"Starting Over Again" was a 1980 U.S. pop and country hit single for Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...

. Telling the story of a middle aged couple separating after 30 years of marriage, the song was written by Donna Summer

Donna Summer

LaDonna Adrian Gaines , known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach...

 and her husband Bruce Sudano

Bruce Sudano

Bruce Charles Sudano is a singer/songwriter/producer best known for his collaboration with and marriage to singer Donna Summer, and the group he co-founded, Brooklyn Dreams....

. (The story was actually based on Sudano's parents' divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

.) Parton's recording was performed as a slow tempo ballad, gradually building to a dramatic crescendo. Released as the first single from Parton's 1980 album Dolly, Dolly, Dolly

Dolly, Dolly, Dolly

-Chart performance:- Personnel :*Eddie Anderson – drums*Anita Ball – vocals*Jeff Baxter – guitar*George Bohannon – horn*Alexandra Brown – vocals*Lenny Castro – conductor*Steve Cropper – guitar*Denise DeCaro – vocals*Frank DeCaro – strings...

, "Starting Over Again" made the U.S. pop top forty, peaking at #36, and reached #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.

Chart positions

Chart (1980)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	36
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	35
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	2

Reba McEntire version

Reba McEntire

Reba McEntire

Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...

 also covered the song in 1995 for her Starting Over

Starting Over (Reba McEntire album)

-Production:*Produced By Tony Brown & Reba*Engineered & Mixed By John Guess & Derek Bason*Recorded By Terry Christian & Grant Greene *Overdubs Recorded By Terry Christian & King Williams-Album:...

album. Released as the album's third single, McEntire's version peaked at #19 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks

Hot Country Songs

Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...

chart.

Chart positions

Chart (1996)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	19
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	26

External links

• Starting Over Again lyrics at Dolly Parton On-Line