Just heard she died of cancer, very sad news indeed.
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mcfly-31 — 13 years ago(May 17, 2012 09:02 AM)
Heaven knows she worked hard for the money, and I'll always have kid memories of her on the radio. This time I know it's for real that a legend has had her last dance, one of disco's bad girls. Everytime I hear her music, I feel love. Donna, we'll always love to love ya, baby.
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mptnla — 13 years ago(May 17, 2012 09:03 AM)
Wow! I really hate to hear that. I literally just bought one of her CDs last Friday and haven't even loaded it into my ipod yet. It's still sitting on my desk. I had no idea she had even been sick. And 63 yeas old? I saw her on that Bravo songwriting show last year and she hadn't aged in like 30 years! She looked flawless. So sad. R.I.P. Donna. What a loss.
"I hope she didn't take my attempt to destroy her too seriously." -
HarlowMGM — 13 years ago(May 17, 2012 02:50 PM)
WOW - I am stunned to hear this!! I saw Donna's name on "trending news" on the yahoo page but just figured it would be announcement of a new album or tour or something so I didn't click it. This is the most unexpected, shocking celebrity death to me in several years.
Donna was one of the greatest female vocalists of her era, it's a shame she did not quite get the full respect she deserved because she came out of disco and so much of that much was hackneyed but she herself and her songs were awesome! (I'm still kind of pissed at Oprah, today more than ever, for conspiciously leaving Donna out of that "pioneering black women" special some years ago even when she honored a couple of singers who had nowhere near Donna's success.) Only late last year, a kind friend sent me four dvds of various Donna tv performances over the years and she was an outstanding singer at every stage of her career, the 70's, 80's, 90's, and this last decade in which at 50-plus she was amazingly youthful and every bit the great singer she was at her peak. She was so beautiful on THE VIEW from 2003 or so you would think she was 34 not 54. To me she is absolutely an equal to Diana, Aretha, and Tina as she is to millions of others. She was untouchable as a pop female vocalist in my book from 1977 to 1983.
Rest in peace Donna, one of the greatest stars popular music will ever know. -
happipuppi13 — 13 years ago(May 17, 2012 03:44 PM)
This is by far,the saddest year for famous people in the music world of the 1970s and 1980s.
I know that when some people think of
Donna Summer,the term legend doesn't come to mind but it should.
LaDonna Adrian Gaines (real name)came along in music at just the right time. Disco,which basically started with the Philadelphia International stylized R&B sound,was a perfect fit for her vocal talent.
In 1974/1975 Gloria Gaynor had been crowned "Queen Of Disco,but not long after Donna came along,she was given that title as well. Original and unusual (for that time) songs like "Love To Love You Baby" and the very advanced techno sound of "I Feel Love",put her on a very high pedestal.
She was given an image as a "sexy-vixen" and while the hits kept coming,she later found this a very uncomfortable image to live up too. She stated that some male interviewers would be very nervous & even shaking around her.
That aside,Donna set a record at that time for a female singer. Between 1975 and 1980,11 of her 12 singles not only went top 10 (and/or #1) they either went Gold (1 million or over) or went Platinum (2 million & over)in sales.
The biggest #1s were "MacArthur Park","Hot Stuff","Bad Girls",", and "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) w/Barbra Streisand.
After the 80s began,like a lot of Disco acts,her hits were not as big (a lot of acts stopped having hits right2000 away).
She also decided to leave Casablanca Records for Geffen. She only mansged 5 hits on Geffen,the biggest being "The Wanderer" (not the 60s song)which hit #3 & was her last Gold single until 1989.
In 1983,Mercury (which bought out Casablanca)held her to a point in her contract that she owed them one more album. That was ,of course,"She Works Hard For The Money".
That song was a popular video on MTV & other video shows & all over the radio that summer. While it didn't go Gold,it still is considered her biggest success in the 80's.
After 1984,Donna still recorded & released singles and albums on Geffen but couldn't get a hit. She later signed with Atlantic & had one last hit in 1989,"This Time I Know It's For Real". Ironically,The Bee Gees were also having a comeback hit with "One" around that same time.
In the 1990s & from 2000-09 she made many TV appearences,did live shows and even showed up on a PBS 70's concert special. Most recently she also was in 30 minute ads for The Midnight Special DVD package.
These are Donna's 20 hits. * Means Gold / ** Platinum :
1975/1976 - Love To Love You Baby #2 *
1977 - I Feel Love #6 *
1978 - I Love You #37
1978 - Last Dance #3 * (from the film "Thank God,It's Friday")
1978 - MacArthur Park #1 (3 weeks) *
1979 - Heaven Knows #4 *
1979 - Hot Stuff #1 (3 weeks) **
1979 - Bad Girls #1 (5 weeks) **
1979 - Dim All The Lights #2 *
1979 - No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) #1 (2 weeks) **
1980 - On The Radio #5 *
1980 - The Wanderer #3 *
1980 - Walk Away #36
1981 - Cold Love #33
1981 - Who Do You Think You're Foolin'? #40
1982 - Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger) #10
1983 - The Woman In Me #33
1983 - She Works Hard For The Money #3
1984 - There Goes My Baby #21
1989 - This Time I Know It's For Real #7 *
The last thing I'd like to add is that in 1979,Hot Stuff graced the #1 spot the week of my birthday in June. It kind of feels like an honor to have a song by such a talent,be #1 on that day.
LaDonna was born on New Years Eve 1948
and lived quite an amazing life as Donna Summer.
Rest In Peace Donna.
happipuppi13
arf,man!! -
jaypay111 — 13 years ago(May 17, 2012 09:09 AM)
Donna Summer the Queen of Disco died this morning after a battle with cancer TMZ has learned.
We're told Summer was in Florida at the time of her death. She was 63-years-old.
Sources close to Summer tell us the singer was trying to keep the extent of her illness under wraps. We spoke to someone who was with Summer a couple of weeks ago who says she didn't seem too bad.
In fact, we're told she was focused on trying to finish up an album she had been working on.
Summer was a 5-time Grammy winner who shot to superstardom in the '70s with iconic hits like "Last Dance," "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls."
She continued her dominance in the '80s with "She Works Hard for the Money" and "This Time I Know It's for Real."
Summer and her producer Giorgio Moroder defined the dance music era of the '70s and influenced acts like Duran Duran and David Bowie to enter the genre.
Summer married Brooklyn Dreams singer Bruce Sudano back in 1980. They had two daughters together. -