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Previously, we discussed our iconic pop queens and how their songs typically fit into distinct categories that hit an emotional button that appeals to gay men.
In this episode, we continue our Gay Icons series with none other than…Donna Summer. Known as the Queen of Disco, Donna is the fourteenth greatest female soloist of all time (according to Billboard) and certainly left her mark on the disco scene.
Additional Resources:
Snarky Opener (0:00)
Toot toot, hey, beep beep. Make way for the Queen of Disco.
Episode Introduction (0:23)
Hello, my LGBTQuties, and welcome back to another episode of A Jaded Gay. I'm Rob Loveless, and today I'm a non-jaded gay because I think in past episodes, I talked about this a little bit.
I've been changing up my workout routine, so I'm not going to the gym every day. I'm doing some fitness classes instead. They're a little bit more fun and engaging.
But really kind of going into this new year, I've been trying to be a little kinder to my body, so I've just been changing up when my workouts are and I'm working on giving my body some time to rest.
So instead of getting up at the ass crack of dawn every morning, I'm letting myself sleep in, like two days during the week.
And then instead of working out six days a week, I'm working out five just to give myself some downtime.
And I don't know if it's because I've been getting older or what, but I've really just kind of been feeling the effects of working out, you know, for six days a week, going to the gym, spending that much time there.
So, I've really been trying to do shorter, more impactful workouts and give my body the rest it needs, and really listen to what it needs.
And it was kind of scary to do that at first, because, you know, I'm so OCD and routine. So, I was afraid that if I changed up my workouts or the frequency of working out, would that change my body?
But, I mean, I don't feel like I've noticed any changes. I think everything's still the same. But the most important thing is I feel energized and I feel good.
And you know, that's the most important.
Donna Summer: The Queen of Disco (1:34)
Anyway, taking it from the gym to the disco tech, I am super excited for another episode of our gay icon series. You know, I love me some disco.
And early in the pandemic, Spotify was just serving me up disco song after disco song. They knew who they were marketing to, and I loved it.
Also, a while back, we had the episode on the queer history of disco, and in that episode, I touched upon Donna Summer. Now, even before I really got into disco—thank you, Spotify—I obviously knew who Donna Summer was.
Like as a kid, I was familiar with her name. You know, everybody knows Hot Stuff and Last Dance. But it wasn't until I really got into disco that I realized how much of a staple she was in the 70s with her music.
And once you get to know more about her, you'll understand why she's referred to as the Queen of Disco.
So, we're going to be discussing her life and career and some controversy.
But before we do, you know the drill, tarot time.
Tarot (2:26)
So, for this episode, we drew The Tower in reverse, and this is kind of a scary-looking card. Basically, you're looking at, obviously, a tower that's struck by lightning.
Some of the tower is falling away. There's a fire going on, and there's two people who have seemingly jumped out the window and are falling.
Now, while this is a really scary-looking card, it's really just indicating that you're really just taking a leap of faith and moving on to something else.
So, something, in this case, The Tower, is being destroyed or falling away, that's kind of forcing you to take a leap of faith into whatever the next chapter may be.
And it's the unknown, but it's a little scary. And that's why it's a Major Arcana card because it's pretty impactful.
Now, when we draw this upright, it's typically tied to upheaval and sudden change, but when we draw it in reverse, it's actually indicating that we're hanging on and we have the fear of letting go and the change we're experiencing, it's a little bit more subtle than suddenly being thrust into a new situation.
So, The Tower is number 16, and in numerology, we add that together. One plus six equals seven, so it's connected to The Chariot.
And again, that's kind of that transformative, energetic number. And when we talked about The Chariot at the beginning of the new year, we were talking about how that card kind of indicates the beginning steps of a journey.
So, The Chariot's not rushing forward or sprinting forward into momentum. It's preparing and taking the beginning steps of a new journey, which really you can see, ties into The Tower.
Now, when we draw this in reverse, it's indicating that we might be making attempts to avoid what's happening.
So, any changes, instead of kind of going along with it, we might be working too hard to hold on to what we had, instead of letting whatever foundations that are no longer serving us fall away as we move on to something new.
But The Tower, it's really pretty reassuring. It's letting us know that we're safe to accept what's happening, even if it feels uncomfortable in the moment.
