On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2
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| On The Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2 | ||
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| Double album by Donna Summer | ||
| Released | 1979 | |
| Genre | Disco, Pop, Rock, Soul, R&B | |
| Length | 71:20 | |
| Label | Casablanca | |
| Producer(s) | Giorgio Moroder, Pete Bellotte, Gary Klein | |
| Donna Summer chronology | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bad Girls (1979) |
Love To Love You Baby (1979) |
The Wanderer (1980) |
On The Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2 is a double compilation album released by Donna Summer in 1979. It was her fourth consecutive double album, and also made her the first person ever to take three consecutive double albums to the Number One spot on the U.S. album chart. This would become Summer's third multi-platinum album to date.
In the early stages of Summer's recording career, her work had been distributed in different countries by different record labels. Varying compilations had been released by these labels. In 1977, Casablanca Records (who had previously been responsible for distributing her work in the U.S.) became responsible for distributing her music worldwide and On The Radio became the first proper international compilation album released by them after years of many successful disco hits. The album spanned Summer's career from her breakthrough, the raunchy "Love To Love You Baby" right through to the more rock-influenced tracks of her Bad Girls album.
The compilation also contained two brand new tracks. The first of these was the pop/disco flavoured "On The Radio" (which opened the album, and closed it in a longer version). Written for the film Foxes, this song was reminiscent of some of her other hits ("Last Dance", "MacArthur Park", "Dim All The Lights") in that it started off with a slow beat. The longer version at the end of the album, like the full-length version of "Last Dance", also contained a slow part in the middle. The song was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category. A longer version was used on the Foxes movie soundtrack release, but omits the final "...here I am sitting with the man I sent away long ago" verse, opting for a repeat of the third instead.
The second new track was a duet with Barbra Streisand entitled "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)". Like "On The Radio", it also had a slow beginning but evolved into a disco number. An early example of girl power, the song was released as a 12" Disco Single (with provocative cover - black and white photo of Summer and Streisand in merry widow bustiers, Streisand's favourite font used for the titles) towards the end of 1979 and hit the Number One spot on the American singles chart (making it Summer's fourth chart-topper there). It was also a big international hit, making Number Three in the U.K. At the beginning of 1980, the shorter version of "On The Radio" was also released as a radio single, and became Summer's ninth Top 5 on the U.S. singles chart. Casablanca and Columbia shared profits and formats - Casablanca released the 11 minute overdubbed 12" Single (which is also on Summer's Greatest Hits package), Columbia included the 8 minute original version on Streisand's "Wet" album, and both released the 7 " 45 radio version.
On The Radio proved to be Summer's final release with Casablanca Records. She had not been happy for some time with the label's treatment of her - she felt exploited and that she was being made to portray a sexual image with which she was not comfortable. At one point this had driven her to depression and suicide attempts. However by 1979 she had become a born-again Christian and rediscovered herself. She remained with the label for her Bad Girls and On The Radio albums, and then signed a deal with Geffen Records in 1980.
