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Artist:

Donna Summer

Donna Summer

Born:
Dec 31, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts

Representative Songs:

"I Feel Love," "Last Dance," "Hot Stuff"

Representative Albums:

Endless Summer, The Wanderer, She Works Hard for the Money

Similar Artists:

Dee D. Jackson, Precious Wilson, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Patrick Adams, Giorgio Moroder, Amanda Lear, Loleatta Holloway, Sister Sledge, Melissa Manchester, Gwen Guthrie, Gloria Gaynor, The Commodores, Chic, The Bee Gees, Barbra Streisand

Influences:

Theatre, Diana Ross, Judy Garland

Followers:

Becky Baeling, Diane Richards, Mónica Naranjo, Madonna, Corona, Irene Cara, Taylor Dayne

Performed Songs By:

Donna Wyant, Tim Rice, Pete Waterman, Rod Temperton, Bruce Sudano, Mike Stock, Anthony Smith, Vangelis, Michael Omartian, Eve Nelson, Silvester Levay, Eddie Hokenson, Harold Faltermeyer, Joe Esposito, Keith Diamond, David Cole, Robert Clivillés, Pete Bellotte, Adrienne Anderson, Matt Aitken, Larry Henley, Jimmy Webb, Bruce Roberts, Keith Forsey, Paul Jabara, Greg Mathieson, Quincy Jones, Barry Manilow, Jon Anderson

Worked With:

Juergen Koppers, Jerry Hey, Gary Herbig, Jay Graydon, Jeff Baxter
  • Genre: Rhythm & Blues
  • Active: '70s - 2000s
  • Instrument: Vocals

Biography

Donna Summer's title as the "Queen of Disco" wasn't mere hype -- she was one of the very few disco performers to enjoy a measure of career longevity, and her consistent chart success was rivaled in the disco world only by the Bee Gees. Summer was certainly a talented vocalist, trained as a powerful gospel belter, but then again, so were many of her contemporaries. Of major importance in setting Summer apart were her songwriting abilities and her choice of talented collaborators in producers/songwriters Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, which resulted in a steady supply of high-quality (and, often, high-concept) material. But what was more, few vocalists could match the sultry, unfettered eroticism Summer brought to many of her best recordings, which seemed to embody the spirit of the disco era perfectly. The total package made Summer the ultimate disco diva, one of the few whose star power was even bigger than the music.

Summer was born LaDonna Andre Gaines on December 31, 1948, and grew up in Boston's Mission Hill section. Part of a religious family, she first sang in her church's gospel choir, and as a teenager performed with a rock group called the Crow. After high school, she moved to New York to sing and act in stage productions, and soon landed a role in a German production of Hair. She moved to Europe around 1968-1969, and spent a year in the German cast, after which she became part of the Hair company in Vienna. She joined the Viennese Folk Opera, and later returned to Germany, where she settled in Munich and met and married Helmut Sommer, adopting an Anglicized version of his last name. Summer performed in various stage musicals and worked as a studio vocalist in Munich, recording demos and background vocals. Her first solo recording was 1971's "Sally Go 'Round the Roses," but success would not come until 1974, when she met producers/songwriters Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte while working on a Three Dog Night record. The three teamed up for the single "The Hostage," which became a hit around Western Europe, and Summer released her first album, Lady of the Night, in Europe only. In 1975, the trio recorded "Love to Love You Baby," a disco-fied reimagining of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin's lush, heavy-breathing opus "Je T'aime...Moi Non Plus." Powered by Summer's graphic moans, "Love to Love You Baby" became a massive hit in Europe, and drew the attention of Casablanca Records, which put the track out in America. It climbed to number two on the singles charts, and became a dance-club sensation when Moroder remixed the track into a 17-minute, side-long epic on the LP of the same name.

In the wake of "Love to Love You Baby," albums (as opposed to just singles) became an important forum for Summer and her producers. The 1976 follow-up Love Trilogy contained another side-long suite in "Try Me (I Know We Can Make It Work)," and demonstrated Moroder and Bellotte's growing sophistication as arrangers with its lush, sweeping strings. Four Seasons of Love, released later in the year, was a concept album with one track dedicated to each season, and 1977's I Remember Yesterday featured a variety of genre exercises. Despite the album's title, it produced the most forward-looking single in Summer and Moroder's catalog, the monumental "I Feel Love." Eschewing the strings and typical disco excess, "I Feel Love" was the first major pop hit recorded with an entirely synthesized backing track; its lean, sleek arrangement and driving, hypnotic pulse laid the groundwork not only for countless Euro-dance imitators, but also for the techno revolution of the '80s and '90s. It became Summer's second Top Ten hit in the U.S., and she followed it with Once Upon a Time, another concept album, this one retelling the story of Cinderella for the disco era.

