Donna Summer
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- December 31, 1948
- Died
- May 17, 2012 (aged 63)
- Birthplace
- Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Biography
Donna Summer (born LaDonna Adrian Gaines; December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music gained a global following. Influenced by the counterculture of the 1960s, Summer became the lead singer of a psychedelic rock band named Crow and moved to New York City. In 1968 she joined a German adaptation of the musical Hair in Munich, where she spent several years living, acting, and singing. There, she met music producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and they went on to record influential disco hits together such as "Love to Love You Baby" and "I Feel Love", marking Summer's breakthrough into international music markets. Summer returned to the United States in 1976, and more hits such as "Last Dance", her version of "MacArthur Park", "Heaven Knows", "Hot Stuff", "Bad Girls", "Dim All the Lights", "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" with Barbra Streisand, and "On the Radio" followed. Summer amassed a total of 42 hit singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 in her lifetime, with 14 of those reaching the Top 10. She claimed a top-40 hit every year between 1975 and 1984, and from her first top-ten hit in 1976, to the end of 1982, she had 12 top-ten hits (10 were top-five hits), more than any other act during that time period. She returned to the Hot 100's top five in 1983, and claimed her final top-ten hit in 1989 with "This Time I Know It's for Real". She was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach the top of the US Billboard 200 chart and charted four number-one singles in the US within a 12-month period. She also charted two number-one singles on the R&B Singles chart in the US and a number-one single in the United Kingdom. Her most recent Hot 100 hit came in 1999 with "I Will Go with You (Con te partirò)". While her fortunes on the Hot 100 waned in subsequent decades, Summer remained a force on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart throughout her entire career. Summer died on May 17, 2012, from lung cancer, at her home in Naples, Florida. She sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She won five Grammy Awards. In her obituary in The Times, she was described as the "undisputed queen of the Seventies disco boom" who reached the status of "one of the world's leading female singers." Moroder described Summer's work on the song "I Feel Love" as "really the start of electronic dance" music. In 2013, Summer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In December 2016, Billboard ranked her sixth on its list of the "Greatest of All Time Top Dance Club Artists". Description above from the Wikipedia article Donna Summer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Giorgio Moroder & Donna Summer : I Feel Love
Movie · as Self : Singer (archive footage)
Sean Combs: The Reckoning
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
Love to Love You, Donna Summer
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Stock Aitken Waterman: Legends of Pop
Movie · as Self
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
70 Years of Youth Revolt
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
TV Story Superstar
TV · as Self (archive footage) · 1 ep
High Energy: Disco on Amphetamines
Movie · as Self - Singer (archive footage)
Disco Europe Express
Movie · as Self - Singer (archive footage)
Do I Look Like a Lady? (Comedians and Singers)
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Soundbreaking
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Donna Summer: Hot Stuff
Movie · as Self
Les Enfants de la Pop 80's
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Hit Man Returns - David Foster & Friends
Movie · as Self
Donna Summer - Live from New York
Movie
Soul Divas
Movie · as Self
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances: More 1978
Movie · as Self
Best of Night of the Proms Vol. 2
Movie · as Self
Best of Disco Star Parade 70-80
Movie · as self
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances: Million Sellers
Movie · as Self
Burt Sugarman's The Midnight Special: 1976
Movie · as Self
Donna Summer: Live
Movie · as Self
Songs From the Neighborhood: The Music of Mister Rogers
Movie · as Self
The Power of One: The Pokémon 2000 Movie Special
Movie · as Self
VH1 Divas 2000: A Tribute to Diana Ross
Movie · as Self
Donna Summer - Live & More Collection
Movie
Donna Summer - Live and More Encore!
Movie · as Self
The Early Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Where Are They Now?
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's
Movie · as Self
Walt Disney World's 25th Anniversary Party
Movie · as Self
Intimate Portrait
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Eurotrash
TV · 1 ep
Rhythm Divine: The Story of Disco
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Word
TV · 1 ep
Family Matters
TV · as Aunt Oona · 2 eps
Lahaye d'honneur
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Sacrée soirée
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Women in Rock
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
4 gegen Willi
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Disneyland's 30th Anniversary Celebration
Movie · as Self
Donald Duck's 50th Birthday
Movie · as Self
Show & Co. mit Carlo
TV · as Self · 1 ep
A Hot Summer Night with Donna
Movie · as Self
The Eddie Rabbitt Special
Movie · as Self
Champs-Elysées
TV · as Self · 2 eps
The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Donna Summer Special
Movie · as Self
Rona Barrett Looks at 1978
Movie · as Self
Thank God It's Friday
Movie · as Nicole Sims
The David Soul and Friends Special
Movie · as Self
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Numéro un
TV · as Self · 2 eps
Van Oekel's Discohoek
TV · as Self · 4 eps
Dinah!
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Disco
TV · as Self · 1 ep
11 Uhr 20
TV · as Sängerin in Kasbah · 3 eps
Starparade
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Viña del Mar International Song Festival
TV · as Self - Musical Guest · 1 ep
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV · as Self · 2 eps
The Mike Douglas Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Grammys
TV · as Self · 1 ep