» Edit Band Information
» Edit Albums
» Add a Review
» Add an Album
» Add News | Donna Summer
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 ...read more
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. Released in 1991, the
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. The
energetic and eclectic Crayons, her first proper studio album since Mistaken Identity, was released on the Burgundy label in 2008. She
remained intermittently active with concert and TV appearances during the next several years, and released the "To Paris with Love" single
in August 2010. After battling breast cancer, Donna Summer died at her home in Florida on May 17, 2012; she was 63 years old.. « hide |
Similar Bands: Chic, Gloria Gaynor, Diana Ross, The Pointer Sisters, Sylvester Contributors: Dave1007, rockandmetaljunkie, taylormemer, taylormemer,
|
