Donna Summer
Encyclopedia
LaDonna Adrian Gaines known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco
era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano
vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach number one on the US Billboard
chart. She also charted four number-one singles in the US within a thirteen-month period.
, 1948 in Boston to Andrew and Mary Ellen Gaines. Raised in the Dorchester
area of the city, Summer began singing in church at an early age. At eight, she said while at church, she received an epiphany
that she was to use her voice to reach people and that she wasn't to misuse the voice given to her after singing in church replacing an absent choir singer who was ill. Summer began participating in school plays and joined several girl groups before joining the psychedelic rock
group, The Crow.
Upon arriving in New York
, Summer began a solo career and auditioned for a spot on the counterculture
rock
musical, Hair
. Though Summer had a successful audition, she lost her spot to a fellow aspiring performer, Melba Moore
, who later took the role in the Broadway
version. Summer was then asked to play in a German
production of the musical, in which she agreed to do, moving to Munich as a result, staying there for a couple of years. She eventually moved and settled at Vienna, Austria.
During her time in Europe, she performed in Godspell
and Show Boat
, and in 1971, using her given name, Donna Gaines, she released her first single, a cover of The Jaynetts
' "Sally Go 'Round the Roses
". In 1972, she married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer and a year later welcomed her first daughter, Mimi. After divorcing her first husband, she adopted his last name changing it to Summer, rechristening the name with the o being replaced by a u. In 1974, she met aspiring producers Giorgio Moroder
and Pete Belotte and together, the trio began working on their first recordings. Signing with Groovy Records, the label issued Summer's debut album, Lady of the Night, which yielded two successful singles in Europe.
In 1975, she came up with a lyric idea to Moroder for a singer Moroder was working with at the time. While initially recorded as a demo, Summer eventually would record what became "Love to Love You Baby
". The recording was sent to Neil Bogart
, head of the American music label, Casablanca Records
, and bought rights to the song to be released in the U.S. Summer eventually signed with Casablanca Records and released the song in the U.S. where it became a hit, a parent album
was released later that same year and became her first gold success.
, her label began to take control of Summer's career, christening the singer as the goddess of love and first lady of love, titles Summer would be uncomfortable with during her tenure with Casablanca. The singer followed the success of her U.S. debut album with two concept albums, both released in 1976, titled Love Trilogy
and Four Seasons of Love
. Both albums followed the success of Love to Love You Baby reaching gold status.
In 1977, Summer would score her second huge hit with "I Feel Love
", which became her first number-one hit in the United Kingdom and became her second top ten single on the US Billboard Hot 100
. The song was featured on the gold-selling concept album, I Remember Yesterday
. Summer would reach gold again with the release of her fifth album, Once Upon a Time
, which based its concept on a modern-day Cinderella
story.
Between 1976 and 1978, Summer would not only have several gold-selling albums but also several top forty singles internationally and domestically. In 1978, Summer rose to superstardom with the release of the R&B-tinged dance number, "Last Dance
", featured on the soundtrack to the movie, "Thank God It's Friday
", which Summer acted on. The song, written for her by Paul Jabara
, peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100
, and won Summer her first Grammy Award
. Summer then achieved her first number-one single
with a cover of "MacArthur Park
". The song was featured on her first live album, the double-set
Live and More
, which also became her first number-one album on the Billboard 200
enjoying platinum status.
.
The album, which based its concept theme on a working girl, became her best-selling album upon its release, spawning three top ten singles, including the crossover
hits, "Bad Girls
" and the rock
-tinged "Hot Stuff
" and the R&B-inflected "Dim All the Lights
", the former two becoming Summer's second and third number-one hits in a row. It eventually peaked at number-one on the Billboard 200 and sold over three million copies in the United States alone. Later on, in 1979, Summer released her first hits compilation, the double-set, On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II, which like her previous two albums, went straight to number-one on the Billboard 200, also reaching platinum. With this feat, Summer became the first recording artist to have three double albums reach number-one and was one of the few solo artists to score more than three consecutive number-one albums in a row. Also in 1979, she scored her third number-one single of that year with the release of "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)
", a duet with Barbra Streisand
. In early 1980, she scored a top ten single with "On the Radio", which was originally released off the soundtrack to the movie, Foxes.
