‘Love is in Control’ by Donna Summer – Classic Hit or Mss

Summer's 1980 The Wanderer album - the inaugural release on Geffen Records - had been certified gold in America although it did not enjoy numerous hit singles as some of her '70s releases had enjoyed. Summer had prepped her next album, I'm a Rainbow - a double set which continued her association with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte , but David Geffen, compelled by the need for what he considered a guaranteed smash, had shelved I'm a Rainbow and assigned Summer to record an album with producer Quincy Jones. Jones was a much sought-after producer at the time, particularly due to his association with Michael Jackson's album Off the Wall.

"Love Is In Control (Finger On the Trigger)" was the lead single off the Jones' produced album Donna Summer. It was written by Jones and Rod Temperton - who'd also written Jackson's "Rock with You". Summer reports that the recording process for this album was challenging, as she was pregnant at the time and unhappy over I'm a Rainbow' being shelved by Geffen Records.

"Love Is in Control (Finger On the Trigger)" became a major hit, peaking at #10 on the US Hot 100 in the summer of 1982, giving Summer her sixteenth top 40 hit,[1] and reaching #4 on the US R&B Chart. It was Summer's best R&B showing since "Bad Girls" in 1979 -- even using police whistles in the song as in Bad Girls. Although the parent album was certified gold in the US, it did not produce any more major hits and did not prove the powerhouse album Geffen Records had hoped for.

So how about today?