She Works Hard for the Money

This article is about the song. For the parent album, see She Works Hard for the Money (album).
"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
Recorded March 1983
Genre
Length
  • 5:19
  • 4:09 (7")
Label Mercury
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Michael Omartian
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 song by American singer Donna Summer from her 1983 eleventh studio album of the same name. Written by Michael Omartian and Summer, the song was released as the lead single from the She Works Hard for the Money album on May 1983, by Mercury Records.

It became a hit for Summer and is one of her signature songs, reaching number one for a three-week stay atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (her first since 1979), number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and number three on the Dance Club Songs chart. The single ended up as Billboard's fifteenth-best performing song of 1983.[3] Summer performed the song live as the opening of the 1984 Grammy Awards. Summer's Grammy performance was released on the 1994 video cassette Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume I.[4]

Background and composition

Co-written by Summer, told a story of a woman who "works hard for [her] money". It was based on an actual encounter that Summer 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]

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.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1983) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 4
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 19
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[9] 16
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[10] 4
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 4
France (IFOP)[12] 4
Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 11
Ireland (IRMA)[14] 26
Italy (FIMI)[15] 27
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 17
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 18
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 23
Norway (VG-lista)[19] 9
Poland (LP3)[20] 10
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[21] 11
Spain (AFYVE)[22] 8
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 10
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[25] 25
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 3
US Billboard Hot Black Singles[26] 1
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[26] 3
US Cash Box[27] 3
Chart (2012) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[28] 129

Year-end charts

Chart (1983) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[29] 50
Canada (RPM Top Singles)[30] 29
France (IFOP)[31] 39
US Billboard Hot 100[3] 15
US Cash Box[32] 22

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. 1 2 "Top 100 Hits for 1983". The Longbored Surfer. 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. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Radio 2 Top 30 : 25 juni 1983" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4325." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
  11. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  12. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Donna Summer" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  14. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – She Works Hard". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Indice per Interprete: S" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Donna Summer - She Works Hard For The Money search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money". VG-lista. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  20. ↑ "SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY – Donna Summer" (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  21. ↑ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (S)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  22. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  23. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money". Singles Top 100. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1983-07-23" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  26. 1 2 3 "Donna Summer – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  27. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending AUGUST 13, 1983 at the Wayback Machine (archived September 11, 2012). Cash Box magazine
  28. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Donna Summer – She Works Hard For The Money" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  30. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 39, No. 17, December 24, 1983". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  31. ↑ "TOP – 1983" (in French). Top-france.fr. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  32. ↑ The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1983 at the Wayback Machine (archived December 25, 2012). Cash Box magazine.
Preceded by
"Juicy Fruit" by Mtume		 US Billboard Hot Black Singles number-one single
July 30, 1983 – August 13, 1983 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Get It Right" by Aretha Franklin
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