Donna Summer Dead at 63

[Faygo Kid]

Source: TMZ

Donna Summer -- the Queen of Disco -- died this morning after a battle with cancer ... TMZ has learned.

We're told Summer was in Florida at the time of her death. She was 63 years old.

Sources close to Summer tell us ... the singer was trying to keep the extent of her illness under wraps. We spoke to someone who was with Summer a couple of weeks ago ... who says she didn't seem too bad.

In fact, we're told she was focused on trying to finish up an album she had been working on.

Summer was a 5-time Grammy winner who shot to superstardom in the '70s with iconic hits like "Last Dance," "Hot Stuff" and "Bad Girls."


Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/17/donna-summer-dead-last-dance/

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[BlueDemKev]

1. RIP Donna Summer

You were at your peak when I was just starting Kindergarten, but I still remember "getting down" to Hot Stuff and Bad Girls.

[MotorCityMan]

63. OMG, I just saw this

Damn, she had a great voice.

I was about 15 when she was at her peak, and I loved her music. Last Dance, Hot Stuff, Bad Girls. Even her later stuff was good; Unconditional Love (with Musical Youth!), This Time I Know It's for Real, I Don't Want to Get Hurt....

RIP, Donna, you will be missed....

[Hissyspit]

2. I was listening to "Hot Stuff" just yesterday.

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter's great guitar solo.

Rest in peace.

[Taverner]

3. RIP Donna

[Uncle Joe]

4. "Last Dance"

RIP Donna and thanks for the music.

Thanks for the thread, Faygo Kid.

[mikeytherat]

5. First Donald "Duck" Dunn, now Donna Summer. It's been rough lately.

mikey_the_rat

[bluesbassman]

13. Actually, the month started with the passing of guitarist Charles "Skip" Pitts.

Best known for his work with Isaac Hayes. Did the guitar work on "Shaft".

Has been rough. RIP to all of these great artists.

[zzaapp]

39. Hi BB......yes it is a GREAT loss...all of them

I'm a bit of a bluesman myself. Skip had a great wah technique.

[bluesbassman]

43. Indeed. Welcome to DU BTW.

There are some good Blues posts in The Lounge, and your input is certainly welcome.

[zzaapp]

61. thanks BBM.....I will check it out, thanks for the welcome.

[Crabby Appleton]

52. and bluesman Michael Burks passed on at the beginning of May

http://www.americanbluesscene.com/2012/05/celebrated-alligator-recording-artist-michael-burks-dead-at-54/

[bluesbassman]

56. Man, I missed that. Damn.

Losing way too many of our musicians.

[zzaapp]

62. Great Player

Looks like he's playing a Dr Z amp. I have one, they are GREAT.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. Oh, no. Loved Donna Summer.

.

[hlthe2b]

7. Oh, No! Even if you hated disco, Summer's voice was one to be reckoned with...

She was a powerful performer. I had no idea she'd been ill.

Donna, I am saddened today. RIP

[Vidar]

8. RIP Donna.

[warrior1]

9. Damn

Rest in peace Donna.

[RKP5637]

10. One of my favorites. RIP, Donna. n/t

[Cleita]

47. Me too. I had her and Debbie Harry of Blondie

on my Walkman when I roller skated between Santa Monica and Venice back in the Seventies. It was great music to rock and skate to.

RIP Donna.

[HughBeaumont]

11. Chuck Brown, Duck Dunn, Donna Summer.

Three Legends in their genres gone.

RIP.

[Archae]

12. RIP Donna Summer...

&feature=related

[Booster]

14. Aww. This makes me sad. My friend & I were at a party at 1 of the tv networks and I had my

camera. Donna was standing there so I told my friend to go stand beside her & I would take their picture. All went fine, but Donna saw what I had done & shook her finger at me saying "if you want to take my picture just ask me and give me the courtesy of preparing myself". I apologized because she was absolutely right. She then said "ok, now let's take another picture" and she put her arm around my friend & they both smiled - it was a great shot. Now, every time I see the paparazzi hounding stars, I always think of Donna and smile. She deserves all the accolades she is given. A great talent. Rest in Peace, Donna. I'll miss you.

[Still Blue in PDX]

42. Aawww, that made me get weepy.

Lovely voice and a lovely lady.

RIP, Donna. I loved her music.

[blaze]

53. What a sweet memory!!

Thanks for sharing that.

[DeSwiss]

15. RIP

[pacalo]

16. A wonderful lady with a great voice.

I didn't care for disco but I loved her music.

RIP, Ms. Summer...

[DinahMoeHum]

17. Never been a disco fan, but damn, this is tough. . .

Seems she was on the go until the end.

Rest in peace, Donna.

[ProudProgressiveNow]

18. Disco was the thimg

and she was a big part of it. Will miss her. RIP

[Little Star]

19. Gone way to soon!! RIP wonderful woman.

[Ninga]

20. Just about groved on everything she sang. So sorry she struggled and lost her health battle at

such a young age.....

[zzaapp]

21. Man...what a DRAG !!! Oh the memories....sigh..RIP

[chiffon]

22. One of my favorites! RIP Queen of Disco...imo

[liberal N proud]

23. That is a shock

[Swede Atlanta]

24. Her music takes me way back..........

[patrice]

25. Poolside summers with the kids & friends & Donna Summer. Bright. Hot!

I remember.

She told me in a way that I could actually hear and KNOW for certain sure, "It's okay to feel sexy."

