| Donna Summer |
Donna Summer at a recording studio in 1977 |
| Background information |
| Birth name |
LaDonna Adrian Gaines |
| Also known as |
Donna Gaines |
| Born |
(1948-12-31)December 31, 1948
Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Died |
May 17, 2012(2012-05-17) (aged 63)
Englewood, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres |
Pop, disco, dance-pop, rock |
| Occupations |
Singer, songwriter |
| Instruments |
Vocals, piano |
| Years active |
1969–2012 |
| Labels |
Oasis, Casablanca (1975–80), Geffen (1980–88), Atlantic (1988–91), Mercury (1994–96), Warner-Elektra-Atlantic (1980–91), Epic (1999–2001), Burgundy (2006–12) |
| Associated acts |
Giorgio Moroder, Brooklyn Dreams |
LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012),[1] known by the stage name Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the late 1970s. She had a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and was a five-time Grammy Award winner. Summer was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach number one on the United States Billboard chart, and she also charted four number-one singles in the United States within a 13-month period.
Born into a devoutly Christian lower middle class African American family in Boston, Massachusetts, Summer first became involved with singing through church choir groups before joining a number of bands influenced by the Motown Sound. Influenced by the counterculture of the 1960s, she became the front singer of a psychedelic rock band named Crow and moved to New York City. Joining a touring version of the musical Hair, she spent several years living in West Germany, where she married Helmut Sommer, whose surname she adopted as her stage name.
Returning to the United States, Summer co-wrote the song "Love to Love You Baby" with Pete Bellotte; music producer Giorgio Moroder convinced her to sing it herself, and it was released to mass commercial success in 1975, particularly on the disco scene. Over the following years, Summer followed this success with a string of other disco hits, such as "I Feel Love", "MacArthur Park", "Hot Stuff" and "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)". Becoming known as the "Queen of Disco", she regularly appeared at the Studio 54 club in New York City, while her music gained a particularly large following within the gay community, for whom she became a gay icon. Struggling with drug addiction and depression, she subsequently became a born-again Christian.[2]
Diagnosed with lung cancer, Summer died in May 2012, at her home on Manasota Key in Englewood, Florida, after a battle with the disease. She was posthumously described as the "undisputed queen of the Seventies disco boom" who reached the status of "one of the world's leading female singers."[2] Her work with Moroder, particularly "I Feel Love", has also been described as "really the start of electronic dance" music, by Moroder himself.[3]
Summer was born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on December 31, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts, to her parents, Andrew and Mary Gaines, and was one of seven children.[4] She and her family were raised in the Boston neighborhood of Mission Hill. Her father, Andrew Gaines, was a butcher, and her mother Mary, was a schoolteacher.[5] Summer's mother later recalled that from the time she could talk, Summer would often sing: "She literally loved to sing. She used to go through the house singing, singing. She sang for breakfast and for lunch and for supper."[5]
Summer's performance debut occurred at church when she was ten years old, when she replaced a vocalist who had failed to show up.[5] Her priest invited Summer to perform, judging from her small frame and speaking voice that she would be an "amusing spectacle", but instead Summer's voice recalled a voice older than her years and frame.[5] Summer herself recalled that as she sang, "I started crying, everybody else started crying. It was quite an amazing moment in my life and at some point after I heard my voice came out I felt like God was saying to me 'Donna, you're going to be very, very famous' and I knew from that day on that I would be famous."[5]
Summer later attended Boston's Jeremiah E. Burke High School, where she performed in school musicals and was considered popular.[5] She was also something of a troublemaker, skipping home to attend parties, circumventing her parents' strict curfew.[5] In 1967, just weeks before graduation, Summer left for New York where she was a member of the blues-rock band, Crow. After they were passed by every record label, they agreed to break up. Summer stayed in New York and auditioned for a role in the counterculture musical, Hair. When Melba Moore was cast in the part, Summer agreed to take the role in the Munich production of the show. She moved to Munich, Germany after getting her parents' reluctant approval.[5]
