CineScope
Donna Summer picture

Donna Summer

Acting
Known For

63 Years Old

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.

Born

Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 31st December 1948

Died

17th May 2012

All Credits

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Image
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
Viña del Mar International Song Festival Image
Viña del Mar International Song Festival
Self - Musical Guest
Sacrée soirée Image
Sacrée soirée
Self
Champs-Elysées Image
Champs-Elysées
Self
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche Image
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self
The Mike Douglas Show Image
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
Family Matters Image
Family Matters
Aunt Oona
Where Are They Now? Image
Where Are They Now?
Self
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest Image
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest
Self
No Image
Disco
Self
Intimate Portrait Image
Intimate Portrait
Self
Numéro un Image
Numéro un
Self
Starparade Image
Starparade
Self
TV Story Superstar Image
TV Story Superstar
Self (archive footage)
Dinah! Image
Dinah!
Self
The Early Show Image
The Early Show
Self
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées Image
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
Self (archive footage)
Van Oekel's Discohoek Image
Van Oekel's Discohoek
Self
No Image
Lahaye d'honneur
Self
11 Uhr 20 Image
11 Uhr 20
Sängerin in Kasbah
The Grammys Image
The Grammys
Self
70 Years of Youth Revolt Image
70 Years of Youth Revolt
Self (archive footage)
The Sparks Brothers Image
The Sparks Brothers
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
No Image
4 gegen Willi
Self
No Image
Show & Co. mit Carlo
Self
Thank God It's Friday Image
Thank God It's Friday
Nicole Sims
Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's Image
Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's
Self
Disneyland's 30th Anniversary Celebration Image
Disneyland's 30th Anniversary Celebration
Self
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président Image
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
Self (archive footage)
Hit Man Returns - David Foster & Friends Image
Hit Man Returns - David Foster & Friends
Self
The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's Image
The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's
Self (archive footage)
Do I Look Like a Lady? (Comedians and Singers) Image
Do I Look Like a Lady? (Comedians and Singers)
Self (archive footage)
Rona Barrett Looks at 1978 Image
Rona Barrett Looks at 1978
Self
No Image
The Power of One: The Pokémon 2000 Movie Special
Self
Women in Rock Image
Women in Rock
Self (archive footage)
Love to Love You, Donna Summer Image
Love to Love You, Donna Summer
Self (archive footage)
Walt Disney World's 25th Anniversary Party Image
Walt Disney World's 25th Anniversary Party
Self
Les Enfants de la Pop 80's Image
Les Enfants de la Pop 80's
Self (archive footage)
Donald Duck's 50th Birthday Image
Donald Duck's 50th Birthday
Self
Disco Europe Express Image
Disco Europe Express
Self - Singer (archive footage)
Donna Summer - Live and More Encore! Image
Donna Summer - Live and More Encore!
Self
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances: Million Sellers Image
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances: Million Sellers
Self
Burt Sugarman's The Midnight Special: 1976 Image
Burt Sugarman's The Midnight Special: 1976
Self
Rhythm Divine - History of Disco Music Image
Rhythm Divine - History of Disco Music
Self (archive footage)
High Energy: Disco on Amphetamines Image
High Energy: Disco on Amphetamines
Self - Singer (archive footage)
Stock Aitken Waterman: Legends of Pop Image
Stock Aitken Waterman: Legends of Pop
Self
VH1 Divas 2000: A Tribute to Diana Ross Image
VH1 Divas 2000: A Tribute to Diana Ross
Self
Soul Divas Image
Soul Divas
Self
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances: More 1978 Image
The Midnight Special Legendary Performances: More 1978
Self
Songs From the Neighborhood: The Music of Mister Rogers Image
Songs From the Neighborhood: The Music of Mister Rogers
Self
Best of Disco Star Parade 70-80 Image
Best of Disco Star Parade 70-80
self
Listen to the Music Image
Listen to the Music
Self (as Donna Best)
The Donna Summer Special Image
The Donna Summer Special
Self
Best of Night of the Proms Vol. 2 Image
Best of Night of the Proms Vol. 2
Self
Donna Summer - Live & More Collection Image
Donna Summer - Live & More Collection
Donna Summer: Live Image
Donna Summer: Live
Self
Donna Summer - Live from New York Image
Donna Summer - Live from New York
A Hot Summer Night with Donna Image
A Hot Summer Night with Donna
Self