By 1980, Summer was growing tired of her label's control of her career and started to have talks with other labels after Casablanca refused to work on material she had composed that was based on themes based on religion
and her performing other forms of music including new wave
and rock
, elements that Summer initially had began to incorporate during the production of Bad Girls. That year, she signed with Geffen Records
and released The Wanderer, which became a success. The move out of Casablanca led to two years of litigation, ending in 1982. To settle issues between Summer and her former label, the singer agreed to do one final album for PolyGram Records. A few weeks after the lawsuit was settled, Neil Bogart passed away from cancer.
. Production for the singer's self titled album
, released in 1982, was troubling. Though the album eventually went gold and spawned the top ten hit, "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)
", Summer never again worked with Jones.
In 1983, she released the Mercury
-distributed record, She Works Hard for the Money
, which was her final album under her PolyGram contact as a means to end her contract obligations to the label after it had purchased Summer's former label Casablanca Records following Bogart's death. The title track
became a smash upon its release, reaching the top ten in several countries. In contrast, her 1984 follow-up, a release on Geffen titled Cats Without Claws
, wasn't as successful despite the presence of singles such as "Supernatural Love
" and "There Goes My Baby", a pop-rock cover of The Drifters
' classic.
Following the release of the album, Summer's relationship with the Geffen label deteriorated. Summer took time off from the road to raise her three daughters eventually returning with her final Geffen release, All Systems Go
, which featured the minor international hit, the Brenda Russell
composed, "Dinner with Gershwin
". In 1989, Summer left Geffen and signed with Atlantic Records
who agreed to release her next album, the Stock Aitken Waterman
-helmed Another Place and Time
, which yielded Summer's biggest hit in several years with "This Time I Know It's for Real
", which became Summer's fourteenth and final top ten hit on the Hot 100 and was also one of her final UK top ten singles as well. After the 1991 follow-up, Mistaken Identity
, which attempts at bringing Summer to an audience now embracing edgier musical styles including new jack swing
and hip-hop, bombed, Summer left Atlantic and began recording sporadically while touring more often.
for the first time since 1981 releasing the single, "Carry On
", featured on Moroder's Forever Dancing album. A remix of the single will later result in Summer winning her fifth Grammy Award in the dance category. In 1994, Summer released her first holiday album with Christmas Spirit, released on Mercury. That same year, she and Moroder co-wrote and produced the international hit, "Melody of Love (Wanna Be Loved)
", which hit number twenty one on the UK charts. The following year, a remixed version of "I Feel Love" peaked at number nine on the UK charts.
In 1997, Summer signed with Epic Records
and two years later came out with the Live & More Encore
album, nearly 20 years after the original Live and More album was released. The album became a success as did a television special
on VH-1 featuring Summer performing a live concert in support of the project, which included the dance hit, "I Will Go with You (Con te partirò)
", which became a minor international comeback hit for Summer reaching number 79 on the US Hot 100, her first Hot 100 single of such since 1991's "When Love Cries
", which had peaked at number 77.
Between 2000 and 2006, Summer continued to score hit singles on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart scoring five top 40 hits on that chart including the top ten singles "The Power of One
" and "You're So Beautiful
". In 2007, she signed with Burgundy Records
and a year later came out with her first studio album
in seventeen years with Crayons, which saw success in particular with three number-one singles on the dance chart, "I'm a Fire
", "Stamp Your Feet
" and "Fame (The Game)". In 2010, she reached her sixteenth number-one hit on the dance charts with "To Paris with Love". She is currently working on two albums including a covers project.
