Donna Summer, I Feel Love | Throwback Vibez

In the 105th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “I Feel Love” by the late, great Donna Summer.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez ! Throwback Vibez is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils ! All genres of music are welcome. In the 105^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “I Feel Love” performed by Donna Summer.

“Ooh, it’s so good, it’s so good / It’s so good, it’s so good, it’s so good.” Agreed, Donna Summer! “I Feel Love”, the closing track on I Remember Yesterday, is SO GOOD.  The late Queen of Disco was an icon, and “I Feel Love” is a prime example of why. Even so, before Summer sings one “ooh,” the instrumental is iconic too.  Summer penned this top-10 hit alongside producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.  Moroder and Bellotte outdo themselves. “I Feel Love” begins enigmatically and softly. It crescendos into an ultra-groovy, electronic-driven disco cut. The rhythmic synths are insane. Reflecting on the music, it sounds ‘ahead of its time.’ Would  “I Feel Love” sound anachronistic in the 2020s? I don’t believe so.

Backed by such a scintillating instrumental, Donna Summer shines.  The lyrics are few. She keeps it simple, but the execution – the way she sings – is brilliant.  Continuing to “feel love” in the second verse, she sings, “Ooh, fallin’ free, fallin’ free /… Ooh, you and me, you and me…” The third verse is similar, all experiencing love.  To reiterate, “I Feel Love” was a top-10 hit – one of 14 top-10 hits by Summer.  It peaked at no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the RIAA.  The word ‘vibe’ is used to characterize modern songs, many of which use less of a conventional form and fewer lyrics. “I Feel Love” is a prime example of a ‘vibe’ from the 1970s that remains fresh approaching 50 years later.

Donna Summer // I Remember Yesterday // The Island Def Jam Music Group // 1977

Donna Summer, I Feel Love: Throwback Vibez No. 105 (2024) [: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]