Disco Queen Donna Summer Dead at 63
The queen of disco has died: Donna Summer, whose vocals powered the genre, and helped define the 1970s, passed away early Thursday, her family said in a statement. The Grammy-winning singer reportedly had been battling cancer. She was 63.
“While we grieve her passing,” her family said, “we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and continued legacy.”
Summer burst onto the scene with some of music’s most audible, controversial and memorable moans and groans in 1975′s “Love to Love You Baby.” Other hits included the required-listening disco tunes, “Bad Girls,” “Last Dance,” “Hot Stuff,” “MacArthur Park” and “On the Radio.”
Deeply religious—indeed, two of her five career Grammys were for inspirational music—Summer seemed torn about her orgasmic beginnings.