Because in the end, we need to trust our intuition and know that whatever's happening, we need to trust the timing and the momentum of that and that we are moving forward into something uncertain, but ultimately, that will be beneficial for us.
And also, The Tower is really usually tied to kind of sudden change outside of your control.
So, it might be things around you, whereas The Tower in reverse might be more tied to internal turmoil or situations that we might have more control over, that are now falling away from us.
And this could be anything. It could be an old belief system, old relationships, whatever. But we can't be afraid of letting those go.
We really need to kind of take that time to be intuitive, see what's serving us, what feels right, what feels uncomfortable, and allowing necessary structures to fall apart to yield something better on the horizon for us.
Because ultimately, at the end of the day, when something falls apart, it makes room for future growth and transformation. And speaking of towers and castles, let's talk about the Queen of Disco.
The Queer History of Disco (4:48)
But as a quick refresher from the queer history of disco, remember disco is short for discotheque, which is a French word which originally meant a library of phonograph records.
And discotheque was used to classify certain types of nightclubs in Paris in the 1940s during the Nazi invasion.
You know, previously nightclubs, they usually had bands performing live music, but because of the war and limited resources, they resorted to bringing in record players and playing jazz records.
And then that sound eventually evolved, and new music genres emerged, including R&B, soul, funk, and go-go.
So, these discotheques in Europe started playing these new genres, which created a trend of discotheque dancing, which was soon adopted in the United States as early as 1964.
And the early origins of disco, before it was commercialized, was seen as being inclusive of all races, genders, and sexual orientations.
And for gay men, specifically, disco was a safe haven, because, at the time, there were still police raids on gay bars.
So, in the early days, private discotheques allowed gay men to dance together without the fear of being arrested.
Disco then entered the mainstream around 1974 and really took off in the late 1970s. And the disco movement wasn't only inclusive to clubgoers.
Here's a quick quote from a 2018 BBC article:
“Disco enabled female, gay, black, and Latin artists to define their identities in increasingly fluid ways. Even kitsch hits could prove subversive: the Village People brought macho gay imagery to prime-time entertainment.
Disco also fuelled the global collaborations that we now take for granted in modern music, whether it was the epic Eurodisco of Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder (I Feel Love, 1977), or British Indian producer Biddu.”
And that being said, cue the Queen of Disco.
Donna Summer’s Early Life & Career (6:20)
So LaDonna Adrian Gaines was born on December 31, 1948, in Boston, Massachusetts, and she was the third of seven children.
And I'm just going to refer to her as Donna since that's what she's better known as. Her father was a butcher and her mother was a schoolteacher.
And when she was 10 years old, a vocalist at her church didn't show up, so Donna stepped up, and this was her first time performing.
In high school, she performed in musicals, and just weeks before graduating, she left for New York City and joined a blues rock band called Crow.
A record label was taking a look at them, but passed on signing the group, since they were only interested in the band's lead singer, and the group eventually broke up.
So, Donna stayed behind in New York, and she eventually landed the part of Sheila in a musical called Hair.
Now the production of the show was in Munich in Germany, and she moved there in August 1968, so just shy of 20. And she actually became fluent in German and participated in German musicals.
That year, she released her first single, Aquarius, under the name of Donna Gaines. The single was a German version of the song from the musical Hair.
And in 1969 she released the single If You Walkin’ Alone and in 1971 she released a remake of the 1963 hit song Sally Go ‘Round Roses by the Jaynettes.
Around that time, she also moved to Vienna, Austria, and joined the Vienna Volksoper, which is an opera house. She also toured with an ensemble vocal group called FamilyTree.
And in 1973, Donna married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer in 1973 and gave birth to their daughter Natalia Pia Melanie "Mimi" Sommer.
And though they later divorced in 1976 she kept the last name Sommer. And it's important to note the name Summer spelled S-O-M-M-E-R.
Anyway, moving into 1974, which, again, this aligns when disco began going mainstream, Donna was a model part-time and backing singer in Munich when she met legendary producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.
And this is when the Could It Be Magic begins. And yes, that is a song reference. We'll get to it.
Donna Summer’s Mainstream Success (8:07)
So, the trio formed a working partnership, which continued on throughout her career, and they developed her demo tape, which then turned into a record deal with the European-distributed label Groovy Records. Perfect for the 70s.
