The Giorgio 
Moroder Primer

READ | Disco King Giorgio Moroder

1969: Moroder releases his debut album, That’s Bubble Gum—That’s Giorgio, a pop album featuring the sticky-sweet track “Looky, Looky.”

1972: Chicory Tip’s remake of Moroder’s song “Son of My Father” becomes the first U.K. number 1 single to prominently showcase a synthesizer.

1975: “Love to Love You Baby,” Moroder’s collaboration with Donna Summer, jump-starts their careers—and libidos everywhere. It quickly becomes a Studio 54 staple.

1976: Moroder’s album Knights in White Satin comes out, flaunting homoerotic, bathhouse-y cover art.

1977: Moroder uses an entirely synthesized backing track for Summer’s classic “I Feel Love,” a gay anthem and precursor of techno.

1978: Summer and Moroder release a multi-million-selling disco remake of “MacArthur Park,” proving there’s nothing sadder than a cake left out in the rain.

1979: The producer’s film score for Midnight Express wins him an Oscar; he releases E=MC², billed as the “first electronic live-to-digital album.” 

1980: “Call Me,” Moroder’s collab with Blondie for the film American Gigolo, becomes the number 1 song of the year.

1982: David Bowie releases “Cat People (Putting Out Fire),” from the Moroder-produced soundtrack for Cat People.

1984: Moroder wins another Oscar for writing and producing Irene Cara’s “Flashdance…What a Feeling” from Flashdance.

1986: Moroder snags yet another Academy Award for co-writing and producing “Take My Breath Away,” a ballad recorded by the new wave band Berlin for the movie Top Gun (starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis).

2013: Daft Punk feature and pay tribute to Moroder on “Giorgio by Moroder,” a song from their Grammy-winning album Random Access Memories.

2015: Moroder stages an official comeback, enlisting the likes of Britney Spears, Sia, Kylie Minogue, Charli XCX, and Kelis for Déjà Vu, his first album in 30 years.

READ | Disco King Giorgio Moroder