[zzaapp]

26. Feeling nostalgic.......looked up some old pictues of me from that time

OMG....sequin dress, feathered hair, tall ugly shoes.
And no, I won't post the picture.

[JitterbugPerfume]

27. she represented an era

it is such a sad day

[BumRushDaShow]

28. Just heard this sad news

We have lost 2 beautiful black women with remarkable voices and careers within months of each other. Donna was one of the prime divas who entertained me in high school in the '70s and into my college years. As much as her dance genre repulsed so many, she and others defined an era of dance music and rich ballads that were very much a subset of R&B.

RIP Donna.

The song that sealed it!

[David__77]

29. I didn't even know she was ill. Sad...

"Dim All the Lights" and "MacArthur Park" really show her almost haunting voice.

[alp227]

30. Whitney Houston, Dick Clark, Adam Yauch, now Houston? Damn

[UpInArms]

31. wow - rest well, sweet lady

dating myself - 8 track cassette - 1973 grand prix

and Donna on highest volume

[slackmaster]

32. Beautiful, talented, smart lady who worked hard for the money

[Dustlawyer]

33. There is a reason she is the "Queen" of Disco!

Unbelievably powerful, rich, voice. I was a disc jockey back in that day and I can tell you that I could count on her to get people started dancing. Additionally, she was awesomely sexy!!!!

[Jack Rabbit]

34. RIP, Donna Summer

I hated disco, unless she was doing it. It is a form of music characterized by monotony, dedicated to the proposition that human life was only about dancing and fucking. Donna Summer somehow brought it to life and made it human. Into what was otherwise stillborn music, she brought genuine human feeling, love and art.

[Politicalboi]

35. That's too bad

Even though I wasn't into disco, she did have a great voice. And her song Love to Love ya baby was controversial at the time. Too sexy for some.

[Sugarcoated]

36. Fucking cancer >: (

Safe travels Donna Summer. . .

[valerief]

37. Too young. nt

[emilyg]

38. Rest in Peace - Queen.

[steve2470]

40. RIP Donna Summer, she was a wonderful singer of my era nt

[bupkus]

41. "On the Radio"

I wasn't a disco fan but "On the Radio" was one of my favorites from the disco days.

RIP Donna

[girl gone mad]

54. Talk about aging gracefully!

RIP

[virgdem]

58. Thanks for the video...

I didn't like Disco either (Disco sucks) but I loved this song.

RIP Donna

[ElbarDee]

44. She will be missed.

[Catherine Vincent]

45. Rest in peace, Donna Summer

Thanks for the memories!

[Tikki]

51. RIP Queen of Disco...Ms. Donna Summer

Tikki

[Skittles]

46. I detested disco

but I made an exception for the Bee Gees and Donna Summer, who I thought did disco with style. Ms. Summer was a lovely, talented lady. My sympathy to her friends and loved ones.

[cr8tvlde]

48. RIP Diva of Disco n/t

[Utopian Leftist]

49. Loved the get down and boogie music then and still do.

I'm pushing 50 but some of my happiest memories are dancing in the discos to Donna.

Contrary to popular opinion, disco did not suck. There were many talented performers in the genre, which itself represented a sort of racial and ethnic "coming together" that has since the 70's only been dreamt of in America. Black, white, brown, red, gay, straight, etc. On the dancefloor in the 70's, NO ONE CARED! They were all just there to have a good time like you were, and feel the love.

Donna Summer's extraordinary ability to belt out a tune made her the queen of the genre that tore up the music charts and annihilated competition for about 5 years (1975-1980). Her song I Feel Love was voted the number one dance song of all-time on disco.com, and that song, produced by her long-time collaborator, Oscar-winner Giorgio Moroder, was according to some the birth of another entire genre of dance music, one that is still popular today: trance.

Around 1983-1984 she got into huge trouble with the gay community over a statement she ALLEGEDLY made that I will not repeat. The whole thing was ugly and was handled poorly and misreported even in the mainstream media. She denied having made this statement, and claimed that she adored her legion of gay fans. Well, disco was a huge part of gay culture in the 70's so it is not surprising that she had a huge gay following. I know this. I grew up gay and Donna, as someone else noted above, made it okay even for me to be sexy, a huge accomplishment in this country of hypocritical puritans. Her voice nailed the notes, not only with precision but with incredible EMOTION. She put her heart into her music, and she will always be my dance diva.

RIP Donna Summer

[Edim]

64. Not only it didn't suck

but it's the most underappreciated music of the 20th century, especially the deep, underground variety. "Disco sucks" was a projection.

[tabasco]

50. It seems like the end of an era.

She was great.

She was very brave, keeping her illness a secret. How sad to lose her so soon.

[Neoma]

55. Donna Summers made a song that I spammed in 1200 people with.

That is how I met my husband.

R.I.P.

[magic59]

57. A beautiful, talented lady

Its sad that we live in a country that spends trillions on unnecessary wars instead of spending that money on a war against cancer. Also, those same warlord politicians are weakening environmental regulations, aiding the number 1 terrorist in the country, cancer.

[SoCalDemGrrl]

59. So sad..We promoted her records back in the day, terrible loss for the music community &

the World. What a voice!!!

God Bless you Donna and condolences to Bruce and her children.

[Beacool]

60. I remember her from my childhood.

What a shame. Another one that succumbs to cancer. My condolences to the family.

May she be in Heaven singing with Whitney and all the other great ones who went before her.