Summer's albums were selling well, bolstered by her popularity in the dance clubs, and she was poised to become a major pop hitmaker as well. Her acting turn in the 1978 disco-themed comedy Thank God It's Friday produced another hit in "Last Dance," which won her a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal (as well as an Oscar for songwriter Paul Jabara). Doubtlessly benefiting from the added exposure, the double-LP set Live and More became Summer's first number one album later that year. It featured one side of new studio material, including a disco cover of the psychedelic pop epic "MacArthur Park" that became her first number one pop single early the next year. Her 1979 double-LP Bad Girls featured more of her songwriting contributions than ever, and went straight to number one, as did the lusty singles "Bad Girls" and the rock-oriented "Hot Stuff," which made Summer the first female artist ever to score three number one singles in the same calendar year. Her greatest-hits package On the Radio also topped the charts, the first time any artist had ever hit number one with three consecutive double LPs; the newly recorded title track became another hit, and Summer's duet with Barbra Streisand, "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)," became her fourth number one single.

At the peak of her success, Summer decided to leave Casablanca, and became the first artist signed to the new Geffen label. Sensing that the disco era was coming to a close, Summer attempted to modify her style to include more R&B and pop/rock on her first Geffen album, 1980's The Wanderer; the album and its title track were both hits. Not wanting to alienate her core audience, Summer returned to pure dance music on an attempted follow-up; however, Geffen deemed I'm a Rainbow not worthy of release (it was finally issued in 1996). Instead, Summer ended her collaboration with Moroder and Bellotte and teamed up with Quincy Jones for 1982's Donna Summer. "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)" was a significant hit, but none of its follow-ups did very well. With producer Michael Omartian, Summer moved back into post-disco dance music and urban R&B with 1983's She Works Hard for the Money; its title track was a smash and became a feminist anthem of sorts. However, with her career momentum slowing, it also marked the end of Summer's prime. Despite winning a gospel Grammy for "Forgive Me," Summer's 1984 follow-up Cats Without Claws flopped, as did the 1987 comeback effort All Systems Go. Hiring the British production team of Stock, Aitken & Waterman, Summer scored her last major success with the 1989 Top Ten single "This Time I Know It's for Real," from the album Another Place & Time; around the same time, she began denouncing her earlier, "sinful" disco material. 1991's lackluster, urban-styled Mistaken Identity effectively killed her career momentum, and none of her new '90s albums produced that elusive hit. However, she did make some noise on the dance charts with "Melody of Love," from the excellent 1994 retrospective Endless Summer, and reunited with Moroder for the 1997 non-LP single "Carry On," which won the inaugural Grammy for Best Dance Recording. Summer subsequently signed a deal with Sony, which primed her for re-establishment with the 1999 greatest-hits live album VH1 Presents: Live and More Encore!; it featured the new song "I Will Go With You (Con Te Partiro)," which had some success on the dance charts. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
 
 
Black Biography: Donna Summer

singer

Personal Information

Born LaDonna Andrea Gaines, on December 31, 1948, in Dorchester, MA; married Helmut Sommer, (divorced, 1974); married Bruce Sudano, July 15, 1980; children: (second marriage) Amanda Grace.

Career

Appeared in stage productions of Hair, Porgy & Bess, and other American musicals in Germany and Austria, late 1960s, early 1970s; recorded "The Hostage" (European release only), 1973; recorded "Love to Love You Baby" and eponymous album, 1975; signed to Casablanca Records, 1975; achieved several Top Ten hits and gold records during the late 1970s; signed to Geffen Records, 1980, Epic Records, 1999-.

Life's Work

Like no other performer, Donna Summer personified the disco era during its zenith in the late 1970s. Working with a team of legendary European record producers, Summer wrote and recorded a string of hits that made her one of the most successful artists of the decade. She collected numerous gold records and awards during her prime, but her career was plagued by contractual and management problems during the 1980s.

Born in suburban Boston in 1948, LaDonna Andrea Gaines was one of seven siblings in a working-class household where church attendance and academic achievement were the rule. She began singing as a child in the gospel choir of her church, and was an especially devoted fan of gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. As a teenager, Summer sang in a Boston band called Crow, and shocked her family when she decided to move to New York City in order to find work on Broadway. At the age of 18, Summer auditioned for a role in the popular hippie musical Hair. She won a spot in the touring company for the show, and moved to Europe.

