Donna Summer

Donna Summer

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Donna Summer (born LaDonna Adrian Gaines 31.12.1948 - 17.05.2012) Donna Summer was an American singer most famous during the seventies disco era.

Net Worth: According to Celebrity Net Worth, at the time of her death in 2012, Donna Summer had a net worth of 75 million USD. Donna Summer:

Childhood: Donna Summer was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Her parents were Andrew, a butcher, and Mary Gaines, a schoolteacher. Her first performance was at church aged 10 and she has said that from then on she knew she would be famous. She attended Boston's Jeremiah E. Burke High School and became quite popular and a bit of a troublemaker. Just before her graduation, she left to go to New York where she joined blues band Crow; they soon broke up.

Musical career: Donna Summer auditioned for a role in the musical 'Hair' and was sent to perform in Munich where she became fluent in German. After three years, she moved to Vienna in Austria, briefly touring with a band called FamilyTree. In 1968, Summer released her first single in German, 'Aquarius' from 'Hair', on Polydor records. In 1971, she released a cover of The Jaynetts' 'Sally Go 'Round the Roses' on Decca Records. In 1974, she signed with the European Groovy Records after they heard a demo of her work with producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. They released her debut album 'Lady of the Night' which was a hit in many countries. In 1975, she and Moroder released another song called 'Love To Love You Baby' through Casablanca Records. The song got a lot of airplay and a 17-minute version was also released to be played in discotheques. In 1976, it reached number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart but was surrounded by some controversy due to the fact that Donna made erotic moaning noises throughout the track. In 1977, she released album 'I Remember Yesterday' which included her UK number one single 'I Feel Love'. Her first US number one came with Jimmy Webb cover 'MacArthur Park'. It featured on her first live album 'Live and More' which reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold over a million copies. In 1979, she performed at the televised Music for UNICEF Concert alongside the likes of ABBA, Olivia Newton-John, the Bee Gees, Rod Stewart, John Denver and Kris Kristofferson. Her next album 'Bad Girls' became her biggest success reaching number one in the US and Canada. Its title track and single 'Hot Stuff' were also number one successes, with the latter winning her a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Summer's first compilation album 'On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II' was released in 1979 and also reached number one. In 1980, she signed with Geffen Records after deciding to move on from disco to a more rock sound. Her first album on the label 'The Wanderer' peaked at number 3 in the US. However, she was soon informed that she had to fulfil her contract and release another album with Polygram which she did in 1983 with 'She Works Hard for the Money' for which she was nominated for another Grammy. In 1985, she sang at the 50th Presidential Inaugural Gala for Ronald Reagan. Her next two albums, 'Cats Without Claws' and 'All Systems Go', and the later R&B album 'Mistaken Identity' failed to garner much success. In 1992, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Also in that year she won the first ever Grammy in the dance category for her song 'Carry On'. In 1993, she signed with Mercury/Polygram and released festive album 'Christmas Spirit' in 1994. Ten years later she released her autobiography 'Ordinary Girl: The Journey' as well as another greatest hits album called 'The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer'. In 2004, she and her song 'I Feel Love' were inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame. In 2008, she released her album 'Crayons'. A year later she played at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in honour of Barack Obama. In 2010, she released single 'To Paris With Love' which reached number one on the US Billboard Dance Chart and became her last charting single. Later that year she appeared alongside Prince Poppycock on 'America's Got Talent'. In 2011, she recorded a song called 'Angel' with her rapper nephew O'Mega Red. In 2012, she was announced to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after her death.

Personal Life: Donna Summer has previously dated Howard Hewett and Francesco Scavullo. She was married to actor Helmuth Sommer in 1973 with whom she had a daughter called Mimi. They divorced after she admitted to an affair with German artist Peter Mühldorfer but she kept his last name. She met her second husband Brooklyn Dreams singer Bruce Sudano when she recorded her first live album and they married in 1980. She has two other daughters called Brooklyn and Amanda. In 1995, she moved from California to Nashville and re-took up her old hobby of painting. Her mother died in the same year and her father passed away in 2004. Summer was living in Manhattan at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and she has claimed that she had had a premonition before the tragedy took place. In the 1980s, she was accused of making homophobic comments about the AIDS virus claiming that it was immoral in the face of God. She later apologised and claimed it was a misunderstanding.

