Donna Summer, queen of disco, dead at 63
Associated Press May 17, 2012 12:40PM
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Updated: May 17, 2012 12:53PM
Disco queen Donna Summer — whose pulsing anthems including “Last Dance,” ‘’Love to Love You Baby” and “Bad Girls” became the soundtrack for a glittery age of sex, drugs, dance and flashy clothes — has died.
She was 63 and had been fighting cancer.
Her family released a statement Thursday saying that Summer died and that they “are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy.”
Summer gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s.
Among her best-selling albums were the multiplatinum “Bad Girls” and “On the Radio, Volume I & II.” Her No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits include “Hot Stuff” and “MacArthur Park.”
Her sound was a mix of genres and helped her earn Grammy Awards in the dance, rock, R&B and inspirational categories.
She released her last album, “Crayons,” in 2008. She also performed on “American Idol” that year with its top female contestants.
Summer has a place in Chicago radio history. When the radio station then known as WDAI-FM (94.7) ended its all-disco format in the wake of the late 1970s anti-disco backlash, it did so by playing Summer’s “Last Dance” over and over and over — nonstop, without commercials or any announcers to interrupt it through an all-”Last Dance” on the air weekend.
