Donna Summer#Death

Donna Adrian Gaines was born in Boston on December 31, 1948, to Andrew and Mary Gaines. She was the third of seven children.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/9273393/Donna-Summer.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/music-obituaries/9273393/Donna-Summer.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Donna Summer |work= The Telegraph |date=May 17, 2012 |access-date= August 20, 2014}}{{cbignore}} She was raised in the Boston neighborhood of Mission Hill. Her father was a butcher, and her mother was a schoolteacher.

Summer's performance debut occurred at church when she was ten years old, replacing a vocalist who failed to appear. She attended Boston's Jeremiah E. Burke High School where she performed in school musicals and was considered popular. In 1967, just weeks before graduation, Summer left for New York City, where she joined the blues rock band Crow. After a record label passed on signing the group since it was only interested in the band's lead singer, the group agreed to dissolve.{{Cite news |last=Sullivan |first=James |date=February 17, 2022 |title=Before she left Boston, Donna Summer found her voice |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/02/17/arts/before-she-left-boston-donna-summer-found-her-voice/ |access-date=July 7, 2022}}

Summer stayed in New York and auditioned for a role in the counterculture musical, Hair. She landed the part of Sheila and agreed to take the role in the Munich production of the show, moving there in August 1968 after getting her parents' reluctant approval. It turned out to be the best decision she could have made. The show was so successful, that it didn't just rocket-start her career but also many of her castmates'. The cast included: Helga Charlotte Tolle, Reiner Schöne, Ron Williams, Gudrun "Su" Kramer, Elke Koska, Jürgen Markus, Jutta Weinhold, Peter Kent, who all starred alongside Summer in the musical Hair. She eventually became fluent in German, singing various songs in that language, and participated in the musicals {{lang|de|Ich bin ich}} (the German version of The Me Nobody Knows), Godspell, and Show Boat. Within three years, she moved to Vienna, Austria, and joined the Vienna Volksoper.

In 1968, Summer released (as Donna Gaines) on Polydor her first single, a German version of the title "Aquarius" from the musical {{lang|de|Haare}} (Hair). In 1969, she issued her second single "If You Walkin' Alone" on Philips Records, followed in 1971 by a third single, a remake of the Jaynetts' 1963 hit, "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", from a one-off European deal with Decca Records.{{cite web|url= http://www.donna-tribute.com/disc/disc70.htm|title=The 60–70s| website= donna-tribute.com |access-date=May 17, 2012}} She provided backing vocals for producer-keyboardist Veit Marvos on his Ariola Records release Nice to See You, credited as "Gayn Pierre". Several subsequent singles included Donna performing with the group, and the name "Gayn Pierre" was used while performing in Godspell with first husband Helmuth Sommer during 1972.

File:Van Oekel's Discohoek van de VPRO, dec. 1974 - 01.jpg

While working as a model part-time and backing singer in Munich, Summer met producer Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte during a recording session for Three Dog Night at Musicland Studios. The trio forged a working partnership and Donna was signed to Moroder's Oasis label in 1974. A demo tape of Summer's work with Moroder and Bellotte led to a deal with the European-distributed label Groovy Records. Due to an error on the record cover, Donna Sommer became Donna Summer; the name stuck. Summer's first album, Lady of the Night, was released in 1974. Unlike the records she would be known for, most of the material on the album had elements of symphonic rock and pop. Though the album itself didn't chart, it spawned two singles, "The Hostage" and the title track. Both songs hit the top ten in various European countries including the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Belgium. "The Hostage" was removed from radio playlists in Germany because of the song's subject matter: a high ranking politician that had recently been kidnapped and held for ransom.{{cite web|url=http://www.classicbands.com/summer.html |title=Donna Summer |publisher=Classicbands.com |access-date=August 20, 2014}} One of her first TV appearances was in the Dutch television show, Van Oekel's Discohoek, which started the breakthrough of "The Hostage", and in which she gracefully went along with the scripted absurdity and chaos in the show.{{cite web|url=http://www.bashakker.nl/2013/discoverhaal-donna-summervan-oekel-varagids/|title =Disco verhaal Donna Summer van Oekel|last=Hakker|first=Bas|date=19 November 2013|language=nl|access-date=26 October 2016}}{{cite web|url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1Abfmg3k7g|title=Van Oekel's Discohoek: Donna Summer -The Hostage (video)

|website=YouTube

}}

File:I Feel Love - Cash Box ad 1977.jpg advertisement, August 20, 1977]]

After noticing that disco was rising in Europe during the year Lady of the Night was issued, Moroder and Belotte began to produce a disco song that had yet to have words, until Summer passed on an idea for a song to Moroder that was to be given to another artist, called "Love to Love You", inspired by the successful re-release of Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg's "Je t'aime... moi non plus". It was decided then that Summer recorded a demo of the song with Summer performing the song in a heavily accentuated Marilyn Monroe type voice.{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/donna-summer-love-you-baby-hot-100-200-rewinding-charts/|title=Donna Summer's 'Love to Love You Baby' Debuted Today in 1975|date=November 1, 2017|work=Billboard|accessdate=May 14, 2025}} However, upon hearing playback, Moroder changed his mind and decided that the Summer version should be released instead. In 1975, Moroder sent the song to several American record labels, hoping to seek a deal and soon grabbed the attention of Neil Bogart, president of Casablanca Records. Upon playing the song at extravagant industry parties, the song was so popular that it was played repeatedly throughout the night. The impresario soon demanded that Moroder produce a longer version for discothèques. A 16-minute version was soon sent and Bogart tweaked the title, changing it from "Love to Love You" to "Love to Love You Baby". Oasis was soon given a distribution deal with Casablanca in July 1975 and the album of the same name was released the following month. The singles wouldn't receive a full commercial release until November where it was issued in the United States, with the shorter 7" version playing on radio and the 16-minute version playing in discos.

The song became Summer's first entry into the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number two on the chart in February 1976 and became her first gold-certified single. The album would also be certified gold for selling over a million copies alone in the US. The song generated controversy due to Summer's moans and groans, which emulated lovemaking, and some American stations, like those in Europe with the initial release, refused to play it. Despite this, "Love to Love You Baby" found chart success in several European countries, and made the Top 5 in the United Kingdom despite the BBC ban. Almost immediately afterwards, Casablanca ordered a series of albums to follow its success. In 1976, Summer issued two more albums — A Love Trilogy and Four Seasons of Love — which, despite it charting lower than Love to Love You Baby, would also be certified gold in the United States. Summer's immediate single follow-ups after "Love to Love You Baby" — a cover of Barry Manilow's "Could It Be Magic", "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It", "Spring Affair" and "Winter Melody", the latter being her first ballad, recorded under the soul style and her first US release where she was belting, rather than singing in soprano — failed to reach the top 40 of any global chart including the Billboard Hot 100. During this era, Summer appeared on the dance shows, American Bandstand and Soul Train.

