DONNA SUMMER DIES OF CANCER AT 63
Disco Queen Donna Summer died this morning (May 17) in Florida at the age of 63, family sources have told the Associated Press. The singer reportedly had been suffering from lung cancer for some time.
“Early this morning, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gifts, the greatest being her faith,” reads a statement from the singer’s family. “While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy. Words truly can’t express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time,” Rolling Stone reported.
Summer was a five-time Grammy winner best known for smash hits including “I Feel Love,” “Love to Love You Baby” and “She Works Hard for the Money.” Her collaborations with producer Giorgio Moroder in the the ’70s broke ground for dance music and have been hugely influential on electronic music in the decades since.
Born and raised in Boston, Summer grew up singing in church before joining a short-lived psychedelic rock band. After winning a role in a touring production of Hair, she moved to Germany, where she would meet Moroder. Their collaboration on the suggestive “Love to Love You Baby,” which Summer sang with Marilyn Monroe’s breathy singing style in mind, became a huge dancefloor hit after Casablanca Records’ Neil Bogart requested a long version of the song – 17 minutes. She also appeared in the movie, Thank God It’s Friday.
Summer went on to major success during the disco era, scoring Number One pop singles with “Hot Stuff,” “Bad Girls” and an unlikely version of Jimmy Webb’s “MacArthur Park.” In 2004 Summer was elected to the Dance Music Hall of Fame, and in 2009 she performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in honor of President Obama.
“She was the face of the disco movement,” says Jeff Foxx, afternoon host on WBLS, reported the nydailynews.com. “But she bridged dance music and R&B. It may have been called disco, but there was some funky stuff going on.
“You’ll still never find a better song than ‘Last Dance’ to end any concert. The chord progression, her singing – wow.”
“Even after that disco ‘backlash,’ Donna Summer’s music was huge,” says Joel Salkowitz, who programmed the original dance radio station Hot-103 and others. “We did a show at Roseland Ballroom with Paul Shaffer’s orchestra backing her and she absolutely killed. They may have put a lot of production behind her music, but she could sing.
“This is a tremendous loss.”
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