Donna Summer’s Last No. 1 Single Was Based on a Very Personal Story

In 1983, Donna Summer released “She Works Hard For The Money”. The song, the title track of a record also released in 1983, is written by Summer and Michael Omartian. “She Works Hard For The Money” is Summer’s final No. 1 hit of her career. It is also one based on a true story.

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“She Works Hard For The Money” says in part, “It’s a sacrifice working day to day / For little money, just tips for pay / But it’s worth it all / To hear them say that they care / She works hard for the money / So hard for it, honey / She works hard for the money / So you better treat her right.”

In 1983, Summer was at an afterparty at a now-closed restaurant, Chafen’s. A bathroom attendant, Onetta Johnson, was taking a nap when Summer discovered her. Johnson revealed she was working two jobs to pay the bills. Summer had the idea for “She Works Hard For The Money” while talking to Johnson. Immediately, she began penning some of the lyrics on toilet paper.

Donna Summer Shares the Story Behind “She Works Hard For The Money”

Summer later recounted the profound impact meeting Johnson had on her.

 “I went to the ladies’ room with my manager [Susan Muneo]. And there was a little woman [in there],” Summer remembers. “We peeked around the corner, and there was a little lady sitting there with her head tilted to the side, and she was just gone – she was asleep. … I looked at her, and my heart just filled up with compassion for this lady, and I thought to myself, ‘God, she works hard for the money, cooped up in this stinky little room all night.’”

Johnson appears in the artwork for the record. For the video, Johnson chose several hard-working jobs to be represented. One of the occupations is a waitress, which is what Summer dresses as for the album, along with Johnson.

In the Love To Love You, Donna Summer documentary, Johnson reveals what it meant to her to be the inspiration for “She Works Hard For The Money”.

“I can’t believe it,” Johnson says. “It’s like a fairy tale for me.”

Summer also helped make history with “She Works Hard For The Money”. The video marks the first time a Black female artist had a video in heavy rotation on MTV. Of Summer’s many hits, she later said it’s “She Works Hard For The Money” that most of her female fans identify with the best.

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