ADVERTISEMENT

Donna Summer Dead: Disco Legend Dies at 63 After Battle With Cancer

Posted on May 17th 2012 12:35PM by Dan Reilly
Comments

Donna Summer DeadGetty Images

As reported by Spinner, Donna Summer has died following a battle with cancer, according to TMZ. The 63-year-old disco legend reportedly passed away this morning (May 17) in Florida.

Summer is known for her many hits, including "Hot Stuff," "Last Dance," "She Works Hard for the Money" and "Bad Girls," among many others, and won five Grammys over the course of her career.Born Donna Gaines and raised in Boston, Summer began singing in her church and decided to pursue a career in music in the late '60s. After performing in musicals in Europe, she released her first single, "Sally Go 'Round the Roses," under her birth name in 1971. That year, she married actor Helmuth Sommer, whose name she would keep -- and anglicize the spelling of -- after they divorced in 1975.

That same year, Summer had her first big success was with the song "Love to Love You Baby," which caused some controversy due to her orgasmic moaning. The track was also released as a 17-minute single in order to get more play in disco clubs and hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. That song was the first in a series of singles to top or make it to the top 10 on the Billboard Dance charts.

In 1978, Summer hit No. 3 on the singles chart with "Last Dance," a song taken from the disco-themed movie "Thank God It's Friday," in which she acted. She then had her first No. 1 single with "MacArthur Park," and topped the chart three times in 1979 with "Hot Stuff," "Bad Girls" and "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)," a duet with Barbra Streisand. "Last Dance" and "Hot Stuff" also won Grammys.

Around this time, she also battled anxiety and depression, which led to a prescription-drug addiction and several suicide attempts. She kicked the habit, became a born-again Christian and married singer and producer Bruce Sudano in 1980.

Summer strayed from her disco sound in the '80s, opting for a more rock, New Wave and R&B-oriented sound. Her greatest success of that era was 1983's She Works Hard for the Money, the title track of which went to No. 3.

She is survived by Sudano, their two daughters, Brooklyn and Amanda, and her daughter with Sommer, Mimi.

Remembering Donna Summer Through Photos
See All Music Galleries »


Watch "Donna Summer Dead at the Age of 63"



Watch Donna Summer's "Last Dance" Video


All the Donna Summer info you want to know

Rush in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…

Spinner

Jordan Strauss, Invision LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rush fans can relax. The band is…

Rock Hall of Fame 2013 Performers &…

Spinner

Jason Merritt, Getty Images LOS ANGELES (AP) - John Mayer, Christina Aguilera…

Hey, You Stole My Look: Solange…

AOL Music Blog

Getty Images | Amazon.com The always stylish Solange seems to be channeling a…

Rock & Roll 2013 Hall of Fame: Public…

The Boombox

Astrid Stawiarz/WireImage Public Enemy has been awarded a spot into the Rock…

See all Donna Summer »

Add a Comment

Sign in »
*0 / 3000 Character Maximum

2 Comments

Filter by:
paulbeetex

dico was fun

February 07 2013 at 7:52 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Andrew J. Serna

Disco Sucks

May 18 2012 at 11:14 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ADVERTISEMENT


Follow AOL Music on Tumblr

AROUND THE WEB

Free Mobile Music

CATEGORIES





Also on AOL

Your Settings

{email}

Subscriptions

Weekly Newsletter

AOL Music Blog news in your mailbox. Top Articles, reviews, photos & more.

Realtime alerts

Daily alerts


Update
Cancel