Donna Summer RIP

[nightfighter]

The great voice of many anthems for those of us who were in our late teens and early twenties during the seventies..... Whole lotta bumping and grinding to her songs.....

When "Last Dance" would come on at closing time, it was aways interesting how everyone would quickly assess who they were dancing with, how liquored up they were, and what their odds were for some action..... We could look across the dance floor and figure out which of our fraternity brothers were gonna get lucky..... He's good. He's good. Oh, he's not good..... Hearing her music again has brought back some great memories! RIP

[Raven]

she had allot of Class

[Raider Ronnie]

Originally Posted by Raven

she had allot of Class

She started out as a street walking prostitute in Mission Hill (Boston) before she made it as a singer.
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[fishsmith]

Ron it must be tough for you wholesome ones

[Raider Ronnie]

Originally Posted by fishsmith

Ron it must be tough for you wholesome ones

No need to go there......

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by Raider Ronnie

She started out as a street walking prostitute in Mission Hill (Boston) before she made it as a singer.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

you might want to do a little fact checking first.....she moved to New York City before she graduates high school

"Summer was born Ladonna Adrian Gaines on December 31, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts to parents Andrew and Mary Gaines and was one of seven children.[5] She and her family were raised in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester. Her father, Andrew Gaines, was a butcher, and her mother Mary, was a schoolteacher.[6] Summer's mother later recalled that from the time she could talk, Summer would often sing: "She literally loved to sing. She used to go through the house singing, singing. She sang for breakfast and for lunch and for supper."[6]

Summer's performance debut occurred at church when she was ten years old, when she replaced a vocalist who had failed to show up.[6] Her priest invited Summer to perform, judging from her small frame and speaking voice that she would be an "amusing spectacle", but instead Summer's voice recalled a voice older than her years and frame.[6] Summer herself recalled that as she sang, "I started crying, everybody else started crying. It was quite an amazing moment in my life and at some point after I heard my voice came out I felt like God was saying to me 'Donna, you're going to be very, very famous' and I knew from that day on that I would be famous."[6]

Summer later attended Boston's Jeremiah E. Burke High School, where she performed in school musicals and was considered popular.[6] She was also something of a troublemaker, skipping home to attend parties, circumventing her parents' strict curfew.[6] In 1967, just weeks before graduation, Summer left for New York where she was a member of the blues-rock band, Crow. After they were passed by every record label, they agreed to break up. Summer stayed in New York and auditioned for a role in the counterculture musical, Hair. When Melba Moore was cast in the part, Summer agreed to take the role in the Munich production of the show. She moved to Munich, Germany after getting her parents' reluctant approval.[6]

Summer eventually became fluent in German, singing various songs in German. She participated in the musicals Ich Bin Ich (the German version of The Me Nobody Knows), Godspell and Show Boat. Within three years, she moved to Vienna, Austria and joined the Vienna Volksoper. She briefly toured with an ensemble vocal group called FamilyTree, the creation of producer Guenter "Yogi" Lauke. In 1971, Summer released her first single, a cover of The Jaynetts' "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", from a one-off European deal with Decca Records.[7] In 1972, she issued the single, "If You Walkin' Alone" on Philips Records.[7] In 1974, she married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer and had a daughter, Mimi, the following year. Citing marital problems caused by her affair with German artist (and future live-in boyfriend) Peter Mühldorfer, she divorced Helmuth. She kept his last name, but Anglicized it to "Summer". She provided backing vocals on producer-keyboardist Veit Marvos on his 1972 Ariola Records release, Nice to See You, credited as "Gayn Pierre". Several subsequent singles included Summer performing with the group, but she often denied singing on any of the Marvos releases. The name "Gayn Pierre" was also used by Donna while performing in Godspell with Helmuth Sommer during 1972."