Summer eventually became fluent in German, singing various songs in German. She participated in the musicals Ich Bin Ich (the German version of The Me Nobody Knows), Godspell and Show Boat. Within three years, she moved to Vienna, Austria and joined the Vienna Volksoper. She briefly toured with an ensemble vocal group called FamilyTree, the creation of producer Guenter "Yogi" Lauke. In 1968, Summer released (as Donna Gaines) on Polydor her first single, a German version of the title Aquarius from the musical Hair, followed in 1971 by a second single, a cover of The Jaynetts' "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", from a one-off European deal with Decca Records.[6] In 1972, she issued the single, "If You Walkin' Alone" on Philips Records.[6]
In 1973, she married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer and had a daughter, Mimi, the same year. Citing marital problems caused by her affair with German artist (and future live-in boyfriend) Peter Mühldorfer, she divorced Helmuth. She kept his last name, but Anglicized it to "Summer". She provided backing vocals on producer-keyboardist Veit Marvos on his 1972 Ariola Records release, Nice to See You, credited as "Gayn Pierre". Several subsequent singles included Summer performing with the group, but she often denied singing on any of the Marvos releases. The name "Gayn Pierre" was also used by Donna while performing in Godspell with Helmuth Sommer during 1972.[6]
While singing background in a recording session at Munich's Musicland Studios for Three Dog Night, Summer met German-based producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. The trio forged a working partnership and began collaborating on songs together starting in 1974. A demo tape of Summer's work with Moroder and Bellotte led to a deal with the European-distributed label, Groovy Records. The label issued Summer's first album, Lady of the Night. The album became a hit success in selected countries with two songs, "The Hostage" and "Lady of the Night", reaching the top of the charts in countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium.
In mid-1975, while working on another album, Summer passed on an idea for a song that Moroder was working on for another artist in the then-nascent disco sound, writing part of the song and labeling it as "Love to Love You". Summer would later say that she had imagined how Marilyn Monroe would sing this song and demonstrated how she felt Monroe would've approached it. Prior to recording the song and to get into the mood, she requested Moroder to turn off the lights while they sat on a sofa with him inducing her moans and groans. Moroder liked what he heard after hearing its playback and felt Summer's song should be released. The song was then sent to Casablanca Records president Neil Bogart in hopes of getting an American release. Bogart informed Summer and Moroder he would release the song (now called "Love to Love You Baby") but requested that Moroder produce a longer version for discothèques. Moroder, Bellotte, and Summer returned with a 17 minute version and Casablanca signed Summer and released the single in November 1975. The shorter version of the single was promoted to radio stations while clubs regularly played the 17 minute version (the longer version would also appear on the album). Casablanca became one of the first record labels to popularize the 12" single format.
By early 1976, "Love to Love You Baby" had reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, while the parent album of the same name sold over a million copies. The song generated controversy due to Summer's moans and groans and some American and European radio stations, including the BBC, refused to play it.[7] "Love to Love You Baby" found chart success in several European countries, and made the Top 5 in the United Kingdom despite the BBC ban. Other upcoming singles included "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It", US No. 80; "Could It Be Magic", US No. 52; "Spring Affair", US No. 58; and "Winter Melody", US No. 43. The subsequent albums Love Trilogy and Four Seasons of Love both went gold in the US.
In 1977, Summer released the concept album I Remember Yesterday. This album, again co-produced by Moroder and Bellotte, included her second top ten single, "I Feel Love", which reached number six in the US and number one in the UK. Another concept album, also released in 1977, was Once Upon a Time, a double album which told of a modern-day Cinderella "rags to riches" story through the elements of orchestral disco and ballads. This album would also attain gold status. In 1978, Summer released her version of the Jimmy Webb ballad, "MacArthur Park", which became her first US number one hit. The song was featured on Summer's first live album, Live and More, which also became her first album to hit number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, and went platinum selling over a million copies. Other studio tracks included the top ten hit, "Heaven Knows", which featured the group Brooklyn Dreams accompanying her on background and Joe "Bean" Esposito singing alongside her on the verses. Summer would later be romantically involved with Brooklyn Dreams singer Bruce Sudano and the couple married two years after the song's release. Also in 1978, Summer acted in the film, Thank God It's Friday, playing a singer determined to perform at a hot disco club. The film met modest success, but a song from the film, titled "Last Dance", reached number three on the Hot 100 and resulted in Summer winning her first Grammy Award. Its writer, Paul Jabara, won an Academy Award for the composition.
