Donna Summer , the multimillion-selling singer and songwriter whose hits captured both the giddy hedonism of the s disco era and the feisty female solidarity of the early s, died on Thursday at her home in Naples, Fla. She was With her doe eyes, cascade of hair and sinuous dance moves, Ms. Through it all, Ms. She garnered loyal fans. Jon Landau, the chairman of the nominating committee at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, also issued a statement — an unusual one in which he said it was unfortunate that the hall had never inducted her. Landau wrote. LaDonna Adrian Gaines was born Dec. She grew up singing in church and decided in her teens to make music her career. She married an Austrian actor, Hellmuth Sommer, in , and after they divorced she kept his name but changed the spelling.

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She gained prominence during the disco era of the late s and became known as the "Queen of Disco" , while her music gained a global following. While influenced by the counterculture of the s , Summer became the lead singer of a psychedelic rock band named Crow and moved to New York City. Joining a touring version of the musical Hair , she left New York and spent several years living, acting and singing in Europe, where she met music producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte in Munich, where they recorded influential disco hits such as " Love to Love You Baby " and " I Feel Love ", marking her breakthrough into an international career.
Donna Summer, 1948-2012
She died on May 17, at age 63, after a years-long battle with cancer. Her father, Andrew Gaines, was a butcher and her mother, Mary Gaines, was a schoolteacher. From nearly the moment she learned how to talk, Donna sang ceaselessly. She used to go through the house singing, singing. She sang for breakfast and for lunch and for supper. Summer's debut performance came one Sunday when she was 10 years old, when a singer scheduled to perform at her church did not show up. The priest, who knew from her parents Summer's fondness for singing, invited her to perform instead—expecting, at the least, an amusing spectacle. But to everyone's surprise, the voice that bellowed out of Donna Summer's tiny body that Sunday morning was overwhelmingly powerful and beautiful.
We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy. Donna Summer's title as the "Queen of Disco" wasn't mere hype. Like many of her contemporaries, she was a talented vocalist trained as a powerful gospel belter, but she set herself apart with her songwriting ability, magnetic stage presence, and shrewd choice of studio collaborators, all of which resulted in sustained success.