PopTodd Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Dead from cancer at the age of 63.I didn't know that she was sick. This one is a sad surprise.http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/17/donna-summer-dead-last-dance/ Rest in peace, you disco diva. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Yikes. I did hear that she was sick awhile back but did not realize she was that sick. Very sad. And only a mere year older than I am. I hate this kind of news, plus I liked much of what she did. I was just musing the other night with the passing of Duck Dunn and Levon Helm that both the first and second generation of rock musicians are passing away. I know death is inevitable and all, but Donna Summer belongs to a later generation than that. Very sobering. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tinnitus photography Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Yikes. I did hear that she was sick awhile back but did not realize she was that sick. Very sad. And only a mere year older than I am. I hate this kind of news, plus I liked much of what she did. I was just musing the other night with the passing of Duck Dunn and Levon Helm that both the first and second generation of rock musicians are passing away. I know death is inevitable and all, but Donna Summer belongs to a later generation than that. Very sobering. LouieB if you want sobering, don't forget Adam Yauch... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 if you want sobering, don't forget Adam Yauch...True indeed. That is more than sobering I suppose. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Never cared much for disco, but Brian Eno commented to Bowie while they were working in Berlin that he had just heard the future. This was the song he had heard. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=f0h8Pjf4vNM Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Never cared much for disco, but Brian Eno commented to Bowie while they were working in Berlin that he had just heard the future. This was the song he had heard. Nor I really, but two things. Donna Summer was more than just disco and disco was a prelude to much (if not all) the techno/dance music that is still on the radio and in the clubs today. Eno was pretty much right. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Rest in peace, Donna. Man that girl could sing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 In the backlash against Disco, it was forgotten how revolutionary she was. It is not unreasonable claim "Love to Love You" and "I Feel Love" as progenators of the electronica movement. Blending Kraftwork and Motown... I remember playing Autobahn and Love to Love you back to back, usually followed by confused calls... 63 is too young... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Say what you want about Giorgio Moroder but "On the Radio" is a great song. Emmylou Harris figured it out and did a great cover of it. I suppose it goes without saying, but it is important to point out that Donna Summer got her start singing gospel music. So many great artists got their start in church. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Speaking of Donna Summer and Adam Yauch, they both were New Yorkers and died of cancer. Summer (accorting to the net) believed she contracted it from 9/11. Levon Helm probably got his from cigarettes, but yikes!! LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sandoz Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 I am so sad that Donna Summer is gone. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I cried this morning when I heard the news. When I was in 2nd grade (~1978 or 79), our class was learning how to write letters. Most people wrote to President Carter, an astronaut, the Mayor, and the like. I wrote a letter to Donna Summer, my idol. I would listen to 45s of Last Dance, MacArthur Park, Dim All The Lights, and Hot Stuff over and over again. I got a form letter back, but there was a hand-written note at the end. Who knows if it was really Donna who added that personal touch, but it sent me over the moon. I also got a glossy 5 x 7 photo of her wearing sparkly purple leg warmers (leg warmers were also a fashion item of the future!)... I wish i saved that letter and photo. I've looked for it all over my parents' house with no luck. My kids and I had a Donna Summer dance party in the kitchen tonight. It was awesome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 I am so sad that Donna Summer is gone. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I cried this morning when I heard the news. When I was in 2nd grade (~1978 or 79), our class was learning how to write letters. Most people wrote to President Carter, an astronaut, the Mayor, and the like. I wrote a letter to Donna Summer, my idol. I would listen to 45s of Last Dance, MacArthur Park, Dim All The Lights, and Hot Stuff over and over again. I got a form letter back, but there was a hand-written note at the end. Who knows if it was really Donna who added that personal touch, but it sent me over the moon. I also got a glossy 5 x 7 photo of her wearing sparkly purple leg warmers (leg warmers were also a fashion item of the future!)... I wish i saved that letter and photo. I've looked for it all over my parents' house with no luck. My kids and I had a Donna Summer dance party in the kitchen tonight. It was awesome. Judy, what a heartwarming story! I was explaining to Brennan tonight who she was, why she mattered, and playing him some YouTube clips, and all of a sudden I just got totally choked up and couldn't even talk. It surprised me! She really was a special one, and would have been whenever she came up. She was more, and better, than disco. I'll bet that handwritten bit really was from her. She seemed to have a big heart. I love the mental image of your dance party with the kids! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Doctor B Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 I was in college during early mid 70's. I hated disco...only liked rock- The Who, Zeppelin, Stones, et al. Never gave some of these dance songs and their artists their due. I can now appreciate, for example, the neat funky guitar in Chic, the infectious beat in any Donna Summer, the campy joy in Village People. I think many tend to get too irrational in our intense likes and dislikes when it comes to music. I see too much delight in support of obscure acts while cruelly dumping on more popular artists. I see the whole Americana crowd loving authenticity like Loretta Lynn or Porter Waggoner while the same people could not stand them in the height of their careers. Maybe someday we will think Rascal Flatts was a great roots artist. Who knows? As for me, I think I appreciate music more than my narrow views of my youth. " I was so much older then..I'm younger than that now". RIP, Donna. I will miss you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sandoz Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Music is such an indulgent, natural, and free pleasure of life. I totally agree with your comment about people's delight in creating their love/hate lists when it comes to musical artists. The 70's were a great time of all sorts of awesomeness. In the same bedroom where I listened to my Donna Summer 45s were my Kiss LPs (those 4 solo albums, plus my 8-track of Love Gun), my dad's copy of Let it Be, and of course my Grease (the movie) Soundtrack. What a crazy mix of music at the age of 7 or 8 yrs old! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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