Stage Career in Europe

Summer spent the next several years overseas. She appeared in several German and Austrian stage productions, met and married a fellow performer, Helmut Sommer--from whom she took her eventual recording name--modeled, and occasionally worked as a backup singer for recording artists. During a 1973 Munich recording session with the band Blood, Sweat & Tears, Summer met producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, who were entranced by her voice. She accepted an invitation to work with them, and recorded "The Hostage," her debut single. "The Hostage "and two other recordings became minor hits in European dance clubs.

In 1975, Summer recorded a takeoff of a sexy, French hit from 1959, "Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus." Her version of the song, entitled "Love to Love You Baby," featured a classic, speedy disco beat. The song was not a hit in Europe until Neil Bogart, an American record executive who had made a fortune with bubblegum pop records in the 1960s, suggested expanding the song to nearly 17 minutes in length. Summer was signed to Bogart's Casablanca Records, and the shortened version of the song reached No. 2 on the American charts by early 1976.

First Star of Disco Era

Summer has been called the first crossover artist in pop music history, an African American performer who began her recording career working in a genre that appealed to minorities--the denizens of the New York nightlife scene, in which African American, Latino, and gay culture thrived in its own unique mix. That underground popularity eventually attracted a more mainstream element. Record company executives began to realize that some of Summer's recordings that were marketed for the discotheque scene were selling briskly in mainstream record stores as well, even though they received no airplay on the radio.

The music industry journal Billboard created its disco chart in 1975. Summer soon began topping this chart, as well as the R&B and pop charts, with a string of hits. These hits included the 1976 releases A Love Trilogy, and the album Four Seasons of Love. The following year, she scored two more hits with the album I Remember Yesterday, and a double album, Once Upon a Time. All of these hits showcased Summer's smooth, rich voice. One of Summer's greatest hits, "I Feel Love," was released in mid-1977 as a single from I Remember Yesterday. It would be the first hit to use what became known as the "galloping bass line," a pounding, 140-beat-per-minute rhythm created by a drum machine. Such production techniques were rapidly adopted as a standard in disco music. Summer would also be remembered as the first female recording artist to successfully incorporate synthesizers into her work.

A String of Hit Records

During the late 1970s, Summer kept a nearly nonstop schedule of recording and performing, even spending nearly two straight years on tour. She was one of the most popular recording artists of her day. Her concerts sold out regularly, fans mobbed her, and her record sales were astronomical. In 1978, Summer appeared in a dismal feature film that tried to capitalize on the disco craze, Thank God It's Friday. Despite the film's failure at the box office, one of the songs from the soundtrack, "Last Dance" became a number one hit and earned Summer a Grammy award and an Oscar for Best Original Song. A number of her other hits found their way onto her 1978 double live album, Live and More, which was recorded from a series of shows at the Universal Amphitheater near Los Angeles. This was followed by her double studio album Bad Girls, which was released in the spring of 1979. Bad Girls spent six weeks on the American album charts, and was the best-selling album by a female artist in 1979. It also earned Summer a Grammy award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.

Bad Girls would be one of the last records that Summer recorded for Casablanca. In late 1979, Casablanca released a compilation of Summer's hits entitled, On the Radio--Greatest Hits, Volumes I and II. One of the songs on the album, Summer's duet with Barbara Streisand entitled "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)," topped the charts. In early 1980, Summer sued to be released from her contract with Casablanca, citing undue influence and fraud. Later that year, she became the first artist to sign with the Geffen label, which was founded by rising entertainment executive David Geffen. Elton John and John Lennon soon joined Summer on Geffen's roster.

Moved in a New Direction

The year 1980 was marked by other notable changes in Summer's life. She wed musician Bruce Sudano, whose Brooklyn Dreams band had backed her on some tours, and announced that she was a born-again Christian. Her debut album on Geffen, The Wanderer, reflected this new spirituality. The album reached No. 3 on Billboard's charts, but its singles charted only in the 30s--a dismal showing compared to the string of gold records Summer had earned for her previous singles. The Wanderer was also the last album that Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte produced for Summer.

In 1982, Summer teamed with producer Quincy Jones and released the album Donna Summer. One of the singles from the album, "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)," was a Top Ten hit. She also recorded a cover song with Jones entitled "State of Independence." Jones was also able to convince a roster of music legends--Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, and Stevie Wonder among them--to sing backup on the album. Jones later remarked that this experience had inspired his production of "We Are the World," the 1984 Ethiopian famine-relief recording. Under the settlement terms of her lawsuit against Casablanca, Summer was required to record one more album for the label, which was now a part of Polygram Records. The title track of the album She Works Hard for the Money, climbed to No. 3 on the U.S. charts in 1983.