And in 1974 she released her debut album, Lady of the Night, and there was an error on the record cover. They spelled her last name, Summer, S-U-M-M-E-R, instead of S-O-M-M-E-R.
And wouldn't you know it, the name stuck. So that's how she got the name Donna Summer.
Now this album was only released in the Netherlands and spawned minor hit singles, The Hostage and Lady of the Fight.
She and Moroder continued to work together, and in 1975 they were working on writing a song together for another artist.
Donna recorded the vocals for the demo version, but when Moroder heard it, he thought her version should be released instead of giving it to another artist. And thank goodness he did.
This time, though, they were aiming for a release in the United States, and it was sent to Henry Bogart, the president of Casablanca Records at the time.
Bogart played it at one of his industry parties, and it was so popular with the crowd that they kept demanding it to be replayed.
So, Bogart requested Moroder to work with Donna on a longer version of the song that could be played at discotheques.
They complied and in November 1975 Donna released a nearly 17-minute version of that song, which is a little-known single you might have heard of called Love to Love You Baby.
And in early 1976 the song went number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the US Dance Charts. And the song caused some controversy due to the moaning and groaning on the track.
In fact, the BBC supposedly banned the song, and its sensor counted 23 orgasms during the song. So good for you, Donna. Anyway, its album, also titled Love to Love You Baby, charted at number 11.
Casablanca quickly worked on getting a follow-up album out, given the success, and on March 5, 1976, she released the album, A Love Trilogy.
It spawned two singles, Could It Be Magic? and Try Me, I Know We Can Make It.
They didn't break the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 but they did chart at number three and number one on the US Dance Charts, respectively.
Also in 1976, she released another album titled Four Seasons of Love, and its singles Spring Affair and Winter Melody also went to number one on the US Dance Charts.
And I love this album. It is great. I mean, when you play it, for all the gays who love Lady Gaga Chromatica, specifically the Chromatica II transition into 911, you would love this, because we have Spring Affair.
It's fun, it's sexy. You can dance to it. And it transitions right into Summer Fever, which is a very sexually charged, aggressive dance song. Love it. And then, while it wasn't a single, Autumn Changes was a bop. So definitely check it out.
And then, in 1977 she released two more albums, I Remember Yesterday and Once Upon a Time.
And with these albums coming out the same year, some of their singles overlapped in terms of their release date.
So chronologically we have:
And that's all from I Remember Yesterday.
Then from Once Upon a Time we have:
And then back to I Remember Yesterday, a final single titled Back in Love was released. So that's nine singles total, and all nine of them went to number one on the US Dance Charts.
And I Feel Love also peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100. And going back to our pop icons on their gay emotional appeal episode, I Feel Love is a great example of a more sexually liberated song with futuristic sounds.
So really combining that sexually charged appeal and a sense of escapism in the music.
Then, in 1977 she also released a song Down Deep Inside, which was the theme for an adventure film called The Deep.
That year, she also embarked on the Once Upon a Time tour, which was her first solo tour. And in 1978 she starred in the musical disco comedy film, Thank God It's Friday.
Now, this movie tells several intertwining stories of the patrons of a fictional disco club in LA.
In it, Donna plays Nicole Sims, who is an inspiring disco singer, and she keeps trying to get the club's DJ to play her music. Eventually, she's able to sneak up on stage and scores a huge triumph singing her song.
Now, this movie received terrible reviews, but it was a win for Donna because that song her character Nicole gets to sing in it became a single which you might have heard of.
It's called Last Dance, an essential Donna Summer bop. It also went number one on the US Dance Charts and number three on the US Hot 100.
Donna also won her first Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for Last Dance.
Also in 1978, she released her first live album called Live and More, which features the singles MacArthur Park and Heaven Knows.
Both singles went number one on the US Dance Charts, and MacArthur Park also went number one on the Billboard Hot 100 which was her first topping single. Heaven Knows also peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
And Live and More was her first album to go number one on the US charts, and she became the first female artist of the modern rock era to have the number one single on the Hot 100 and number one album on the Billboard 200 charts simultaneously.
Bad Girls: One of the Greatest Disco Albums of All Time (12:49)
And then we get to 1979, toward the end of the disco era, but not without some major disco bops.
On April 25, 1979, Donna released the album Bad Girls, which is widely considered to be the greatest disco record of all time.
Now, while disco music was still popular, other styles like punk and heavy metal were doing well on the charts.
