History Music / DonnaSummer

* ''I'm a Rainbow'' (1981). Recorded in 1981, but shelved. Bootlegged copies were circulated for years. Officially released in 1996. Never a major sales hit, but well-received by music critics and Summer's fanbase.

** ''Four Seasons of Love'' has "Spring Affair" (8:29) and "Summer Fever" (8:06). ''I Remember Yesterday'' is when she abandoned this trope and started focusing on songs of more conventional length.

* Early Installment Weirdness: Donna might be known as the queen of disco, but you would never know it listening to her first album, 1974's ''Lady of the Night''. This debut was much more of a rural feeling folk pop record, with some light influences from country of all genres. It wasn't until the followup album, ''Love to Love You Baby'', when her true musical direction was born.

* VisualPun: The trope image was used for the cover art to the "On The Radio" single as well as a similarly titled GreatestHitsAlbum - note that she's literally on a radio.

* VisualPun: The trope image was also used for the cover art to the "On The Radio" single as well as a similarly titled GreatestHitsAlbum - note that she's literally on a radio.

* VisualPun: The trope image was also used for the cover art to the "On The Radio" single as well as a similarly titled GreatestHitsAlbum - note that she's literally on top of a radio.

* 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 an 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

* AwardBaitSong: "The Power Of One" for ''Anime/Pokemon2000''.

* ForegoneConclusion: Summer believed her lung cancer was brought on by inhaling the particles that were the result of the 9/11 hijackers crashing their planes into the original World Trade Center towers on that day. Summer had an apartment in New York City by the former Trade Center towers that she was actually in on that day, and somehow, she predicted that 9/11 would happen.

* IntercourseWithYou: She's mostly remembered for these kinds of songs, as it was the theme for some of her biggest hits: "Love To Love You Baby", "Hot Stuff", "I Feel Love",...
** The rest ("Heaven Knows," "On the Radio," etc.) mostly fell under SillyLoveSongs.

* RearrangeTheSong: Her signature song, ''Love to Love You Baby'' was more or less inspired by ''Je t'aime... moi non plus''(literally meaning ''I Love You... Me Neither''), which was originally performed by British singer and actress Jane Birkin and her then-husband LMusic/SergeGainsbourg. A 1969 controversial, but internationally-famous French pop song.

* UrbanLegend: For more than 30 years, it was rumored that she actually despised gays, despite becoming one of the first gay icons of disco music. The rumors started after she became a born-again-christian. Those who attended some of her concerts since claimed to have heard her make horrible statements about gays, like how the AIDS virus was God's gift to gays. Many, if not all right-wing Christian Conservatives (of which Summer was one, according to Radio/RushLimbaugh), have been known to despise gays, and some even go so far as to believe that AllGaysArePedophiles. Even now, after her death, these rumors still circulate. Donna herself denied making such comments and apologized for the pain they caused.

Donna Summer (born LaDonna Adrian Gaines, December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012) ...ah, how to describe her?

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

* AwardBaitSong: "The Power Of One" for ''Anime/PokemonTheMovie2000''.

* ''She Works Hard for the Money'' (1983). Certified gold. The titular song, conceived as a tribute to the working woman, became her greatest hit of TheEighties. Her popularity increased when its music video became a hit with the {{MTV}} audience.

[=LaDonna=] Gaines was born in UsefulNotes/{{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 Giorgio 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}}, {{Soul}} and ElectronicMusic to massive success. She soon broke from {{Disco}}.

* BreakawayPopHit: "Last Dance" from ''Thank God It's Friday'', in which she both acted and sang.
* CareerResurrection: Her single "Bad Girls" brought her back in the limelight in mid-2004, thanks to ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' and Portia [=DeRossi's=] pole dancing.
** There was also a brief one in the late 90's, thanks to ''Film/TheFullMonty'' and its use of "Hot Stuff."

* RearrangetheSong: Her signature song, ''Love to Love You Baby'' was more or less inspired by ''Je t'aime... moi non plus''(literally meaning ''I Love You... Me Neither''), which was originally performed by British singer and actress Jane Birkin and her then-husband LMusic/SergeGainsbourg. A 1969 controversial, but internationally-famous French pop song.

* ''Christmas Spirit'' (1994). Album mostly featuring traditional ChristmasSongs, performed in the style of SoulMusic. A few original songs were included, though nothing particularly memorable.

* ''I Remember Yesterday'' (1977). Certified platinum.

* ''Bad Girls'' (1979). Certified platinum. Her best selling album overall, and called her best.

* TheImmodestOrgasm: In "Love to Love You Baby".

* IntercourseWithYou: She's mostly remembered for these kinds of songs, as it was the theme for some of her biggest hits.

* RearrangetheSong: Her signature song, ''Love to Love You Baby'' was more or less inspired by ''Je t'aime... moi non plus''(literally meaning ''I Love You... Me Neither''), which was originally performed by British singer and actress Jane Birkin and her then-husband Serge Gainsbourg. A 1969 controversial, but internationally-famous French pop song.

-->"Never sell out she never will\\
Not for a dollar bill"

* ''The Wanderer'' (1980). A Music/NewWave-style album. Certified gold.

* UrbanLegend: For more than 30 years, it was rumored that she actually despised gays, despite becoming one of the first gay icons of disco music. The rumors started after she became a born-again-christian. Those who attended some of her concerts since claimed to have heard her make horrible statements about gays, like how the AIDS virus was God's gift to gays. Many, if not all right-wing Christian Conservatives (of which Summer was one, according to Radio/RushLimbaugh), have been known to despise gays, and some even go so far as to believe that AllGaysArePedophiles. Even now, after her death, these rumors still circulate.