Chords + Lyrics | Hot Stuff
Intro
||: G5 | G5 | F | G5 :||
||: Gm | Gm | F | Gm (F) :||
Verse 1
||: Gm | Gm | F | Gm (F) :||
Sittin’ here eatin’ my heart out waitin’, waitin’ for some lover to call.
Dialed about a thousand numbers lately, almost rang the phone off the wall.
Chorus 1
||: C5 D5 | Gm :||
Lookin’ for some hot stuff, baby, this evenin’.
I need some hot stuff, baby, tonight.
I want some hot stuff, baby, this evenin’.
| C5 | D5 |
Gotta have some hot stuff, gotta have some love tonight.
Chorus tag 1
||: G5 Bb5 | C5 D5 :||
Hot stuff. I need hot stuff
I want some hot stuff. I need hot stuff
Instrumental 1
||: Gm | Gm | F | Gm (F) :||
Verse 2
Lookin’ for a lover who needs another, don’t want another night on my own.
Wanna share my love with a warm-blooded lover, wanna bring a wild man back home.
Chorus 2
Gotta have some hot love, baby, this evenin’.
I need some hot stuff, baby, tonight.
I want some hot stuff, baby, this evenin’.
Got to have some lovin’, got to have love tonight.
Chorus tag 2
Hot stuff. I need hot stuff.
Hot love. Looking for hot love.
Solo
||: Gm | G5 | Eb5 | Eb5 |
| F5 | F5 | G5 | G5 :||
Middle 8
| Gm | Gm (Gbm/G) | F | Gm |
Hot, hot, hot, hot, stuff. Hot, hot, hot.
| Gm | Gm (Gbm/G) | F | Gm |
Hot, hot, hot, hot, stuff. Hot, hot, hot.
Chorus 3
How about some hot stuff, baby, this evenin’.
I need some hot stuff, baby, tonight.
Gimme little hot stuff, baby, this evenin’.
Hot stuff, baby, gonna need your love tonight.
Chorus tag 3
Hot stuff. I need hot stuff.
Looking for hot love. Wanna have hot love.
Instrumental 2
||: Gm | Gm | F | Gm (F) :||
Verse 3
Sittin’ here eatin’ my heart out, no reason, I’ll spend another night on my own.
I dialed about a hundred numbers, baby, I’m bound to find somebody home.
Chorus 4
Gonna have some hot love, baby, this evenin’.
I need some hot stuff, baby, tonight.
Looking for my hot stuff, baby, this evenin’.
Need your lovin’ baby, gonna need your love tonight.
Instrumental 3
| Gm | Gm |
Chorus 5 (longer)
||: C5 D5 | Gm :||
Hot stuff, baby, this evenin’.
I need hot stuff, baby, tonight.
I want some hot stuff, baby, this evenin’.
I want some hot stuff baby tonight.
Hot stuff, baby.
I need your hot stuff, baby, tonight.
I want your hot stuff, baby, this evenin’.
| C5 | D5 |
Hot stuff baby, gonna need your love tonight.
Outro
| Gm | Gm (F Eb) | D5 | D5 |
Hot Stuff Backing Track | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Hot Stuff. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Chord Progression – What’s Going On?
Firmly at home in G Aeolian, Hot Stuff’s verse chords move between VI and V (Gm – F). As a guitarist, you’ll need to choose between distorted power chords or funkier clean shapes. If you opt for a clean approach, note that there’s an F in bar four, beat four.
||: Gm | Gm | F | Gm (F) :||
After the verse, the song takes an unusual turn, moving into a chorus followed by a chorus tag, which almost feels like a second chorus.
Chorus + Tag
The chorus progression moves from IV to V before resolving back to VI (C5 – D5 – Gm). To my ears, this feels closer to a bridge-style progression than a traditional chorus:
||: C5 D5 | Gm :|| C5 | D5 |
The chorus tag — or “second chorus” — is more harmonically involved, following a VI – I – IV – V progression:
||: Gm Bb5 | C5 D5 :||
To get TAB showing how to play this, along with all other sections, keep scrolling down this guitar lesson.
Instrumental + Solo
The instrumental section that follows uses the same chords as the intro and verse, although the rhythm changes significantly — check the TAB for details.
For Jeff’s solo, the progression shifts to VI – IV – V – VI, laid out like this:
||: Gm | G5 | Eb5 | Eb5 | F5 | F5 | G5 | G5 :||
This section reinforces the Aeolian feel while giving the solo space to build and resolve naturally.
Outro
The outro chorus repeats more times than the earlier choruses and omits the final tag altogether, allowing the song to fade out on pure momentum rather than harmonic surprise.
The lyrics may feel dated, just like the production four decades later, but Hot Stuff remains undeniably catchy. Studying it in depth is a great lesson in hit songwriting, particularly in how subtle changes to familiar progressions can keep a song engaging.
Here’s a simple chord chart to tie everything together.
Hot Stuff Chord Chart | PDF + i Real Pro Download
You can download my chord chart as a static PDF, or in the more flexible iReal Pro format:
Hot Stuff | TAB
There’s plenty going on in this tune — so much so that choosing which parts to play is half the challenge.
Let’s start with the most complicated section: the intro.
Intro
We definitely need to begin like this:
From here, there are three choices, all of which return during the instrumental section. You can either play the power chords and leave the lead line to the keyboard player:
Or you can play the clean rhythm part:
If you don’t have a keyboard player (woo-hoo!), you’ll need to play the melody yourself:
I’ve added some expression here so it doesn’t sound flat — watch out for the super-fast hammer-ons!
Verse
As the verse starts, we once again need to make a choice. You can play the power chords:
Or the clean, compressed rhythm part:
Definitely learn both so you can choose whatever works best in your band.
Chorus + Tag
The chorus works well with a crunch sound — not full power chords or clean, but somewhere in between:
The tag moves back to big power chords, so increase the overdrive here:
Middle 8
My favourite section. The middle 8 features an unexpected Gbm, but the bass stays on G, so Gbm/G would be the most accurate chord name:
Solo
I haven’t transcribed the solo (yet). Leave that to keys or sax and play this Iron Maiden–inspired galloping rhythm instead:
If you do want to improvise a solo, use G Aeolian mixed with G minor blues, and add plenty of chromaticism for a more “out there” sound.
Once you feel confident with the rhythm parts, try them out to the backing tracks!
Jeff Baxter’s Guitar Magic on Hot Stuff: A Disco Classic
It may come as no surprise that Donna Summer didn’t write the lyrics for Hot Stuff. Instead, they were penned by three men in the late ’70s—words that, today, only Glenn Quagmire would be proud of.
Nevertheless, released in 1979, this Disco tune with “some rock guitar” became a top 10 hit in over 15 countries. In the U.S., it sold over two million copies.
Hilariously, Donna Summer won a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal—despite Hot Stuff being, by today’s standards, unmistakably Disco.
The man responsible for the guitar solo and power chords? None other than Jeff Baxter of Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers.
Use the chords, lyrics, chord chart, and original recording above to learn this classic—still a staple of disco band set lists, decades later.
Hot Stuff Chords: Continue Learning
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