File:Donna Summer 1977.JPG

In 1977, Summer released the concept album, I Remember Yesterday. The futuristic-sounding "I Feel Love" returned Summer to the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number six, while becoming her first and only number one single in the UK.{{cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/donna-summer-i-feel-love/|title=How Donna Summer Created the Sound of the Future on 'I Feel Love'|work=Ultimate Classic Rock|date=July 2, 2022|accessdate=May 14, 2025}} The single became her second to go gold while I Remember Yesterday was also a certified hit and was her first since Love to Love You Baby to crack the top 20 of the Billboard 200. This success helped Summer to receive her first American Music Award nomination for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist. Another concept album, Once Upon a Time, was quickly followed and much like Summer's previous albums before it also was certified gold for selling over a million copies. Once Upon a Time hit number one on the Billboard National Disco Action chart while the single, "I Love You" barely cracked the top 40 in the US while reaching number 10 in the UK. Most of Summer's singles chart successes during this era was in the UK, with Summer having top 20 hits there with songs such as "Down Deep Inside" as the theme song for the 1977 film The Deep, "I Remember Yesterday" and "Love's Unkind", which peaked at number three.

By 1978, having fully resettled in the United States after splitting time between there and Munich, where much of her albums had been recorded, Summer accepted her first film role for the disco-themed Thank God It's Friday. Summer would contribute three songs to its soundtrack, including the Paul Jabara-composed "Last Dance", which returned Summer to the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number three, also reaching number 5 on the Hot Soul Singles chart and topped the National Disco Action chart, her second single to do so. The song became one of Summer's signature songs and won the singer her first Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance while Jabara won the Golden Globe and Academy Award for the composition. It would also be the first of eight consecutive top five hit records Summer would have in the next two years.

On November 11, 1978, Summer scored her first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 with her rendition of the Jimmy Webb ballad, "MacArthur Park", which topped the chart for three weeks and became her fourth gold-certified single; it would be Webb's only number one hit on the Hot 100.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1978-11-11 |title=Billboard Hot 100 |magazine=Billboard |date= November 11, 1978 |issn=0006-2510}} On that same day, Summer's first live album, Live and More, topped the Billboard 200, Summer's first album to do so. Summer became just the fourth solo black artist to simultaneously have the number one single and album in the US. Live and More became her first album to be certified platinum in the US. Before the end of the year, Summer released a collaborative song with Brooklyn Dreams singer Joe "Bean" Esposito on the song "Heaven Knows", which would peak at number four on the Hot 100 in early 1979. On January 9, 1979, Summer performed the ballad "Mimi's Song" on the globally-televised Music for UNICEF Concert special, which aimed at raising funds and awareness for children across the globe.{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-9/pop-luminaries-gather-at-the-u-n-for-the-music-for-unicef-concert|title=Pop Luminaries gather at the U.N. for the Music for UNICEF Concert - January 9, 1979|work=History Channel|accessdate=May 13, 2025}} On January 12, Summer won three American Music Awards, all in the disco category, at the 6th annual ceremony.

File:Donna Summer (1980 ABC special "Bad Girl" promo photo).jpg, 1980]]

At the tail-end of 1978, Summer, Moroder and Belotte began working on her seventh studio album, Bad Girls. Noting the rise of punk rock and heavy metal music, the producers and Summer sought to go for a rockier edge on some of the songs while other songs leaned into Summer's R&B roots. Harold Faltermeyer, with whom Moroder had collaborated on the film, Midnight Express, was brought in to be the arranger of the album. Released on April 25, 1979, Bad Girls became an immediate success. The first single, the rock-leaning dance number "Hot Stuff" became Summer's second number one single on the Hot 100, followed by the funk rock-leaning title track, the latter of which helped Summer make history as the first female artist of the rock era to send two songs simultaneously to the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and later topped the Hot 100 itself for a five-week run. On June 16, the album became Summer's second number one on the Billboard 200; on that same date, "Hot Stuff" had returned to number one on the Hot 100.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1979-06-16 |title=Billboard Hot 100 |magazine=Billboard |date=16 June 1979 |issn=0006-2510}} The album would be Summer's longest-running number one album at six weeks. It also became Summer's first to top the Top Soul LPs chart, with the title track also becoming Summer's first to top the Hot Soul Singles chart. The album would go on to be certified double-platinum in the United States for sales of over two million copies in the US and sell four million units worldwide.{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/donna-summer-death-career-pictures-326135/4-bad-girls/|title=Donna Summer: The Disco Queen's Life and Career in Pictures|newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter|date=May 17, 2012|access-date=September 23, 2021|quote=It became the best-selling album of Summer's recording career, selling 4 million copies worldwide, (...)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923045921/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/donna-summer-death-career-pictures-326135/4-bad-girls/|archive-date=September 23, 2021|url-status=live}} At the time, it was the most successful album by a black female artist in history until the releases of Tina Turner's Private Dancer and Whitney Houston's self-titled debut in the 1980s.

During promotion of the album, Summer collaborated with Barbra Streisand on the Paul Jabara composition, "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)", which was featured on Streisand's Wet album. Around the same time, Summer sought to release "Dim All the Lights", which was the first sole composition of her career and had hoped she would earn a number one pop single as a songwriter. However, Casablanca Records president Neil Bogart was reportedly more enthusiastic about the release of "No More Tears". Both songs became hits and appeared in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously, repeating what Summer had done earlier in the year.{{cite book

| first= Joel

| last= Whitburn

| year= 1990

| title= The Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Seventies (30 June - 21 July 1979, 17 November 1979)

| publisher= Record Research, Inc.

| location= Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin

| isbn= 0-89820-076-8}} "Dim All the Lights", however, peaked at number two while "No More Tears" peaked at number one. And while Summer achieved another historic feat by becoming the first female artist to have three number one singles in a calendar year and having recorded seven consecutive top ten hits by then, Summer was angry that Bogart refused to promote "Dim All the Lights" more, leading to a rift between the artist and Casablanca Records.{{Cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=26145 |title=Dim All the Lights by Donna Summer Songfacts | access-date=8 September 2021}}{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/NO%20MORE%20TEARS%20%28ENOUGH%20IS%20ENOUGH%29/ |title=No More Tears (Enough Is Enough): Official Charts Company |work=Officialcharts.com | access-date=9 September 2021}}

Bad Girls resulted in multiple award wins and nominations for Summer. In January 1980, the artist won three more American Music Awards including Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist. At the 1980 Grammy Awards, Summer received the first Grammy Award in the category of Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Hot Stuff", however, she lost the Album of the Year category to Billy Joel's 52nd Street. During 1979, Summer played eight sold-out shows at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. In October, Casablanca released the first worldwide greatest hits compilation set, On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II. The album was remixed with each song on the compilation segueing into the next, featuring "No More Tears" and a newer song, "On the Radio", which was featured in the soundtrack to the film, Foxes. The title track became another top ten hit for Summer, reaching number 5 in early 1980, while the compilation topped the Billboard 200 on January 5. Like her previous albums, the album would be certified platinum.