So, she and her longtime partners, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, decided to incorporate some rock into the album, and the result was universal acclaim from music critics.
It spawned the singles:
All three went number one on the dance charts, shocker. And Hot Stuff and Bad Girls also went number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Dim All the Lights peaked at number two on that same chart.
The album Bad Girls also went number one. And for the week of June 16, 1979, she once again had a number-one single on the Hot 100 and the number-one album on the Billboard 200 chart.
And I actually have the Bad Girls album on vinyl, and I love this. I got it, like, two years ago, I think, from a local record store. It had been like a special edition reprint for Record Day. And it's amazing.
I mean, this is another one where every song transitions into the next. It's like 80 minutes of continuous music, I believe.
Literally, when Bad Girls comes on, I become a different person. Like, toot toot, beep beep.
I start shaking my tits. I'm like Charlotte from Sex and The City when she's drunk at that fireman's ball in Long Island and dancing like crazy to the song.
If you know, you know. It, it's just amazing. And I mean, while we're talking about transitions, the transition from Hot Stuff into Bad Girls.
I mean, like chef's kiss. Amazing. Listen to it. Can't recommend it enough.
Anyway, in October of 1979, she released her first greatest hits album, which spawned the singles No More Tears (Enough is Enough), which is a duet with Barbra Streisand, and that went on to number one on both the US Dance Charts and the Hot 100.
And the second single On the Radio went number eight on the US Dance Charts and number five on the Hot 100.
Disco’s Rapid Decline (14:37)
Now for those of you who listened to the queer history of disco episode, you probably remember that the decline of disco was pretty quick.
It had become the most popular genre of music for about a decade, and some people were sick of it, which resulted in anti-disco sentiments such as Disco Sucks and Death to Disco.
And on July 12, 1979, Disco Demolition Night happened at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Radio DJs Steve Dahl and Garry Meier had approached the White Sox with an idea for a comical anti-disco event as a form of satirical retaliation against the reformatting of radio stations that changed from rock music to playing only disco.
They advertised that they would offer 98 cent tickets for anyone who brought a disco record. And then they would collect these records, put them in a dumpster, and blow it up.
And I think I said this in the queer history of disco episode, but I'll say it once again. White straight men and explosives? What could possibly go wrong?
So, they expected around 15,000 people, and instead sold out with 40,000 people in attendance and approximately 40,000 more outside the park.
It was a doubleheader that day, and after the first game, Dahl made his way to center field and set off the explosives, which not only destroyed the records but also left a large hole in the outfield.
And the crowd was so fired up that an estimated 7,000 attendees stormed the field, and chaos ensued.
Things were set on fire. Baseball equipment was stolen. And police actually had to arrive at the scene in riot gear. And ultimately, 39 people were arrested.
And just for reference, on July 21, 1979, the top six records on the US Music Charts were disco songs, but by September 22, only two months later, there were no disco songs in the US Top 10 Chart.
Talk about autumn changes. And a lot of big disco names had trouble extending their careers after this decline.
Donna Summer’s Post-Disco Career (16:14)
So now, going into 1980 Donna released three more singles from Bad Girls, but none of them charted on the US Dance Chart.
And only one of those, Walk Away, charted on the Hot 100 peaking at number 36. Also, in 1980 she left her longtime record label Casablanca and signed with Geffen Records.
Apparently, part of this move was because she was upset. She wanted Dim All the Lights to go number one on the Hot 100 because she was the sole songwriter for that song.
And part of the reason it was believed it didn't go number one was because Casablanca president, Neil Bogart, hurried to get the No More Tears (Enough is Enough) duet with Barbra Streisand to be released as a single.
So, it competed with that and didn't give them enough time to promote Dim All the Lights to go number one.
Also, apparently, she felt that the label exploited her by creating a central image which she wasn't comfortable with. And during this time, she actually rediscovered her Christian faith.
Anyway, in 1980 under Geffen Records, she released the album The Wanderer, which was more new wave and dance rock, and it peaked at number 13.
Its lead single, also titled The Wanderer, peaked at number eight on the US Dance Chart and number three on the Hot 100, which I've heard this song, and I don't really get it. Not that impressed.
I mean, nothing bad about it, but definitely not the Donna Summer, we all know and love.
Anyway, the album spawned three additional singles:
All of which peaked at number eight on the US Dance Chart.
