM

Originally Written by ol'skinflint

I guess "I Will Go With You" is her most recent recording...

Donna has had a few club hits since then, including "You're So Beautiful" in 2004 and in late 2005, she released "I Got Your Love" which hit #4 on the Billboard dance chart.

"I Got Your Love" was released as a CD single with 6 mixes. Her voice is filtered on this track and it sounds more like early Donna, before she started belting.

**discokicks** · May 23rd, 2006, 08:50 AM

Originally Written by needlefingers

"I Got Your Love" was released as a CD single with 6 mixes. Her voice is filtered on this track and it sounds more like early Donna, before she started belting.

I love this track....when I throw the Rosario mix on in a set at the club, Donna's voice just resonates throughout the room! I don't think her vocals are filtered on this mix...they're just too beautifully clear and strong. Compared to all other current tracks that I play, it's hard not to notice this incredibly strong vocal track. There's a breakdown towards the end where it's mainly just her vocal and a bit of that definitive Summer cooing.

The Power Of One was another song of hers released in the last few years...I think 2001 -2002...and certainly another beauty!

As for Sunset People, there was an elongated re-edit of this that I found on the net a few years ago that was quite nice. I think a dj could get away with fitting this in for a retro throwback as long as he/she had a crowd of mixed ages (this usually only occurs in smaller cities)...and the crowd would most definitely have to be gay.

**needlefingers** · May 23rd, 2006, 09:02 AM

You may be right about it not being filtered, but I feel like the bottom was tweaked with. Or they just had great recording techniques on this one (good mic, good reverb, etc.) I should add that maybe she worked to get that voice for this song.

But I agree that her voice is clear and strong. And youthful. In fact, the first time I heard the track, I didn't know who it was but I immediately thought of a young Donna Summer. When I heard it was her, I was surprised.

And happy for her.

And I agree about the Ralphi Rosario mix.