Donna Summer

Donna Summer
Summer in December 2009
Background information
Birth name	LaDonna Adrian Gaines
Also known as	Queen of Disco First Lady of Love Donna Gaines Donna Sudano
Born	(1948-12-31)December 31, 1948 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	May 17, 2012(2012-05-17) (aged 63) Naples, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Disco rock dance R&B
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter painter actress
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1968–2012
Labels	Oasis Casablanca Geffen Atlantic Mercury WEA Epic Burgundy United Artists
Associated acts	Giorgio Moroder Brooklyn Dreams Paul Jabara Bruce Sudano Barbra Streisand Quincy Jones Bruce Springsteen David Foster Michael Omartian Matthew Ward Harold Faltermeyer Mickey Thomas Liza Minnelli Bruce Roberts Omega Red (rapper) Darwin Hobbs Ziggy Marley

LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012), known by her stage name Donna Summer, was an American singer, songwriter, painter, and actress. She gained prominence during the disco era of the late 1970s. A five-time Grammy Award winner, she was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach No. 1 on the United States Billboard 200 chart and charted four number-one singles in the U.S. within a 12-month period. Summer has reportedly sold over 140 million records, making her one of the world's best-selling artists of all time. She also charted two number-one singles on the R&B charts in the U.S. and one number-one in the U.K.

Summer earned a total of 32 hit singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in her lifetime, with 14 of those reaching the top ten. 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. 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". Her most recent Hot 100 hit came in 1999 with "I Will Go With You (Con Te Partiro)". While her fortunes on the Hot 100 waned through those decades, Summer remained a force on the U.S. Dance/Club Play Songs chart over her entire career.

While influenced by the counterculture of the 1960s, she became the front singer of a psychedelic rock band named Crow and moved to New York City. Joining a touring version of the musical Hair, she left New York and spent several years living, acting, and singing in Europe, where she met music producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.

Summer returned to the U.S., in 1975 after the commercial success of the song "Love to Love You Baby", which was followed by a string of other hits, such as "I Feel Love", "Last Dance", "MacArthur Park", "Heaven Knows", "Hot Stuff", "Bad Girls", "Dim All the Lights", "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" (duet with Barbra Streisand), and "On the Radio". She became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music gained a global following.