Virgin Mary (song)

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1975 single by Donna Summer

"Virgin Mary"

Single by Donna Summer
from the album  Love to Love You Baby (Dutch Version)
B-side| "Pandora's Box"
Released| September 30, 1975
Genre| R&B
Length| 4:59
Label| Groovy
Songwriter(s)| Giorgio Moroder
Pete Bellotte
Producer(s)| Pete Bellotte
Donna Summer singles chronology
| "Love to Love You"
(1975)  | "Virgin Mary"
(1975)  | "Could It Be Magic"
(1976)

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"Virgin Mary" is a song by American singer Donna Summer, released in the Netherlands in 1975. It was written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte and produced by Bellotte.

## Background and release

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By 1975, Summer had been based in Munich, Germany for several years and had been working with European writers/producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte for some time. They had released her debut album, "Lady of the Night" in the Netherlands the previous year, and it had spawned two European hit singles—"The Hostage" and "Lady of the Night". Earlier in 1975, a new single called "Love to Love You" had been released in the Netherlands, and would later be reworked and retitled "Love to Love You Baby" and be released internationally as Summer's breakthrough hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom. "Virgin Mary" was released in the Netherlands prior to this, as the follow-up to the original "Love To Love You".

## Composition and lyrics

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Written by Moroder and Bellotte, the song contained slow verses and then sped up for the choruses, before returning to a slow fade out. It also made fairly heavy use of backing vocals. The lyrics told the story of a formerly beautiful woman now in her mid-30s but having aged prematurely due to being abused by the people of the town in which she lived, who disapproved of her wayward lifestyle as a youngster, and who believed gossip about her behaviour with men. As a result of her apparent behaviour, they named her "Virgin Mary".

## Impact and legacy

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The final release before Summer's international breakthrough, "Virgin Mary" was not a big hit. This coupled with the fact that it was only released in one country has made the single somewhat of a collector's item. Mint copies of it are very hard to find, although used copies can sometimes be found on eBay. The song was featured on two LPs in Europe in the 1970s, being included on the Dutch release of Summer's "Love To Love You Baby" album (replacing "Full Of Emptiness," which was originally part of Summer's debut album) and also the Dutch/German-only "Greatest Hits" compilation in 1977. It was finally made available on CD in 2012, as part of a Giorgio Moroder compilation entitled On The Groove Train.

## Track listing

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Netherlands 7" (Groovy GR 1215)

1. "Virgin Mary" – 4:59 (mistakenly listed as 4:02)
2. "Pandora's Box" – 3:08 (mistakenly listed as 3:14)

* v
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Donna Summer

* Discography
* Awards

Studio albums|

* Lady of the Night (1974)
* Love to Love You Baby (1975)
* A Love Trilogy (1976)
* Four Seasons of Love (1976)
* I Remember Yesterday (1977)
* Once Upon a Time (1977)
* Bad Girls (1979)
* The Wanderer (1980)
* I'm a Rainbow (rec. 1981, rel. 1996)
* Donna Summer (1982)
* She Works Hard for the Money (1983)
* Cats Without Claws (1984)
* All Systems Go (1987)
* Another Place and Time (1989)
* Mistaken Identity (1991)
* Christmas Spirit (1994)
* Crayons (2008)

Live albums|

* Live and More (1978)
* Live & More Encore (1999)

Compilations|

* On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II (1979)
* Walk Away: Collector's Edition (The Best of 1977–1980) (1980)
* The Summer Collection: Greatest Hits (1985)
* The Dance Collection: A Compilation of Twelve Inch Singles (1987)
* The Donna Summer Anthology (1993)
* Endless Summer: Donna Summer's Greatest Hits (1994)
* The Ultimate Collection (2003)
* The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer (2003)
* Gold (2005)
* Singles... Driven by the Music (2015)
* The Ultimate Collection (2016)

Remix albums|

Love to Love You Donna (2013)

Singles|

| 1970s|

* "The Hostage"
* "Lady of the Night"
* "Virgin Mary"
* "Love to Love You Baby"
* "Could It Be Magic"
* "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It"
* "Spring Affair"
* "Winter Melody"
* "Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over)"
* "I Feel Love"
* "Shut Out"
* "Down Deep Inside"
* "I Remember Yesterday"
* "Love's Unkind"
* "I Love You"
* "Rumour Has It"
* "Last Dance"
* "Back in Love Again"
* "MacArthur Park"
* "Heaven Knows"
* "Hot Stuff"
* "Bad Girls"
* "Dim All the Lights"
* "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)"
* "On the Radio"

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1980s|

* "Sunset People"
* "Walk Away"
* "The Wanderer"
* "Cold Love"
* "Who Do You Think You're Foolin'"
* "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)"
* "State of Independence"
* "I Feel Love (Patrick Cowley Remix)"
* "The Woman in Me"
* "Protection"
* "She Works Hard for the Money"
* "Unconditional Love"
* "Love Has a Mind of Its Own"
* "There Goes My Baby"
* "Supernatural Love"
* "Eyes"
* "Dinner with Gershwin"
* "Only the Fool Survives"
* "This Time I Know It's for Real"
* "I Don't Wanna Get Hurt"
* "Love's About to Change My Heart"
* "Breakaway"
* "When Love Takes Over You"

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1990s–2010s|

* "State of Independence (New Bass Remix)"
* "When Love Cries"
* "Work That Magic"
* "Carry On"
* "La Vie en rose"
* "Melody of Love (Wanna Be Loved)"
* "Any Way at All"
* "I Feel Love (Remix)"
* "Whenever There Is Love"
* "I Will Go with You (Con te partirò)"
* "Love Is the Healer"
* "The Power of One"
* "You're So Beautiful"
* "Dream-A-Lot's Theme (I Will Live for Love)"
* "I Got Your Love"
* "I'm a Fire"
* "Stamp Your Feet"
* "It's Only Love"
* "Fame (The Game)"
* "To Paris with Love"

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Related topics|

* Brooklyn Dreams
* Pete Bellotte
* Joe "Bean" Esposito
* Giorgio Moroder
* Bruce Sudano
* Neil Bogart
* Paul Jabara
* Sunshine
* "Down Deep Inside"
* Love to Love You, Donna Summer (2023)

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