Became a Successful Painter

Summer tried unsuccessfully to be released from her recording contract with Geffen Records. Sales of her 1987 album, All Systems Go, were so poor that a planned North American concert tour was canceled. In the late 1980s, Summer turned to art as a means of creative expression. She began to paint large, Expressionist-style canvases, many of which sold for several thousands of dollars. In 1994, Summer moved to Nashville with her husband and young daughter. She recorded an album of Christmas carols with the Nashville Symphony, and continued to paint.

In 1997, Summer appeared alongside Gloria Estefan and Chaka Khan at a benefit concert, Three Divas on Broadway. Her career was also bolstered by a pop-culture revival of the disco era during the late 1990s. In early 1998, Summer appeared at Carnegie Hall for a concert to benefit the Gay Men's Health Crisis Center in New York. "After nearly two hours of mature ovations and controlled excitement...the remarkably well-behaved audience could no longer be contained," wrote Larry Flick in Billboard. "As she [Summer] began a salacious, guitar-drenched rendition of 'Hot Stuff,' fans rushed down the red carpeted aisles toward the stage."

By the end of the 1990s, Summer was signed to a recording contract with Epic Records. The company released yet another of her many best-selling anthologies, VH1 Presents Donna Summer: Live & More--Encore! She was also working on tracks for a planned musical autobiography, Ordinary Girl. "I think women have incredible powers," she told Rolling Stone's Gina Zucker in 1999. "We can use both the intellectual side of the brain and the nurturing side, and we have to be proud of both."

Awards

Best Original Song Oscar, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 1978, for "Last Dance"; Best Female R&B Vocal Performance Grammy, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, 1979, for "Last Dance"; Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy, 1980, for "Hot Stuff"; Best Inspirational Performance Grammy, 1984, for "He's a Rebel," and 1985, for "Forgive Me"; (with Giorgio Moroder) Best Dance Recording Grammy, 1998, for "Carry On."

Works

Selected discography

  • Love to Love You, Baby, Oasis, 1975.
  • A Love Trilogy, Oasis, 1976.
  • Four Seasons of Love, Casablanca, 1976.
  • I Remember Yesterday, Casablanca, 1977.
  • Live and More, Casablanca, 1978.
  • Bad Girls, Casablanca, 1979.
  • On the Radio--Greatest Hits, Volumes I and II, Casablanca, 1979.
  • The Wanderer, Geffen, 1980.
  • Donna Summer, Geffen, 1982.
  • She Works Hard for the Money, Polygram, 1983.
  • All Systems Go, Geffen, 1987.
  • Another Place and Time, Atlantic, 1989.
  • Christmas Spirit, Mercury, 1994.
  • VH1 Presents Donna Summer: Live & More--Encore!, Epic, 1999.

Further Reading

Periodicals

  • Billboard, September 3, 1994, p. 21; March 16, 1998; June 12, 1999, p. 9.
  • Rolling Stone, August 5, 1999, p. 27.

— Carol Brennan

 
Wikipedia: Donna Summer
Donna Summer
Donna Summer on stage
Donna Summer on stage
Background information
Birth name LaDonna Adrian Gaines
Born December 31 1948 (1948--) (age 58)
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Genre(s) disco, dance, Hi-NRG, R&B, soul, house, rock, gospel
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, actress
Instrument(s) Vocals, piano
Years active 1971–present
Label(s) Casablanca, Geffen, Atlantic, Mercury, Epic, Burgundy
Associated
acts		 Giorgio Moroder, Brooklyn Dreams

Donna Summer (born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on December 31, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and artist, best known for a string of dance hits in the late 1970s that earned her the title "Queen Of Disco" and as one of the few disco-based artists to have longevity on the charts through the late 1980s.

Though she's most notable for her disco hits, Summer's repertoire has expanded to include contemporary R&B, rock, mainstream pop, and even gospel. Donna is one of the most successful female hitmakers of the rock era and still holds the record for having three consecutive (double) albums hit #1 on the Billboard charts and also became the first female artist to have four number-one singles in a twelve-month period.

On September 27, 2007, Donna was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Biography

Early life and career

Born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, she was one of seven children raised by devout Christian parents. She sang in church, and in her teens joined a rock group called The Crow, so named because Donna was the only black member of the group. At eighteen, Gaines left home and school to take up a supporting role in the Broadway musical, "Hair". The show moved to Germany shortly afterwards and Gaines eventually became a German resident and performed in the German versions of several musicals including "Godspell" and "Show Boat". She settled in Munich and also performed with the Viennese Folk Opera.

