There are divas..... and then there is
 Donna Summer!

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Hot off the presses:

[FEB 1] Rest in peace Don Cornelius, host of Soul Train. Truly the end of an era. Here is a blast from the Soul Train past.

[FEB 1] The new Summer Fever pick is up. This month it's She Works Hard For The Money in honor of the construction crew at my store that at times seems to be doing the opposite.  (Or maybe I'm just too impatient for the work to be done? ;-)  )

[JAN 29] Another quiet week. Brooklyn fans will want to check the Family Matters section below.

[JAN 29] In the Donna is everywhere category, she gets a mention in RuPaul's The Soundtrack of My Life on Entertainment Weekly.  The very first song mentioned is Donna's version of MacArthur Park. It was the first song Ru dragged to.

[JAN 29] Over on YouTube, look for the audio only live clips of Hot Stuff, Bad Girls, A Song For You and The Way We Were from a 1979 show in Japan. There is also a vintage video for Winter Melody, a classic clip of Could It Be Magic, the music video for Love Is In Control, and an audio clip of the MAW mix of I Feel Love.

[JAN 22] Unfortunately the only news this week is old news. Or maybe we should call it classic news?  ;-) If you check out Google Books, you can find old issues of Billboard posted for your reading pleasure. These are complete issues with charts, ads and everything. For instance, the June 30, 1979 issue has a nice full page ad... and just a bit of Donna on the charts.  :-) And this one has an interview promoting The Journey. Now of course every issue isn't posted, but there is enough there to keep anyone busy for awhile. You can also check out a 1977 interview with Ebony - complete with photos.

[JAN 22] That brings us to YouTube. Look for Enough Is Enough live in Mexico, the Euronixmix Moroder Megamix, Supernatural Love and I'm Free from Bandstand. (The funky red and green outfit is because the show was actually a Christmas episode.) And finally, check out the white label mix of Bad Girls.

[JAN 22] In classic dance news, Gold Legion has the following titles in stock and ready to ship: Madleen Kane Rough Diamond, Grace Jones Muse and Fame, Vicki Sue Robinson Movin' On, France Joli Witch Of Love, Debbie Harry KooKoo and the compilation Disco Discography Vol 1. Also, Gold Legion will be losing the license to some previous titles this year, so if there is anything you are missing, grab it before it vanishes for good.

[JAN 15] Johnnyswim fans will want to head to the Family Matters section below.

[JAN 15] In the land of politics - Herman Cain is still getting razzed for his Pokémon quote. Of course Donna gets mentioned as the singer of the song. I guess this gives Donna a small place in election history?

[JAN 15] I got a report on Donna's appearance on Top Of The Pops 1977: She didn't sing, but was on at the end of the show, helping to introduce
the No. 1 of the time (JOHNNY MATHIS - WHEN A CHILD IS BORN).

She mentioned her current single was WINTER MELODY , so we ARE going back
a bit, and she looked very young. Her hair was in the style of the image
from the UK (GTO) Greatest Hits cover, and she wore a reddish long dress.

The most interesting thing is that she was wearing a huge silver
belt...that looked familiar.....I had to watch the episode online
again...and get out another Donna album to verify...the belt is from the
cover photo of the Quincy album DONNA SUMMER....so what looked like an
on-trend belt from 82, was actually from 77!!

Who knew!!

Thanks Chris!

[JAN 15] Photo hounds will want to look at the first picture on this page.  If you click it, you can see a larger version.

[JAN 15] That brings us to the web news. Let's start with the reactivation of the Yahoo group: Donna summer A Collection of Images. (That name should say it all!  LOL) Also, Patrice has updated his Donna Summer Pictures blog. Then over on YouTube, look for a live clip of MacArthur Park, a fan-filmed clip of Hot Stuff from the David Foster concert, a Glen Rivers ReStructured mix of Love Is In Control, and an audio clip of How I Feel.

[JAN 8] I guess we can start with a little New Year's Eve news.... as many of you know, Dick Clark does a New Year's Eve show from New York and has for about a million years.  They came up with a list of the top 40 performances from over the years and Donna's 2004 performance of Last Dance came in at #34.

[JAN 8] UK residents -the BBC ran an episode of Top Of The Pops featuring the best of 1977. I'm sure we can al think of a famous Donna Summer song that was out then. UK residents can catch it on iPlayer, while non-UK residents can see a cool little message that says "Ha ha you can't watch this" - or words to that effect anyway.  ;-)

[JAN 8] In the land of photos - check out this 1978 photo that turned up on eBay.

[JAN 8] That brings us to the web news for the week. On YouTube, look for the Def Stunt 2010 mix of I Feel Love, Jandry's 2012 mix of Come With Me, a live clip of Heal Them, and a strangely mirror-imaged clip from Divas 2000 of  Ain't No Mountain High Enough.

[JAN 1] It's a brand new month so that means it's time for a new Summer Fever pick. This time I went with Four Seasons Of Love just because I was in the mood to play it.  :-)

[DEC 31] Happy Donna's Birthday Everyone! (And to those of you celebrating that other very minor holiday that also happens today - Happy New Year!  ;-) )

[DEC 31] With the holidays, there hasn't been a whole lot going on, but of course Donna is getting mentions in newspapers everywhere as they list the celebrity birthdays for the week.  (I've been seeing listings for Brooklyn Sudano too, as her birthday falls on January 5.) In honor of Donna's birthday, Stylelist.com has a slideshow celebrating Donna's looks over the years.