In 1979, Summer performed at the world-televised Music for UNICEF Concert, joining contemporaries such as Abba, Olivia Newton-John, the Bee Gees, Andy Gibb, Rod Stewart, John Denver, Earth, Wind & Fire, Rita Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson for an hour's TV special that raised funds and awareness for the world's children. Artists donated royalties of certain songs, some in perpetuity, to benefit the cause.
[edit] 1979–1980: Bad Girls and the break from disco
Summer began work on her next project with Moroder and Bellotte, Bad Girls, an album that had been in production for nearly two years. Summer based the whole concept on prostitution (revisiting the theme for 1974's Lady of the Night), even dressing as a hooker herself on the cover art.
The album became a huge success, spawning the number one hits "Hot Stuff" and the title track and the number two "Dim All the Lights". With "MacArthur Park", "Hot Stuff", "Bad Girls", and the Barbra Streisand duet "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)", Summer achieved four number one hits within a thirteen month period. Those aforementioned songs, along with "Heaven Knows", "Last Dance", "Dim All the Lights", and "On the Radio" (from her upcoming double-album) would give her eight US Top 5 singles within a two year period. "Hot Stuff" later won her a second Grammy in the Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, the first time the category was included. That year, Summer played eight sold-out nights at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.
Summer released On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II, her first (international) greatest hits set in 1979. The double album reached number one in the United States, becoming her third consecutive number one album. A new song from the compilation, "On the Radio", reached the US top five, selling over a million copies in the United States alone.
After the release of the On the Radio hits album, Summer wanted to branch out into other musical styles in addition to disco, which led to tensions between her and Casablanca Records as Casablanca wanted her to continue to record in the disco format while Summer wanted to sing more rock and pop-based music. Sensing that they could no longer come to terms, Summer and the label parted ways in 1980, and she signed with Geffen Records, the new label started by David Geffen.
Summer's first Geffen album, The Wanderer, featured an eclectic mixture of sounds similar to Bad Girls but with only little emphasis on Summer's past disco success, instead, bringing elements of rock, rockabilly, new wave and gospel music. The album continued Summer's streak of gold albums with the title track peaking at No. 3 in the US, though its follow-up singles, "Cold Love" and "Who Do You Think You're Foolin'" were only modestly received.
When Summer presented Geffen with her projected second album, I'm a Rainbow, the label disapproved of its production sensing Moroder's sound had grown stale and advised Summer to change producers, leading to an argument between the artist and the label. Eventually, Moroder and Bellotte and Summer agreed to part ways with Geffen hiring top R&B and pop producer Quincy Jones to produce Summer's next album, the eponymously titled Donna Summer, released in 1982 and which took over six months to record, which was unusual for Summer's recordings. Among its releases included the top ten hit, "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)", and the more moderately received "State of Independence" (No. 41 pop) and "The Woman in Me" (No. 33 pop). Problems then increased between Summer and Geffen Records after they were notified by Polygram Records, Summer's former label Casablanca was by then a wholly owned subsidiary, that she needed to deliver them one more album to fulfill her contract with them.
Summer delivered the album, She Works Hard for the Money, and Polygram released it on its Mercury imprint in 1983. The title song became a hit reaching number three on the US Hot 100, and would provide Summer with a Grammy nomination. The album also featured the reggae-flavored UK Top 20 hit "Unconditional Love", which featured the British group Musical Youth who were riding high from the success of their single "Pass the Dutchie". The third US single, "Love Has A Mind of Its Own", reached the top forty of the Billboard R&B chart. The album itself was certified gold.