The first two were moderately successful on the Hot 100 but Looking Up didn't chart at all. And in 1982 she released another album titled Donna Summer, which peaked at number 20.
Its lead single, Love is in Control (Finger on the Trigger) peaked at number three on the US Dance Charts and 10 on the Hot 100. It spawned three additional singles, but none of them charted on the US Dance Charts.
And then in 1983 she released the album She Works Hard for the Money, which peaked at number nine.
And its lead single of the same name peaked at number three on both the US Dance Charts and the Hot 100, and I'm sure you know that song.
And while the album may not have performed as well as Bad Girls, its place at number nine on the charts was the highest chart position of any female artist that year.
And it's important to note that the music in 1983 was pretty male-dominated.
Homophobic Controversy (18:11)
Now here's where things get a little controversial, and it's hard to know what's true and what's not.
As previously stated, Donna rediscovered her religion after parting ways with Casablanca, and I believe she considered herself to be a born-again Christian.
And at a 1983 performance in Atlantic City for her She Works Hard for the Money Tour, she supposedly made some anti-gay remarks, but there are a few different accounts of what happened.
So according to an OutSmart article, after the show, she was talking to some fans, and a man with AIDS asked her to pray for him because of her being a born-again Christian, and she said she'd be delighted to.
However, someone then accused her of being hypocritical, and witnesses say that the heated situation deteriorated, with many outraged patrons shouting as they left the auditorium.
Now, I don't know if she was called a hypocrite because as a Christian, she wasn't supposed to be praying for gay people with AIDS, or because of her status as a gay icon, she wasn't supposed to be Christian.
I don't really know, but she was called a hypocrite, basically. Anyway, because of this deterioration in the conversation, some heated remarks then came out.
And a few accounts claim that Donna said that AIDS appeared in the gay community because of its quote-unquote reckless lifestyle.
More specifically, The Advocate claims that these were a couple quotes Donna supposedly said during the altercation:
"God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve"
"I've seen the evil homosexuality come out of you people... AIDS is the result of your sins. Now don't get me wrong; God loves you. But not the way you are now."
And understandably, this caused major controversy.
For starters, those are terrible homophobic things to say, especially during this time in the AIDS crisis, where there was so much unknown and so much fear and so much pain and suffering.
But what is really salt in the wound there is that Donna Summer is considered a gay icon, and many claim that the gay community was the reason for her success since disco has very queer roots.
These claims were then published in The Village Voice, and although her publicist denied the claims, Donna never responded to them, which didn't sit well with many.
Donna Summer’s Career Decline (19:58)
Now, whether it was a change in music or the controversy, Donna's career waned throughout the 80s, and her next two albums didn't do much.
There was 1984's Cats Without Claws, which peaked at number 40, and 1987's All Systems Go, which peaked at 122.
In 1987 Donna and her second husband, Bruce Sudano, were visiting the south of France, and he heard a song by Rick Astley and suggested Donna collaborate with Stock Aitken Waterman, the production team behind Astley.
And this trio had also been making hits for Bananarama and Kylie Minogue. Queen. And remember, in the late 80s and early 90s, the disco sound was emerging in synth-pop and dance music.
Anyway, the suggestion from her husband came after he read Edward J. Bernard's review of her All Systems Go album.
And Bernard wrote:
“Now disco's back in vogue, Donna would be better served teaming up with S/A/W – her powerhouse lungs were made for just that kind of [over-the-top] production, and not the wimp rock she now chooses to make.”
And the result of that conversation led to the album Another Place and Time, which was released on March 20, 1989.
Now, supposedly at the time, Donna had no management team, so she and her attorney had to negotiate for a US label release, and Atlantic finally released the album in the US the following month.
The album charted at number 53 and produced five singles. However, three of them did not chart.
But lead single This Time I Know It’s for Real, peaked at number five on the US Dance Chart and number seven on the Hot 100. And I love that song.
And the other single Love’s About to Change My Heart peaked at number three on the US Dance Charts and 85 on the Hot 100.
Donna Summer Finally Responds to Homophobic Claims (21:26)
Now going back to her past controversy.
In the summer of 1989, Donna wrote a letter to ACT UP the international grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic.
