®*!* ^ortlanà (Bbseruer
M ay 23, 2012
Page 17
INfILI
Queen of Disco Ruled the Dance Floors
Donna Summer
gave voice to a
cultural revolution
(A P )- Like the King of Pop or the
Queen of Soul, Donna Summer was
bestowed a title fitting of musical
royalty — the Queen of Disco.
Yet unlike Michael Jackson or
Aretha Franklin, it was a designa
tion she wasn't comfortable embrac
ing.
"I grew up on rock 'n' roll," Sum
mer once said when explaining her
reluctance to claim the title.
Indeed, as disco boomed then
crashed in a single decade in the
1970s, Summer, the beautiful voice
and face of the genre with pulsating
hits like "I Feel Love," "Love to Love
You Baby" and "Last Dance,"
would continue to make hits incor
porating the rock roots she so loved.
One of her biggest hits, "She Works
Hard for the Money," came in the
early 1980s and relied on a smolder
ing guitar solo as well as Summer's
booming voice.
Yet it was with her disco anthems
that she would have the most im
pact in music, and it's how she was
remembered after her death at age
63.
S ummer died of cancer Thursday
morning in Naples, Fla. Her family
released a statement saying they
"are at peace celebrating her ex
traordinary life and her continued
legacy."
Luminaries from Aretha Franklin
to Dolly Parton and Barbra Streisand
mourned the loss, as did President
Barack Obama, who said he and
Michelle were saddened to hear of
the passing of the five-time Grammy
winner. "Her voice was unforget
table, and the music industry has
lost a legend far too soon," he said.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out
to Donna's family and her dedicated
fans."
,
wi
Donna Summer performs at the Nobel
Peace concert in Oslo, Norway in 2009.
The Queen of Disco ruled the dance
floors with anthems like "Last Dance, ”
"Love to Love You Baby" and "Bad
Girl. ” (AP photo)
Donna Summer in 1979.
Donna Summer performs
onstage in 1978. The singer
won five Grammy Awards
and six American Music
Awards during her career.
It had been decades since that bedroom moans and sighs. She was
brief, flashy moment when Summer as much a part of the culture as disco
was every inch the Disco Queen.
balls, polyester, platform shoes and
Her glittery gowns and long eye the m usic's pulsing, pounding
lashes. Her luxurious hair and glossy, rhythms.
open lips. Her sultry vocals, her
Summer's music gave voice to
not only a musical revolution, but a
cultural one— a time when sex, race,
fashion and drugs were being ex
plored and exploited with freedom
like never before in the United States.
Her rise was inseparable from
disco's itself, even though she re
mained popular for years after the
genre she helped invent had died.
She won a Grammy for best rock
vocal performance for "Hot Stuff,"
a fiery guitar-based song that repre
sented her shift from disco to more
rock-based sounds, and created
another kind of anthem with "She
Works Hard for the Money," this
time for women's rights.
Elton John said in a statement
that Summer was more than the
Queen of Disco.
"Her records sound as good to
day as they ever did. That she has
never been inducted into the Rock
n' Roll Hall of Fame is a total dis
grace especially when I see the sec
ond-rate talent that has been in
ducted," he said. "She is a great
friend to me and to the Elton John
AIDS Foundation and I will miss her
greatly."
Summer may not have liked the
title and later became a born-again
Christian, but many remembered her
best for her early years, starting
with the sinful "Love to Love You
Baby."
Released in 1975, a breakthrough
hit for Summer and for disco, it was
a legend of studio ecstasy and the
genre's ultimate sexual anthem.
Summer came up with the idea of the
song and first recorded it as a demo
in 1975, on the condition that an
other singer perform it commercially.
But Casablanca Records president
Neil Bogart liked the track so much
that he suggested to producer
Giorgio Moroder they re-record it,
and make it longer — what would
come to be known as a "disco disc."
What started as a scandal be
came a classic. The song was later
sampled by LL Cool J, Timbaland
and Beyonce, who interpolated the
hit for her jam "Naughty Girl." It was
also Summer's U.S. chart debut and
the first of 19 No. 1 dance hits be
tween 1975 and 2008— second only
to Madonna.
Disco Era’s Robin Gibb Dies
Robin Gibb, one of the foundi ng member of the
Bee Gees, along with his brothers Barry and
Maurice, has died of at age 62.
Gibb fell into a coma last month as he battled
colon cancer.
The Bee Gees — British-born, Australia-raised
brothers Robin, Barry and Maurice Gibb — had a
string of disco-era hits including "How Deep is
Your Love" and "Stayin' Alive." Their soundtrack
to the movie "Saturday Night Fever" was one of
the best-selling albums of the 1970s
The Bee Gees became members of the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame and won seven Grammy
Awards.
Maurice Gibb, Robin's twin brother, died in
2003 at the age of 53 due to complications from
a twisted intestine.
The Bee Gees' younger brother, Andy, who
had a successful solo career, died in 1988 at age
30 of a heart ailment.