In late 1984, with her obligation to Polygram complete, Summer returned on Geffen Records with her next release. Geffen, wanting to keep the momentum going, enlisted She Works Hard for the Money's producer Michael Omartian to produce Cats Without Claws. The album, however, was not as successful as She Works Hard for the Money and failed to attain gold status in the US, becoming her first album since her 1974 debut not to do so. It did include a moderate hit in The Drifters cover "There Goes My Baby", which peaked at No. 21. Jellybean Benitez remixed two of the songs for the album that were released as 12" singles for club play "Eyes" & "I'm Free".
On January 19, 1985, she sang at the nationally-televised 50th Presidential Inaugural Gala, the day before the second inauguration of Ronald Reagan. She was introduced by Merv Griffin.
In the mid 1980s, Summer was embroiled in a controversy. She had allegedly made anti-gay remarks regarding the then-relatively new disease, AIDS, which as a result had a significantly negative impact on her career. Summer, by this time a born-again Christian, was alleged to have said that AIDS was a punishment from God for the immoral lifestyles of homosexuals. [8][9] However, she denied that she had ever made any such comment and, in a letter to the AIDS campaign group ACT UP in 1989, she said that it was "a terrible misunderstanding. I was unknowingly protected by those around me from the bad press and hate letters... If I have caused you pain, forgive me." She went on to apologize for the delay in refuting the rumours and closed her letter with Bible quotes (from Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians).[10]
Also in 1989, Summer told The Advocate magazine that "A couple of the people I write with are gay, and they have been ever since I met them. What people want to do with their bodies is their personal preference."[11] A couple of years later she filed a lawsuit against New York magazine when it reprinted the rumours as fact just as she was about to release her album Mistaken Identity in 1991.[12] According to a Biography television program dedicated to Summer in which she participated in 1995, the lawsuit was settled out of court though neither side was able to divulge any details.[13][14]
In 1987, Summer returned with the album All Systems Go, which did not sell well, becoming her second consecutive album not to achieve gold status. It featured the single "Dinner with Gershwin" (written by Brenda Russell), which was only a minor US hit, though it peaked at No. 13 in the UK. The album's title track, "All Systems Go", was released only in the UK where it peaked at No. 54.
For Summer's next album, Geffen Records hired the British hit production team of Stock Aitken Waterman (or SAW), who had enjoyed incredible success by writing and producing for such acts as Kylie Minogue, Dead or Alive, Bananarama, and Rick Astley among others. However, Geffen decided not to release the album, entitled Another Place and Time, and Summer and Geffen Records parted ways in 1988. The album was released in Europe in March 1989 on Warner Bros. Records, which had been Summer's label in Europe since 1982. The single "This Time I Know It's for Real" had become a top ten hit in several countries in Europe, prompting the Warner Bros. subsidiary company Atlantic Records to sign Summer in the US and pick up the album for a North American release soon after. The single peaked at No. 7 on the Hot 100 in the US, and became her twelfth gold single there. It was also Summer's final Top 40 hit on the American pop charts, though she scored two more UK hits from the album, "I Don't Wanna Get Hurt" (UK No. 7) and "Love's About to Change My Heart" (UK No. 20).
[edit] 1990–1999: Mistaken Identity, acting, and Live & More Encore
In 1990, a Warner compliation, The Best of Donna Summer, was released. The album went gold after the song "State of Independence" had been re-released there to promote the album. The following year, Summer emerged with the album, Mistaken Identity, which included elements of R&B as well as new jack swing. While the album itself failed to become a success, the song "When Love Cries" continued her success on the R&B charts, reaching No. 18. In 1992, Summer embarked on a world tour to promote the album and later that year received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1993, Polygram issued the two-disc set, The Donna Summer Anthology, which included 34 tracks of all of Summer's material with Casablanca and Mercury while also including songs from her tenures with Atlantic and Geffen.