[Raider Ronnie]

Originally Posted by The Dad Fisherman

you might want to do a little fact checking first.....she moved to New York City before she graduates high school

"Summer was born Ladonna Adrian Gaines on December 31, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts to parents Andrew and Mary Gaines and was one of seven children.[5] She and her family were raised in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester. Her father, Andrew Gaines, was a butcher, and her mother Mary, was a schoolteacher.[6] Summer's mother later recalled that from the time she could talk, Summer would often sing: "She literally loved to sing. She used to go through the house singing, singing. She sang for breakfast and for lunch and for supper."[6]

Summer's performance debut occurred at church when she was ten years old, when she replaced a vocalist who had failed to show up.[6] Her priest invited Summer to perform, judging from her small frame and speaking voice that she would be an "amusing spectacle", but instead Summer's voice recalled a voice older than her years and frame.[6] Summer herself recalled that as she sang, "I started crying, everybody else started crying. It was quite an amazing moment in my life and at some point after I heard my voice came out I felt like God was saying to me 'Donna, you're going to be very, very famous' and I knew from that day on that I would be famous."[6]

Summer later attended Boston's Jeremiah E. Burke High School, where she performed in school musicals and was considered popular.[6] She was also something of a troublemaker, skipping home to attend parties, circumventing her parents' strict curfew.[6] In 1967, just weeks before graduation, Summer left for New York where she was a member of the blues-rock band, Crow. After they were passed by every record label, they agreed to break up. Summer stayed in New York and auditioned for a role in the counterculture musical, Hair. When Melba Moore was cast in the part, Summer agreed to take the role in the Munich production of the show. She moved to Munich, Germany after getting her parents' reluctant approval.[6]

Summer eventually became fluent in German, singing various songs in German. She participated in the musicals Ich Bin Ich (the German version of The Me Nobody Knows), Godspell and Show Boat. Within three years, she moved to Vienna, Austria and joined the Vienna Volksoper. She briefly toured with an ensemble vocal group called FamilyTree, the creation of producer Guenter "Yogi" Lauke. In 1971, Summer released her first single, a cover of The Jaynetts' "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", from a one-off European deal with Decca Records.[7] In 1972, she issued the single, "If You Walkin' Alone" on Philips Records.[7] In 1974, she married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer and had a daughter, Mimi, the following year. Citing marital problems caused by her affair with German artist (and future live-in boyfriend) Peter Mühldorfer, she divorced Helmuth. She kept his last name, but Anglicized it to "Summer". She provided backing vocals on producer-keyboardist Veit Marvos on his 1972 Ariola Records release, Nice to See You, credited as "Gayn Pierre". Several subsequent singles included Summer performing with the group, but she often denied singing on any of the Marvos releases. The name "Gayn Pierre" was also used by Donna while performing in Godspell with Helmuth Sommer during 1972."

I grew up in my grandfathers auto repair shop in that neighborhood in Dorchester. It was a pretty well known fact who she was and what she did. We had some customers that we fixed their cars who payed for her services.
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[fishsmith]

Ron why do you have to piss on someone's grave?

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by Raider Ronnie

She started out as a street walking prostitute in Mission Hill (Boston) before she made it as a singer.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

That was a persistent local rumor back on the late 70s/early 80s. Never been confirmed by anyone who I'd consider reliable. For instance, I've heard at least 10 different "street names". Hookers usually only have one, so their customers know who to ask for.

[Saltheart]

RR , What kind of depraved piece of $h1t says a dead person was a whore on the day she dies?

Better to have been a whore than to have no soul like you.

[Raider Ronnie]

Originally Posted by Saltheart

RR , What kind of depraved piece of $h1t says a dead person was a whore on the day she dies?

Better to have been a whore than to have no soul like you.

People die every day.
I don't feel the need to to post stuff like "she had a lot of class" or be all sad some rich entertainer died.
Didn't 31 US troops die in Afghanistan yesterday ?
Where is the thread about that ?
Instead all day today radio stations playing non stop Bee Gees because one of them died today.

[nightfighter]

It's called a tribute.... to celebrate someone's life, their contributions, and joy that their life works may have brought to others...
If you don't like it, change the station.
You are blurring the line by bringing the troops into this discussion as a way to justify your original comment, which I thought was low, even by your standards.
Let's hope when your time comes that people will remember the good things, like maybe a good day they had they had with you for a charter, as opposed to recalling venomous comments you have occasionally posted here.....
Maybe you never heard this, but most of us were taught that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.