History Music / DonnaSummer

* ''Once Upon a Time'' (1976). Certified platinum.

* ''Love to Love You Baby'' (1975). Her break-through album. Certified gold album. The album was named after its major song, which became an international hit.
* ''A Love Trilogy'' (1976)
* ''Four Seasons of Love'' (1976)

* ''Lady of the Night'' (1974)
* ''Love to Love You Baby'' (1975)

* ''Lady of the Night'' (1974).

* ExecutiveMeddling: After the major success of "Love to Love You Baby", Summer's label, Casablanca Records, wanted her to act as a sex symbol. Initially, despite unease, Summer went with the public image and followed the label's every instruction on what to wear, how to act and even what doctors and lawyers to use. This eventually led to CreatorBreakdown, and after recovery, Summer changed record labels to {{Geffen}} and became a born-again Christian.

* SignatureSong: "Last Dance".

->"Mommy, what's wrong with the lady on the record? Why is she moaning? Is she hurt?"

* SignatureTune: "Last Dance".

She died at her home in Florida after a battle with lung cancer on May 17, 2008.

[=LaDonna=] Gaines was born in Boston and originally trained as a gospel singer before becoming successful in RAndB and {{Pop}} as well. Her big break came when she met producers Girgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, who managed her for the rest of TheSeventies, and recorded the single "Love to Love You Baby" (1975). She made several concept albums before reaching her peak with ''Bad Girls'' (1979), a double album that mixed RockAndRoll, {{Funk}}, {{Blues}}, Music/{{Soul}} and ElectronicMusic to massive success. She soon broke from disco.

[[caption-width-right:350:"On the Radio", literally]]

[[caption-width-right:350:On the radio]]

[[caption-width-right:350:The undisputed Queen of Disco]]

She died after in her home in Florida after a long battle from Lung Cancer on May 17, 2008.

[=LaDonna=] Gaines was originally trained as a gospel singer before becoming successful in RAndB and {{Pop}} as well. Her big break came when she met producers Girgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, who managed her for the rest of TheSeventies, and recorded the single "Love to Love You Baby" (1975). She made several concept albums before reaching her peak with ''Bad Girls'' (1979), a double album that mixed RockAndRoll, {{Funk}}, {{Blues}}, Music/{{Soul}} and ElectronicMusic to massive success. She soon broke from disco.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/summer.jpg
-->"Mommy, what's wrong with the lady on the record? Why is she moaning? Is she hurt?"
--->A Last.FM user on ''Love to Love You Baby''. Presumably, this is what he said when he first heard the song.

* ButNotTooBlack: [[AvertedTrope Averted]], possibly due to her gaining fame in the {{Blaxploitation}} era.

* CareerResurrection: Her single "Bad Girls" brought her back in the limelight in mid-2004, thanks to ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' and Portia [=DeRossi's=] HighOctaneNightmareFuel pole dancing.

Donna Summer (1948-2012) ...ah, how to describe her?

She's the [[FanNickname Queen of Disco]]! Oh, but so much more.

[=LaDonna=] Gaines was originally trained as a gospel singer before becoming successful in RAndB and {{Pop}} as well. Her big break came when she met producers Girgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, who managed her for the rest of TheSeventies, and recorded the single "Love to Love You Baby" (1975). She made several concept albums before reaching her peak with ''Bad Girls'' (1979), a double album that mixed RockAndRoll, {{Funk}}, {{Blues}}, Music/{{Soul}}, and ElectronicMusic to massive success. She soon broke from disco.

After the 1970s, she had success with songs such as "She Works Hard For the Money" and "This Time I Know It's For Real," although she never recaptured her former glory. Her most recent album, ''Crayons'', was released in 2008.

!!Summer's music and career provides examples of these tropes:

* CareerResurrection: Her single "Bad Girls" brought her back in the limelight in mid-2004, thanks to ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' and Portia DeRossi's HighOctaneNightmareFuel pole-dancing.
* ConceptAlbum: Donna made a few of these during the Seventies and Eighties. ''Four Seasons of Love'' was a short album detailing the stages of a love affair like the changing of seasons, ''I Remember Yesterday'' is a homage to music though the ages to the present and future and "Once Upon a Time" as a whole tells a modern version of the Cinderella story
* ExecutiveMeddling: After the major success of "Love to Love You Baby" Summer's label, Casablanca Records, wanted her to act as a sex symbol. Initially despite unease Summer went with the public image and followed the labels every instruction on what to wear, how to act and even what doctors and lawyers to use. This eventually led to CreatorBreakdown and after recovery Summer changed record labels to {{Geffen}} and became a born again Christian
* TheImmodestOrgasm: In "Love to Love You Baby."
* IncrediblyLongNote: "Dim All the Lights" holds the record for the longest note held in an American Top 40 pop hit at 16 seconds.
* IntercourseWithYou: She's mostly remembered for these kinds of songs as it was the theme for some of her Biggest Hits.

Donna Summer (1948-) ...ah, how to describe her?

[=LaDonna=] Gaines was originally trained as a gospel singer before becoming successful in R&B and pop as well. Her big break came when she met producers Girgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, who managed her for the rest of TheSeventies, and recorded the single "Love to Love You Baby." She made several concept albums before reaching her peak with ''Bad Girls'', a double album that mixed rock, funk, blues, soul, and electronic music to massive success. She soon broke from disco.

Donna Summer...ah, how to describe her?

* CareerResurrection: Her single ''Bad Girls'' brought her back in the limelight in mid-2004, thanks to ''ArrestedDevelopment'' and Portia DeRossi's HighOctaneNightmareFuel pole-dancing.