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"The Wanderer"
Single by Donna Summer
from the album The Wanderer
B-side"Stop Me"
ReleasedSeptember 11, 1980
Recorded1980
GenreNew wave[1]
Length3:47
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Donna Summer singles chronology
"Walk Away"
(1980) 		"The Wanderer"
(1980) 		"Cold Love"
(1980)

"The Wanderer" is a song by American singer Donna Summer, released as the lead single from her 1980 eighth album of the same name, which was the first for her new label Geffen Records after recording her previous albums with Casablanca Records. Despite the label change, Summer continued to work with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, who had produced the majority of her hits in the late 1970s. However, it marks a change in style for The Queen of Disco, incorporating new wave styled synth riffs and a shuffling beat.

This first 45 from the album became a big hit for Summer in the United States, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for 3 weeks. and reaching number two in Cash Box magazine as well. It was Summer's eleventh single to sell over a million copies in the United States. In Canada, the song spent four weeks at number four. A 12" promotional single was issued, however, unlike all her Top 40 hits prior to this one it was not an extended version.

Composition

"The Wanderer" incorporates heavy new wave styled synth riffs and a shuffling beat. Vocally, it was a return to her understated 1975 debut sound - soft, whispery phrases were the norm in this song, taking on an almost Elvis Presley effect, instead of the power belt she had used often since her 1977 album Once Upon a Time and 1978 hit single "Last Dance".

Charts

References

  1. ^ Matos, Michaelangelo (8 December 2020). "Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles: February 28, 1984". Can't Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop's Blockbuster Year. Hachette Books. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-306-90337-3.
  2. ^ a b "National Top 100 Singles for 1980". Kent Music Report. January 5, 1981. Retrieved January 17, 2022 – via Imgur.
  3. ^ a b "Australian-charts.com - Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  4. ^ Nanda Lwin (1999). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
  5. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0268." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  6. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Donna Summer". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 250. Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  7. ^ Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Singoli 1960–2019 (in Italian). ISBN 9781093264906.
  8. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Donna Summer" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  9. ^ "Donna Summer – The Wanderer" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  10. ^ "Donna Summer – The Wanderer". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  11. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  12. ^ a b Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  13. ^ "Donna Summer – The Wanderer". Singles Top 100. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  14. ^ "Donna Summer: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  15. ^ "Donna Summer Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  16. ^ "Donna Summer Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  17. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  18. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
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