And she did this in an effort to mend her divide with the gay community. And here's the letter:
Dear Members of Act-Up:
I am really sorry that my reply has taken so long, but this is not a matter that I take lightly and because of my schedule, I was forced to wait until I was clear and not under pressure.
First of all, let me say that these accusations are unjust and unfair. At first, I was unknowingly protected by those around me from the bad press and hate letters I was receiving regarding this matter. During that time, I was pregnant (twice in 18 months), was engulfed in a major law suit and several of my family members passed away. My manager, at that time, felt my life and emotional health was at stake so there was no response.
Since then, however, I have made numerous replies and spoken openly to try and clear up this misunderstanding. I cannot force you to believe what I tell you, so if you choose to continue on with this fighting and arguing, that’s up to you. I did not say God is punishing gays with aids, I did not sit with ill intentions in judgement over your lives. I haven’t stopped talking to my friends who are gay, nor have I ever chosen my friends by their sexual preferences.
We have too many good memories together to live in this state of unforgiveness. I never denied you or turned away, but in fact you turned away from me. If I have caused you pain, forgive me. It was never my intention to reject you but to extend myself in love. I know that some of you really need me now because you’ve written and told me so. Can’t we just forgive each other for this past confusion?
My motto in this life is 1st Corinthians 13. "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a face that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails, but where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophecy in part; but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."
I love you,
Donna Summer
And I wasn't able to find much info about if that mended relationships or not, because, again, the details around the controversy are kind of fuzzy.
Donna Summer’s Later Career (24:16)
But she released another album under Atlantic in 1991 Mistaken Identity, although it didn't chart at all.
Her next two albums were released under Mercury, 1994's Christmas Spirit and 1996's I'm a Rainbow, although neither of those charted either.
Her only charting single during this time was 1991's When Love Cries from her Mistaken Identity album, and that single peaked at number 77 on the Hot 100.
Now, interestingly enough, the album I'm a Rainbow was originally recorded in 1981, 15 years before its release.
It was meant to be the follow-up to The Wanderer, but there were a few things going on.
Donna had just given birth to her second child at that time, and she allowed the Geffen record label owner to hear the album early on when it was only in its early demo days.
And when he heard it, he wasn't impressed and canceled the project. And insisted that Donna part ways with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.
Throughout the 80s and early 90s, some of the songs intended for this album had been released on some movie soundtracks, but the album wasn't released until 1996 with no official promotion, and there were no singles or music videos.
And it's kind of fuzzy as to how it was actually released. But shifting from music to TV, she made guest appearances as Aunt Oona Urkel in two episodes of the sitcom Family Matters.
And then for the remainder of the 90s and early 2000s, she released a few singles here and there.
Most notably, there was 1994's, Melody of Love (Wanna Be Loved), from her Endless Summer greatest hits album, and that song hit number one on the US Dance Charts.
There was 1999's, I Will Go with You (Con te partirò) from her Live & More Encore the live album.
This song is a bop, and it samples Andrea Bocelli’s Con te partirò, and it went number one on the US Dance Charts, and peaked at 79 on the Hot 100 and that would be her last appearance on the latter.
Also from the live album was Love is the Healer, also number one on the US Dance Charts. And I was shook when I found this out.
In 2000 she released the song The Power of One for Pokémon: The Movie 2000 which peaked at number two on the US Dance Charts.
And there was also 2005's I Got Your Love and 2006's Power of Love, which peaked at number four and number 43 on the US Dance Charts respectively.
Then on May 20, 2008, at 59 years old, she released her last studio album titled Crayons.
And this marked her first studio album in 14 years since 1994's Christmas Spirit and her first album of original material since 1991's Mistaken Identity.
And the album peaked at number 17 and produced four singles:
It's Only Love did not chart, but the other three singles all went number one on the US Dance Charts.
And in 2010 she released a single To Paris with Love, which also hit number one on the US Dance Charts.
Donna Summer’s Death & Legacy (26:50)
And then on May 17, 2012, Donna Summer passed away at the age of 63 from lung cancer.
Now she was a non-smoker, and she claimed her cancer was a result of breathing in toxic fumes from the 9/11 attacks because her apartment was near Ground Zero.
However, she had smoked earlier in her life, and as a performer, she was exposed to secondhand smoke from performing in nightclubs.
And understandably, many celebrities reacted to her death, including:
On December 11, 2012, Donna was posthumously announced to be one of the 2013 inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was inducted on April 18, 2013.
