She Works Hard for the Money

"She Works Hard for the Money"
Single by Donna Summer
from the album She Works Hard for the Money
B-side	"I Do Believe I Fell in Love"
Released	May 27, 1983
Format	7" single 12" single
Recorded	March 1983
Genre	New wave[1] post-disco[2]
Length	5:19 4:09 (7")
Label	Mercury
Writer(s)	Donna Summer Michael Omartian
Producer(s)	Michael Omartian
Certification	Gold (CRIA)[3]
Donna Summer singles chronology
"Love to Love You Baby" (re-issue) (1983) "She Works Hard for the Money" (1983) "Unconditional Love" (1983)

"She Works Hard for the Money" is a 1983 song by American singer Donna Summer. It was the first single released from the album of the same name.

Summer performed the song live as the opening of the 1984 Grammy Awards. She was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance Female. Summer's Grammy performance was released on the 1994 video cassette Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume I.^[4]

Background and composition

The song, co-written by the singer, told a story of a woman who "works hard for [her] money". It was based on an actual encounter that Donna had with an exhausted rest room attendant named Onetta Johnson (at the iconic Los Angeles restaurant Chasen's), who was later mentioned in the song and featured on the album's back cover.^[5]

According to MusicNotes.com, the song is performed in the key of A minor, with a tempo of 136 beats per minute. Summer's vocals span from A₃ to E₅.^[6]

Chart success

The song became a hit for Summer and is one of her signature songs, reaching number one for a three-week stay atop the R&B chart (her first since 1979), number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and number three on the dance chart. It was a no. 25 hit in the UK. The single ended up as Billboard's fifteenth-best performing song of 1983.^[7] Along with the Grammy nomination, she was nominated for Favorite Female Pop/Rock Artist and Favorite Female Soul/R&B Artist at the American Music Awards. Summer was also nominated for Best Female Video at the first MTV Awards in 1984, the video was also nominated for Best Choreography.

Music video

The music video for the song, directed by Brian Grant, debuted on MTV and became the first video by an African American female artist to be placed in "heavy rotation" (a term used by MTV at the time to indicate a frequently-aired video). The video shows a woman, working as a waitress in a diner, who is burdened with many situations in her life such as work and raising two unruly children. It is also seen that she has abandoned her hopes of being a ballerina. Summer appears as an observer through a kitchen window, a woman who assists the fallen-down protagonist of the video, and, at the end, a leader of a troupe of women, in various work uniforms, who have taken to the streets to signify their independence and gain recognition for their "hard work". The protagonist is also seen dancing in the street with them.

In a parody of the image created by this song, and its cover art picture, Summer herself appears in the Frank Sinatra video for "L.A. Is My Lady", released in 1984, as a waitress who serves a patron and then wipes her brow.

There are two version of the music video. One is the single edit, the other remains faithful to the original length of the album version of the song.

Official versions

• Album Version (5:19)
• 7" Single Version (4:09)
• Club Mix (aka Special Long Version) (6:15)
• Instrumental (5:47)
• 1985 Edit (4:33)

NB The 1985 Edit is from the compilation album The Summer Collection

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1983) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 4 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 19 Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[10] 16 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 4 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] 4 France (IFOP)[13] 4 Germany (Official German Charts)[14] 11 Ireland (IRMA)[15] 26 Italy (FIMI)[16] 27 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 17 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 18 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] 23 Norway (VG-lista)[20] 9 Poland (LP3)[21] 10 South Africa (Springbok Radio)[22] 11 Spain (AFYVE)[23] 6 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 5 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 10 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[26] 25 US Billboard Hot 100[27] 3 US Billboard Hot Black Singles[27] 1 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[27] 3 US Cash Box[28] 3

Chart (2012) Peak position France (SNEP)[29] 129 Year-end charts Chart (1983) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[30] 50 Canada (RPM Top Singles)[31] 29 France (IFOP)[32] 39 US Billboard Hot 100[7] 15 US Cash Box[33] 22

Personnel

• Donna Summer – vocals
• Michael Omartian – synthesizer
• Jay Graydon – guitars
• Marty Walsh – guitars
• Gary Herbig – saxophone
• Mike Baird – drums
• Michael Boddicker – synthesizer programming
• Horns: Jerry Hey, Chuck Findley, Gary Grant, Dick Hyde, Charlie Loper
• Background vocals: Dara Lynn Bernard, Mary E. Bernard, Roberta Kelly, Matthew Ward

References

1. Jones, Nate (September 29, 2010). "Rock and Roll Hall Nominations Announced: Who Has the Best Chances?". Time. Retrieved May 10, 2015. With a career spanning funk ("Love to Love You Baby"), disco ("Last Dance") and New Wave ("She Works Hard for the Money"), Summer is probably the most accomplished female artist up for induction this year.
2. Masley, Ed (April 22, 2009). "Confessions of an 'Idol' virgin: Disco week". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 11, 2014. Donna Summer's big post-disco hit "She Works Hard For the Money"
3. "Gold/Platinum". Music Canada. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
4. "Grammy's Greatest Moments, Volume 1: Various Artists". Amazon.com. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
5. Marikar, Sheila (May 17, 2012). "Donna Summer: Six Things You May Not Have Known". ABC News. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
6. "She Works Hard for the Money By Donna Summer – Digital Sheet Music". MusicNotes.com. Universal Music Publishing Group. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
7. "Top 100 Hits for 1983". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
8. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
9. "Ultratop.be – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
10. "Radio 2 Top 30 : 25 juni 1983" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4325." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
12. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
13. "InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Donna Summer" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
14. "Offiziellecharts.de – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
15. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – She Works Hard". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
16. "Indice per Interprete: S" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
17. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Donna Summer - She Works Hard For The Money search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
18. "Dutchcharts.nl – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
19. "Charts.org.nz – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
20. "Norwegiancharts.com – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money". VG-lista. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
21. "SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY – Donna Summer" (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
22. "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (S)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
23. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
24. "Swedishcharts.com – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money". Singles Top 100. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
25. "Swisscharts.com – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
26. "Archive Chart: 1983-07-23" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
27. "Donna Summer – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
28. CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending AUGUST 13, 1983 at the Wayback Machine (archived September 11, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
29. "Lescharts.com – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
30. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
31. "Top Singles – Volume 39, No. 17, December 24, 1983". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
32. "TOP – 1983" (in French). Top-france.fr. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
33. The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1983 at the Wayback Machine (archived December 25, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved July 11, 2014.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics