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The Spectacle Blog
Donna Summer, who had a string of hits in the 1970s and 1980s, passed away today of cancer. She was 63.
I had no idea she was ill.
Born here in Boston, Summer was amongst the first artists who popularized disco in 1975 with the 17-minute song “Love to Love You Baby”. She reached her peak in 1978 and 1979 with hits like “Last Dance”, “Hot Stuff” and her cover of Jimmy Webb’s “MacArthur Park” which had been a hit decade earlier for actor Richard Harris.
Summer continued to have hits in the 1980s the most notable of which was “She Works Hard For The Money” which became a staple of MTV in 1983.
I remember when she did a guest spot on Family Matters when she played Urkel’s Aunt Oona from Altoona. Yes, Aunt Oona could sing.
UPDATE: Via Mark Steyn, Summer was apparently exposed to toxic particles in the air from the attacks of September 11, 2001 resulting in lung cancer. Yet another reason to despite terrorism committed in the name of Islamic fundamentalism.
View all comments (15) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/05/17/donna-summer-rip
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Bill| 5.17.12 @ 1:54PM
Hall of Pop-Divas:
Donna Summer
Tina Turner
Madonna
Mariah Carey
Lady Gaga
Oldefarte| 5.17.12 @ 2:13PM
She was a truly beautiful soul. May she rest in peace!!!!!!!!
Magnifying Glass| 5.17.12 @ 2:36PM
Disco, the inevitable fallout that resulted from hippies continuing the great tradition of trying (and failing) to remain hip. I mean, really. Double-knit polyester leisure suits, open to the navel, white dues with 'fros, wide collars, wide ties, wide lapels, hideous colors thrown together. And the music just sucked.
However, to be fair. Ms Summer was extraordinarily talented and was pure joy to listen to. I understand she had a very humble personality and wasn't one to do audacious or "look-at-me" things, except as the genre seemed to require. A breath of fresh air in an otherwise horrible funk (pun intended).
Most of the music of the 70's is forgettable except to serve as a bookmark of that next-to-useless timeframe with Jimmy Carter doing his level best to reform America after LBJ tried and partially succeeded. I was never so glad to see a decade end.
It gave rise to the hip-hop club play of the 80's which I thought was a lot more fun, until rap ruined everything and pushed the market to ignore actual talent in singing and music-writing.
Disco? Bleagh! (mostly)
JmsA| 5.17.12 @ 3:44PM
She brought much joy to many. May she rest in peace.
David S. Levine| 5.17.12 @ 4:00PM
Thanks for that Aaron! Until your blog entry, I hadn't remembered all her songs--she was a great entertainer and will be missed! I wondered what happened to her and now, sadly, I know!
Bob Grant| 5.17.12 @ 4:12PM
A great singer. Original. Sexy in a good way, with style and class.
I wouldn't want to diminish her by labeling her a "Diva", she was so much more than that.
RIP!
Albert Constantine Jr.| 5.17.12 @ 5:33PM
There was so much not to like about disco, but Donna Summer was bigger than the genre. Nonetheless, every time I hear "Last Dance" finish, I expect the lights to come back on, and the staff to start cleaning the dance floor.
dipesto| 5.17.12 @ 5:57PM
This may be a jawdropper--but I Like Disco. Yes, I still do. And tonight I will get out my dvd of Thank God It's Friday, starring Donna Summer.
Occam's Tool| 5.17.12 @ 6:41PM
She had a voice that could, to quote the Rolling Stones, "make a dead man *&^." Awesome singer. RIP, beautiful lady.
Occam's Tool| 5.17.12 @ 7:05PM
She also was a great friend of Israel and told the Palis to stuff it repeatedly. She may have gotten Lung CA from particulate matter in the air near the WTC on 9/11, as she was there. Another 9/11 victim of Sharia scum.
Tina B| 5.17.12 @ 8:09PM
Wow, thanks for that OT. She rose above the din. I hope to meet her someday n say thanks.
Colin | 5.17.12 @ 8:14PM
No doubt that Ms Summer contributed much to the disco/pop era. Unfortunately, local TV news media (in their ongoing effort to reduce payrolls) continues to hire 8 and 9 year olds to write and deliver their daily broadcasts.
The Donna Summer piece is a case in point. This afternoon, the local 9 year old sitting behind the anchor desk at the CBS affiliate in my town, opened the report of Summer's passing by reading from the teleprompter: "Today, one of popular music's most beloved singers passed away after a lengthy bout with cancer. Donna Summer changed music forever."
Donna Summer had a wonderful voice, and collected many hits and honors. But changed music forever? Again, I don't mean to demean Miss Summer's contributions to popular music of the 70s', but I don't believe that even Donna herself would have thought she "changed music forever." That would have taken some doing. I'll simply credit the affilate's excessive description to the 8 year old who wrote the intro line for the teleprompter.
Rest well, Donna Summer. You did, in fact, contribute much to pop music. And as Aaron often writes: RIP.
Tom Osterman| 5.18.12 @ 1:07AM
I remarked to my wife this afternoon that, while Whitney Houston (God rest her soul) had the wholesome "girl next door" image, the late Ms. Summer was the real nice girl. She stayed married to Bruce Sudano and, if she had vices, kept them out of the spotlight. No reality shows or rehab for the disco Goddess of Love.
And don't give me any of that "disco sucked" garbage. The only people who didn't like it were Sixties types who couldn't deal with the fact that the Age of Aquarius didn't last any longer than any other fashion.
Beautiful, great voice, great talent. RIP.
Derek Leaberry| 5.18.12 @ 7:23AM
Sorry she's dead but disco was one of the worst little epochs in music. Not one song of hers is worth wasting one second listening to.
Skippy| 5.18.12 @ 1:57PM
A sweet gal; a true lady; an amazing singer.
She was a guest artist on AI3 in 2004 and was a polite and generous mentor to the contestants.
Miss Summer will be remembered for what she did, not for the vestigial hatred of disco so many seem to wallow in.
Requiaste en pace.