Summer signed with Mercury/Polygram that same year and in 1994, issued the the Christmas album, Christmas Spirit which included renditions of classic Christmas songs such as "O Holy Night" and "Joy To The World", while also including Summer-penned songs as well. Another hits collection, Endless Summer: Greatest Hits, was released, featuring eighteen songs, that were single cuts of the songs differentiating from the Anthology set where fuller length recordings were featured. In 1992, she reunited with Giorgio Moroder recording the dance song, "Carry On", which later won Summer the first Grammy given to anyone in its dance category. The 1995 dance tune "Melody of Love (Wanna Be Loved)" went number-one on the dance charts in the U.S. while becoming a top 30 hit in the UK, peaking at number 21.
During this time, Summer was offered a guest role on the sitcom Family Matters as Steve Urkel's (Jaleel White) Aunt Oona. She made a second appearance in 1997. In 1998, Summer received a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording, being the first to do so, after a remixed version of her 1992 collaboration with Giorgio Moroder, "Carry On", was released in 1997. In 1999, Summer taped a live television special for VH1 titled Donna Summer – Live and More Encore, producing the second highest ratings that year for the network, after their annual Divas special. A CD of the event was released by Epic Records and featured two studio recordings, "I Will Go with You (Con te partirò)" and "Love Is the Healer", both of which reached number one on the US dance charts.
[edit] 2000–2009: Later recordings and Crayons
Summer performing at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 2009
In 2000, Summer participated in VH-1's third annual Divas special, dedicated to Diana Ross, though Summer sung mostly her own material for the show. In 2003, Summer issued her autobiography, Ordinary Girl: The Journey and that same year released a best-of set titled The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer. In 2004, Summer was inducted to the Dance Music Hall of Fame alongside the Bee Gees and Barry Gibb as an artist. Her classic song, "I Feel Love", was also inducted that night. In 2004 and 2005, Summer's success on the dance charts continued with the songs "You're So Beautiful" and "I Got Your Love".
Summer, in a 2008 interview with The Daily Telegraph, claimed that one month before the September 11 Attacks she had a premonition that they would occur. Summer was living in Manhattan at the time of the attacks. In the same interview she said for a period of time after the attacks she was so depressed she was unable to leave her bedroom and left her blinds closed.[15]
In 2008, Summer released her first studio album of fully original material in 17 years, entitled Crayons. Released on the Sony BMG label Burgundy Records, it peaked at No. 17 on the United States Top 200 Album Chart (her highest placing on the chart since 1983), and achieved modest international success. The songs "I'm a Fire", "Stamp Your Feet", and "Fame (The Game)" reached number one on the United States Billboard Dance Chart. The ballad "Sand on My Feet" was released to adult contemporary stations and reached number thirty on that chart. While commenting on the album, Summer said "I wanted this album to have a lot of different directions on it. I did not want it to be any one baby. I just wanted it to be a sampler of flavors and influences from all over the world. There's a touch of this, a little smidgeon of that, a dash of something else...like when you're cooking." On the song "The Queen Is Back", Summer reveals her wry and witty self-awareness of her musical legacy and her public persona. "I'm making fun of myself," she admits. "There's irony, it's poking fun at the idea of being called a queen. That's a title that has followed me, followed me, and followed me. We were sitting and writing and that title kept popping up in my mind and I'm thinking, 'Am I supposed to write this? Is this too arrogant to write?' But people call me 'the queen,' so I guess it's ok to refer to myself as what everybody else refers to me as. We started writing the song and thought it was kind of cute and funny." Summer wrote "The Queen Is Back" and "Mr. Music" with J. R. Rotem and Evan Bogart, the son of Casablanca Records founder, Neil Bogart.
