Died On This Date (May 17, 2012) Donna Summer / Disco Icon
themusicsover Donna Summer (Born LaDonna Gaines)
December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012
Donna Summer was a world-renowned American R&B singer who hit her stride during the disco era. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Summer, with her mezzo-soprano vocal range, needed very little studio trickery for her vocals. Coming of age in Boston during the early ’60s, Summer spent countless hours listening to records by and imitating the likes of the Supremes and Martha & the Vandellas. By then she had already been singing in church gospel groups. As the ’60s rolled on, Summer discovered the powerhouse vocals of Janis Joplin, who, along with the early girl groups, influenced her own singing. Upon hearing Joplin sing on her Big Brother and the Holding Company records, she decided that’s what she wanted to do, so she joined her first band as lead singer, the psychedelic rock outfit, Crow. That brought her to New York City where she focused on Broadway. Her first role of significance was in the European company of Hair!. In 1975, Summer cut her first record, “Love To Love You Baby,” which although banned by most American radio stations due to its raw sexuality, became an instant smash in Europe. From there it was a deal with Neil Bogart’s Casablanca Records who began pumping an extended version of the song to underground discos and Summer’s massive gay following was born. She went on to release several albums that helped define the disco era and became the first artist to have three consecutive #1 albums that were two-record sets. During the ’80s, Summer broke away from disco by adding a more rock sound to her records, and even though she had tracks on the soundtracks for the blockbuster films, Flashdance and Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the decade was not terribly kind to her. She continued to make records well into the 2000s – some faring better than others, but for the most part were very well received. Throughout her career, Summer was recognized with five Grammy awards (17 nominations), three multi-platinum albums, 11 gold albums, an NAACP Image Award, and six American Music Awards. Her songs have been covered (or sampled) by Sheena Easton, David Guetta, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and many more. Donna Summer passed away after a long struggle with cancer on May 17, 2012. She was 63.
What You Should Own
Phil Seymour was a singer, songwriter and musician who gained a following during the new wave era thanks to such power pop classics as “Precious To Me” as well as “I’m On Fire” from his days fronting the Dwight Twilley Band. Seymour grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he met Dwight Twilley, another aspiring musician at a 1967 screening of the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night. The struck up a friendship and a musical partnership that would eventually get them signed to Shelter Records who in 1975, released their first single, “I’m On Fire” which reached #16 on the Billboard singles chart. They would record just two classic albums together before Seymour went of on his own. Before the release of the first of his two solo albums, Seymour did session work, playing drums on power pop icons 20/20’s debut album, as well as singing backing vocals on 
Neil Bogart is best remembered as co-founder of Casablanca Records, the one time home of such acts as KISS, Angel, Donna Summer, the Village People, Parliament and Cher. Casablanca was one of the labels closely associated with the rise of disco. In the late ’70s, Bogart founded Boardwalk Records which he hoped would be to new wave what Casablanca was to disco. Joan Jett was one of the flagship artists of the label. Bogart died of lymphoma at the age of 39.