If, like me, you grew up in the late 1970s when Donna Summer’s ‘MacArthur Park‘ was one of the biggest hits of the decade, you were probably ecstatic to hear the still superb disco track showing up at the end of the satirical political drama White House Plumbers this week.
Yep, that was Donna Summer’s ‘MacArthur Park‘ that was played on White House Plumbers, Episode 5, “True Believers” last night as Howard is working in the laundry at the Federal Minimum Security prison and discovers Nixon has resigned.
The disco track then continues playing over the episode’s end credits.
Donna Summer’s ‘MacArthur Park‘ was a cover version of an original song first released by Irish actor Richard Harris a decade prior.
Summer’s version shot to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as to #1 on two other American charts.
The disco track ranked high on charts in eight European countries, including the United Kingdom.
‘MacArthur Park‘ also earned Summer a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and ultimately became one of the iconic disco music singer’s most-recognized releases.
Sadly, Donna Summer herself died back in 2012 at the age of just 63 from lung cancer.
As Summer was a non-smoker, there have been several theories as to why she contracted the disease.
Some put it down to breathing in second-hand smoke while performing in clubs, while others say it was from breathing in toxic fumes during the September 11th attack, as her apartment was just blocks from the World Trade Center.
Listen to Donna Summer’s ‘MacArthur Park‘, as heard on the new episode of White House Plumbers, in the video of the singer performing the song live on VH1, as well as on Spotify down below.
It is a song that, almost 45 years after its release, still makes me want to dance.