Donna Summer - A Heartfelt Farewell

One of my all-time personal favorites,
 The Queen of Disco, is gone and much too soon.

Crayons

With her beauty queen good looks and a string of #1 hits Donna Summer came into prominence just as disco was taking hold of a nation. Her pulsing anthems such as Last Dance, Love to Love You Baby and Bad Girl became the soundtrack for a glittery age of sex, drugs, dance and flashy clothes.

Disco became as much defined by her sultry, sexual vocals — her bedroom moans and sighs — as was the relentless, pulsing rhythms of the music itself. Love to Love You Baby, with its erotic moans, was her first hit and one of the most scandalous songs of the polyester-and-platform-heel era.

She Works Hard For The Money

She was able to grow beyond disco, while most of the other stars of the disco era faded away as the music became less popular, she transitioned into a pop-rock sound. One of her biggest hits in the 1980s 'She Works Hard For The Money', became another anthem, this time for women's rights.
 
When she became a born-again Christian she faced controversy when she was accused of making anti-gay comments in relation to the AIDS epidemic. Summer denied making the comments, but was the target of a boycott. Still, even as disco went out of fashion she remained a fixture in dance clubs, endlessly sampled and remixed into contemporary dance hits.

Another Place Another Time

Love to Love You Baby was her U.S. chart debut and the first of 19 No. 1 dance hits from 1975 to 2008 — second only to Madonna. During the disco era she burned up the charts: She was the only artist to have three consecutive double-LPs hit No. 1, Live and More, Bad Girls and On the Radio. She was also the first female artist with four No. 1 singles in a 13-month period, according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where she was a nominee this year.

She was never really comfortable with the label of 'Disco Queen'. Musically, she began to change in 1979 with Hot Stuff, which had a tough, rock 'n' roll beat. Her diverse sound helped her earn Grammy Awards in the categories of dance, rock, R and B and inspirational. Her last album, Crayons, was released in 2008. It was her first full studio album in 17 years. She also performed on American Idol that year with its top female contestants.

Donna Summer died of cancer Thursday morning May 17, 2012. The indisputable queen of disco, passed away at age 63 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Sources close to Summer stated the singer was trying to keep the extent of her illness under wraps. TMZ said they spoke to someone who was with Donna a couple of weeks ago, who said she didn’t seem to be too bad. In fact, it was said  she was focused on trying to finish up an album she had been working on

She sang the pants off of Barbara in my opinion.

Her family released a statement, saying Summer died Thursday morning and that they "are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy."

"Words truly can't express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time," the statement read. She had been living in Englewood, Fla., with her husband, Bruce Sudano.
 

Discography here

Buy her music here

She was born December 31, 1948 in the Dorchester community of Boston. 

Four Seasons Of Love

She was born LaDonna Adrian Gaines, one of seven children raised by devout Christian parents. She sang in church, and as a teenager joined a rock group called The Crow. At 18, she left home and school to take up a supporting role in the Broadway musical, "Hair." The show moved to Germany shortly afterwards and she eventually became a German resident. For several years she performed in various musicals and did jobs in studios and theaters. She performed in German versions of several other musicals, including "Godspell" and "Show Boat" and also performed with the Viennese Folk Opera. In 1971, she released her first solo recording in Europe titled "Sally Go 'Round The Roses."

She met and fell in love with actor Helmuth Sommer while the two were acting in Godspell. In 1973, the couple married and that year Summer gave birth to her first child, daughter Mimi Sommer.

From 1974-75 she sang with the pop group Family Tree. By 1975, however, their marriage crumbled and they had formally divorced. Summer took an Anglicized version of his last name as her stage name.

The Wanderer

After her divorce, she moved into her Los Angeles house with lover Peter Mühldorfer, a respected surrealist painter. As her fame increased, Mühldorfer resented all the press and public attention and it drove a wedge between them. She has stated that he became violent and with the help of Casablanca Records mogul Neil Bogart he was eventually forced to return to Germany after his visa was revoked.While singing back-up for Three Dog Night, she met producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, signed a contract and issued her first album, "Lady of the Night," which included the European hit, "The Hostage." The couple divorced in 1976.

I Feel Love

In 1978, she collaborated with the R&B Pop group the Brooklyn Dreams for the song "Heaven Knows." While at the session recording the single, she met Bruce Sudano. The duo began a romance that culminated in their July 16, 1980, marriage, and later the birth of daughters Brooklyn and Amanda. Today, Mimi and Amanda sing alongside their mother and Brooklyn has done some acting. Donna Summer was a grandmother of three.

She dealt with controversy both professionally and personally in her career. In the early 1980s, she reportedly suggested that AIDS was a divine punishment from God. Her songs were banned for a number of years in some gay establishments. Summer has long denied such allegations, and finally took legal action against a newspaper which printed the rumors during a review of a concert. In 1991, during the height of the Gulf War, Summer's song "State Of Independence" was banned from US radio play.

Her talent and musicianship (aided by Giorgio Moroder) are embraced as the epitome of the disco era. On September 27, 2007, Summer, was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Donna, I could say rest in peace, but I know you won't rest. You are destined to go on singing and dancing eternally, they will love your songs of praise on the other side just as much we loved you here.

We love you Donna and will dearly miss you and your fantastic and incredible voice.