On December 11, 2009, Summer performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, in honor of United States President Barack Obama. She was backed by the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
In August 2010, she released the single "To Paris With Love", co-written with Bruce Roberts and produced by Peter Stengaard. In October 2010, the single reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Dance Chart (it would be her last charted single). Also that month, Summer appeared in the PBS Television Special Hitman Returns: David Foster and Friends. In it, Summer performed with Seal on a medley of the songs "Unbreak My Heart / Crazy / On the Radio", before Summer closed the show with "Last Dance".[16]
On July 29, 2010, Summer gave an interview with Allvoices.com, wherein she was asked if she would consider doing an album of standards. She replied:
- I actually am, probably in September. I will begin work on a standards album. I will probably do an all-out dance album and a standards album. I'm gonna do both, and we will release them however were gonna release them. We are not sure which is going first.[17]
On September 15, 2010, Summer appeared as a guest celebrity singing alongside rising star Prince Poppycock on the television show America's Got Talent.
On October 16, 2010, she performed at a benefit concert at the Phoenix Symphony.[18]
On June 6, 2011, Summer was a guest judge on the show, Platinum Hit in week two titled, "Dance Floor Royalty". Platinum Hit is a reality competition series on Bravo launched in 2011, in which 12 singer-songwriters compete through innovative songwriting challenges that test their creativity, patience and drive. Every episode features a different topic, from a dance track to a love ballad, that requires the contestants to write and perform lyrics from a multiple of genres, for a cash prize of $100,000, a publishing deal with songwriting collective The Writing Camp, and a recording deal with RCA/Jive label.
In July 2011, Summer was working at Paramount Recording Studios in Los Angeles with her nephew, the rapper and producer O'Mega Red. Together they worked on a track titled "Angel".
LaDonna Gaines was one of seven children born and raised in Boston's Mission Hill neighborhood, living on the first floor of a three-decker home. Following her move to Austria in 1971, she met and fell in love with actor Helmuth Sommer while the two were acting in Godspell. In 1973, the couple married[19] and that year Gaines gave birth to her first child, daughter Mimi Sommer. In 1975, the couple divorced.[19] Gaines took her husband's last name, translated to English, as her stage name.
In 1978, while working on the hit track, "Heaven Knows" which featured Brooklyn Dreams member Joe "Bean" Esposito on vocals, Summer met fellow member Bruce Sudano. Within a few months, Summer and Sudano became a couple. They married on July 16, 1980. In 1981, Summer gave birth to another daughter (her first child with Sudano), Brooklyn Sudano, named after Sudano's group. In 1982, Summer and Sudano had their second child, Amanda Sudano. (Brooklyn would grow up to star in the hit ABC production My Wife and Kids.)
In 1995, Summer and her family moved from Sherman Oaks, California to Nashville,[20] where she took time out from show business to focus on painting, a hobby she began back in the 1980s. Also during 1995, Summer's beloved mother, Mary Gaines, died of lung cancer. Her father, Andrew Gaines, died in 2004 of natural causes.
