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.