B-side "Sweet Agony" Recorded December 1979 Length 3:58 | Released March 1980 Genre Country Label RCA | |
"Starting Over Again" is a song recorded by American entertainer Dolly Parton. Telling the story of a middle aged couple separating after 30 years of marriage, the song was written by Donna Summer and her husband Bruce Sudano. (The story was actually based on Sudano's parents' divorce.) Parton's recording was performed as a slow tempo ballad, gradually building to a dramatic crescendo. It was released in March 1980 as the first single from her album Dolly, Dolly, Dolly. "Starting Over Again" made the U.S. pop top forty, peaking at number 36, and reached number 1 on the U.S. country charts on May 24, 1980.
Despite having co-written the song, Donna Summer never recorded it herself, though she did perform it live numerous time on television specials during the 1980s.
Reba McEntire version
Reba McEntire also covered the song in 1995 for her Starting Over album. Released as the album's third single, McEntire's version peaked at number 19 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. In the album's liner notes, McEntire wrote that she chose to cover the song as a tribute to Parton and Summer, both artists whom she'd admired.