Donna Summer Biography, Photos and Posters

Donna Summer

Biography

Born: December 31, 1948
City and Country of Origin: Boston, Massachusetts
Music Training: church
Awards: Grammy 1997 Best Dance Recording, "Carry On;" 1984 Best Inspirational Performance, "Forgive Me;" 1983 Best Inspirational Performance, "He's A Rebel;" 1979 Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female, 1978 Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female, "Last Dance;" 1992 star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Top Recordings: "Love To Love You Baby," "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It," "Spring Affair," "I Feel Love," "I Love You," "Rumour Has It," "Last Dance," "MacArthur Park," "Heaven Knows" (With Brooklyn Dreams), "Hot Stuff," "Bad Girls," "Dim All The Lights," "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)," "On the Radio," "The Wanderer," "She Works Hard For The Money"
Donna Summer Biography: Grammy Award-winning American singer, songwriter, and occasional actress, LaDonna Adrian Gaines is best known for a string of dance hits in the 1970s that earned her the title "Queen of Disco" making her one of the few disco artists to attain longevity. Best known for her work during the disco era, Summer has also earned Grammy Awards in R&B, Rock, and Gospel music. Summer is known for her exquisite vocal range and power. It has been estimated that Summer's album and single sales total more than 150 million, easily making her one of the best-selling music artists.

Donna was born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, one of seven children raised by devout Christian parents. She sang in church and later joined a rock group as a teenager. At eighteen, she left home and school to take up a supporting role in the Broadway musical, "Hair". The show moved to Germany shortly afterwards and Gaines eventually became a German resident and performed in the German versions of several musicals including "Godspell" and "Show Boat." She settled in Munich and also performed with the Viennese Folk Opera.

In 1971, Gaines released her first single in Europe entitled "Sally Go 'Round the Roses," which was unsuccessful, however, she had to wait until 1974 to launch a solo career. Gaines married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer ("Summer" is an anglicization of his last name) in 1972 and gave birth to daughter Mimi the following year. The newlywed Mrs. Sommer felt trapped in her new role as wife and mother, and her husband worked long hours and was rarely home. Before long, the couple separated. Using the name Donna Summer, she decided to concentrate on her musical career and made the heartbreaking decision of sending Mimi back to America to live with her parents. Summer did various musical jobs in studios and theaters for several years, including the pop group FamilyTree from 1974-75.

She met producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte while doing backup work for such groups as Three Dog Night. Summer signed a contract in the Netherlands and issued her first album, Lady of the Night, which included the European hit, "The Hostage", which made number 1 in France, Belgium, and Holland and number 2 in Germany.

In 1975 Summer came up with the lyric "Love To Love You Baby" and suggested it to Moroder and Bellotte. Moroder was interested in developing a new disco sound. He had the idea that Summer should moan and groan in an orgasmic fashion on the track. She recorded the song as a demo thnking that someone else would record the finalized version. However, Moroder was so pleased with the result that he convinced Summer to release it herself. The record was a modest success in Europe, but when it reached the states, Casablanca president Neil Bogart was so ecstatic over the demo that he requested Moroder to do a 20 minute version. Casablanca signed Summer an released the record in 1975. It became Summer's first hit in America reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in February 1976. The song was branded "raunchy" by some rock critics and was even banned by some radio stations. Summer would later admit that she regretted having recorded the song.

Summer was dubbed "the first lady of love." Two sucessful, gold-selling concept albums followed - A Love Trilogy featured the moderate hits, Try Me (I Know We Can Make It) (number 80 on the Hot 100)," and Could It Be Magic (number 52 on the Hot 100); and Four Seasons of Love which featured the disco hit, "Spring Affair," (number 58 on the Hot 100), as well as Winter Melody, (number 43 on the Hot 100) Both albums placed high on the Billboard 200, and had a reasonably high sensual/fantasy content, although Summer felt uneasy with her image.

In 1977 the Summer, Moroder, Bellotte struck again with another disco concept album Remember Yesterday, which featured sounds of the past, present and future. "I Feel Love," released as the B side of "Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over)," reached number 6 on the charts and became the first dance recording to utilize techno and electronic sounds. The album Once Upon a Time followed that same year.

In 1978 Summer appeared in the film Thank God It's Friday and released the hit single "Last Dance" written by Paul Jabara. The song peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Summer her first Grammy and Jabara an Oscar. Later that year she released the live album Live and More which became her first number 1 album and featured the Jimmy Webb-penned "MacArthur Park."

In 1979 Summer changed pace with the rock, blues, and soul double album Bad Girls. The album yielded 3 top 10 singles, two number 1 hits "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls," plus the number-two hit "Dim All the Lights."

On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2 became Summer's third number 1 album. On it she did a duet with Barbra Streisand "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)," and "On the Radio." Both songs were big hits. Donna left Casablanca after this and contemplated an early exit from the recording business, but a lucrative offer from David Geffen made her the first artist to sign with the new Geffen label.

Her first efort on th enew label The Wanderer, was a full-fledged rock/New Wave affair and went after the same audience as artists like like Blondie and Pat Benatar were dominating. The album went platinum. Her second release I'm a Rainbow, a dance-oriented double album was shelved by Geffen. Geffen sought a change in direction for Summer and finaly she reluctantly left Moroder to work with Quincy Jones. This quickly reignited her career with the hit "Love Is In Control (Finger on the Trigger)," and the single "State of Independence," with Michael Jackson and numerous other artists singing backup.

In 1983 she scored her biggest hit since Bad Girls with the album and single "She Works Hard for the Money." The album was released on the Polygram Label, which controlled Casablanca, as Geffen refused to release it. This pretty much so ended her relationship with Geffen. Although Summer continued to record, She Works Hard for the Money ended Summer's prime. New young singers began to fill the void as "Disco Queens" and Summer found her fan base being eroded.

In 1989 she returned to the top with the album Another Place and Time. The album was certified platinum. "This Time I Know It's For Real" became Summer's fourteenth top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit single. Her 91 effort Mistaken Identity failed to chart. In 93 she released The Donna Summer Anthology.

In 1995 she released a remix of "I Feel Love" with new vocals which became a hit in the U.K. In 2003 she released a greatest-hits compilation called The Journey, which rocketed into the UK Top 10 in the following year. She noiw lives with her family in Nashville, TN. She was among the first artists to be inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in New York City. She is still touring and recording.

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