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Fans pay tribute to Queen of Disco Donna Summer

Fans pay tribute to Queen of Disco Donna Summer

FANS have paid tribute to the Queen of Disco Donna Summer who passed away aged 63.

It is understood the singer had been battling lung cancer.

Ms Summer, who was born LaDonna Adrian Gaines, was always destined to be a singer, but what she never envisaged was the influence she was to have on the disco scene of the 1970s.

As a young girl she sang in church with her great talents, even then, being evident. She went on to sing in bands and musical theatre. 

After missing out on a role in the New York production of Hair, a young Summer was asked to appear in the show’s run in Munich. She was to remain in Germany for several years — appearing in a number of musicals in the early 1970s. 

Around this time she began to work with producers Giorgio Moroder and Peter Bellotte. 

After Ms Summer came up with an idea for a song based on the lyric “love to love you, baby”, Moroder developed it into a track which he asked her to record as a demo. At this point the intention was for another singer to record the track for release. But Moroder abandoned the plan when he realised the demo represented an outstanding recording in its own right. 

Love To Love You Baby reached Number 2 in the US in early 1976 with the follow-up album becoming a million-seller and launching Ms. Summer on the road to becoming Queen of Disco.

Her many other hits include I Feel Love (see below), Hot Stuff, She Works Hard for the Money and This Time O Know It’s Real.

Ms Summer went on to become a 5-time Grammy Award winner. 

Tributes were led by President Obama who said: “Her voice was unforgettable. The music industry has lost a legend far too soon.”

To see of footage of Donna Summer performing I Feel Love, click here.

 

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