Donna Summer
LaDonna
Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012), known by the stage name Donna
Summer, was an American singer and songwriter who gained prominence during the
disco era of the late 1970s. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Summer was the
first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach number one on the
United States Billboard chart, and she also charted four number-one singles in
the United States within a 13-month period.
Born
into a devoutly Christian middle class African American family in Boston,
Massachusetts, Summer first became involved with singing through church choir
groups before joining a number of bands influenced by the Motown Sound.
Influenced by the counterculture of the 1960s, she became the front singer of a
psychedelic rock band named Crow and moved to New York City. Joining a touring
version of the musical Hair, she spent several years living in West Germany,
where she married Helmut Sommer, whose surname she adopted as her stage name.
Returning
to the United States, Summer co-wrote the song "Love to Love You
Baby" with Pete Bellotte; music producer Giorgio Moroder convinced her to
sing it herself, and it was released to mass commercial success in 1975,
particularly on the disco scene. Over the following years, Summer followed this
success with a string of other disco hits, such as "I Feel Love",
"MacArthur Park", "Hot Stuff" and "No More Tears
(Enough is Enough)". Becoming known as the "Queen of Disco", she
regularly appeared at the Studio 54 club in New York City, while her music
gained a particularly large following within the gay community. Struggling with
depression, she subsequently became a born-again Christian in 1980.
Diagnosed
with lung cancer, Summer died on May 17, 2012, at her home on Manasota Key in
Englewood, Florida, after a battle with the disease. She was posthumously
described as the "undisputed queen of the Seventies disco boom" who
reached the status of "one of the world's leading female singers."
Her work with Moroder on the song "I Feel Love" has also been
described as "really the start of electronic dance" music, by Moroder
himself.
Birth
name: LaDonna Adrian Gaines
Also
known as: Donna Gaines
Born:
December 31, 1948. Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died:
May 17, 2012. Englewood, Florida, U.S.
Genres:
Pop, disco, dance, rock, R&B
Occupations:
Singer, songwriter
Instruments:
Vocals, piano
Years
active: 1968–2012
Labels:
Oasis, Casablanca (1975–80), Geffen (1980–88), Atlantic (1988–91), Mercury
(1994–96), Warner-Elektra-Atlantic (1980–91), Epic (1999–2001), Burgundy
(2006–12)
Associated
acts: Giorgio Moroder, Brooklyn Dreams.
Pictures:
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Song:
Concert:
Donna Summer - Live and More Encore 1999
Interview:
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