Donna Summer, the #40 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"She had a voice that few could come close to in quality."

"Amazing woman, incredible voice."

"She changed the history of music."

'She was perfection."

"Amazing, just amazing.  So much talent."

"She was an unforgettable artist."

"She was one of the best singers ever."

"I get teary eyed listening to her and realizing how great she was."

"She was an absolutely amazing woman with an outstanding voice, love every tune!! Irreplaceable queen of disco will live forever in our hearts."

"She was a truly great singer and had a gift of making you feel every song she sang."

"Ms. Donna had the pipes to sing opera, gospel, blues, rock ' roll, any genre of music; she was just gifted! "

"There are divas and then there is Donna Summer."

"I marvel at the pipes of this Goddess!"

"An absolute joy to the ears."

"Her music will be around 100 years from now."






They called her the Disco Queen, but she was so much more than that.  It didn't take long for people to discover that she also had an incredible voice, and she was one of the best entertainers of the Rock Era.

LaDonna Gaines was born December 31, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts.  She got her start in church choir at the age of eight.  Gaines continued her love at music at Jeremiah E. Burke High School, performing in several musicals there.  Just weeks before her graduation ceremony, however, she moved to New York City to join the band Crow (not the one which had the hit "Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games With Me)").

When Crow broke up son after, LaDonna tried out for the musical Hair and agreed to perform in the Munich, Germany production of the show.  Gaines stayed in Germany for three other musicals, the German version of The Me Nobody Knows, Godspell and Show Boat.  

After three years, Gaines moved to Vienna, Austria, joined the Vienna Volksoper and toured with a vocal group called Family Tree.  In 1968, she released her first single under the name Donna Gaines on Polydor Records, the German version of "Aquarius" from Hair.  Gaines recorded two other singles on different labels before marrying actor Helmuth Sommer in 1973.

The couple moved back to Munich, where Donna met producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte while singing backing vocals for Three Dog Night.  In 1974, Donna signed a recording contract with the pair's Oasis Records, which led to a deal with Groovy Records.  

 

She released her first album, Lady of the Night, but her name was misspelled as Donna Summer.  The album was popular in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium, and Donna decided to accept the misspelling for her stage name.  The title song gets us started.

 

In 1975, Donna worked on a song "Love To Love You", which she showed to Moroder.  Georgio helped her finish it for release and, desiring an American audience, sent a copy to Neil Bogart, president of Casablanca Records.  Bogart signed Donna to a recording contract, but changed the name of the song to "Love To Love You Baby" prior to the single being released.

The single catapulted to #2, went Gold, and helped the album also sell one million copies.

 

It will come as a surprise to later fans of Donna, but this album is one of her career best.  Summer bemoans of broken promises on "Full Of Emptiness".

"Need-A-Man Blues" is another solid track on the album.

 Although she got more attention for her erotic single, Donna's evocative "Whispering Waves" is an early indicator of the tremendous depth of her talent and voice.

"Pandora's Box" features an original rhythm by drummer Martin Harrison and Donna's mid-range vocals.

Donna released the album A Love Trilogy, followed by the album Four Seasons of Love.

In 1977, Donna released the album I Remember Yesterday, which led to her second big hit with the pulsating "I Feel Love", a Top 10 smash in the fall.  

Summer turned a second song into Gold and was nominated for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist at the American Music Awards.

Donna had broken through, and superstardom was just around the corner.  Join us for Part Two, exclusively on Inside The Rock Era!