. In 1973, the couple married and that year Summer welcomed the birth of her first child, daughter Mimi Sommer. Summer's first marriage crumbled and by 1975, they had formally divorced with Summer taking her husband's last name and altering it as a stage name
.
In 1978, while working on the hit track, "Heaven Knows" which featured Brooklyn Dreams
member Joe "Bean" Esposito as a co-lead, she met fellow member Bruce Sudano
. Within a few months, Summer and Sudano became an item. The couple married on July 16, 1980. A year later, Summer welcomed her second daughter and first child with Sudano, Brooklyn (named after Sudano's group). A year after that, Summer and Sudano welcomed their second and youngest child, Amanda.
Summer has often talked about her early successful years as a period of confusion and anxiety. By mid-1977, struggling with the media's titles of her as the first lady of love, she began suffering from depression and started having anxiety attacks. Summer has written in her memoirs that she had attempted suicide
a few times. During this time, she self-medicated on prescription medication resulting in an addiction. Following a nervous breakdown at her home in 1979, Summer went to a local church attended with her sister Mary Anna and declared herself born again. Summer then decided that from then on, the song that had won her international fame and recognition, "Love to Love You Baby
", would no longer be performed. Nearly 26 years later, however, Summer began performing the song live again to the delight of fans.
In 1994, Summer and her family moved from Los Angeles
to Nashville
where Summer took time out from show business and focus on painting, a hobby she began taking after an initial break from the road in 1985. In 1995, Summer's mother died. Today, Summer still lives in Nashville with her husband and is a grandmother of three.
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
era of the 1970s. She has a mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
vocal range. Summer is a five-time Grammy winner and was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach number one on the US Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
chart. She also charted four number-one singles in the US within a thirteen-month period.
Early life and career: 1948-1975
Summer was born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on New Year's EveNew Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
, 1948 in Boston to Andrew and Mary Ellen Gaines. Raised in the Dorchester
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
area of the city, Summer began singing in church at an early age. At eight, she said while at church, she received an epiphany
Epiphany (feeling)
An epiphany is the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something...
that she was to use her voice to reach people and that she wasn't to misuse the voice given to her after singing in church replacing an absent choir singer who was ill. Summer began participating in school plays and joined several girl groups before joining the psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
group, The Crow.
Upon arriving in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Summer began a solo career and auditioned for a spot on the counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
musical, Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
. Though Summer had a successful audition, she lost her spot to a fellow aspiring performer, Melba Moore
Melba Moore
Beatrice Melba Smith , known by her stage name, Melba Moore is an American disco, R&B singer and actress. She is the daughter of saxophonist Teddy Hill and R&B singer Bonnie Davis.-Early life:...
, who later took the role in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
version. Summer was then asked to play in a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
production of the musical, in which she agreed to do, moving to Munich as a result, staying there for a couple of years. She eventually moved and settled at Vienna, Austria.
During her time in Europe, she performed in Godspell
Godspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
and Show Boat
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
, and in 1971, using her given name, Donna Gaines, she released her first single, a cover of The Jaynetts
The Jaynetts
The Jaynetts were a Bronx, New York girl group who became one-hit wonders with "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963.-Beginnings:...
' "Sally Go 'Round the Roses
Sally Go 'Round the Roses
"Sally Go 'Round the Roses" is the name of a 1963 hit by the Jaynetts, a Bronx-based one-hit wonder girl group, released by J&S Records on the Tuff label.-Background:...
". In 1972, she married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer and a year later welcomed her first daughter, Mimi. After divorcing her first husband, she adopted his last name changing it to Summer, rechristening the name with the o being replaced by a u. In 1974, she met aspiring producers Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
and Pete Belotte and together, the trio began working on their first recordings. Signing with Groovy Records, the label issued Summer's debut album, Lady of the Night, which yielded two successful singles in Europe.