And in October 2013 a remix album titled Love to Love You Donna was released, and a remix version of MacArthur Park went to number one on the US Dance Charts.
And this was her first posthumous number-one single and her 16th number-one on the charts.
And in 2018, Ralphi Rosario and Erick Ibiza released a remix of Hot Stuff, which also went to number one on the US Dance Charts. And in 2020 Kygo also remixed Hot Stuff, but it didn't chart.
So, in a career spanning, let's say, 35 years from 1973 to 2018 Donna Summer released 17 studio albums and 89 singles, and holds the record for most consecutive double albums to hit number one on the Billboard charts.
Billboard also listed her as the 14th greatest female soloist of all time.
She was also the first female to have four number-one singles in a 12-month period, and over her career, she won five Grammy Awards and six American Music Awards.
Should Donna Summer Be Considered a Gay Icon? (28:25)
And she is certainly a staple in pop culture, but it does suck about her controversy.
You know, I'd always heard of her referred to as a gay icon, but I never heard about the homophobic comments until I started getting into her a couple years ago.
And it's hard to tell what went down because it sounds like a he said, she said situation.
You know, today we have phones and social media, so nothing goes unknown, but back then, you know, this sounds like a word-of-mouth situation. And it's really terrible if that's true.
Now, I didn't grow up during the AIDS pandemic, but I can only imagine how hurtful it would be for gay men at that time to flock to this icon throughout the 70s, only to hear that she said something so homophobic and terrible in the midst of the pandemic.
And given her Born Again Christian status, I could see it being true. But around that time when those comments were made was when her career was in decline anyway.
And I think the Donna Summer we view as the pop icon, the gay icon, is the Donna Summer we knew in the 1970s as the Queen of Disco.
After all, it was in that time when she kept the gay community dancing in the disco clubs, which were an inclusive space where we could feel sexually liberated and free from politics.
So, from that perspective, I would still consider the 1970s Donna Summer to be a gay icon.
Episode Closing (29:32)
And tying it back to the Tarot, I see a few connections here.
One with Donna Summer herself. I could see, you know, The Tower in reverse, being symbolic of her breaking away from Casablanca Records, with her feeling like she was being exploited for an image she was never comfortable with, changing up her sound, changing up her management, so letting go of the past and moving on to a new situation.
And for the disco music itself, I could see that shift as, you know, disco kind of fell out of popularity in the 70s.
It reemerged in the late 80s, early 90s, and the disco sound has really become pretty big within pop music in the past couple years.
And then for ourselves, emotionally as gay men, you know, there was a lot going on in that time. We had talked about it in the queer history of disco episode.
The 70s was like a prime time for disco to come about because we talk about the sexual liberation on the dance floor, the freedom from politics.
It was just a wonderful time where you could escape on the dance floor. And it was leading up to the AIDS pandemic.
So, there was no fear at that time. And then shifting from the late 70s into the early 80s, we see the change in disco music, the change in administrations and politics.
You know, the emergence of AIDS, which was a very fearful time for many people, and as well, the shift in Donna Summer's career and potentially her homophobic remarks.
So, at that time, going from the late 70s into the early 80s, gay men had to reassess what was serving them and what wasn't, and kind of leave those earlier foundations and go into the unknown hoping for the best.
So quite a bit of parallels there, and unfortunately, I feel it's not very fun to end on because, you know, again, I love to think of Donna Summer as, you know, the disco queen in the 70s with the fun sensual music, not the heavy homophobic remarks in the AIDS pandemic.
But again, I think if you listen to her discography, especially the earlier days, it is really fun.
And I've actually put together a playlist of my favorite Donna Summer songs in the show notes so you can check that out. And it's only fun stuff.
So, when you listen to those songs, hopefully, that leaves you feeling uplifted, inspired, maybe a little sexy. Nothing wrong with that, but yeah.
Connect with A Jaded Gay (31:14)
And I love to hear your thoughts on Donna Summer. So, feel free to reach out with any feedback or questions rob@ajadedgay.com.
Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe. I could really use those reviews on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. So, thank you.
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And remember, every day is all we have, so you gotta make your own happiness.
Mmm-bye.
Outtake (32:08)
She works hard for the money. So hard for the money. She works hard for the money. So, you better forgive my student loans. Seriously, give me a fucking break.