In 1971, Gaines released a single in Europe entitled "Sally Go 'Round The Roses", her first solo recording. The single was unsuccessful, however, and she had to wait until 1974 to launch a solo career. Gaines married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer ("Summer" is an Anglicization of his last name) in 1972 and gave birth to daughter Mimi the following year. Summer did various musical jobs in studios and theaters for several years, including the pop group FamilyTree from 1974-75.

Early success and notoriety

While singing back-up for groups such as Three Dog Night, she met producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. With these producers, Summer signed a contract in the Netherlands and issued her first album, Lady of the Night, which included the European hit, "The Hostage". The single made #1 in France and Belgium, and #2 in the Netherlands. Its follow-up, the title track of the album, also gained some degree of European success.

In the summer of 1975, Summer approached Moroder and Bellotte with an idea for a song. She had come up with the lyric "Love to love you, baby" as the possible title for the song. Moroder in particular was interested in developing the new disco sound that was becoming increasingly popular, and used Summer's idea to develop the song into a raunchy disco track. He had the idea that she should moan and groan orgasmically, but Summer was initially reticent. Eventually she agreed to record the song as a demo to give to someone else (possibly singer Penny McLean). She has stated that she was not completely sure of some of the lyrics, and parts of the song were improvised during the recording (she later stated on a VH-1 "Behind The Music" program that she pictured herself as Marilyn Monroe acting out the part of someone in sexual ecstasy). Moroder was so astounded with Summer's orgasmic vocals and her imaginative moans and groans that he insisted she should release the single herself. Summer reluctantly agreed and the song, titled "Love to Love You", was released to modest success in Europe. When it reached America and the hands of Casablanca president Neil Bogart, however, he was so ecstatic over the demo that he requested Moroder to produce a twenty-minute version of the song. Summer, Moroder and producer Pete Bellotte cut a seventeen-minute version, renamed it "Love to Love You, Baby", and Casablanca signed Summer and issued it as a single in November 1975. Casablanca distributed Summer's work in the US while other labels distributed it in different nations during this period.

"Love to Love You Baby" was Summer's first big hit in America, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in early 1976 and becoming her first Number-One Hot Dance Club Play chart hit. The album (side one of which was completely taken up with the full-length version of the title track) was also released in late 1975 and was soon certified Gold for sales of over 500,000 US copies. The song was branded "graphic" by some music critics and was even banned by some radio stations for its explicit content. Time magazine later reported that a record 22 orgasms were reached in the making of the song. In some areas of the music press, Summer was dubbed "the first lady of love." Two moderately successful, Gold-selling concept albums followed - A Love Trilogy featured the single "Could It Be Magic" and Four Seasons Of Love which featured the discofied "Spring Affair" as well as "Winter Melody". Summer was becoming increasingly known among Disco fans but appeared to be a one-hit wonder otherwise with no substantial Pop success. Her albums all had a high sensual/fantasy content, although Summer felt uneasy with her image.

The 1977 album I Remember Yesterday, another concept album, showed the Summer/Moroder/Bellotte team combining the Disco sound with sounds of the past, present and future. The song representing the future, "I Feel Love" , originally released as a "B" side to the R&B ballad "Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over)", became a landmark recording, finally giving Donna another Pop and R&B hit - reaching #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number one in the UK and various other European countries. "I Feel Love" earned her a second US Gold 45 as well. The song was arguably the first song to use techno and electronic sounds in dance music. A version of I Feel Love released in 1982, with additional overdubs by Disco lightman turned synthesist and producer, the late Patrick Cowley, took the eight-minute and thirteen-second extended version and overlayed new elements, causing an underground sensation. Summer released another album in 1977 called Once Upon a Time, a concept album telling a modern-day "rags to riches" story through the means of electronic disco which is regarded by some fans as some of her best work.

Continued success in music

In 1978, Summer acted in the film Thank God It's Friday, and released the hit single "Last Dance". Written by the late Paul Jabara — who also co-wrote "It's Raining Men", "The Main Event (Fight)" and "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" — the song became another major hit for Summer, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and resulting in her first Grammy win. Jabara took home the Oscar after the song was nominated for Song Of The Year. Summer also recorded a side-long version of Serge Gainsbourg's "Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus)" which was very similar in style to "Love To Love You Baby", initially shelved and later released as a part of the Thank God It's Friday soundtrack.

