The Queen Of Disco Donna Summer

Our hearts are grieved to hear of the passing of Donna Summer, she touched our lives with her songs and influenced so many artist. Anytime you heard Donna Summer's song start playing at a club, party etc, you just had to get up and dance, her voice and music was and is infectious.  Her stage presence was always captivating by her beauty, stage outfits and her powerful voice kept you wanting more. Elton John stated: Elton John told E! News. “This woman was the queen of disco and so much more, That she has never been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a total disgrace. And he is not alone in this feeling, and I know that it wont be to long that she will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame.  She has done even more she will live on in our hearts as crony as this may sound it is the truth and  Donna is DISCO and will always be remembered as such. Donna Summer was born Ladonna Adrian Gaines on December 31, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts to parents Andrew and Mary Gaines and was one of seven children 5 sisters and 1 brother. She and her family were raised in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester. Her father, Andrew Gaines, was a butcher, and her mother Mary, was a schoolteacher. 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.


Summer's performance debut occurred at church when she was ten, when she replaced a vocalist who had failed to show up. Her priest invited Summer to perform, judging from her small frame and voice that she would be an "amusing spectacle", but instead Summer's voice recalled a voice older than her years and frame. 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.

Summer later attended Boston's Jeremiah E. Burke High School, where she performed in school musicals and was considered popular. She was also something of a troublemaker, skipping home to attend parties, circumventing her parents' strict curfew. 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 after getting her parents' reluctant approval.


Summer remained in Munich and later learned fluent 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 1971, Summer released her first single, a cover of The Jaynetts' "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", from a one-off European deal with Decca Records. In 1972, she issued the single, "If You Walkin' Alone" on Philips.

In 1975, Summer approached Moroder with an idea for a song she and Bellotte were working on for another singer. She had come up with the lyric "love to love you, baby". Moroder was interested in developing the new sound that was becoming popular and used Summer's lyric to develop the song. Moroder persuaded Summer to record what was to be a demo track for another performer. She later said that she had thought of how the song might sound if Marilyn Monroe had sung it and began cooing the lyrics. To get into the mood of recording the song, she requested Moroder turn off the lights while they sat on a sofa with him inducing her moans and groans. After hearing playback of the song, Moroder felt Summer's version should actually be released.

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. 

Summer released On The Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2, her first (international) greatest hits set in 1979. The double album reached number one in the US, 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 U.S. alone.

In a 2 year period from 1978 through 1980 Donna Summer hit the top 5 with eight consecutive singles,. "I Feel Love" is considered by many to be one of the most influential dance music recordings of all time. Donna Summer was a winner of five Grammy Awards. She hit #1 on the dance chart 16 times with hits ranging from 1975 to 2010.

The Associated Press reported that Summer died on the morning of May 17, 2012 at her home in Key West, Florida at the age of 63.

She had been diagnosed with cancer. The Bradenton Herald, quoting "Sarasota County records", stated that she lived in Englewood, Florida at the time of her death. The reference did not state her location at the time of her death. The New York Times reported that she died at her home in Naples, Florida. Summer is survived by her husband Bruce Sudano, their daughters Brooklyn and Amanda, as well as her daughter Mimi from a previous marriage.

Mimi Summer-Dohler , Brooklyn Sudano,  Amanda Sudano and Donna Summer

We will all miss you Ladonna Adrian Gaines  (Donna Summer)

Resources: Wikipedia, Enews, Daily News
Associated Press