On January 27, 1980, Summer had her own nationally-televised special, The Donna Summer Special,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/tv/show/46047/Donna-Summer-Special/overview|title=The Donna Summer Special|newspaper=The New York Times}} which aired on ABC. At this point, Casablanca had wanted Summer to continue releasing singles off the Bad Girls album but Summer reportedly wanted to venture out of the genre to record her own songs. Following by the receptive failure of "Walk Away" from the Bad Girls project, Summer sought a new recording deal, later signing with David Geffen's recently-formed Geffen label. Summer later sued Casablanca for $10 million, leading to a countersuit. Summer would end up settling with Casablanca with rights to her song publishings.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3554408/Donna-Summer-too-hot-to-handle.html |title=Donna Summer: too hot to handle |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=June 13, 2008 |access-date=August 20, 2014}}

File:Donna_Summer_(1980-10_Geffen_promo_portrait).jpg

At the time of Summer signing with Geffen, disco experienced a major fallout with the American record buying public. Some radio stations, wanting a return to rock-oriented material, began banning any urban-sounding dance single from playing on the airwaves, which led to many careers that thrived in the disco era to fade from the charts. Summer, who had desired to record different music, took the opportunity to do so on her first Geffen release, The Wanderer, which featured elements of rock, new wave and inspirational music. The title track returned Summer to the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 but the album itself was only moderately successful, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard 200. The album's follow-ups, "Cold Love" and "Who Do You Think You're Foolin'" barely cracked the top 40.{{cite web|author=Harold Faltermeyer|title=Flood Of Memory: The Summer Reign On Sunset Blvd|url=http://Daeida.com|access-date=May 13, 2014}} Still, The Wanderer became Summer's ninth consecutive gold-certified album in the United States. At the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards, Summer won nominations for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance ("Cold Love") and Best Inspirational Performance ("I Believe in Jesus").

In 1981, Summer, Moroder and Belotte had set to work on the next Geffen release. In the middle of production, David Geffen stopped by the studio to preview the album and was told that while the album was a work in progress that it was close to being done. But Geffen, having heard only a few of the finished tracks and others still in demo form, felt the album "wasn't good enough" and cancelled the project. Later, that album would be released under the title, I'm a Rainbow. Geffen felt Summer's music should be aimed more at black audiences and had the singer work with Quincy Jones on what would be her second Geffen release, the eponymously titled Donna Summer album, which was released in 1982. The project was recorded under difficult circumstances for Summer. That year, she was pregnant with her and Bruce Sudano's second child and in May, Neil Bogart died from a bout with cancer at 39. Despite their acrimonious split, Summer sang at Bogart's funeral.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1982/05/12/a-rock-farewell/2d38580c-7fb0-4217-93c1-8eae0ae61534/|title=A Rock Farewell|author=Steve Pond|work=The Washington Post|date=May 11, 1982|accessdate=May 14, 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://mixmag.net/feature/from-the-archive-donna-summer-interview-january-1995|work=Mixmag|title=From the archive: When Donna Summer Made Her Comeback|accessdate=May 14, 2025}}

Upon the release of Donna Summer, the album peaked inside the top 20 and produced the top ten hit, "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)" but, much like The Wanderer before it, its subsequent follow-ups — a cover of the Jon and Vangelis song "State of Independence" and "The Woman in Me" — failed to match it, with "State of Independence" becoming her first single since "Rumour Has It" to not crack the top 40. Around this time, Geffen had been notified by Polygram Records, which now owned Casablanca, that Summer still needed to deliver to them one more album to fulfill her contract. The result was the album, She Works Hard for the Money, produced by Michael Omartian, and released in 1983 on Mercury Records. The title track returned her to the top five of the Hot 100 in three years, peaking at number three, while becoming her second number one single on the Hot Soul Singles chart, where it stayed for three weeks. It received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The video, directed by Brian Grant, was one of the first times that a black female artist achieved a video spinning on heavy rotation on MTV in August 1983. Summer later was nominated for Best Female Video at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards ceremony, losing to Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun". Grant later directed Summer's Costa Mesa HBO concert special, A Hot Summers Night.{{cite news|title=Brian Grant/Directing A Diva (Donna Summer)|first=David|last=St. Mark|work=Daeida Magazine|date=February 2013|pages=12–16}} She Works Hard for the Money peaked at number 9 on the Billboard 200 and would become Summer's eleventh and final album to be certified gold in the United States. Much like Summer's previous post-Casablanca releases, the follow-ups on the album — "Unconditional Love" and "Love Has a Mind of Its Own" — didn't hit the top 40. The ballad, "He's a Rebel", won the singer her third Grammy for Best Inspirational Performance.

Due to his success on She Works Hard for the Money, Geffen hired Michael Omartian to produce Summer's next Geffen release, Cats Without Claws. Though Summer was happy Geffen stayed out of the studio during its recording and thanked him on the album's liner notes, Geffen refused her request to release the track, "Oh Billy Please", for a lead single, choosing to go with her cover of the Drifters' "There Goes My Baby" instead. Cats Without Claws was released on September 11, 1984 and peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200, her lowest to chart in her career at the time. It was the first Summer album to not go gold in the United States.{{cite web |url=http://rogallery.com/Summer_Donna/Summer-biography.html |title=Donna Summer Biography |work=Rogallery |access-date=June 13, 2014}} "There Goes My Baby" was also only a modest hit, reaching number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, her first leading single to not reach the top ten since 1977. The video received heavy rotation on MTV but soon faded from the channel, thus becoming her last video to receive such success.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1984/BB-1984-10-06.pdf|title=Video Music Programming (MTV Adds & Rotation)|date=October 6, 1984|magazine=Billboard|page=24|accessdate=May 14, 2025}} The second single, "Supernatural Love", flopped, peaking at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the video receiving only light rotation on MTV, becoming her last video to air on the channel. Summer earned her fourth Grammy in the inspirational category for the song "Forgive Me" on the album. On January 19, 1985, Summer's sang at the nationally televised 50th Presidential Inaugural Gala the day before the second inauguration of Ronald Reagan.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/01/21/the-super-duper-supernaugural-tvs-rush-to-gush-all-day/9e166bec-5424-49fd-804e-0ace6897cb6f/|title=The Super Duper Supernaugural! TV's Rush to Gush All Day|newspaper=Washington Post|date=January 21, 1985}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-20-mn-10424-story.html|title=Reagan Feted by a Festive Capital : Starts His Day With Snowman, Ends With Gala|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=January 20, 1985}}{{cite web |url=http://carlanthonyonline.com/2013/01/11/reagans-1985-big-chill-inauguration-with-videos-part-7/ |title=Reagan's 1985 Big Chill Sunday Inauguration |first=Carl |last=Anthony |work=Carl Anthony Online |date=January 11, 2013 |access-date=April 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505014618/http://carlanthonyonline.com/2013/01/11/reagans-1985-big-chill-inauguration-with-videos-part-7/ |archive-date=May 5, 2016 |url-status=dead }}