That same year, she released her first live album, Live and More. This was Summer's first #1 album (it actually knocked Linda Ronstadt's triple-platinum Living In The USA out of the top slot), as well as her first to reach the million-selling Platinum mark and included her first #1 American Pop single, a cover of the Jimmy Webb-penned "MacArthur Park", originally made famous by the late actor/singer Richard Harris. The live work included the tracks "One Of A Kind" and "Heaven Knows" which also featured vocals by Joe "Bean" Esposito of the Brooklyn Dreams (group member Bruce Sudano would later become romantically involved with Summer). "Heaven Knows" became another Gold US 45 and another Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Bad Girls and the break from disco

In 1979, Summer released the landmark double-album Bad Girls. Unlike other disco albums, it mixed Rock, Funk, Blues, and Soul into electronic Disco beats. It yielded three consecutive million-selling singles: the back-to-back #1 hits "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls", and the #2 hit "Dim All The Lights". "Bad Girls" also became Donna's first #1 song on Billboard's R&B singles chart. With US record sales at an all-time apex in 1979, Summer cashed in considerably with a total of five straight US Gold singles (three of which went on to Platinum status) that year alone. "Hot Stuff" won Summer a second Grammy, for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Bad Girls became Summer's second #1 album and the most successful one of her entire career, selling nearly three million copies in the US and an estimated ten million worldwide. Once again, Summer's music was years ahead of its time, and elements of Bad Girls would surface in the 1980s from such artists as the Eurythmics, New Order, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Madonna, Laura Branigan, Bronski Beat, and many other new wave and techno bands. Donna and Bruce Sudano grew closer during the making of this album and became engaged. During this period, Summer became the first woman ever to have two songs in the top three of Billboard's Hot 100 during the same week, with "Bad Girls" and "Hot Stuff". Just a few months later, she accomplished the same feat again, with "No More Tears" and "Dim All the Lights". During the summer of 1979, she played an astounding eight sold-out nights at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.

Summer's first compilation album, On The Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2, was a global smash and her third straight #1 US album - also going multi-platinum. With this, Summer became the first artist to have three consecutive number-one double-albums. The album also contained two new tracks - "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", a Platinum-selling #1 duet with Barbra Streisand, and the Top Five Gold hit "On the Radio", a song written for the film Foxes. The Streisand-Summer duet was Donna's fourth and final #1 Pop hit in the U.S. Afterwards, disagreements and fractions between Summer and Casablanca Records led to her exit from the label in 1980. Summer was given a lucrative offer by David Geffen and became the first artist to be signed to his new Geffen label in 1980. At the time, Summer's record deal was said to be one of the biggest for a female artist. She also became a born again Christian during this time and used her newfound religion as a guiding force within her life.

The Wanderer and She Works Hard for the Money

Summer's first Geffen release, 1980's The Wanderer, was something of a departure, in some ways closer to a rock/new wave affair. The title track, and accompanying singles "Cold Love" and "Who Do You Think You're Foolin'?" saw Summer attempting to reach the same audience dominated by contemporaries like Blondie and Pat Benatar. The million-selling title track was another Summer smash, hitting #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning her yet another Gold single in the States. The album, however, was something of a commercial dissapointment in the US, selling only 600,000 copies. It peaked at number thirteen and fell rapidly off the charts though it nevertheless earned a Gold album certification in the US. A second release, I'm a Rainbow, a dance-oriented double album which also featured elements of soul, R&B, period British techno-pop and even synth-based disco, was shelved by Geffen (although two of the tracks would surface during the 1980s on the Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Flashdance film soundtracks) because he believed Summer needed fresh production. Reluctantly, Summer left Moroder after seven years of collaboration, and began work with Quincy Jones.

In 1982 she released Donna Summer, and the new production from Quincy Jones got her back in the Top 10 of the Pop, R&B, and Dance charts with the Grammy-nominated "Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)". A second single, "State of Independence", on which Michael Jackson sang background along with a veritable "who's who" of the music world (which was one of the inspirations for "We Are the World"), became a sizable international hit (#1 in The Netherlands). "State of Independence" had been originally written and performed by the duo Jon & Vangelis (Jon Anderson and Vangelis Papathanassiou), on their second album "The Friends of Mr. Cairo", released in 1981. One more single from the album followed, The Woman In Me, later recorded by Ann Wilson & Nancy Wilson of the rock group Heart.

