Legends of Rock & Roll: Donna Summer

By James Hoag

Donna Summer seemingly rose from nowhere to become the Queen of Disco in the Seventies. She recorded the sexy song that could only be played after midnight, "Love to Love You, Baby" and became an overnight success. There was a smoldering sexuality about Donna Summer that the record companies constantly tried to exploit. But, Donna just wanted to a simple God-fearing girl.

Her life was not without its trials, but Donna was at the top of her game in the Seventies and the Eighties. When disco fell out of favor, she switched to a more rock and roll format and just kept going.

Winner of Grammys and American Music Awards, she hit the Top 40 twenty times. She had several number one hits, like the iconic "MacArthur Park," "Bad Girls," and "Hot Stuff."

All the Legends of Rock & Roll books are essentially biographies, but I am interested primarily in the music. You'll find that the emphasis is on the music, how it came to be, who wrote it and performed it and any juicy tidbits about any given song or album.

If you're a fan of Donna Summer or of disco or enjoy the music of the Seventies and Eighties, scroll up and buy now. You will enjoy it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Hoag
• Release date: May 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311987495

James Hoag

James Hoag has always been a big fan of Rock & Roll. Most people graduate from high school and then proceed to "grow up" and go on to more adult types of music. James got stuck at about age 18 and has been an avid fan of popular music ever since. His favorite music is from the Fifties, the origin of Rock & Roll and which was the era in which James grew up. But he likes almost all types of popular music including country music.After working his entire life as a computer programmer, he is now retired and he decided to share his love of the music and of the performers by writing books that discuss the life and music of the various people who have meant so much to him over the years.He calls each book a "love letter" to the stars that have enriched our lives so much. These people are truly Legends.

Book preview

Legends of Rock & Roll – Donna Summer

By

James Hoag

~~~

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2016 by James Hoag

Discover other titles by James Hoag at Smashwords.com

Cover by James Hoag

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Publishers Notes

Disclaimer

Legends of Rock & Roll – Donna Summer Copyright 2016 James Hoag.

All rights reserved.

No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without written permission from the publisher. The only exception is for a reviewer. A reviewer may quote brief passages in a review.

Published by

www.number1project.com

Monument Marketing Publishing LTD.,

53 Hanover Dr., Orem, Utah 84058

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Early Years

Singing for Others

A New Opportunity

Hair

A New Chapter

Giorgio Moroder

Love to Love You, Baby

Coming Home

Promoting

Guy Problems

Thank God It’s Friday

MacArthur Park

Romance Becomes First Priority

Bad Girls

Enough Is Enough

She Works Hard for the Money

The Last Albums with Geffen

Taking Time Off

New Century

The End of a Legend

Legacy of Donna Summer

Afterword

Selected Discography

About the Author

Introduction

Have you seen the movie The Martian starring Matt Damon? He is stranded on Mars and the only music he has available is disco music from the Seventies. At the end of the film, he says to his Commanding Officer, You have terrible taste in music. Now, the line is meant to be funny, but a lot of people hate disco, so why am I writing a book about Donna Summer, the Queen of Disco? Because I love disco. Always have, always will. Hopefully, since you’re reading about Donna Summer, you do, too. Disco was king in the Seventies, and I loved every minute of it.

Donna Summer was known as the Queen of Disco. She didn’t have her first Top 40 hit until 1975, but her career goes back much further than that. She was performing when she was nineteen, in 1967. It seemed she came out of nowhere and hit the music scene with a bang. However, like most performers, she took a few years to get started. Yet once she had her first hit, she was off and running.

One thing that impresses me about Donna Summer: she is a truly good person. When you think of rock-and-roll and the typical rock performer, you might think of sex, drugs, and all the rest of that scene. Well, if you’re expecting a lot of dirt in the Donna Summer story, you will be disappointed. She is and, as far as I can tell, always has been a God-loving person who never did drugs or drank too much. Of course, she was not perfect. She slipped a few times and has faults like anyone else. I have tried not to be too critical of her. And yet, her story is interesting. She came from a humble background and rose to be a giant in the music industry.

Born in 1948, Donna died of lung cancer in 2012. It was certainly a tragedy for the music world and for all of us listeners. During her 63 years, she produced some of the most danceable, fun to listen to music ever produced.

Presenting Donna Summer, the Queen of Disco….

The Early Years

It probably would not surprise you to know that Donna Summer is not her real name; at least, it is not the one with which she was born. Donna was born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on December 31, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts. Her father was Andrew Gaines, and her mother was Mary Ellen Davis. Andrew fought in World War II. After coming home, he bummed around at different jobs until he met Mary. They married in the late Forties and started their family.

Donna was the third of four children born to the Gaines family. An older daughter, Jeanette, came first, followed by a son, Ricky. Then Donna was born followed by her younger sister, Amy. The Gaines were raising four children in the early Fifties and sometimes it was hard to put food on the table. Donna says they never went hungry though. Dad loved to fish and when the food ran out, he would go fishing, many times bringing home enough fish to feed the family for a week.  

Her father was the son of a Preacher and so religion was a strong part of her early upbringing. However, unlike so many other people, Donna held on to her beliefs right until the day she died. She says she realized there really was a God when she was five years old and that feeling never went away.

Donna and her family lived in the projects in Boston until she was about six years old. One day when Donna was coming home from school, someone shot her in the face with a pellet gun, just missing her eye. She says that the family was scared and very upset. It was at about this time that the family decided to move to a safer place. I’m not