In 1975, she came up with a lyric idea to Moroder for a singer Moroder was working with at the time. While initially recorded as a demo, Summer eventually would record what became "Love to Love You Baby
Love to Love You Baby (song)
"Love to Love You Baby" is a song by American singer Donna Summer released in 1975 . It became one of the first ever disco hits to also be released in an extended form.-Song information and original release:...
". The recording was sent to Neil Bogart
Neil Bogart
Neil Bogart was an American record executive. He is perhaps best known as the founder of Casablanca Records, with Peter Guber....
, head of the American music label, Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records
Casablanca Records was an American record label started by Neil Bogart, who partnered with Cecil Holmes, Larry Harris, and Buck Reingold in 1973, and based in Los Angeles. The label was formed after all of them had left Buddah Records and secured financing by Warner Bros. Records to start the venture...
, and bought rights to the song to be released in the U.S. Summer eventually signed with Casablanca Records and released the song in the U.S. where it became a hit, a parent album
Love to Love You Baby
Love to Love You Baby is the second album by Donna Summer, and her first to be released internationally and in the US. Her previous album Lady of the Night was released only in the Netherlands. Love to Love You Baby was released in the US on August 27, 1975.-History:In the summer of 1975, Summer...
was released later that same year and became her first gold success.
Initial stardom: 1976-1978
Returning to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, her label began to take control of Summer's career, christening the singer as the goddess of love and first lady of love, titles Summer would be uncomfortable with during her tenure with Casablanca. The singer followed the success of her U.S. debut album with two concept albums, both released in 1976, titled Love Trilogy
Love Trilogy
A Love Trilogy is the third album by Donna Summer. It was released on March 5th, 1976, just eight months after her international breakthrough with the single and album of the same name - "Love To Love You Baby". The boldly sexual nature of that particular song had earned Summer the title "The first...
and Four Seasons of Love
Four Seasons of Love
Four Seasons of Love is the fourth album released by singer Donna Summer. Released on October 11th, 1976, this concept album became her third consecutive successful album to be certified gold in the US...
. Both albums followed the success of Love to Love You Baby reaching gold status.
In 1977, Summer would score her second huge hit with "I Feel Love
I Feel Love
"I Feel Love" is a song by Donna Summer, taken from her 1977 concept album I Remember Yesterday.The song constituted the "future" segment of the album, which represented a stylistic progress through time...
", which became her first number-one hit in the United Kingdom and became her second top ten single on the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The song was featured on the gold-selling concept album, I Remember Yesterday
I Remember Yesterday
-Charts:AlbumSingle-Certifications:...
. Summer would reach gold again with the release of her fifth album, Once Upon a Time
Once Upon a Time (Donna Summer album)
- Charts :AlbumSingle-Certifications:- Cover versions, appearances in other media etc. :"Sweet Romance" has been sampled by Ilacoin for his underground hit "By a Stranger", which had guest appearances from Labba and Black Rob and featured on Grand Theft Auto III...
, which based its concept on a modern-day Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
story.
Between 1976 and 1978, Summer would not only have several gold-selling albums but also several top forty singles internationally and domestically. In 1978, Summer rose to superstardom with the release of the R&B-tinged dance number, "Last Dance
Last Dance (song)
"Last Dance" is a hit 1978 song by singer Donna Summer. The song appeared on the Thank God It's Friday movie soundtrack. It was written by Paul Jabara and was co-produced by Summer's regular collaborator Giorgio Moroder, along with Bob Esty...
", featured on the soundtrack to the movie, "Thank God It's Friday
Thank God It's Friday
The triple album was, unlike the movie, a commercial success. It contained contributions from some of the biggest names in disco at the time, including Donna Summer, Diana Ross, Thelma Houston, The Commodores, and many others....
", which Summer acted on. The song, written for her by Paul Jabara
Paul Jabara
Paul Jabara was an American actor, singer, and songwriter of Lebanese ancestry. He wrote Donna Summer's "Last Dance" from Thank God It's Friday and Barbra Streisand's song "The Main Event/Fight" from The Main Event...
, peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, and won Summer her first Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
. Summer then achieved her first number-one single
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
with a cover of "MacArthur Park
MacArthur Park (song)
"MacArthur Park" is a song by Jimmy Webb, originally composed as part of an intended cantata. The song was initially rejected by The Association. Richard Harris was the first to record it, in 1968; the song was subsequently covered by numerous artists. Among the best-known covers are Donna Summer's...
". The song was featured on her first live album, the double-set
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
Live and More
Live and More
Live and More was the seventh vinyl long-playing album recorded by Donna Summer, and it was her second double album. The live concert featured on the first three sides of this double LP album was recorded in the Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles, California in 1978...
, which also became her first number-one album on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
enjoying platinum status.
Born again conversion, Bad Girls and break from Casablanca: 1979-1982
In early 1979, Summer, who had been dealing with anxiety attacks during her tenure, suffered a nervous breakdown at her home in Los Angeles. Seeking guidance, Summer's sister took her to a church in Los Angeles and after service, Summer became born again. Upon her recovery from her breakdown, Summer returned to the studio to finish work on her second double album, titled, Bad GirlsBad Girls (album)
Bad Girls is the seventh studio album by American pop singer Donna Summer, released April 25, 1979 on Casablanca Records. Originally issued as a double album, it incorporates such musical styles as disco, soul, and rock...
.
The album, which based its concept theme on a working girl, became her best-selling album upon its release, spawning three top ten singles, including the crossover
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
hits, "Bad Girls
Bad Girls (song)
"Bad Girls" is a 1979 single released by American singer Donna Summer, co-written by Summer and the Brooklyn Dreams. The inspiration for her to write the song came after one of her assistants was offended by a police officer who thought she was a street prostitute.A rough version of the song had...
" and the rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
-tinged "Hot Stuff
Hot Stuff (Donna Summer song)
"Hot Stuff" is a hit single released by American singer Donna Summer in 1979 as the first single release from her Bad Girls album through Casablanca Records...
" and the R&B-inflected "Dim All the Lights
Dim All the Lights
"Dim All the Lights" is a song by Donna Summer released as a single in the latter half of 1979. Taken from her Bad Girls album and produced by longtime collaborator Giorgio Moroder with Pete Bellotte, the track combines Summer's trademark disco beats with a more soulful/R&B-esque sound...
", the former two becoming Summer's second and third number-one hits in a row. It eventually peaked at number-one on the Billboard 200 and sold over three million copies in the United States alone. Later on, in 1979, Summer released her first hits compilation, the double-set, On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II, which like her previous two albums, went straight to number-one on the Billboard 200, also reaching platinum. With this feat, Summer became the first recording artist to have three double albums reach number-one and was one of the few solo artists to score more than three consecutive number-one albums in a row. Also in 1979, she scored her third number-one single of that year with the release of "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)
No More Tears (Enough is Enough)
"No More Tears " is a duet from 1979 by Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand. While Summer was famous for her disco material and Streisand for her more easy listening and soundtrack work , this song fused both sounds with a slow beginning which then develops into a disco song...
", a duet with Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
. In early 1980, she scored a top ten single with "On the Radio", which was originally released off the soundtrack to the movie, Foxes.
By 1980, Summer was growing tired of her label's control of her career and started to have talks with other labels after Casablanca refused to work on material she had composed that was based on themes based on religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and her performing other forms of music including new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, elements that Summer initially had began to incorporate during the production of Bad Girls. That year, she signed with Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
and released The Wanderer, which became a success. The move out of Casablanca led to two years of litigation, ending in 1982. To settle issues between Summer and her former label, the singer agreed to do one final album for PolyGram Records. A few weeks after the lawsuit was settled, Neil Bogart passed away from cancer.