Summer died on the morning of May 17, 2012, at her home in Englewood, Florida at the age of 63.[21][22] She had been diagnosed with lung cancer not related to smoking,[23][24] reportedly being a non-smoker. She believed she contracted the illness by inhaling toxic particles following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York.[25][26] Summer is survived by her husband Bruce Sudano, their daughters Brooklyn and Amanda, as well as her daughter Mimi from a previous marriage. Her funeral was held in Nashville, Tennessee on May 23, 2012.[27] Her body was buried in Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.[28]
Singers and music industry professionals around the world reacted to Donna Summer's death.[29][30] Gloria Gaynor, a famous disco performer during the late 1970s,[31] said that she was "deeply saddened" and that Donna was "a fine lady and human being." Gaynor said she was devastated by the death of her longtime friend, and that she had not known about Summer's cancer.[32] Harry Wayne Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band said he and Donna "ran in the same circles and are part of the same generation."[30] Liza Minnelli said, "She was a queen, the queen of disco, and we will be dancing to her music forever." She said that her "thoughts and prayers are with her family always."[30] Dolly Parton said, "Donna, like Whitney, had one of the greatest voices ever. I loved her records. She was the disco queen, and will remain so. I knew her and found her to be one of the most likable and fun people ever. She will be missed and remembered."[30] Janet Jackson wrote that Donna "changed the world of music with her beautiful voice and incredible talent."[30] Barbra Streisand wrote: "I loved doing the duet with her. She had an amazing voice and was so talented. . . It's so sad."[30] Quincy Jones wrote that Donna's voice was "the heartbeat and soundtrack of a decade."[30] Aretha Franklin said, "It's so shocking to hear about the passing of Donna Summer. In the 70s, she reigned over the disco era and kept the disco jumping. Who will forget 'Last Dance.' A fine performer and a very nice person."[33] Chaka Khan said: "Donna and I had a friendship for over 30 years. She is one of the few black women I could speak German with and she is one of the few friends I had in this business."[33] Gloria Estefan wrote that "It's the end of an era," and posted a photo of herself with Summer.[33] Elton John said, "I'm so sad. This woman was the queen of disco and so much more. Her records sound as good today as they ever did. That she has never been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a total disgrace, especially when I see the second-rate talent that has been inducted. She is a great friend to me and to the Elton John AIDS Foundation and I will miss her greatly."[34]
United States President Barack Obama said: "Michelle and I were saddened to hear about the passing of Donna Summer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Donna truly was the 'Queen of Disco.' Her voice was unforgettable, and the music industry has lost a legend far too soon. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Donna's family and her dedicated fans."[30][35]
Donna Summer was honored at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards ceremony.[36][37] Singer Natasha Bedingfield honored Summer, calling her "a remarkable woman who brought so much light, and who inspired many women, including myself through her music. And if we can remember her through her music, this will never really be the last dance." After her statement, she began to sing the "Last Dance", Summer's song that received an Academy Award.[37] As she sang the song, photos of Summer were displayed on a screen overhead.[37] Many fans of Summer noticed and were unsatisfied that the Summer's tribute was cut off, supposedly for commercial benefits.[37]
Fans paid a tribute to Donna by leaving flowers and memorabilia on her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[38] A few days after her death, her album sales increased by a 3,277 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Billboard reported that the week before she died, Summer sold about 1,000 albums. After her death, that number increased to 26,000.[39]
Summer's funeral service was held in the Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee on the afternoon of May 23, 2012.[27][40][41] The exact location and time of the service was kept secret.[42] Several hundred of Summer's friends and family appeared at the singer's funeral, according to CNN.[41] The funeral was a private ceremony[41] and cameras were not allowed inside the church.[41] TMZ obtained a copy of Summer's funeral program.[43][44][45] The program includes a Proverb dedicated to Summer about a "wife of noble character".[44] According to the program, Pastor Tim Johnson started the service and welcomed the guests.[44] Afterward, Ricky Gaines, who is a relative of Summer's, gave a speech.[44] Summer's sisters: Linda Gaines Lotman, Mary Ellen Bernard, Dara Bernard, and Jenette Yancey, performed "We've Come This Far By Faith."[44] Mary Ellen Bernard performed "Because of Whose You Are".[44] After that, Rick Dohler, the husband of one of Summer's daughters, gave a speech. Next, Pastor Tim Johnson spoke, again.[44] The service was closed by David Foster and Natalie Grant performing "The Prayer".[41][44] Guests left the church, entered their cars, and followed the black hearse with Summer's body to the Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens cemetery in Nashville, where she was buried.[28][44] Other guests included Giorgio Moroder, who produced several of Summer's hits, and singer Tony Orlando.[41]
"I Feel Love" has been sampled several times. The song was sampled by artists such as David Guetta, Darren Hayes, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Bette Midler, Moby, Moloko, Mylo, Stuart Price, Diana Ross, Britney Spears, and Robbie Williams. Italian company Gucci used a special version of it in the "Flora" perfume advertising, filmed by Chris Cunningham. "I Feel Love" has been covered onstage by Madonna, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' John Frusciante, Kylie Minogue, Blondie, Basement Jaxx, and Finnish progressive rock band Kingston Wall. Venus Hum with Blue Man Group also performed this song with Japanese singer Kumi Koda for their album The Complex, and in 2006, Tracy Bonham stood in for Hum on the Blue Man Group tour, performing the song. Bronski Beat and Marc Almond released the track as a duet with an added bridge section and titled it "I Feel Love/Johnny Remember Me", reaching number 3 in the UK charts in April 1985. In 1992 U.K. alterna-pop group Curve recorded a version for the NME's 40th anniversary compilation Ruby Trax, which became an instant underground classic.
