Remembering Donna Summer

There are something about certain singers and songs that can bring you back to a time, and for me, Donna Summer is one of those talents. After hearing about her passing yesterday after a long fight with breast cancer, I thought it would be a great time to revisit a few of my favorites of her songs from the era when Disco ruled the airwaves, as well as some great Pop song that still sound fresh and true. I'll start with what was an introduction of sorts, for it was the first time I heard of a talented singer named Donna Summer. She was somewhat unknown, an American in Europe appearing in some Broadway-style shows. She released an album in the UK, working with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, wünderkind of a new electronic sound.

Donna Summer I Feel Love Donna Summer Bad Girls Donna Summer Live & More
Donna Summer On The Radio Donna Summer She Works Hard For The Money Donna Summer Another Place & Time

Summer wrote lyrics to the music of Moroder and Bellotte, and one of those songs was released in 1975. It went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, attracting some controversy. It seems an Urban legend was born when the BBC said while recording "Love To Love You, Baby," Ms. Summer had 23 simulated orgasms in the extended version of the song. Suddenly, both Summer and the song were notorious. And also helped with the sales, making it the song that everyone wanted to hear.

Out to prove she could handle more than moans and groans, Summer continued to record great music. This included a little song for a movie soundtrack that with a lesser talent, might have escaped notice. But place a song by the Paul Jabara in the hands of Moroder and Summer, and you can just imagine the fireworks. I can tell you, it was a song that pretty much closed out every dance I attended in my senior year of high school, and the early college years. It also was often the final song played at gay clubs through the early 1980s. In 1978, "Last Dance" made it to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, off the soundtrack album for the movie Thank God It's Friday.

"Last Dance" was not her only release in that year. In fact, it was not ever her most successful song of the year. Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte found an older song by Jimmy Webb, recorded in 1967 by actor Richard Harris, an odd combination of spoken word and song. "MacArthur Park" went to #2 on the chart in 1968, and went on to be covered by many. But in 1978, it went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, when "MacArthur Park" was sung by Summer like it had never been sung before, or likely every again. It was off the album, Live and More.

While many will remember Donna Summer as the Queen of Disco, a quick look at her discography would show you that while she did command the dance floor in the early part of her career, she also moved on and made some amazing Pop/Rock music. In many ways, Summer paved the way for some of the great women who followed, like Madonna, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry, showing some sass and sensuality, more than the ladies before her. She also laid the groundwork of what it meant to repackage a performer, from Disco coquette to Pop's Everywoman, from a curiosity to a star who could sing with the best in the business. Her voice was rich and full, with tone to spare. She also had an amazing range, and could sing any and all of her songs for a live audience, something many Pop singers could never say without being hit by a bolt of lightning. Take, for instance, this mash-up of two great songs from 1979, both claiming the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. This is Donna singing "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls" in a live performance.

I remember when the next song hit the airwaves. You see, it was back in the days I actually listened to the radio. There was some good music being made, and Donna Summer was one of the people who was making it. As stories go, this has a good one. Back in the late 1970s, Summers wrote "Dim All The Lights" and was planning to give it to Rod Stewart to record, only she changed her mind, and decided to save it for herself. When she released it in 1979 on the heels of "Hot Stuff" and Bad Girls", as well as the smash hit "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" with Barbara Streisand, who knew this would be her fourth song to zoom up the charts that year, as it claimed the #2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, the third hit off the Bad Girls album.

By the time 1979 & 1980 rolled around, the term "disco" became a four-letter-word, and anyone associated with felt the pinch. That included Donna Summer, despite the fact of having several non-Disco hits, including the three above. So many were writing the diva off, and, well, they shouldn't have. The label thought it time to release a collection of greatest hits for the young woman who had been scoring hits for more than five years. As an added incentive for her fans, a song not yet released was added. With music by Giorgio Moroder and lyrics by Donna Summer, "On The Radio" was released in 1980, and went to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was off the collection cleverly named On The Radio: Greatest Hits Vol 1 & 2. While she took a bit of time off to start a family, soon Summer was back at work, and in 1983, she was back on the charts, and in a big way, too. Released off an album of the same name, "She Works Hard For The Money" made it to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and made everyone know your could never discount her talent.

By the time 1989 came along, there were many who thought the charms of Donna might have worn off. Yes, it seems these people never learn a lesson, for that is when Summer released Another Place And Time, and had the #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the great "This Time I Know It's For Real."

In 1999, she had a special on VH1, Donna Summer - Live And More Encore. The following year, she was a star in the VH1 Diva 2000, sharing the stage with Diana Ross, Mariah Carey, and Faith Hill, with special guest performers Destiny's Child and RuPaul. While she continued to make music, she never really returned to the top of the Pop charts after 1989. To enjoy more of her music, you can find The Journey: The Best of Donna Summer on iTunes and Amazon, or her Live And More album, on iTunes and Amazon.