File:Donna Summer C26796-19.jpg

In 1986, Harold Faltermeyer wrote the title song for a German ski movie called Fire and Ice, and thought Summer would be ideal to sing the song. He decided to reach out to Summer and, although she was not interested in singing the song, she was very much interested in working with Faltermeyer again. After a meeting with Geffen, the impresario was on board with the project. Summer's main objective for the album was that it have stronger R&B influences; Faltermeyer who had just finished doing the soundtracks to Top Gun and Fletch, was after a tough FM-oriented sound. On completion, Geffen liked what he heard, but his executives did not think there were enough songs that could be deemed singles. They wanted Faltermeyer to produce "Dinner with Gershwin", but he was already busy with another project, so another producer was found. They also substituted a previous recording called "Bad Reputation", songs like "Fascination", fell by the wayside. Geffen had shared the vision of moving Summer into the R&B market as a veteran artist, but these expectations were not met. Faltermeyer, in a 2012 interview with Daeida Magazine, said, "She was an older artist by then and the label's priority may have been on the youth market. The decision was made afterward by executives who were looking for a radio hit for 1987 and not something that would perhaps last beyond then."{{cite news|title=Harold Faltermeyer Flood of memory: The Summer reign on Sunset Blvd|first=David|last=St. Mark|work=Daeida.com|date=October 2012|pages=13–28}} Label president Ed Rosenblatt would later admit: "The company never intended to focus on established superstars".{{cite web|work=Los Angeles Times|date=April 16, 1989|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-04-16-ca-2322-story.html|title=Donna Summer: New Label, New Hit?|first=Paul|last=Grein|access-date=June 13, 2014}} The album All Systems Go became Summer's lowest charting studio album to date, reaching number 122. The single "Dinner with Gershwin" stalled at 48 in the US, though it became a hit in the UK, reaching number 13; the title track reached 54 in the same country.{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/16574/donna-summer/ |title=Donna Summer |publisher=Official Charts |access-date=January 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130180533/https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/16574/donna-summer/ |archive-date=November 30, 2024}}

For Summer's next album, Geffen Records hired the British hit production team of Stock Aitken Waterman (or SAW), who enjoyed success writing and producing for such acts as Kylie Minogue, Bananarama, and Rick Astley, among others. The SAW team described the working experience as a "labor of love", and said it was their favorite album of all that they had recorded. Geffen decided not to release the album Another Place and Time, and Summer and the label parted ways in 1988. The album was released in Europe in March 1989 on Warner Bros. Records, which had been Summer's label in Europe since 1982. The single "This Time I Know It's for Real" became a top ten hit in several countries in Europe, prompting Warner Bros.' sister company, Atlantic Records, to sign Summer in the US. The single peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first top ten single in six years, her fourteenth top ten hit in general, and her last; it also became her twelfth single to be certified gold in the US. Despite this, there was no successful follow-ups in the US and the album also declined to gold in Summer's home country, though in the UK, the album would be certified gold and produced two more hits in the country — "I Don't Wanna Get Hurt" and "Love's About to Change My Heart", — reaching numbers 7 and 20, respectively.ITV1/network/The Hit factory: The Stock, Aitken and Waterman Story/Documentary/true story/air date 2012-08-06/ During the same year of that album's release, Summer and husband Sudano had been in talks to do a new kind of reality-based sitcom. It would be based on their own hectic household. At the time, they lived with their children Amanda, Brooklyn and Mimi, two sets of in-laws, and a maid. The television network started changing the premise of the show, making it less funny. Sudano added, "and because we were an interracial couple, they didn't want us to be married anymore". In 1989, this was "an issue. So with that mentality we just backed out of it."{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3554408/Donna-Summer-too-hot-to-handle.html|first=Craig|last=McLean|date=June 13, 2008|title=Donna Summer: too hot to handle|work=The Telegraph|access-date=July 25, 2021}} {{subscription required}}

In 1990, a Warner compilation, The Best of Donna Summer, was released (no US issue). The album went gold in the UK after the song "State of Independence" was re-released there to promote the album. A remix of the Another Place and Time track "Breakaway" was released from the same album, becoming a major hit in Latin America.{{Cite web |title=A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 64: If I Have To Stand Alone to Breakaway on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ep-64-if-i-have-to-stand-alone-to-breakaway/id1565879477?i=1000633781103 |access-date=2023-11-12 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-AU}} Despite this success, Summer rejected Sudano's advice that she should record a second album with SAW, insisting that she wanted to make an R&B record. The following year, Summer worked with producer Keith Diamond emerged with the album Mistaken Identity, which included elements of R&B as well as new jack swing. The title track, "When Love Cries", hit number 18 on the Hot R&B Singles chart but peaked at number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would be eight more years until Summer reached the Hot 100 again. The song subsequently became Summer's last to reach the R&B charts. Mistaken Identity was Summer's first album to not make the Billboard 200 and only reached number 97 on the Top R&B Albums chart. A year later, in 1992, Summer received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.{{cite web |url=http://www.hwof.com/star/recording/donnasummer |title=Find a Star :: The Hollywood Walk of Fame |publisher=Hwof.com |access-date=August 20, 2014 |archive-date=August 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808140151/http://www.hwof.com/star/recording/donnasummer |url-status=dead }}

That year, Summer reunited with Giorgio Moroder on the song "Carry On", featured on the Polygram release, The Donna Summer Anthology, released the following year.{{cite web |url=http://www.meetchristians.com/new/tr_fr_view_thread.php?TID=1323086&r=&F=2/ |title=Discussion forum... View Thread |publisher=Meetchristians.com |access-date=August 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821124041/http://www.meetchristians.com/new/tr_fr_view_thread.php?TID=1323086&r=&F=2%2F |archive-date=August 21, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}{{Unreliable source?|date=April 2021}} Summer reunited with Michael Omartian on her first holiday album, Christmas Spirit. In 1995, the song, "Melody of Love (Wanna Be Loved)", featured on the compilation, Endless Summer: Donna Summer's Greatest Hits, reached number one on the US Dance Club Songs chart and number 21 in the UK.{{Unreliable source?|date=April 2021}} During this time, Summer had role on the sitcom Family Matters as Steve Urkel's (Jaleel White) Aunt Oona. She made two appearances, season 5's "Aunt Oona" and season 8's "Pound Foolish". In 1998, Summer received the first Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording, after a remixed version of her 1992 collaboration with Giorgio Moroder, "Carry On", was released in 1997. In 1999, Summer was asked to do the Divas '99 concert special, which featured other music legends such as Cher, Tina Turner and Whitney Houston, but when she met with the producers, it was decided that they would do a special of Summer in concert by herself. Summer taped a live television special for VH1 titled Donna Summer – Live & More Encore, producing the second-highest ratings for the network that year, after their annual Divas special. A CD of the event was released by Epic Records and featured two studio recordings, "I Will Go with You (Con te partirò)" and "Love Is the Healer", both of which reached No. 1 on the US dance charts. The former track returned her back to the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 79, it would be Summer's 32nd and final Hot 100 entry.

File:Nobel Peace Price Concert 2009 Donna Summer3.jpg 2009]]

In 2000, Summer participated in VH1's third annual Divas special, dedicated to Diana Ross; she sang the Supremes hit "Reflections", and her own material for the show. "The Power of One" is a theme song for the movie Pokémon: The Movie 2000. The dramatic ballad was produced by David Foster and dance remixes were also issued to DJs and became another dance floor success for Summer, peaking at No. 2 on the same chart in 2000. In 2003, Summer issued her autobiography, Ordinary Girl: The Journey, and released a best-of set titled The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer. In 2004, Summer was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame as an artist, alongside the Bee Gees and Barry Gibb. Her classic song, "I Feel Love", was inducted that night as well. In 2004 and 2005, Summer's success on the dance charts continued with the songs "You're So Beautiful" and "I Got Your Love". In 2004, Summer re-recorded 'No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)' with the Irish pop band Westlife (with a live performance) for the compilation album, DiscoMania.

