How Donna Summer Turned a Bathroom Encounter Into Pop Music Gold

Donna Summer stood tall as one of the premier pop stars of the era, circa 1983. You might think someone of that status, cocooned by fame and fortune, would struggle to connect with people not from that world.

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But it was Summer’s empathy for a working woman she encountered that inspired her to write her 1983 single “She Works Hard For The Money”. The song proved that Summer could soar to the highest echelons of pop music with a song removed from the disco with which he originally made her mark.

Summer Songs

No artist on the planet could approach the run of success that Donna Summer delivered in the second half of the 70s. In 1978 and 1979 alone, she released eight Top 5 singles, four of which rose all the way to No. 1 on the pop charts.

She reigned as the undeniable queen of disco. But that genre started to receive serious blowback once the 80s began. Summer needed to prove that she could do something different, a task that was made more difficult by record label executives who attempted to steer her artistic vision.

Summer enjoyed a few hits in the early 80s, although none quite at the level of her disco smashes. She decided to try a different producer in Michael Omartian for the album she planned for 1983. Still needing one more song for the record, Summer attended a Grammys after-party in February 1983, which is where inspiration struck.

The Whole “Works”

That night at the party, Donna Summer went to the ladies’ room and noticed the bathroom attendant was fast asleep. Instead of chastising her, Summer realized that this woman was probably fatigued from hard work. Striking up a conversation with her, Summer learned that the attendant, named Onetta Johnson, was indeed working multiple jobs at the time.

Summer immediately wrote down the phrase “She Works Hard For The Money”. She worked out the rest of the song with Omartian. Released as the debut single and the title track from her 1983 LP, the song hit No. 3, her biggest hit since the disco era.

Behind the Lyrics of “She Works Hard For The Money”

“I met her there in the corner stand,” Donna Summer begins, recalling that fateful night. “And she wonders where she is.” The narrator is privy to this worker’s innermost thoughts. “And it’s strange to her,” she notes about the rich people she sees. “Some people seem to have everything.”

“Twenty-eight years have come and gone,” Summer sings in the second verse about the quickly passing time. “And she’s seen a lot of tears.” But her pride persists. “She’ll never sell out,” Summer belts. “She never will/Not for a dollar bill.” “So you better treat her right,” Summer sings, warning anyone who might attempt to give this woman grief.

With “She Works Hard For The Money”, Donna Summer delivered an anthem to which millions could relate. (The video drove home the point even more.) She also showed he could woo the public without a four-on-the-floor disco pulse behind her. Who knows what might have happened without what turned out to be the most beneficial trip to the bathroom in her life?

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