Death: Donna Summer died in 2012 in Florida aged 63 having been diagnosed with lung cancer which she claimed was caused by the toxic chemicals in the air after 9/11. Her funeral took place in Nashville on May 23rd and she was buried in Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens Cemetery. It was a private ceremony for close family and friends only.



Biography by Contactmusic.com

Ultimate Bedroom Anthems For Valentine's Day [Playlist]


Marvin Gaye Donna Summer Nine Inch Nails Pink Rihanna

Happy Valentine's Day! Lots of couples will celebrating this cheesy AF but lovely day, and will most likely celebrate well into the night too. To help you get your evening off to a good start, we've come up with a playlist of some of the steamiest songs to be played in the bedroom.

Masked woman - Pixabay

Sexy Boy - Air
From the French electronica duo's 1998 debut album Moon Safari, this classic appeared in the film 10 Things I Hate About You. Few things are sexier than the French language, and paired with a feminine croon and a psychedelic synth line it's a perfect bedroom theme.

Continue reading: Ultimate Bedroom Anthems For Valentine's Day [Playlist]

Kelly Clarkson's Engagement Ring Takes Center Stage At VH1's Divas Night (Video)


Kelly Clarkson Miley Cyrus Kelly Rowland Demi Lovato Jordin Sparks Whitney Houston Donna Summer Adam Lambert Keri Hilson

Kelly Clarkson was the star of last night’s VH1 Divas show (Sunday December 16, 2012)… or rather her huge engagement ring was!

Clarkson’s partner, Brandon Blackstock proposed last week and the American Idol was looking radiantly happy as she took to the stage for the VH1 show. The Daily Mail have published snaps of the star, in her multi-fabric, figure hugging gown, her “canary yellow” diamond ring taking centre stage as she clutches the microphone stand in front of her.

Kelly joined a number of other female stars for the VH1 show, which was held in aid of the Save the Music foundation, which funds music programmes and has done so for the last decade. Kelly Rowland, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Jordin Sparks were amongst the performers. The event paid tribute to Whitney Houston and Donna Summer, both of whom passed away this year.

Continue reading: Kelly Clarkson's Engagement Ring Takes Center Stage At VH1's Divas Night (Video)

First Time Hall Of Fame Success For Canadian Rockers Rush


Rush Public Enemy Heart Donna Summer Randy Newman

It’s taken a while but at last, the work of those hard-lobbying Rush fans has paid off and the band have got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the very first year that they’ve found themselves on the ballot.

The Canadian rock band will be joined by fellow first-timers Public Enemy, The Star Tribune reports, as well as Heart, the late Donna Summer, Randy Newman and Albert King. There will also be two non-performing honorees, in the form of producer Quincy Jones and label executive Lou Adler.

It looks as though the fervent effort of Rush’s dedicated fans has finally charmed the Hall of Fame’s voting panel; so much so that they ushered them through on their first time onto the ballot. However, the fact that Rush have been included, whilst other hard rock heroes such as Kiss and Deep Purple are still left out in the cold will not have gone done well in many quarters. Rush also beat a number of artists who did make the ballot, who are considered to be influential artists in their own genre, including Kraftwerk, Chic and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts.

Continue reading: First Time Hall Of Fame Success For Canadian Rockers Rush

Rush, Randy Newman, Public Enemy, Donna Summer, Heart And Albert King Are All In The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame


Public Enemy Rush Randy Newman Donna Summer Heart Albert King

The latest Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees look, as ever, like a who's who of cultural icons. Canadian progressive-rock trio Rush make their long awaited entry, while Public Enemy - with their recent renaissance - are rewarded for their incalculable inspiration to rap music, black culture and equality, Entertainment Weekly reports. 

"We are thrilled to announce this year's class of inductees, which again represents the broad, compelling and significant definition of rock and roll," Joel Peresman, president and chief executive of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement Tuesday. Elsewhere, Donna Summer, Heart and Albert King were also honoured by Rock n Roll Hall of Fame recognition. Acts that made the final ballot but did not make the cut for induction this year were the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Deep Purple, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Kraftwerk, the Marvelettes, the Meters, Procol Harum and N.W.A.