In 2008, Summer released her first studio album of fully original material in 17 years, entitled Crayons. Released on the Sony BMG label Burgundy Records, it peaked at No. 17 on the US Top 200 Album Chart, her highest placing on the chart since 1983. The songs "I'm a Fire", "Stamp Your Feet" and "Fame (The Game)" all reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Dance Chart. The ballad "Sand on My Feet" was released to adult contemporary stations and reached No. 30 on that chart. Summer said, "I wanted this album to have a lot of different directions on it. I did not want it to be any one baby. I just wanted it to be a sampler of flavors and influences from all over the world. There's a touch of this, a little smidgeon of that, a dash of something else, like when you're cooking."{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/philpedia/donna-summer |title=About the Performer Donna Summer |work=Hollywood Bowl |publisher=Los Angeles Philharmonic Association |access-date=14 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330004219/http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/philpedia/donna-summer |archive-date=March 30, 2016 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }} On December 11, 2009, Donna Summer appeared at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert for Barack Obama.{{YouTube|id=DK4Q9J01FQs|title=Donna Summer Live at Nobel Peace Prize Concert – 11 December 2009}}

On July 29, 2010, Summer gave an interview with Allvoices.com wherein she was asked if she would consider doing an album of standards. She said, "I actually am, probably in September. I will begin work on a standards album. I will probably do an all-out dance album and a standards album. I'm going to do both and we will release them however we're going to release them. We are not sure which is going first."{{cite web |url=http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6418552-donna-summer-exclusi-ve-interview-bringing-her-summer-tour-to-hard-rock-live-on-august-18 |title=Entertainment |publisher=Allvoices.com |date=August 10, 2014 |access-date=August 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714164617/http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6418552-donna-summer-exclusi-ve-interview-bringing-her-summer-tour-to-hard-rock-live-on-august-18 |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |df=mdy-all }}

In August 2010, Summer released the single "To Paris With Love", co-written with Bruce Roberts and produced by Peter Stengaard. The single went to No. 1 on the US Billboard Dance Chart in October 2010. That month, Summer also appeared on the PBS television special Hitman Returns: David Foster and Friends. In it, Summer performed with Seal on a medley of the songs "Un-Break My Heart", "Crazy", and "On the Radio" before closing the show with "Last Dance".{{cite web|title=Hitman Returns: David Foster & Friends|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/hitman-returns-david-foster-friends-preview-the-show/1075/|website=Great Performances|date=February 22, 2011|publisher=PBS|access-date=12 April 2017}} On September 15, 2010, Summer appeared as a guest celebrity, singing alongside contestant Prince Poppycock, on the television show America's Got Talent.{{Citation |title=Donna Summer perform with Prince Poppycock on America_s Got Talent FINALE.mpg | date=September 16, 2010 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MqtV34F-xE |language=en |access-date=2022-07-07}} Also in 2010, Summer recorded a version of the Dan Fogelberg song "Nether Lands" for a Fogelberg tribute project. According to a comment on Fogelberg's website, the song had great personal significance for Summer.{{Cite web|url=https://www.danfogelberg.com/a-tribute-to-dan-fogelberg|title=A Tribute To Dan Fogelberg|first=Jean|last=Fogelberg|website=Danfogelberg|access-date=October 3, 2020|archive-date=April 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412011429/https://www.danfogelberg.com/a-tribute-to-dan-fogelberg|url-status=dead}}

File:Donnasummer2011.jpg

On June 6, 2011, Summer was a guest judge on the show Platinum Hit, in an episode entitled "Dance Floor Royalty". In July of that same year, Summer was working at Paramount Recording Studios in Los Angeles with her nephew, the rapper and producer O'Mega Red. Together they worked on a track titled "Angel".{{cite web |title=Angel (feat. Donna Summer) |url=https://open.spotify.com/track/3XEL8kLgyYOPQ0WXWsFXjX?si=d3c15ba2b60d4893 |website=Spotify |access-date=12 April 2022}} On December 11, 2012, after four prior nominations, Summer was posthumously announced to be one of the 2013 inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,{{cite news|url=http://rockhall.com/pressroom/announcements/2013-inductees/|title=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Announces 2013 Inductees|work=Rockhall.com|publisher=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|date=December 11, 2012|access-date=December 11, 2012|archive-date=December 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214014529/http://rockhall.com/pressroom/announcements/2013-inductees/|url-status=dead}} and was inducted on April 18, 2013, at Los Angeles' Nokia Theater.

A remix album titled Love to Love You Donna, containing new remixes of some of Summer's classics, was released in October 2013.{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/gb/album/love-to-love-you-donna/711598547|title=iTunes – Music – Love To Love You Donna by Donna Summer|publisher=iTunes|date=October 18, 2013}} "MacArthur Park" was remixed by Laidback Luke for the remix collection; it was also remixed by Ralphi Rosario, which version was released to dance clubs all over America and successfully peaked at No. 1, giving Summer her first posthumous number-one single, and her sixteenth number-one on the charts.{{cite web|url=http://hangout.altsounds.com/news/163401-donna-summers-macarthur-park-2013-remix-1-a.html |title=Donna Summer's 'Macarthur Park 2013' Remix #1 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs Chart – #AltSounds |publisher=Hangout.altsounds.com |date=December 17, 2013 |access-date=August 20, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720151423/http://hangout.altsounds.com/news/163401-donna-summers-macarthur-park-2013-remix-1-a.html |archive-date=July 20, 2014 }} In 2021, Summer's estate released a reedited version of her ninth studio album I'm a Rainbow, subtitled Recovered & Recoloured. The new edition is reduced to 10 tracks (15 on vinyl and streaming releases), with each song remixed by contemporary producers and remixers.{{Cite web|title=Donna Summer / I'm A Rainbow: Recovered & Recoloured – SuperDeluxeEdition|date=June 25, 2021 |url=https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/donna-summer-im-a-rainbow-recovered-recoloured/|access-date=2021-07-20|language=en-US}} Her self-titled album was re-released in 2022 by Summer's estate subtitled as 40th Anniversary Edition.

In 2023, Summer's She Works Hard For The Money album was re-released with additional mixes to commemorate the album's 40th Anniversary. That same year, a documentary revolving around Summer and her career, Love to Love You, Donna Summer, directed by her daughter, Brooklyn Sudano and Roger Ross Williams had its world premiere at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2023, and was released in May 2023, on HBO.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/12/donna-summer-documentary-polygram-entertainment-chief-david-blackman-interview-news-1234892669/|title=Polygram Entertainment Launches Donna Summer Doc Project, With Singer's Daughter Brooklyn Sudano And Oscar Winner Roger Ross Williams Directing|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Matthew|last=Carey|date=December 16, 2021|access-date=May 21, 2023}}{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/global/donna-summer-documentary-disney-animation-berlinale-special-1235506284/|title=Donna Summer Documentary, Disney Animation Celebration Complete Berlinale Special Lineup|magazine=Variety|first=Elsa|last=Keslassy|date=January 30, 2023|access-date=May 21, 2023}}{{cite press release|url=https://pressroom.warnermedia.com/ca/media-release/hbo-0/hbo-original-documentary-love-love-you-donna-summer-debuts-may-2023|title=HBO Original Documentary LOVE TO LOVE YOU, DONNA SUMMER Debuts May 2023|publisher=Warner Bros. Discovery|date=February 3, 2023|access-date=May 21, 2023}}

{{criticism section|date=May 2025}}

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In the mid-1980s, Summer was embroiled in a controversy when she allegedly made anti-gay remarks about the relatively new disease AIDS at a 1983 concert (it was not clear what was originally said with the statements changing, over time and in different publications).{{Cite web |last=Scanlon |first=Kelly |date=2023-11-23 |title=The misconstrued homophobic reputation of Donna Summer |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-misconstrued-homophobic-reputation-of-donna-summer/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}

According to Far Out there is little evidence to suggest that Summer actually said these statements.