"Love to Love You Baby" was sampled in Beyoncé Knowles's "Naughty Girl" and by TLC on their original version of "I'm Good at Being Bad", but was removed by request of Summer on later editions. The song has been covered in portions onstage by Dionne Warwick. Summer's "Starting Over Again" was a number one hit on the Hot Country Songs chart as a single for Dolly Parton in 1980. It also was a top-forty hit for Parton on the Billboard Hot 100. Reba McEntire named her 1995 album after the song, and McEntire's version hit No. 17 on the country singles chart in 1996. McEntire stated in the album's liner notes that her recording of the song was intended as something of a tribute to Summer and Parton, both artists whom she admired. Summer's "On the Radio" was covered by country artist Emmylou Harris for her 1983 album White Shoes. British singer and actress Martine McCutcheon recorded a version that reached number seven in the UK charts in February 2001.
According to longtime synthpop/electropop musician Marc Almond, Donna Summer's collaboration with producer Georgio Moroder "changed the face of music".[46] Giorgio Moroder himself has stated in a BBC Radio 5 Live interview that her song I Feel Love was "really the start of electronic dance".[3] Summer was the first artist to have three double albums reach No. 1 on Billboard's album chart: Live and More, Bad Girls, and On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II. She became a cultural icon, not only as one of the defining voices of the era, but also as an influence on pop divas ranging from Madonna to Beyoncé. Unlike some other stars of disco who faded as the music became less popular in the 1980s and beyond, Summer was able to grow beyond the genre and later segued to a pop-rock sound. She had one of her biggest hits in the 1980s with "She Works Hard For the Money", which became another anthem, this time for women's rights. Although, Summer was never inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame, she was garnered as Queen of Disco. Summer was the first African American woman to be nominated for an MTV Video Music Award. Summer remained a force on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs chart all through her career, fitting, for the Queen of Disco. She notched 14 No. 1s on the chart – all the way up through her most recent hit, 2010's "To Paris With Love". Her last studio album, 2008's Crayons, spun off three No. 1 dance/club hits with "I'm a Fire", "Stamp Your Feet", and "Fame (The Game)". In May 2012, it was announced that "I Feel Love" was included in the list of preserved recordings at the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.[47]
- ^ allmusic ((( Donna Summer > Biography )))
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- ^ A&E Networks (2012). "Donna Summer Biography". "Bio. True Story" (Donna Summer). Biography.com. http://www.biography.com/people/donna-summer-9499073?page=2. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
- ^ Queen of Disco' Donna Summer 'thought she became ill after inhaling 9/11 particles' The Telegraph May 17, 2012
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- ^ "Donna Summer Exclusive Interview: Bringing her Summer tour to Hard Rock Live" (July 29, 2010). AllVoices.com. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
- ^ "Phoenix Symphony Goes Back to the Days of Disco". Myfoxphoenix.com. 2010-10-16. http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/entertainment/music/phx-symphony-donna-summer-10162010. Retrieved 2011-04-04. [dead link]
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- ^ Gloria Gaynor | AllMusic
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| Persondata |
| Name |
Gaines, LaDonna Adrian |
| Alternative names |
Donna Summer |
| Short description |
American singer-songwriter |
| Date of birth |
1948-12-31 |
| Place of birth |
Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Date of death |
2012-05-17 |
| Place of death |
Englewood, Florida, United States |