Struggles with Geffen, She Works Hard for the Money and final chart success: 1982-1991
Following the success of The Wanderer, Summer and her producers presented Geffen with I'm a Rainbow, which was rejected by Geffen. Forced to work with other producers, Summer eventually settled on Quincy JonesQuincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
. Production for the singer's self titled album
Donna Summer (album)
- Personnel :*David Alexander – photography*Bill Barnum – supervisor*H.B. Barnum – director*Dara Lynn Bernard – chorus*Roy Bittan – piano*Michael Boddicker – programming, vocoder, vocoder programming, polymoog*Larry Bunker – drums...
, released in 1982, was troubling. Though the album eventually went gold and spawned the top ten hit, "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)
Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)
"Love Is in Control " is a hit single from Donna Summer's self-titled 1982 album.-Background:Summer's 1980 The Wanderer album - the inaugural release on Geffen Records - had been certified gold in America although it did not enjoy numerous hit singles as some of her '70s releases had enjoyed...
", Summer never again worked with Jones.
In 1983, she released the Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
-distributed record, She Works Hard for the Money
She Works Hard for the Money
-Personnel:*Donna Summer - vocals, composer*Musical Youth - vocals*Matthew Ward - vocals*Michael Omartian - producer, composer, piano, synthesizer, Simmons drum programming, guitars, accordion*Greg Phillinganes - composer*Bruce Sudano - composer...
, which was her final album under her PolyGram contact as a means to end her contract obligations to the label after it had purchased Summer's former label Casablanca Records following Bogart's death. The title track
She Works Hard for the Money (song)
"She Works Hard for the Money" is a 1983 hit single by singer Donna Summer. It was the first single released from the album of the same name.-Premise:The song, co-written by the singer, told a story of a woman who "works hard for [her] money"...
became a smash upon its release, reaching the top ten in several countries. In contrast, her 1984 follow-up, a release on Geffen titled Cats Without Claws
Cats Without Claws
- Personnel :* Donna Summer – vocals, composer* Michael Omartian – composer, producer, keyboards, additional drums & percussion* Bruce Sudano – composer* Michael Baird – drums* Nathan East – bass* Michael Landau – guitars* Paul Jackson, Jr...
, wasn't as successful despite the presence of singles such as "Supernatural Love
Supernatural Love
"Supernatural Love" is the second single from Donna Summer's 1984 Cats Without Claws album. The typically 1980s synthesised song was remixed for its release as a single and became a minor hit in the US...
" and "There Goes My Baby", a pop-rock cover of The Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
' classic.
Following the release of the album, Summer's relationship with the Geffen label deteriorated. Summer took time off from the road to raise her three daughters eventually returning with her final Geffen release, All Systems Go
All Systems Go (Donna Summer album)
Single...
, which featured the minor international hit, the Brenda Russell
Brenda Russell
Brenda Russell is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Known for her eclectic musical style, her recordings have encompassed several different genres, including pop, soul, dance, jazz and adult contemporary...
composed, "Dinner with Gershwin
Dinner with Gershwin
"Dinner with Gershwin" is song written by Brenda Russell. It was first recorded by Donna Summer in 1987, which Russell co-produced with Richard Perry....
". In 1989, Summer left Geffen and signed with Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
who agreed to release her next album, the Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman
Stock Aitken Waterman, sometimes known as SAW, were a UK songwriting and record producing trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. They had great success during the mid to late 1980s and early 1990s...
-helmed Another Place and Time
Another Place and Time
- Charts :AlbumSingle- Certifications :...
, which yielded Summer's biggest hit in several years with "This Time I Know It's for Real
This Time I Know It's for Real
"This Time I Know It's For Real" is a song originally recorded by Donna Summer, and released in 1989 as the first single from her album Another Place and Time...
