Donna Summer’s 1977 song “I Feel Love” is widely recognized for pioneering use of a fully synthesized bassline in a major disco recording.
Produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, the track used a Moog modular synthesizer to create its repeating bass pattern and electronic rhythm. Summer’s vocal performance was recorded separately and placed over Moroder’s machine-driven backing, producing a sound that was strikingly different from the orchestral disco common at the time.
“I Feel Love” appeared on Summer’s album I Remember Yesterday, whose concept moved through musical eras before imagining the future. The song became a major international hit and strongly influenced later electronic dance music, synth-pop, techno, and house.
A common mix-up is calling it the first electronic dance recording ever made. Earlier electronic music existed, but “I Feel Love” was unusually successful as a pop and disco single. Its importance lies in bringing an intensely electronic production into the mainstream dance market.