Donna Summer
Donna Summer Summer in December 2009 Background information Birth name LaDonna Adrian Gaines Also known as Queen of Disco Donna Gaines Born (1948-12-31)December 31, 1948 Boston, Massachusetts, United States Died May 17, 2012(2012-05-17) (aged 63) Naples, Florida Genres Pop disco dance rock new wave R&B funk gospel soul Occupation(s) Singer songwriter painter Instruments Vocals Years active 1968–2012 Labels Oasis Casablanca Geffen Atlantic Mercury WEA Epic Burgundy Associated acts Giorgio Moroder Brooklyn Dreams LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012), known by her stage name, Donna Summer, was an American singer, songwriter, and painter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the late 1970s. A five-time Grammy Award winner, she was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach No. 1 on the United States Billboard album chart and charted four number-one singles in the United States within a 12-month period. She also charted two number-one R&B singles. Summer has reportedly sold over 140 million records, making her one of the world's best-selling artists of all time. While influenced by the counterculture of the 1960s, she became the front singer of a psychedelic rock band named Crow and moved to New York City. Joining a touring version of the musical Hair, she left New York and spent several years living, acting, and singing in Europe, where she met music producers, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. She returned to the United States, in 1975 with mass commercial success of the song Love to Love You Baby. Over the following years Summer followed this success with a string of other hits, such as "I Feel Love", "Last Dance", "MacArthur Park", "Heaven Knows", "Hot Stuff", "Bad Girls", "Dim All the Lights", "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", and "On the Radio". "Last Dance" won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song on the "Thank God It's Friday" movie soundtrack. She became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music gained a global following. Summer died on May 17, 2012, at her home in Naples, Florida. In her obituary in The Times, Summer 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 with him 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.