In 1983, Summer scored her biggest triumph since Bad Girls with the release of the She Works Hard for the Money single and album. One of the most played songs of all time, the track became a pro-feminist anthem and was a staple on BET and MTV, making her the first black female artist to have a video air in heavy rotation on the latter channel. The infectious recording was also - surprisingly - Donna's biggest-ever R&B hit (number-one for three weeks). Released on PolyGram's Mercury Records, the success of the She Works Hard For The Money album permanently poisoned Summer's relationship with Geffen. Album liner notes on the "Cats Without Claws" album pointedly alluded to "thank(ing) David for staying out of the kitchen this time". A second single from the She Works Hard For The Money album, the reggae-flavored "Unconditional Love" featured vocals by black British boy band Musical Youth) but stopped short of the Top 40. Despite the album hitting the Top 10 and attaining a Gold album certification from the RIAA in the US, She Works Hard for the Money marked the end of Summer's record-selling prime.

Her subsequent Geffen releases saw Donna in decline and did not fare well. 1984's Cats Without Claws (which sold a mere 400,000 copies in the US) and 1987's All Systems Go (which bombed, only briefly making the Billboard album chart) stalled on the charts with no major hits. Summer left Geffen in 1988 to sign with Atlantic Records. Rumors have circulated among fans that as well as the I'm a Rainbow album, Summer had more unreleased material turned down by Geffen during her time with them. Her disco style was emulated by such singers as Claudja Barry, Irene Cara, and the late Laura Branigan and Miquel Brown, among others. These somewhat lesser known singers together filled the void as "Disco Queens" - especially with gay audiences. (In fact, it is worth noting that during this period the gay community realized its own heritage as purveyors of disco music as opposed to the greater straight rock fan base, and therein may lay some of the reason for disco's demise.) Her pop culture position would be usurped entirely in 1985 by Madonna, who would echo both Summer's early "sex-vixen" persona and her mainly dance-music style.

Later career

Summer briefly regained her hit luster again in 1989 with Another Place and Time, an album-length collaboration with England's top dance-pop production team Stock Aitken Waterman. "This Time I Know It's for Real" became Donna's fourteenth Top 10 Billboard Pop hit in US and returned to her to Gold-single status. It was also a huge success at Adult Contemporary radio, holding at #2 for four weeks. Another track, "I Don't Wanna Get Hurt", was a Top Ten UK hit. The follow-up US single, "Love's About To Change My Heart", became a moderate Dance chart hit but stalled at #85 on the Pop chart. The album sold respectably worldwide, but peaked at #53 and topped off at a dissapointing 300,000 copies in the States.

In 1991, she released Mistaken Identity, which was an attempt at incorporating new jack swing and Urban Contemporary R&B into her music. The album failed to appear on the Billboard album chart but did make it to #97 on the Top R&B Albums chart. Summer scored a moderate urban chart hit with "When Love Cries" (#18 R&B), and an underground club hit with "Work That Magic." In 1992, Summer received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The year also saw her collaborate with Giorgio Moroder for the first time in over a decade with the song "Carry On". First featured on his Forever Dancing album, the following year the track would be featured on the double album The Donna Summer Anthology. This compilation also featured two exclusive remixes from the unreleased I'm a Rainbow album recorded back in 1981. It would be a while before her next release as she decided to take some time out to spend with her family.

A gospel-influenced Christmas album entitled Christmas Spirit in 1994 became Summer's first full-length album in over three years, and a new compilation entitled Endless Summer (both released by PolyGram) also contained a couple of new tracks, including "Melody of Love (Wanna Be Loved)", which became a huge hit on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.

In 1995, a re-release of "I Feel Love" (with newly recorded vocals) as a dance remix, became a hit again in the UK, reaching #8 there. The following year she would score another Top 20 there with a new remix of "State of Independence". In 1996, Summer's album I'm a Rainbow was finally released by Polygram's Mercury Records.

In 1998, Summer was the first artist to receive a Grammy award for Best Dance Recording for her 1992 collaboration with Giorgio Moroder, "Carry On", after the song was remixed and released as a single. In 1999, Summer starred in a televised live concert on the VH1 network entitled Donna Summer - Live and More Encore. The special earned the network their highest ratings of the year, second only to their annual Divas concert. Performing a string of her classics and new singles, she also sang "Dim All the Lights" as a tribute to Rod Stewart. Summer acknowledges that she wrote the song for Stewart but recorded it herself. A live CD of the special (on the Epic label) and DVD of the special were released, returning the singer back to the U.S. albums chart. Summer scored two number-one dance hits that year with "I Will Go With You" and "Love Is the Healer" (both found as new studio tracks on the live album). During that year, Summer recorded the theme song for Pokémon: The Movie 2000, entitled "The Power Of One". Around this time, Summer also recorded the song "Dreamcatcher" for the Naturally Native Original Soundtrack.