In 1989, Summer told The Advocate magazine, "A couple of the people I write with are gay and they have been ever since I met them. What people want to do with their bodies is their personal preference."{{cite magazine |last=Groover |first=D.L. |year=2008 |title=Summer Fans, Some Are Not |url=http://www.outsmartmagazine.com/cms-this_issue/200507--Summer+Fans,+Some+Are+Not.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031092517/http://www.outsmartmagazine.com/cms-this_issue/200507--Summer%2BFans%2C%2BSome%2BAre%2BNot.html |archive-date=October 31, 2007 |access-date=July 14, 2008 |magazine=OutSmart magazine}}

In July 1989, ACT UP activists at a Boston Gay Pride event protested the playing of a Donna Summer song, chanting "shame, shame, shame".{{Cite web |last=Staley |first=Peter |date=2012-06-12 |title=Donna Summer's Letter to ACT UP |url=https://www.poz.com/blog/donna-summers-letter-to-act-up |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=POZ |language=en}} On July 26, Summer sent a letter to ACT UP apologizing for the statements that they were "a terrible misunderstanding", closing the letter with a quote from the bible (Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians).{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rrsDAAAAMBAJ&q=donna+summer+aids&pg=PA38 |title=Gay Community Frowns on Disco Diva Donna Summer |date=September 18, 1989 |publisher=Johnson Publishing Company |page=38 |access-date=July 17, 2011}}

Summer also later stated, "I never said, 'If you are gay, God hates you.' Come on... Be real. I don't understand that. Anybody who really knows me knows I wouldn't say that."

A few years later, she filed a lawsuit against New York magazine when it printed an old story about the rumors as fact, just as she was about to release her album Mistaken Identity in 1991.{{cite web |last=Burnett |first=Richard |url=http://www.ottawaxpress.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=15092 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907102338/http://www.ottawaxpress.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=15092 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 7, 2012 |title=Donna Summer – The Queen is back |work=Ottawaxpress.ca |date=May 18, 2012 |access-date=August 20, 2014 }} According to a Biography television program dedicated to Summer in which she participated in 1995, the lawsuit was settled out of court although neither side wanted to divulge any details.{{Cite episode|title=Donna Summer|series=Biography|credits=Ruben Norte (w/prod)|network= A&E|air-date=February 9, 1995|season=8|number=15}}{{cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/people/donna-summer-9499073?page=2|title= Donna Summer |publisher= A&E Networks|year= 2012|work=Biography.com|access-date=May 22, 2012}}

File:Donna Summer Bruce Sudano Giorgio Moroder Beverly Hills.jpg, Summer, her husband Bruce Sudano, and Moroder]]

Summer was raised in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.[http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/entertainment/music/12007498685651/friends-family-mourn-the-loss-of-donna-summer/ Whdh.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105231112/http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/entertainment/music/12007498685651/friends-family-mourn-the-loss-of-donna-summer/ |date=November 5, 2013 }}

Summer is reportedly a distant cousin of fellow singer Bobby Brown, whose family was raised at the Roxbury area of Boston in the 1960s and 1970s.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0113140/bio/|title=Bobby Brown - Biography - IMDb|work=IMDb|accessdate=May 15, 2025}}

She married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer in 1973, and gave birth to their daughter Natalia Pia Melanie "Mimi" Sommer,{{cite web |last=Badger |first=Sylvia |title=Donna Summer's daughter weds amid flowers, lace |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1995/06/30/donna-summers-daughter-weds-amid-flowers-lace/ |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=June 30, 1995 |access-date=May 26, 2012 |archive-date=July 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723105643/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-06-30/features/1995181168_1_donna-summer-wedding-reception-wedding-party |url-status=live }} the same year; Summer then began performing under the name "Donna Sommer", which later changed to "Donna Summer" after her name was referred to as such as her first single "The Hostage" was released in 1974. In 1976, after three years of marriage, they divorced.

Summer married Brooklyn Dreams singer-guitarist Bruce Sudano on July 16, 1980."Singer Donna Summer Gives Birth," (Bridgewater, NJ) The Courier-News, January 9, 1982, p. A2. They had two daughters together, Brooklyn Sudano and Amanda Sudano.{{cite news|last1=Malan|first1=Jamie|title=Johnnyswim Confirms a Fall Tour|url=https://m.axs.com/johnnyswim-confirms-a-fall-us-tour-103445|website=AXS|access-date=22 July 2017}} The couple would remain married until Summer's death.

Summer was also one of the founding members of Oasis Church in Los Angeles.{{cite news|title=Mosaic Oasis|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 12, 2015 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/fashion/mosaic-oasis-hillsong-churches-los-angeles.html|last1=Marikar |first1=Sheila }}

Summer and her family moved from the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1995,{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18187083 |title=Disco star Donna Summer's funeral held |work=BBC News |date=May 24, 2012 |access-date=August 20, 2014}} where she took time off from show business to focus on painting, a hobby she had developed in the 1980s.

Summer died on May 17, 2012, aged 63, at her home in Naples, Florida, from lung cancer.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/18/arts/music/donna-summer-queen-of-disco-dies-at-63.html|title=Donna Summer, Queen of Disco Who Transcended the Era, Dies at 63 |last=Pareles |first=Jon |date=May 17, 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=May 18, 2012}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2012/05/17/disco-legend-donna-summer-reported-dead/slfNC5YOHQ96yTCHhoIeHJ/story.html|title=Boston-bred pop star Donna Summer dies at 63|author=James Reed|work=The Boston Globe|date=May 17, 2012|access-date = May 20, 2012}} Being a nonsmoker,{{cite news|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/non-smoker-donna-summer-died-of-lung-cancer/951381/|title='Non smoker' Donna Summer died of lung cancer|newspaper=Indian Express|date=May 19, 2012|access-date=July 22, 2017}} Summer thought that the cancer had been caused by inhaling toxic fumes and dust from the September 11 attacks in New York City; she was in her apartment near Ground Zero when the attacks occurred.{{cite news|url=https://theprovince.com/health/donna-summer-and-911|title=Donna Summer And 9/11|last=Pospisil|first=Rudy|date=12 May 2012|work=The Province|access-date=6 July 2019}}{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/9273396/Queen-of-Disco-Donna-Summer-thought-she-became-ill-after-inhaling-911-particles.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/9273396/Queen-of-Disco-Donna-Summer-thought-she-became-ill-after-inhaling-911-particles.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title='Queen of Disco' Donna Summer 'thought she became ill after inhaling 9/11 particles' |first1=Mark |last1=Hughes |first2=Andrew |last2=Hough |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=17 May 2012}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2012/05/18/people-donna-summer-blamed-911-for-lung-cancer/|title=People: Donna Summer blamed 9/11 for lung cancer|website=Mercurynews.com|date=May 18, 2012|access-date=October 3, 2020}} However, some reports have instead attributed the cancer to Summer's smoking during her younger years, her continued exposure to second-hand smoking while performing in clubs well after she had herself quit the habit, and a predisposition to this disease in the family.{{Cite web |last=Parker |first=Mike |date=February 24, 2019 |title=9/11 'did not kill Donna Summer' |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/sunday-express-1070/20190224/282119227825865 |access-date=October 3, 2020 |via=PressReader}}

