DONNA SUMMER

The absolute Queen of Disco: the voice, the songs, the look, the moves… She perfectly embodies the era, and while crowning her may be predictable, it is mandatory. Donna Gaines, her real name…

She was born in Boston on December 31st—I shall not mention the year, as she is a queen… She sang her way into the cast of “Hair” in the late 1960s, touring in Germany and practically never returning to the United States… She found love in Austria with actor Helmut Sommer, whose name she took after Americanizing it to “Summer.” It was also in Germany that she began frequenting the Music Land Studios of a certain Giorgio Moroder.

The first singles recorded with him were “Hostage” and “Lady of the Night,” but it wasn’t until 1975 that she exploded with “Love to Love You Baby,” 16 minutes of Moroder’s pure genius… From then on, everything the duo produced turned to gold… “I Feel Love,” “MacArthur Park,” “Bad Girls,” “Hot Stuff,” “Sunset People,” “Dim All the Lights,” and many others, including the standout “Last Dance,” which earned them both an Oscar as the soundtrack to “Thank God It’s Friday.”

Donna also managed her career exceptionally well after the disco era: exploring pop (the legendary duet with Barbra Streisand in “No More Tears”) and funk, even venturing into rock. We love the Queen, however, for what she gave us between 1975 and 1979. Thank you, Donna!!!