", which became Summer's fourteenth and final top ten hit on the Hot 100 and was also one of her final UK top ten singles as well. After the 1991 follow-up, Mistaken Identity
Mistaken Identity (Donna Summer album)
The UK edition of this album contained the "ISA full-length remix" of this track- Personnel :* Donna Summer - vocals, rap vocals, composer* Kaydee - rap vocals, drums, percussion, assorted funkiness, "Intro Madness" on "Mistaken Identity"...
, which attempts at bringing Summer to an audience now embracing edgier musical styles including new jack swing
New jack swing
New jack swing or swingbeat is a fusion genre spearheaded by Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle which became extremely popular from the late-1980s into the mid-1990s. Its influence, along with hip-hop, seeped into pop culture and was the definitive sound of the inventive Black New York club scene...
and hip-hop, bombed, Summer left Atlantic and began recording sporadically while touring more often.
Later recordings: 1991-2010
In 1992, Summer reunited with Giorgio MoroderGiorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
for the first time since 1981 releasing the single, "Carry On
Carry On (song)
"Carry On" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder and Marietta Waters and recorded by Donna Summer. The song was first released on Moroder's 1992 album Forever Dancing...
", featured on Moroder's Forever Dancing album. A remix of the single will later result in Summer winning her fifth Grammy Award in the dance category. In 1994, Summer released her first holiday album with Christmas Spirit, released on Mercury. That same year, she and Moroder co-wrote and produced the international hit, "Melody of Love (Wanna Be Loved)
Melody of Love (Wanna Be Loved)
"Melody of Love " is a song recorded by American singer Donna Summer as a new track for her 1994 hits compilation Endless Summer...
", which hit number twenty one on the UK charts. The following year, a remixed version of "I Feel Love" peaked at number nine on the UK charts.
In 1997, Summer signed with Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
and two years later came out with the Live & More Encore
Live & More Encore
Live & More Encore is a live album released by Donna Summer in 1999, an edited version of a televised concert of the same name. Released on Sony Music's sublabel Epic, it featured a live concert which had been filmed especially for the VH-1 channel, and also two new dance tracks, including a...
album, nearly 20 years after the original Live and More album was released. The album became a success as did a television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
on VH-1 featuring Summer performing a live concert in support of the project, which included the dance hit, "I Will Go with You (Con te partirò)
Con te Partiró
- History :The song's original single release by Polydor Records was not commercially successful in Italy, and received little radio airplay there. Elsewhere, however, it was a massive hit. In France and Switzerland, the single topped the charts for 6 weeks, earning a triple Gold sales award. In...
", which became a minor international comeback hit for Summer reaching number 79 on the US Hot 100, her first Hot 100 single of such since 1991's "When Love Cries
When Love Cries
"When Love Cries" is a single by Donna Summer from her 1991 album Mistaken Identity. Released as a single in the U.S. and some European countries , it was remixed and edited from its original version on the album, and showed a much more urban feel than the sound normally associated with Summer....
", which had peaked at number 77.
Between 2000 and 2006, Summer continued to score hit singles on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart scoring five top 40 hits on that chart including the top ten singles "The Power of One
The Power of One (Donna Summer song)
"The Power of One" is a song performed by Donna Summer, which is the theme song to the movie Pokémon: The Movie 2000. Pokémon: The Movie 2000, subtitled The Power of One, is the second feature-length film based on the Japanese Pokémon video game series, released in late 1999.The dramatic ballad...
" and "You're So Beautiful
You're So Beautiful
"You're So Beautiful" is a song recorded by Donna Summer in 2003.Despite the fact that the song wasn't given a commercial release as a single, but included as one of three new tracks on Universal's greatest hits package The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer and only released as a 12" promo...
