Donna Summer
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Saturday, May 19, 2012
Disco legend Donna Summer died Thursday at age 63
Disco legend Donna Summer died Thursday at age 63, reportedly after a battle with cancer.
"Early this morning, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith," the singer's family said in a statement. "While we grieve her passing, we 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."
TMZ was the first to report the singer's death, and the site reports that she was recording an album at the time of her death.
The Grammy-winning singer, nicknamed the Queen of Disco, had numerous hits in both the 1970s and 1980s, including "Last Dance," "She Works Hard for the Money" and "Bad Girls."
"Early this morning, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith," the singer's family said in a statement. "While we grieve her passing, we 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."
TMZ was the first to report the singer's death, and the site reports that she was recording an album at the time of her death.
The Grammy-winning singer, nicknamed the Queen of Disco, had numerous hits in both the 1970s and 1980s, including "Last Dance," "She Works Hard for the Money" and "Bad Girls."
Slideshow: Donna Summer: 1948-2012
Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
Her duet with Barbra Streisand, "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" was one of four Summer songs that topped the Billboard Top 100 charts.
"I was shocked to hear about Donna," Streisand said in a statement. "She was so vital the last time I saw her a few months ago. I loved doing the duet with her. She had an amazing voice and was so talented."
Summer was the first female artist to chart with back-to-back multi-platinum double albums.
She appeared in the 1978 film, "Thank God It's Friday," which won the best original song Oscar for "Last Dance." Summer also appeared twice on the 1990s hit TV show "Family Matters," playing Steve Urkel's Aunt Oona from Altoona. In 2011, she was a guest judge on music reality show "Platinum Hit," and she performed with the female finalists on the 2008 "American Idol" finale.
Summer won five Grammy Awards and six American Music Awards, and charted three multi-platinum albums.
In 2009, she sang at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert honoring President Barack Obama in Oslo, Norway.
In a statement released by the White House, Obama said: "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."
Musician Questlove of The Roots tweeted, "I know that the whole 'disco sucks' stuff left a bad taste in the mouths of some. But Summer's work was really a credible legacy."
Wrote Mario Lopez, "R.I.P Donna Summer ... I remember roller skating to hits like 'Last Dance' 'Hot Stuff' & 'Bad Girls.' Synonymous with the 70's."
Summer was also a formally trained painter. In 2010, she told Atlantic City Weekly that she sold her first painting for $38,000 and thought, "I may want to stop singing now." Summer estimated she had sold close to a million dollars worth of art.
She is survived by her husband, musician Bruce Sudano, three daughters, and four grandchildren.
The Queen of Disco Donna Summer 1948-2012
The cause was cancer, according to a statement released by her family through her record label Universal Music: “While we grieve her passing, we 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.”
Ms. Summer, whose background as a gospel singer informed her sensual, uplifting voice, had kept her battle with the disease quiet, maintaining a regular performance schedule and even working on a new album. According to TMZ, the singer believed she contracted the disease from inhaling toxic particles after the 9/11 attacks on New York City.
In 2009, Ms. Summer performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, honoring President Barack Obama.
She was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach the No. 1 position on the Billboard charts, with her hit streak continuing into the early 1980s with singles “She Works Hard For The Money” and “This Time I Know It’s For Real.”
Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines in Boston on Dec. 31, 1948, she was one of seven children in a devout Christian household. She sang in church as a child and formed several family groups while growing up, imitating the style of the popular Motown girl groups of her teenage years.
She later dropped out of school, reportedly inspired by the singer Janis Joplin, and joined a psychedelic rock group called Crow, moving to New York. Ms. Summer auditioned for a part in the Broadway musical, “Hair,” which she did not get. But when the musical moved to Germany, she took the role and relocated to Munich for several years.
In 1972, she married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer and, a year later, had a daughter, Mimi. Their marriage didn’t last but she kept the name, anglicizing it to Summer.
As a backup singer for the rock group Three Dog Night she met producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and presented them an idea for a song around the lyric, “love to love you, baby.”
The finished tune, a 17-minute dance cut called “Love To Love You Baby,” became a hit in Europe and was released in America by Casablanca Records, the reigning label of the disco era. According to the BBC, the finished version featured her simulating the sounds of an orgasm no less than 23 times. The song became a crossover hit on the pop and R&B charts. Its album of the same name sold over a million copies in 1976.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees was the first female artist with four No. 1 singles in a 13-month period, as three consecutive double-LPs hit No. 1, “Live and More,” “Bad Girls” and “On the Radio.”
Ms. Summer later became a born-again Christian, denouncing her past material. She caused controversy in 1983 when she allegedly made comments saying AIDS was “divine punishment” on gays for their “sinful lifestyle.”
She later denied making the comments and actively reached out to the gay community, playing fund-raisers and telling “The Advocate” magazine that, “What people want to do with their bodies is their personal preference.” Many of Ms. Summer’s hits became anthems for the gay community and were mainstays of dance clubs throughout the ’70′s and ’80′s.
Elton John, a close friend, released a statement shortly after news of her passing spread.
“Her records sound as good today as they ever did. That she has never been inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame is a total disgrace especially when I see the second-rate talent that has been inducted,” he said. “She is a great friend to me and to the Elton John AIDS Foundation and I will miss her greatly.”
Ms. Summer released her last album, “Crayons,” 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.
Her 2010 single, “To Paris With Love,” topped the Billboard dance charts. Last year she appeared on television as a guest judge on the Bravo reality show “Platinum Hit.”
Other peers reacted to news of Ms. Summer’s death on Twitter.
“For the last half hour or so I’ve been lying in my bed crying and stunned,” said producer and Chic hit-maker Nile Rodgers.
The Roots drummer and “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” bandleader Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, said, “I know that the whole ‘disco sucks’ stuff left a bad taste in the mouths of some. But Summer’s work was really a credible legacy.”
“Few singers have impacted music and the world likeDonna Summer! It’s the end of an era,” said fellow dance diva Gloria Estefan.
Ms. Summer is survived by her husband, Bruce Sudanno, and three children. Funeral arrangements were not announced.
Memorial Donna Summer Dead
Donna Summer performing in October of last year.
Photo: Getty
Donna Summer. She was disco's biggest star. From the orgiastic "Love to Love You Baby," to the bittersweet "Last Dance" and "On The Radio," she could claim some of the most enduring hits of the era. Sadly, TMZ is reporting that the 63-year-old Summer died today, quietly, in Florida, after a battle with lung cancer.
If confirmed, it's a huge loss. The singer had an ardent gay male fan base in her disco heyday, but the gay community's adoration for her was shaken when rumors spread in the 80's that the born-again singer had made comments that implied AIDS was God's punishment for homosexual sin. The singer vehemently denied she had ever said anything of the sort, but her many appearances on Christian television shows in the late eighties helped (perhaps unfairly) to foster the impression that she had forsaken her gay fans.
Whatever the truth of that, Summer gave a lot to her fans, both gay and straight. Her gorgeous voice will be missed. Share your favorite Donna Summer songs and memories in the comments.
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