Summer's funeral service was held in Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, on the afternoon of May 23, 2012.{{cite news| url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/23/showbiz/donna-summer-funeral/index.html|work=CNN|title=Donna Summer's friends gather for disco queen's funeral |author=Alan Duke |date=May 24, 2012 |access-date=May 25, 2012}} The exact location and time of the service were kept private.{{cite news|date=May 23, 2012|title=Friends and Family Gather for Donna Summer's Funeral|author=Derrick Bryson Taylor|publisher=Essence|url=http://www.essence.com/2012/05/23/friends-and-family-gather-for-donna-summers-funeral|access-date=May 25, 2012}} Several hundred of Summer's friends and relatives attended the funeral, according to CNN. The funeral was a private ceremony, and cameras were not allowed inside the church. She was interred in the Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens cemetery in Nashville.{{cite web|url=http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/23/donna-summer-funeral-program/ |title=Donna Summer – The Funeral Program |publisher=TMZ.com |date=May 23, 2012 |access-date=August 20, 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/donna-summer-laid-to-rest-28752681.html |title=Donna Summer laid to rest |publisher=BelfastTelegraph.co.uk |date=May 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005061530/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/donna-summer-laid-to-rest-28752681.html |access-date=August 20, 2014|archive-date=October 5, 2013 }}

File:DonnaSummerMemorial.PNG]]

Singers and music industry professionals around the world reacted to Summer's death.{{cite news|date=May 18, 2012|title=Memories of Donna's Disco Nights|author=Jacob Bernstein |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/fashion/memories-of-donna-summer-from-her-disco-days.html|access-date=May 19, 2012 }}{{cite news| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-donnasummer-reactions-idUSBRE84G1EJ20120518|work=Reuters|first=Piya|last=Sinha-Roy|title=Reactions to the death of Donna Summer|date=May 18, 2012}} Gloria Gaynor said she was "deeply saddened" and that Summer was "a fine lady and human being".{{YouTube|id=BAEr-5ceqVM|title=Disco siren Donna Summer dies at the age of 63}} Liza Minnelli said, "She was a queen, The Queen Of Disco, and we will be dancing to her music forever." She said that her "thoughts and prayers are with her family always." Dolly Parton said, "Donna, like Whitney, was one of the greatest voices ever. I loved her records. She was the disco queen and will remain so. I knew her and found her to be one of the most likable and fun people ever. She will be missed and remembered."

Janet Jackson wrote that Summer "changed the world of music with her beautiful voice and incredible talent." Barbra Streisand wrote, "I loved doing the duet with her. She had an amazing voice and was so talented. It's so sad." Quincy Jones wrote that Summer's voice was "the heartbeat and soundtrack of a generation."

Aretha Franklin said, "It's so shocking to hear about the passing of Donna Summer. In the 1970s, she reigned over the disco era and kept the disco jumping. Who will forget 'Last Dance'? A fine performer and a very nice person."{{cite news|date=May 17, 2012|title=Celebrities react to the death of Donna Summer|work=U.S. News & World Report|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/entertainment/articles/2012/05/17/celebrities-react-to-the-death-of-donna-summer|access-date=May 20, 2012}} Chaka Khan said, "Donna and I had a friendship for over 30 years. She is one of the few black women I could speak German with and she is one of the few friends I had in this business." Gloria Estefan averred that "It's the end of an era", and posted a photo of herself with Summer. Mary J. Blige said that Summer was "truly a game changer".{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rihanna-mary-j-blige-flea-and-more-remember-donna-summer-182504/ |title=Rhihanna, Mary J. Blige, Flea and more remember Donna Summer |date=May 17, 2012 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=January 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712134345/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rihanna-mary-j-blige-flea-and-more-remember-donna-summer-182504/ |archive-date=July 12, 2018}} Lenny Kravitz wrote "Rest in peace Donna, You are a pioneer and you have paved the way for so many of us. You transcended race and genre. Respect. Lenny".

Beyoncé wrote a personal note: "Donna Summer made music that moved me both emotionally and physically to get up and dance. You could always hear the deep passion in her voice. She was so much more than the queen of disco she became known for, she was an honest and gifted singer with flawless vocal talent. I've always been a huge fan and was honored to sample one of her songs. She touched many generations and will be sadly missed. My love goes out to her family during this difficult time. Love, B".{{cite web|url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/05/18/beyonce-donna-summer-personal-note/|title=Beyoncé Says Goodbye To Donna Summer In Personal Note|work=RapFix|access-date=May 2, 2015|archive-date=May 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518094149/http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/05/18/beyonce-donna-summer-personal-note/|url-status=dead}}

David Foster said, "My wife and I are in shock and truly devastated. Donna changed the face of pop culture forever. There is no doubt that music would sound different today if she had never graced us with her talent. She was a super-diva and a true superstar who never compromised when it came to her career or her family. She always did it with class, dignity, grace and zero attitude. She lived in rare air ... She was the most spectacular, considerate, constant, giving, generous and loving friend of 35 years. I am at a total loss trying to process this tragic news."{{cite web|url=http://ca.eonline.com/news/317403/donna-summer-s-family-extinguishes-reports-that-smoking-caused-disco-queen-s-death |title=Donna Summer's Family Extinguishes Reports That Smoking Caused Disco Queen's Death |date=May 18, 2012 |work=Ca.eonline.com |access-date=August 20, 2014}}

US President Barack Obama said, "Michelle and I were saddened to hear about the passing of Donna Summer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Donna truly was the 'Queen of Disco.' Her voice was unforgettable and the music industry has lost a legend far too soon. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Donna's family and her dedicated fans."{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/05/17/statement-president-passing-donna-summer |title=Statement by the President on the Passing of Donna Summer | The White House |date=May 17, 2012 |via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov |access-date=August 20, 2014}}

Summer was honored at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards ceremony. Singer Natasha Bedingfield honored Summer, calling her "a remarkable woman who brought so much light and who inspired many women, including myself, through her music. And if we can remember her through her music, this will never really be the last dance." After her statement, she began to sing "Last Dance", Summer's Academy Award-winning song.{{Cite web|url=http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/21/11793386-billboard-awards-cut-off-donna-summer-tribute-to-go-to-commercial?lite|title=msnbc.com Entertainment – Billboard Awards cut off Donna Summer tribute to go to commercial|date=May 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523115137/http://entertainment.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/21/11793386-billboard-awards-cut-off-donna-summer-tribute-to-go-to-commercial?lite|access-date=October 3, 2020|archive-date=May 23, 2012}} As she sang the song, photos of Summer were displayed on a screen overhead.

