TOP 2O GIORGIO MORODER TRACKS
IN AN UNPARALLELED CAREER SPANNING OVER HALF A CENTURY, PEERLESS PRODUCER AND MUSIC MAKER GIORGIO MORODER HAS BEEN THE MASTERMIND BEHIND SOME OF THE MOST DAZZLING MOMENTS IN POP – WE GIVE THE BEST OF THEM A SPIN...
BARRY PAGE
Amultiple award-winner, 82-year-old Giorgio Moroder has worked with some of the biggest names in music, including Blondie, David Bowie, Cher, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan and Freddie Mercury. Thanks to the Italian songwriter and producer’s ground-breaking collaborations with the likes of Donna Summer, The Three Degrees and Sparks, he’s been described as both the godfather of disco and the founder of EDM, but his name is equally synonymous with classic movie soundtracks and scores. In this career-spanning rundown, we pick out some of his finest and most influential work.
20 GIORGIO
SON OF MY FATHER (1971)
Originally a 1971 hit in Germany for collaborator Michael Holm under the title Nachts Scheint Die Sonne, bubblegum pop pioneer Giorgio Moroder released his own Moog-flavoured version, with kooky English lyrics courtesy of long-term collaborator Pete Bellotte. It wasn’t a hit, but the band Chicory Tip took a virtual facsimile to the top of the UK charts in 1972, replicating both its synth work and Schaffel beat, which was synonymous with the glam-rock era. Nowadays, the melody is more recognisable on the terraces of English football clubs.
19 FRIDA
TO TURN THE STONE (1982)
This enthralling ballad had originally been recorded by Donna Summer in 1981, but remained in the vaults until her 1996 album, I’m A Rainbow. In the interim, it was recorded by ABBA’s Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who’d been cherry-picking tracks for her debut solo album, Something’s Going On. Newly divorced, she found a kindred spirit in the LP’s co-producer Phil Collins, whose own marital problems had filtered into 1981’s classic Face Value. Moroder also recorded a version with Joe Esposito for the collaborative album, Solitary Men.