In 2003, Donna Summer released a greatest-hits compilation called The Journey, which rocketed into the UK Top 10 in the following year thanks to her appearance on an ITV1 show. Discomania found Summer co-presenting & singing a number of her hits: a "Hot Stuff"/"Bad Girls" medley, "MacArthur Park", "Last Dance", & a duet with Westlife on "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)" - which appeared on the Discomania soundtrack album.

Current work

On September 20, 2004, Summer was among the first artists to be inducted into the newly formed Dance Music Hall of Fame in New York City. She was inducted in two categories, Artist Inductees, alongside fellow disco legends The Bee Gees and Barry White; and Record Inductees, for her classic hit "I Feel Love". Summer added to her achievements in October 2004 when she performed "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch at Game 2 of the 2004 World Series at Boston's Fenway Park. Two of her most recent singles, "You're So Beautiful" (2004) and "I Got Your Love" (2005) reached the Top 10 on both the Hot Dance Airplay and Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts.

Today, Summer and her family make their home in Nashville, Tennessee. In July 2006, Summer joined forces with Pure Tone Music, an A&R consulting and full service independent music company located just outside of New York City. She was touring extensively in mid-2006, and incorporating covers of other artists into her set, one of them being Sade's "Pearls". Summer's official web site announced an upcoming CD on the Burgundy label to be released in Spring, 2008. Summer has hinted that her upcoming album will be more political, and is currently fundraising for the incumbent Democratic governor of Tennessee.

Personal life

In 1972, Summer married her first husband, Helmuth Sommer, and moved to Germany to play in musicals, which resulted in her learning to speak fluent German. With Sommer, she gave birth to her first child, Mimi. The couple divorced in 1976, but Donna had anglicized Sommer to Summer and begun her professional singing career in 1974 as Donna Summer. In 1978, she collaborated with the R&B Pop group the Brooklyn Dreams for the hit "Heaven Knows" (duet vocals by Joe Esposito). 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(www.johnnyswim.com), while Brooklyn has been seen acting in TV shows, including a recently canceled sitcom starring Damon Wayans. Summer is still married to Sudano, and she is a grandmother of three.

During her career, Summer has dealt with controversy both professionally and personally. Her first hit, "The Hostage" was banned in Germany, and other radio stations banned her music for being sexually suggestive, with "Love to Love You Baby" being an example.

In 1991, during the height of the Gulf War, Summer's song "State Of Independence" was banned from US radio play alongside many other songs that were deemed to have an inflammatory effect on the population.

A more painful incident came in the early 1980s with reports that she had made anti-gay remarks associated with the AIDS epidemic. Her songs were banned for a number of years in some gay establishments over these rumors.[citation needed] Summer has long denied such allegations, and finally took legal action against a newspaper which printed the rumors during a review of a concert. Summer tearfully stated, "I never said anything that was written about me in that article". To make amends, Summer has since played for AIDS benefits and has donated proceeds to AIDS research. As recently as 2006, she was asked about the rumors by a Canadian newspaper. "So many people in my audiences are gay. I can’t live my life trying to assure people of anything. You have to live knowing who you are. I think that my actions and the person that I am speak louder than somebody else’s misgivings or lies about me", Summer responded. "They print all kinds of things about people all the time but you can’t run after every single lie. You tell people the truth and if they choose to believe you, they do."

Regardless, not least among gay people, her talent and musicianship (aided by Giorgio Moroder) are embraced as the epitome of the disco era, as is her subsequent support in fighting AIDS.

Awards and recognition

  • Summer is the recipient of five Grammy Awards including a rare berth as being the first African-American act ever to win an award for rock, in the Best Female Rock Vocal Performance category for the single "Hot Stuff". She has also won Grammys in the R&B and gospel categories. Her most recent Grammy win was for 1997's "Carry On", the first Grammy to be given to an artist in the dance music category.
  • Summer placed a top forty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in every year of her recording career from 1977's "I Feel Love" to 1984's "There Goes My Baby".
  • Summer has fourteen Top 10 pop singles, with four of those singles reaching number one on the pop singles chart
  • Summer has netted 16 number-one singles overall, in various Billboard charts.
  • Summer became the first female artist to score three consecutive number-one double albums and have three number-one pop singles in the same year. She's also the first to have two singles in the top three slots of the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, and accomplished this feat twice.
  • Summer received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1992.
  • Summer was one of the first to be inducted to the Dance Music Hall of Fame and was inducted twice; one as a recording artist and another for her influential single "I Feel Love".
  • Summer's music career has landed her as the eighth most successful female recording artist in the history of Billboard.

Cover versions by other artists