On the Radio
Donna Summer | Artist Essentials
First released: 1979 (year verified)
Original 1979 short studio version
MusicAtlas editorial note: The opening gives the vocal story space before the regular dance pulse takes over.
YouTube opens a title-and-artist search. The selected recording and date are identified below.
Release evidence and recording details
First released: 1979 (year verified)
The short original recording retains 1979 in distributor metadata; the original hits album appeared that year.
Recording: Original 1979 short studio version
Credit: Donna Summer
Role in this collection: Primary artist
Original single: On the Radio
On the Radio - original short recording metadata
The public distributor item identifies Donna Summer's short On the Radio recording, approximately four minutes, with a 1979 song date. Its later Summer: The Original Hits package is not the original release event. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
Rock Hall Museum Store - On the Radio original release history
The history dates the original hits album to October 1979. Its program contains two On the Radio entries and the Streisand duet. It does not identify the mix of a retained annual row. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
Annual version match under review
The selected recording has release evidence, but its version has not been matched to the retained annual entry. It is omitted from Beyond the yearly lists until this match is resolved.
The selected short original 1979 recording is documented separately from the two positions on the original hits album. The actual 1979/1980 annual rows share one recording ID without edition metadata, so both remain provisional.
On the Radio - original short recording metadata
The public distributor item identifies Donna Summer's short On the Radio recording, approximately four minutes, with a 1979 song date. Its later Summer: The Original Hits package is not the original release event. | Reviewed 2026-10-18
Rock Hall Museum Store - On the Radio original release history
The history dates the original hits album to October 1979. Its program contains two On the Radio entries and the Streisand duet. It does not identify the mix of a retained annual row. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
About Donna Summer
Donna Summer was a Boston-born singer and songwriter whose early church singing and European musical-theater work preceded her recording career. In Munich she developed a partnership with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, combining expressive vocals with extended disco arrangements and electronic rhythms. Her late-1970s records also drew on rock, soul and orchestral pop. Subsequent albums explored new wave, R&B and contemporary dance production, with studio work continuing through Crayons in 2008.
Artist background sources
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - Donna Summer induction essay by Harry Weinger
Career history supporting the Boston and church background, European musical theater, Munich partnership, stylistic range and later recording work through Crayons. No song-inspiration, sales-total, chart-record or present-day claim is made. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-18. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
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