Donna Summer has sadly passed away at the age of 63.
Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines, Summer achieved stardom with singles ‘Love to Love You Baby’, ‘Last Dance’, ‘Hot Stuff’, and ‘She Works Hard for the Money’.
However, it was for the Giorgio Moroder-produced ‘I Feel Love’ that she remains best known, a record which Brian Eno described as “the sound of the future” when he first heard it played in 1977.
He went on to claim that the record – with its pioneering ethereal vocals, mechanised beats, sequenced arpeggios and ostinato basslines - would “change the sound of club music for the next fifteen years", a prediction that proved more or less correct.
Summer was also the first artist to have three double albums reach No. 1 on Billboard's album chart: Live and More, Bad Girls, and On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II. She became a cultural icon, not only as one of the defining voices of the era, but also as an influence on pop divas ranging from Madonna to Beyoncé.
Summer continued to find chart success throughout the 00s and into the new decade, and was rumoured to have been booked for London’s Lovebox Festival in June.
Following a battle with cancer, Summer died yesterday at her home in Naples, Florida. She is survived by her husband Bruce Sudano, their daughters Brooklyn and Amanda, as well as her daughter Mimi from a previous marriage.