Rush fans may have to backtrack somewhat, especially the ones that claimed, "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has no credibility until Rush is inducted". Another act who may want to play nice is Randy Newman who jokingly told The Times in 1995 that his absence from the Rock Hall's roster of inductees made it "a Hall of Shame." Now that he's in, however, Newman said, "It's a great honor. I'm very happy about it," and "I'd like to thank the people who have supported me for all these years." 

Continue reading: Rush, Randy Newman, Public Enemy, Donna Summer, Heart And Albert King Are All In The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

15 Nominees Up For The 2013 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: A Look At The Candidates


Rush Donna Summer Public Enemy Kraftwerk Chic

There have been no less than 15 nominees put up for a spot in the 2013 class of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, including some real heavyweights -as you'd expect - like Rush, the late Donna Summer, Public Enemy and NWA. Indeed, just the names of those three show that it's diversity beyond the more recognised elements of rock that is starting to be recognised by the prestigious club these days, the shortlist showing vast sub-genres that rock & roll now takes in. Certainly in the case of Public Enemy and NWA you can point to their attitude, and the way in which they forced people to pay attention to them as rock & roll in itself; and they are just as worthy candidates as Summer, who passed earlier this year, but who made some of the most futuristic music of her era that only feels now like it's being caught up with.

Continue reading: 15 Nominees Up For The 2013 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: A Look At The Candidates

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: Public Enemy Head Eclectic List Of Nominees


Public Enemy Deep Purple Rush Kraftwerk Joan Jett Donna Summer Heart Randy Newman Chic

Public Enemy may not be the first band that you think of when you think of the phrase ‘rock n roll’ but the ground-breaking hip-hop group have been nominated as one of 2013’s potential inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Joel Peresman, the president and chief executive of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame spoke about the variety of this year’s list of nominees. “The definition of 'rock and roll' means different things to different people,” said Peresman, “but as broad as the classifications may be, they all share a common love of the music. This year we again proudly put forth a fantastic array of groups and artists that span the entire genre that is 'rock and roll.

Public Enemy are amongst a sub-group of nominees that are elected for the first time. Joining them are Deep Purple, Motown band The Marvelettes, NWA and Rush, amongst others. Returning candidates include Kraftwerk, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Donna Summer, Heart and Randy Newman. Donna Summer has been on the list five times before, though this is the first time since her death, this summer. Fellow disco pioneers Chic have been on the ballot six times previously, as well.

The final decision on who gets to enter the hallowed Hall of Fame is decided by a group of 600 members of the music industry, including musicians and music historians. Once the decision is made, the entries will be honored at a ceremony in Los Angeles on April 18, 2013.


Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: 2013 Nominations Are In!


Public Enemy Rush Deep Purple Donna Summer

The 2013 Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductee wannabes are in, and they include Public Enemy, Rush and Deep Purple, reports Rolling Stone.

This year's other hopefuls are Albert King, Chic, Donna Summer, Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Kraftwerk, the Marvelettes, the Meters, N.W.A., Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Procul Harum and Randy Newman. Phew! That's a lot of nominees! This year's award will be the first time a public vote is involved. From now until December 5th, fans can vote on RollingStone.com for the nominees they'd like to see inducted, where the results will be announced in mid-December. "The definition of 'rock & roll' means different things to different people, but as broad as the classifications may be, they all share a common love of the music," commented Joel Peresman, President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. "This year we again proudly put forth a fantastic array of groups and artists that span the entire genre that is 'rock & roll."

The rap groups N.W.A and Public Enemy are in line for a place on their first year of eligibility (you can only be inducted 25 years after your first single release) and will hope to join Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys in the hip-hop contingent of the hall of fame. The ceremony will be held in Los Angeles for the first time since 1993. It's usually held in New York at the Waldforf Astoria, but it was held in Cleveland in 1997, 2009 and 2012.

Donna Summer, CBS and David Letterman Monday 2nd June 2008 leaving after appearing as a guest on CBS' 'Late Show with David Letterman' New York City, USA

Donna Summer, Cbs and David Letterman
Donna Summer

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Donna Summer

Date of birth

31st December, 1948

Date of death

17th May, 2012

Occupation

Musician

Sex

Female

Height

1.70


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