My name is Giovanni Giorgio. Everybody calls me Giorgio 😄

“Chase” and “Love to Love you Baby” are two iconic records that defined the disco era from the late 1970s. The latter featured Donna Summer and became one of the biggest music hits ever. You always knew you were in a cool disco when the DJ played them, once, twice and just before the proverbial fat lady sings.

The effusive synths are perfectly timed for dancing feet and the mechanised drum beats always made a powerful, if not hypnotic impact on the dance floor. However, it took me a while to realise that this musical delirium which few dreamt could be produced in a studio was not the handiwork of some flashy American producer but Giovanni Giorgio – a rather sedate looking Italian sound engineer and producer.

Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby

Giorgio’s mastery of the synth and drum machine is evident in this Donna Summer hit. Legend has it that this song started as an instrumental but Giogio decided to turn it into a full-blown disco song using Donna Summers’ voice to brilliant effect. Love To Love You Baby is cleverly looped throughout the song. Like all legendary stories, this is not without a few twists and turns. Apparently, Donna Summer initially refused to sing because it sounded too erotic. Luckily, she was persuaded to change her mind.

What really made the song exceptionally popular were the erotic moans and groans! Clearly, Giogio had a lot of convincing to do!