She was the queen of the disco, an ethereal songstress whose posters and album covers stirred school boy (and girl) crushes and whose pulsing voice transformed an entire era of dance club glitz, drugs and free lovin’; in case you didn’t know, Donna Summer put the “D” in diva.
The five time Grammy award winner, the country’s first female artist to have three consecutive double albums reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard chart with hits like “Last Dance,” “Bad Girls,” “Love to Love You Baby,” and “She Works Hard For The Money,” Summer was an icon.
She died today after a battle with cancer. Summer was 63.
A statement from her family called Summer “a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith.”
During the 70s and early 80s, Summer lit dance floors on fire with disco anthems that challenged radio stations and exhilarated clubgoers. Her sultry vocals enchanted and energized the disco era- even igniting a scandal or two. Her first hit, 1975’s “Love to Love You Baby,” punctuated with a series of increasingly orgasmic moans, was considered so risqué, some radio stations refused to play it. Despite – or perhaps, because of the uproar – the single reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the album of the same name went platinum.
Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines in 1948 in Dorchester, MA, Summer was raised as a devout Christian, listening to both classical and gospel music. (She would return to her roots later in her career with a gospel album, Christmas Spirit.)
After dropping out of school and leaving home for Broadway at 18, Summer eventually inked a record deal that led her to the burgeoning world of disco. She went on to record chart topping hits such as “Hot Stuff,” “No More Tears (Enough is Enough),” and “This Time I Know It’s For Real.”
In a 2008 interview with Nightline, Summer revealed how “She Works Hard for the Money” was inspired by a washroom attendant.
“I was at a Grammys party … and I went to the ladies room and on my way in I saw this little old lady sitting at the end of the bar. And she was asleep,” Summer said. “She was the bathroom attendant. And at that same moment, a group of ladies walked into the room and started spraying their hair and doing all these things. And my first thought was ‘God, she works hard for her money, that lady.’
“And then I thought, ‘man, that’s a song,’” she said. “So I went and grabbed my manager and we went back into the bathroom and started writing the song on a piece of toilet paper.”
In the 1980s, the height of the AIDS epidemic, Summer’s career was derailed by allegations that she made anti-gay remarks, angering fans. Summer has long denied she made such comments, which were not recorded and never proved, but fans by the thousands returned her albums to the record company, delivering a significant blow to her career. Summer later sued New York magazine, which reported the alleged comments as fact, and they settled out of court.
Still, Summer remained a fixture on the music scene, her work is sampled today by artists like Beyonce, Timbaland and The Pet Shop Boys.
Summer’s last album, “Crayons,” was released in 2008, and she appeared on American Idol the same year. In 2010, she appeared on America’s Got Talent and she told AllVoices.com that she was working on an album of disco standards.
“While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy,” a statement released by Universal Music, her record label said. “Words truly can’t express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time.”
Summer is survived by her husband, Bruce Sudano, three children, and four grandchildren.
By M.Tench