...“The Last Dance”...A Tribute to Donna Summer

December 31, 1948 - May 17, 2012

Thursday, May 17, 2012, I woke up at 3pm, saw I had a missed call (I'd call them back later) and hopped on Facebook. My friend Laura had posted on my wall “...just heard about Donna Summer”...what about Donna I thought? Just a day or two before I had went on my favorite up to date fan site (www.donna-tribute.com) to see if any tour dates were posted for a Summer tour. Last year, Donna hadn't toured so I figured she was gearing up for a new show this year, but no dates. I typed Donna Summer in the Google search bar and was shocked at what I read “Donna Summer, The Queen of Disco, Dead at 63”.

Donna Summer dead? No, couldn't be. She was only 63 years old and there was nothing mentioned anywhere that she was sick or was having any sort of trouble. Every time I saw Donna in concert she kept looking better and better and when I saw her on the David Foster special last year, she looked phenomenal. Her voice had never been better. Crystal clear and she could belt out the classics as if it were the 70's all over again. Her last album, “Crayons”, had done well on the charts (her first Top 20 album since the mid-80's) and even did a large tour to promote it. I clicked through a few articles and saw the cause of death was lung cancer. Unlike most celebrities who are battling an illness, Donna kept her struggle private.

We lost some very high profile singers in the past few years, most notably Michael Jackson & Whitney Houston. I'm fans of both (more so Whitney's than Michael's to be honest), but they both had been battling their own demons and were in tabloid supermarket headlines. When they passed, it was a shock to many, but there was always that “Well, we knew it'd happen, we just didn't know it'd be this soon” type thing. With Donna, it just came out of left field and everyone was blindsided. In recent weeks it's come out that Donna had kept her cancer private and many of her friends didn't even know what she was going through and were just as shocked at her passing as her fans.  

I've always played Donna regularly and her concerts were a staple of my Summers. I became a fan of Donna Summer in1999 when I watched her VH1 special, “Live & More: Encore!”. It had followed her episode of “Behind The Music” (which was really interesting) and seeing her in concert was an experience. She had the audience captivated and wanting more. They were so happy to be there and were having such a good time. I wanted to be there singing and dancing with them! After the special I went out and brought the “Live & More: Encore!” CD along with all of Donna's albums...cassettes, CDs, vinyl. Donna Summer was called “The Queen of Disco”, but her listening to her catalog of music, her repertoire was wider and she highly under-rated as an song-writer.

Disco, Pop, Rock, Country (she wrote “Staring Over Again”, a big hit for Dolly Parton), Rap, House, Donna conquered all genres and was never afraid to experiment with her sound. She took pride in being a songwriter as well as a singer and wrote/co-wrote many of her hit songs and songs for others.

Despite going 17 years between albums, Summer's popularity never went away and she remained relevant. She may not of put out an album in that time, but she released singles regularly that went to #1 or did very well on the Dance charts. She wrote a memoir entitled “Ordinary Girl” that documented her life from a simple Boston girl to Disco Goddess to being a wife & mother. She loved painting and made a 2^nd career of it doing pretty well for herself. She created a show entitled “Ordinary Girl” that was loosely based on her life for the Broadway stage (although it sadly never made it that far). She made the TV talk show rounds and also was a guest judge on American Idol. Movies, TV shows and commercials featured her songs regularly.

Despite the lack of an album, Donna also never stopped touring. She was constantly on the road pleasing fans far and wide with her energetic shows. She'd of course do the hits but also slip in new singles, new songs that weren't recorded yet and covers. Her tours were never exactly the same and she changed them up a bit.

I've had the pleasure of seeing Donna in concert 5 times. The first being in 2005 in Bethlehem, PA at Musikfest. She emerged up from behind a piano to “She Works Hard For Money” and her set list that year contained songs she hadn't done in years. Despite the scorching hot weather, the yard was packed and everyone was singing and dancing along. I'll never forget her doing the “My Man Medley” from her “Live & More” album, her sizzling medley of “Try Me I Know We Can Make It”, “I Feel Love” and “Love To Love You Baby”. She rocked out to fan favorite, “Cold Love” and even did a bit of her then current single “I Got Your Love”. It was one of the best shows I've seen and it couldn't have been more perfect.

In 2007 she performed at Caesar's Palace in Atlantic City and the show had again changed. One of highlights from that show was her rendition of Sade's song “Pearls”...It was worth the near $120 admission price (and that was for being about 3 rows from back of the venue).

In 2008 with the release of her new album “Crayons, she created a whole new stage show from start to finish. 5 video screens, dancers, new costumes, new set list filled with her hits and album cuts. I saw the show when it opened at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA that Summer. Again, it was a warm night, but the energy was flowing with no signs of slowing down. One of my favorite moments of the night was during the first part of the evening when she did “Con Te Partiro”...she started out the song in Italian and then launched into the dance version. It was one of my favorite Donna moments. In the 2^nd part of the show, Donna did the song “Science of Love” from “Crayons” and it turns out we were one of the few shows that she performed it at.

2009 saw Donna with a variation of the Crayons tour but with a few changes-costume and song wise. She did an appearance at Trump Taj Mahal and I was there as she performed for the packed house. One of the highlights for me from this show was that she performed the standard “Smile”. She dedicated it to Michael Jackson and she sang, images of Michael appeared on the screen behind her.

Her now last tour was in 2010 and she made at stop at Wolf Trap. She looked and sounded better than ever. With this now being the 3^rd time I had seen the tour promoting “Crayons”, I didn't know what to expect, but there were little surprises here and there that made it one of the best performances I saw from her. She had just released a new single, “To Paris With Love” and we were the 2^nd stop on the tour that got to hear it performed live. You could tell she really enjoyed the song and got into it. She also talked of giving Broadway another try and performed a show stopping, standing ovation version of “Don't Rain on My Parade”. As the evening came to a close, the concert ended with, what else? “Last Dance”. Little did I know this would be the last time I'd get to experience a warm Summer night with “The Queen of Disco”.

Looking back, despite losing one of my all time favorites, the positive side is that she left an incredible and long lasting legacy for all to enjoy for years to come.  Her music has always brought me joy and now when I hear her on the radio when I'm out and about, I just smile and think of all the amazing times I had listening to her music.  Throughout her fans worldwide and music lovers everywhere her music will live on and her music will continue to be heard. She is an icon and a pivotal part of music history.

Perez Hilton said it best when he posted of Donna's passing on his site... 

“Rest in peace, Donna. Save us a dance under that disco ball in the sky.”

Wearing my Donna Summer "Crayons" T shirt, kneeling at Donna's signature/hand prints outside of Resorts Casino in Atlantic City August 29, 2009 before her show at Trump Taj Mahal.