State of Independence

"State of Independence" is a song originally written and recorded by Jon and Vangelis for their 1981 album The Friends of Mr. Cairo.


Donna Summer Version


Donna Summer covered "State of Independence" on her 1982 album Donna Summer produced by Quincy Jones. It was released as the follow-up to her hit single "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)" in 1982. Summer's version of the song features an all-star choir including among others Michael Jackson, Brenda Russell, James Ingram, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Loggins, Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder. The single was reissued in Europe in 1990 in support of a compilation album entitled The Best of Donna Summer

The 1996 Remixes


Following the dance chart success of the 1995 remix of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love", and clearly influenced by the 1992 Moodswings/Chrissie Hynde cover version, which sampled Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, PolyGram issued a remixed version of Summer's recording of "State of Independence". The single, released both on 12" vinyl and CD on PolyGram's sublabel Manifesto, included mixes by Phil Ramocon, Sold Out, DJ Dero, Ralph Falcon & Oscar G, and Jules & Skins. It peaked at 13 on the UK Singles Chart in 1996, going one place higher than the original release, with the Dance mixes peaking at #1 in the UK Dance Music Charts. The Martin Luther King sample introduced by Eddie Gordon into the track was to emphasize the full independent meaning of the song as he understood it.

Chart Performance


Chart (1982) Peak
position
US Billboard Pop Singles[2] 41
US Billboard Black Singles[2] 31
Australian Singles Chart 10
Dutch GfK chart[3] 3
Dutch Top 40 1
Irish Singles Chart[4] 10
UK Singles Chart[5] 14
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Dutch GfK chart[6] 69
UK Singles Chart[7] 45
Chart (1996) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[8] 13