Fans paid tribute to Summer by leaving flowers and memorabilia on her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.{{Cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/videogallery/70001898/Entertainment/Fans-pay-tribute-to-Donna-Summer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521070412/http://www.latimes.com/videogallery/70001898/Entertainment/Fans-pay-tribute-to-Donna-Summer|url-status=dead|title=Los Angeles Times|website=Los Angeles Times |archive-date=May 21, 2012|access-date=October 3, 2020}} A few days after her death, her album sales increased by 3,277%, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Billboard magazine reported that the week before she died, Summer sold about 1,000 albums. After her death that number increased to 26,000.{{cite news|date=May 14, 2012|title=Donna Summer's Album Sales Increase by More than 3,000%|author=ABC News Radio|publisher=ABC News Radio|url=http://www.classichitsandoldies.com/v2/2012/05/24/donna-summers-album-sales-increase-by-more-than-3000|access-date=May 25, 2012|archive-date=October 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005015611/http://www.classichitsandoldies.com/v2/2012/05/24/donna-summers-album-sales-increase-by-more-than-3000/|url-status=usurped}}

According to singer Marc Almond, Summer's collaboration with producer Giorgio Moroder "changed the face of music".{{cite web|title=Digital Spy|website=Digital Spy |date=May 17, 2012|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a382224/donna-summer-1948-2012-reaction-and-tributes.html|access-date= May 20, 2012}}

As a recording artist, Summer either set or broke many chart records. During her late 1970s and early 1980s heyday, Summer scored eight consecutive top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, the most by a female artist since Brenda Lee and The Supremes in the 1960s. Summer was the first female artist in chart history to score three number one singles in a calendar year on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979. Summer at least landed a top 40 single on the Hot 100 in ten calendar years (1975-1984). In a seven year period (1976-82), she scored more top ten hits than any act of that era with twelve.{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/donna-summers-enduring-billboard-chart-successes-1096524/|title=Donna Summer's Enduring Billboard Chart Successes|work=Billboard|date=May 17, 2012|accessdate=May 14, 2025}} Between November 11, 1978 and January 5, 1980, Summer scored three consecutive number one albums on the Billboard 200 (Live and More, Bad Girls and On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II). Summer is the only artist to have three number one double albums.

Between 1976 and 1979, Summer was the top disco act on the Billboard year-end lists four times in a row. She is the sixth most successful artist in the history of the Dance Club Songs chart, recording 16 number one singles alone on the chart.{{cite magazine|title=Donna Summer Dance Club Songs Chart History|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/donna-summer/chart-history/dsi/|magazine=Billboard|access-date=12 December 2020}} Summer is one of a selected group of artists to achieve a number one hit on the Billboard charts in five or more decades (1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s), joining Cher, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Madonna.

She became a cultural icon and her prominence on the dance charts, for which she was referred to as the Queen of Disco, made her not just one of the defining voices of that era, but also an influence on pop artists from Madonna to Beyoncé. Unlike some other stars of disco who faded as the music became less popular in the early 1980s, Summer was able to grow beyond the genre and segued to a pop-rock sound. She had one of her biggest hits in the 1980s with "She Works Hard For the Money", which became another anthem, this time for women's rights, and later was included in the Songs of the Century list by the RIAA and NEA.{{cite web|title=Songs of the Century|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/07/list.top.365.songs/|work=CNN|access-date=March 9, 2013|date=March 7, 2001}} Her 1975 hit "Love to Love You Baby" was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list. Summer was the first black woman to be nominated for an MTV Video Music Award.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/donna-summer-queen-of-disco-dead-at-63-2-488352/ |title=Donna Summer, queen of disco, dead at 63 |date=May 17, 2012 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=January 19, 2025}}

In May 2012, it was announced that "I Feel Love" was included in the list of preserved recordings at the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.{{cite news|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/donna-summer-and-the-grateful-dead-added-to-national-recording-registry/|title=Donna Summer and the Grateful Dead Added to National Recording Registry|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 23, 2012 |access-date=August 20, 2014}} Her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame page listed Summer as "the Diva De Tutte Dive, the first true diva of the modern pop era".{{cite web|url=http://rockhall.com/inductees/donna-summer/bio|title=Donna Summer Biography|work=Rockhall.com|publisher=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|access-date=December 13, 2012|archive-date=December 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218051813/http://rockhall.com/inductees/donna-summer/bio/|url-status=dead}}

In 2018, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, a biographical musical featuring Summer's songs, began performances on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre,{{cite news|last1=Chow|first1=Andrew|title=A Donna Summer Musical Heads to Broadway|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/theater/donna-summer-musical-broadway.html|access-date= January 25, 2018|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 19, 2017}} following a 2017 world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego.{{cite news|last1=Hetrick|first1=Adam|title=What Did Critics Think of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical World Premiere?|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/what-did-critics-think-of-summer-the-donna-summer-musical-world-premiere|access-date= October 23, 2018|work=Playbill|date=November 21, 2017}}

In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Summer at number 122 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.{{Cite magazine|date=1 January 2023|title=The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/donna-summer-10-1234642995/|access-date=4 May 2023|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}

In 2023, HBO released the documentary "Love to Love You, Donna Summer",{{Cite web|url=https://www.hbo.com/movies/love-to-love-you-donna-summer|title=Love to Love You, Donna Summer | Official Website for the HBO Documentary | HBO.com|website=Hbo.com|access-date=December 29, 2023}} directed by filmmaker Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano, daughter of Donna Summer. In 2024, Summer was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

{{Main article|Donna Summer discography}}

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

;Studio albums

• Lady of the Night (1974)
• Love to Love You Baby (1975)
• A Love Trilogy (1976)
• Four Seasons of Love (1976)
• I Remember Yesterday (1977)
• Once Upon a Time (1977)
• Bad Girls (1979)
• The Wanderer (1980)
• Donna Summer (1982)
• She Works Hard for the Money (1983)
• Cats Without Claws (1984)
• All Systems Go (1987)
• Another Place and Time (1989)
• Mistaken Identity (1991)
• Christmas Spirit (1994)
• I'm a Rainbow (1996)
• Crayons (2008)

{{div col end}}

{{div col}}

• Once Upon a Time Tour (1977–1978)
• Bad Girls Tour (1979)
• The Wanderer Tour (1981)
• Hard for the Money Tour (1983)
• The Rainbow Tour (1984)
• Silver Girl Tour (1986)
• All Systems Go Tour (1987)
• Mistaken Identity Tour (1991–1992)
• Endless Summer Tour (1995)
• Mid Summer Nights Dream Tour (1996–1998)
• Live & More Encore Tour (1999)
• Greatest Hits Tour (2005–2007)
• Crayons Tour (2008)

{{div col end}}

{{main|List of awards and nominations received by Donna Summer}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{commons category|Donna Summer}}

• {{Official website|http://www.donnasummer.com|Donna Summer}} – official site
• {{Discogs artist}}
• {{IMDb name|0838595}}

• {{tcmdb name|id=186860|name=Donna Summer}}
• {{find a Grave|90273935}}
• {{NYTtopic|people/s/donna_summer/|Donna Summer}}
• {{Guardian topic}}

{{Donna Summer discography}}

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{{American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist}}

{{American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist}}

{{Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording}}

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