Donna Summer, Last Dance | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 118th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Last Dance” by the Queen of Disco, 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 118th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Last Dance” performed by Donna Summer.

“So, let’s dance the last dance / Let’s dance the last dance / Let’s dance the last dance tonight.” Ah, “Last Dance” – the quintessential Donna Summer song. Also, one of the quintessential disco classics from the late 1970s.  Amazing, “Last Dance” did NOT appear on a Donna Summer studio album 😮. A travesty! Why? There is a good reason. “Last Dance” was a soundtrack cut from the 1978 film, Thank God It’s Friday.  Notably, the late Paul Jabara, the songwriter, won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 51^st  Academy Awards.  “Last Dance” earned Summer her first Grammy (Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female).  The legendary Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte produced this gold-certified, no. 3 pop hit.

Before the famous chorus of “Last Dance” kicks in, with a fast tempo and signature disco stylings, the song begins slowly. The verse is smooth: “Last dance / Last chance for love / Yes, it’s my last chance / For romance tonight.” Summer delivers lovely, amorous vocals. Of course, Summer’s vocals are commanding when the tempo increases. Her ad-libs are electrifying. The verse, sung initially in the slow tempo, returns in the quick tempo, as does the pre-chorus (“Oh, I need you by me / Beside me to guide me…”). The ultimate display of musicianship, the orchestration is sublime: the flutes, oboe, lush strings, and articulated horns.  Once the tempo picks up, the strings are playful (the riffs).  The rhythm section is tight: slick rhythm guitar, athletic, full bass line, sickening drum groove, and keys. Unsurprisingly, the infectious chorus is the crowning achievement of this 1970s gem.  “Last Dance” also makes nice use of key modulations and an adventurous harmonic progression and chords (at times). The final hit at the end is on point!  “Last Dance” NEVER grows old.

Donna Summer // On The Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II // UMG Recordings Inc. // 1979

Donna Summer, Last Dance: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 118 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; UMG Recordings Inc.; OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]