". In 2007, she signed with Burgundy Records
Burgundy Records
Burgundy Records is an American record label, and subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment.- History :In January 2006 the Sony BMG Strategic Marketing Group announced the launch of its new record label, Burgundy Records. The new Sony BMG SMG imprint label, which was spearheaded by former Executive...
and a year later came out with her first studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
in seventeen years with Crayons, which saw success in particular with three number-one singles on the dance chart, "I'm a Fire
I'm a Fire
"I'm a Fire" is the first single from Donna Summer's album, Crayons. The club single reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart giving Summer her 13th number-one and giving her the longest timespan between first and most recent Hot Dance Club Play chart #1s.-Remixes:* Album Version -...
", "Stamp Your Feet
Stamp Your Feet
"Stamp Your Feet" is a song by Donna Summer released as the first official single from her 2008 album, Crayons. The song was written by Summer, Danielle Brisebois, and Greg Kurstin, who also produced the track.-American Idol performance:...
" and "Fame (The Game)". In 2010, she reached her sixteenth number-one hit on the dance charts with "To Paris with Love". She is currently working on two albums including a covers project.
Personal life
Summer was one of seven children born and raised in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, living in a three-family complex house in the bottom floor of the complex. Following her move to Austria in 1971, she met and fell in love with actor Helmuth Sommer while the two were acting in GodspellGodspell
Godspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
. In 1973, the couple married and that year Summer welcomed the birth of her first child, daughter Mimi Sommer. Summer's first marriage crumbled and by 1975, they had formally divorced with Summer taking her husband's last name and altering it as a stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
.
In 1978, while working on the hit track, "Heaven Knows" which featured Brooklyn Dreams
Brooklyn Dreams (group)
The Brooklyn Dreams was a successful singing group of the late 1970s and early 1980s mixing R&B harmonies with contemporary dance/disco music and best-known for a number of collaborations with singer Donna Summer. The band consisted of Joe "Bean" Esposito, Eddie Hokenson and Bruce Sudano...
member Joe "Bean" Esposito as a co-lead, she met fellow member Bruce Sudano
Bruce Sudano
Bruce Charles Sudano is a singer/songwriter/producer best known for his collaboration with and marriage to singer Donna Summer, and the group he co-founded, Brooklyn Dreams....
. Within a few months, Summer and Sudano became an item. The couple married on July 16, 1980. A year later, Summer welcomed her second daughter and first child with Sudano, Brooklyn (named after Sudano's group). A year after that, Summer and Sudano welcomed their second and youngest child, Amanda.
Summer has often talked about her early successful years as a period of confusion and anxiety. By mid-1977, struggling with the media's titles of her as the first lady of love, she began suffering from depression and started having anxiety attacks. Summer has written in her memoirs that she had attempted suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
a few times. During this time, she self-medicated on prescription medication resulting in an addiction. Following a nervous breakdown at her home in 1979, Summer went to a local church attended with her sister Mary Anna and declared herself born again. Summer then decided that from then on, the song that had won her international fame and recognition, "Love to Love You Baby
Love to Love You Baby
Love to Love You Baby is the second album by Donna Summer, and her first to be released internationally and in the US. Her previous album Lady of the Night was released only in the Netherlands. Love to Love You Baby was released in the US on August 27, 1975.-History:In the summer of 1975, Summer...
", would no longer be performed. Nearly 26 years later, however, Summer began performing the song live again to the delight of fans.
In 1994, Summer and her family moved from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
where Summer took time out from show business and focus on painting, a hobby she began taking after an initial break from the road in 1985. In 1995, Summer's mother died. Today, Summer still lives in Nashville with her husband and is a grandmother of three.
Awards and accolades
For more info, see List of awards and nominations received by Donna Summer.Cover versions of Donna Summer songs
For more info, see List of cover versions of Donna Summer songs.See also
- Brooklyn DreamsBrooklyn Dreams (group)The Brooklyn Dreams was a successful singing group of the late 1970s and early 1980s mixing R&B harmonies with contemporary dance/disco music and best-known for a number of collaborations with singer Donna Summer. The band consisted of Joe "Bean" Esposito, Eddie Hokenson and Bruce Sudano...
- Best selling music artists