| Artist | Donna Summer |
|---|---|
| Cover | Cats Without Claws.jpg |
| Released | September 11, 1984 |
| Recorded | October 1983–June 1984 |
| Studio |
|
| Genre | |
| Label | Geffen |
| Producer | Michael Omartian |
| Prev year | 1983 |
| Next year | 1985 |
Cats Without Claws is the twelfth studio album by American pop singer Donna Summer, released on September 11, 1984. Summer had achieved monumental fame during the disco era of the 1970s, and in 1980 was signed to Geffen Records. She had had some degree of success with them, although her previous album had been released on another label. Cats Without Claws peaked at No. 40 on Billboard's album chart, failing to attain the success of its predecessor which peaked at No. 9.
Her previous studio album, She Works Hard for the Money (1983), gained more fame and success since the disco era, and as a result, its producer Michael Omartian was asked to produce the next studio album as well. Again the majority of tracks were written by Summer and Omartian, though a few other writers were credited including Summer's husband Bruce Sudano. As with the previous studio album, Cats Without Claws was pop and dance oriented but included soulful ballads. The album also contained a cover version of "There Goes My Baby", originally made popular by the Drifters, which became the first single. Although Summer requested "Oh Billy Please" as the first single, again Geffen and his executives rejected her request. A gospel song written by Reba Rambo and Dony McGuire entitled "Forgive Me" would win Summer a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance.[1][2]
Cats Without Claws produced three singles: "There Goes My Baby", "Supernatural Love" (also released as a 12" Single) and "Eyes". The song, “There Goes My Baby" reached No. 21 on the pop chart. This album also included 12" dance remixes included "Eyes" and "I'm Free". A 40th Anniversary re-issue was released April 18, 2025.
Commercial performance
Cats Without Claws peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200 chart and spent only 17 weeks on the chart. The album failed to attain the success of its predecessor, She Works Hard for the Money, which peaked at number 9. It reached a peak of number 69 on the UK Albums Chart, and was commercially unsuccessful.
The 40th Anniversary edition of the album was released on April 18, 2025.
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the Cats Without Claws liner notes.[3]
Musicians
- Donna Summer – lead vocals
- Michael Omartian – keyboards, additional drums, additional percussion
- Erich Bulling – Yamaha DX1 and Yamaha DX7 programming
- Paul Jackson Jr. – guitars
- Michael Landau – guitars
- Nathan East – bass guitar
- Mike Baird – drums
- Paulinho da Costa – percussion
- Gary Herbig – saxophone solos
- Dara Bernard – backing vocals
- Mary Ellen Bernard – backing vocals
- Cydney Davis – backing vocals
- Siedah Garrett – backing vocals
- Khaliq Glover – backing vocals
- Portia Griffin – backing vocals
- Susannah Melvoin – backing vocals
- Bruce Sudano – backing vocals
- Gene Van Buren – backing vocals
- Kin Vassy – backing vocals
- Terry Williams – backing vocals
Production and artwork
- Michael Omartian – producer, arrangements
- John Guess – engineer, mixing (1, 3, 5, 7–10)
- Jürgen Koppers – mixing (2, 4, 6)
- David Ahlert – second engineer
- Larry Ferguson – second engineer
- Tom Fouce – second engineer
- Ross Palone – second engineer
- Steve Hall – mastering at Future Disc (Hollywood, California)
- Ronnie Puccinelli – production coordinator
- Chris Whorf – art direction
- Jeffrey Fey – design
- Harry Langdon – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[4] | 91 |
| European Albums (Music & Media)[5] | 22 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)[6] | 25 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[7] | 33 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[8] | 12 |
| US Cashbox Top Albums[9] | 38 |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "There Goes My Baby" | US Billboard Hot 100 | 21 |
| "Supernatural Love" | US Billboard Hot 100 | 75 |
References
- ^ John Joseph Thompson Raised by Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock & Roll- 2000 "Her song "Forgive Me" was an enormous Christian radio hit and won her another Best Inspirational Performance Grammy. Critics blasted her for it, and she did see a drop in sales and popularity for several years..."
- ^ Encyclopedia of recorded sound -Frank W. Hoffmann, Howard Ferstler – 2005 Volume 2 – Page 1079 "She won Grammy awards for Best Inspirational Performance in 1983 and 1984, for "He's a Rebel" and "Forgive Me," respectively."
- ^ Cats Without Claws (CD booklet). Geffen Records. 1984.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated ed. St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. p. 300. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "European Top 100 Albums". Music & Media. October 8, 1984. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Album 1964–2019 (in Italian). Amazon Digital Services LLC - KDP Print US. ISBN 978-1094705002.
- ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Global Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- ^ Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002. 1st ed. Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ^ "Top 100 Pop Albums". Cashbox. p. 15. Retrieved July 20, 2025.