She Works Hard for the Money
"She Works Hard for the Money" is a song by American singer Donna Summer and the title track from her eleventh studio album of the same name (1983). The song was written by Michael Omartian and Summer, and produced by the former. It was released as the lead single on May 10, 1983 from the album by Mercury Records. It became a hit for Summer, reaching number one for a three-week stay atop the Billboard R&B singles chart (her first since 1979), number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and number three on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart. The single ended up as Billboard's 15th-best performing song of 1983.[4] In addition, Summer earned a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 1984 Grammy Awards, where she performed the song live as the opening for the ceremony.
This article is about the song. For the parent album, see She Works Hard for the Money (album)."She Works Hard for the Money"
"I Do Believe (I Fell in Love)"
May 10, 1983
1983
- 5:19 (album version)
- 4:09 (single edit)
Michael Omartian
Music video[edit]
The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Brian Grant, debuted on MTV and became the first video by an African American female artist to be placed in "heavy rotation" (a term used by MTV at the time to indicate a frequently-aired video).[10] The video shows a woman, working as a waitress in a diner, who is burdened with many situations in her life such as work and raising two unruly children. It is also seen that she has abandoned her hopes of being a ballerina. Summer appears as an observer through a kitchen window, a woman who assists the fallen-down protagonist of the video, and, at the end, a leader of a troupe of women, in various work uniforms, who have taken to the streets to signify their independence and gain recognition for their "hard work". The protagonist is also seen dancing in the street with them.
In a parody of the image created by this song, and its cover art picture, Summer herself appears in the Frank Sinatra video for "L.A. Is My Lady", released in 1984, as a waitress who serves a patron and then wipes her brow.
There are two versions of the music video. One is the single edit; the other remains faithful to the original length of the album version of the song.