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Why Donna Summer was "one of the original rock stars"

Discussion in 'Free Fire Zone' started by Kai-Petri, Dec 7, 2021.

  1. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    Why Donna Summer was "one of the original rock stars"

    Every musician has a heyday period with which they are most closely associated. But for Donna Summer, this imperial phase defines her more than most. Thanks to a string of indelible hits in the late 1970s – including Love to Love You Baby, I Feel Love, Last Dance, Bad Girls and On the Radio – she is invariably described as the "Queen of Disco". It's a title Summer deserves, because she definitely became the pre-eminent artist of the disco era – but it's one that also feels a bit reductive. Clearly, there's more to Summer's life and career than her purple patch alone. "Donna Summer is iconic because of her authenticity as a performer, look and pioneering style," says Jillian Hervey of alt-R&B duo Lion Babe. "Her sound transformed music and her freedom of expression has inspired female artists from the bottom up.

    Hervey isn't exaggerating in the slightest. When Summer died of lung cancer on 17 May 2012, artists including Kylie Minogue, Solange and Katy B lined up to say she had inspired them. Her music has been referenced by everyone from Beyoncé, who interpolated Love to Love You Baby on her 2003 hit Naughty Girl, to pop-rock band Texas, who sampled Summer's Love's Unkind on this year's single Mr Haze. Singer-songwriter Jessie Ware hailed Summer as a major influence on her acclaimed 2020 album What's Your Pleasure?, saying: "She just had this power and this femininity and flirtation I was so obsessed with. And I kind of wanted to have all that on this record." The singer's music remains such a touchstone that the title of her 1994 greatest hits album, Endless Summer, is tough to argue with.
     
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  2. Half Track

    Half Track Well-Known Member

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    I loved it, Last Dance, I “dig it”! Is that cool now? She was awesome, there was a “hop” Castle Rock it was called, Saturday nights, never forget, me and the wife, we could “cut a rug!”
     
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  3. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    She had so many hits, oh boy! For me the starting point was " I feel love ". I played the song umpteen times....
     
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  4. CAC

    CAC Ace of Spades

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    That bit of magic is in my top 50...

     
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