[DEC 31] Recently there was a TV show in Germany on NDR  called Die nacht der Disco stars. Among other stars of the disco era, there were interview clips of Donna (speaking in German), Giorgio Moroder and Harold Faltermeyer.

[DEC 31] That brings us to the web. Over on YouTube, look for Jandry's Desire Remix 2011 of Whatever Your Heart Desires, Donna vs. Shapeshifters MacArthur Park, and a slideshow to Je T'Aime.

[DEC 31] I'll be back tomorrow night with the new Summer Fever page.  :-) Now crank up the Donna tunes and bring the new year in right!  :-)

[DEC 21] Happy Hanukah, Happy Winter Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa,  Joyous Festivus, and of course, Happy Thank God Everything Is Done And I Can Just Enjoy. (That day usually falls the day AFTER the holiday you actually celebrate. LOL) The E-Greetings For Donna 2011 is up. Thanks to all who participated.  Sunday is Christmas and I haven't decided yet if I will do the weekly update then or if it will be late. It depends on what news I have and what I'm doing with the family. So if the update is late, don't panic.  :-)  Enjoy your holidays - whichever ones you choose to celebrate. (Hey why not pick all of them and make it one huge party!) And please remember that if you are out drinking please don't drive! I want to see you all safe and sound after the holidays.  :-)

[DEC 18] Let's start with the Rock Hall Of Fame again. Salon.com posted a really interesting article about women in the RHOF. Also of interest is the article underneath it "The Rock Hall Of Fame Whiffs Again."

[DEC 18] Of course if you want to see a REALLY good article, head over to Pop Matters where Christian Wikane lists 10 reasons Donna should be in the RHOF.  (Maybe we should save that book mark and send it to the Hall Of Fame next year when the nominees are selected. ;-) )

[DEC 18] Moving on to music news, Donna has rerecorded a new version of Love To Love You for the new fragrance "Loverdose" by Diesel. Now, you can hear it on YouTube if you'd like, OR... and I think you will like this more... Facebook users can go to the Loverdose Facebook page where clicking "like" will give you a download link. Pretty sweet! (And this is how I end up "liking" stuff that doesn't normally interest me - just throw some Donna Summer at me and I click anything!  LOL)

[DEC 18] In radio news, WNYC did a show about disco music inspired by the RHOF snub of Donna. You can listen to it on the web here.

[DEC 18] That brings us to the web news for the week. Over on YouTube look for Love To Love You from the Midnight Special, Could It Be Magic from 1976, a mix of MacArthur Park and I Will Go With You, a Donna vs. Yazoo mix of Deep Love Situation, and just for the season, Stampyourfeet's Christmas Spirit video.

[DEC 18] I will be back tomorrow or the next day with the E-Greetings page.  :-)

[DEC 11] First up - I have a new Ken's Korner for you all. In this one he proves he does have a heart... even if he hides it behind a really scary house dress sometimes.  ;-) And secondly - there is only a week left to get in your e-greetings. So you better get writing. (A week? Where did the time go? Excuse me while I panic over all the stuff I haven't taken care of yet!  LOL)

[DEC 11] So I guess the big news is probably already known to most of you. The Rock Hall Of Fame voters blew it again and Donna didn't make the 2012 cut.  Sigh.  Naturally the Hall Of Fame announcement generated a whole bunch of news stories and blog posts. Here are a couple of the more interesting ones:

Salon.com on notable artists who have been snubbed
Slate.com on Disco

Most of the other articles I've run into so far have been just the list of inductees and one notable article complaining that most of the nominees weren't even "real rock and roll".  I suspect we'll see more discussion as time goes by.

[DEC 11] In other news, Herman Cain's Pokémon quote has gained a bit more publicity - especially now that he admits that he's quoting a song from the movie!  LOL Jon Stewart did a whole bit on Herman Cain last week and he included a clip of the Pokémon credits with Donna singing Power Of One over them. (That part of the bit starts at about 4:30.)

[DEC 11] Dutch Radio 2 held a poll asking listeners to vote for their 10 all time favorite songs. The results were compiled into a top 2000 list. Donna made the list 3 times: MacArthur Park (833), State Of Independence (942) and I Feel Love (1302).

[DEC 11] I think that brings us to the web news. On YouTube look for an interview from Las Vegas from a few years ago, The Christmas Song, a live clip of I Remember Yesterday, and an audio clip of Breath Of Heaven.

[DEC 4] Johnnyswim fans will want to check out the big news below.  :-)

[DEC 4] Well the big news in my mail box is political. Herman Cain has suspended his campaign for US President and in his announcement he once again quoted The Power Of One. This time he admitted it was from a Pokémon film, and although he didn't mention Donna by name as the writer, the nine billion news articles did.  :-) Here's a sample from the articles that have turned up online. There are a whole bunch more, but as far as the Donna-connection goes, they all pretty much say the same thing. 

[DEC 4] As we approach the announcement of the Rock Hall Of Fame inductees,  new articles are starting to pop up again. The NY Times had a nice one about the Hall Of Fame in general and I'm told the print edition included a photo of Donna. And he's an older article looking at some of this year's female nominees. 

[DEC 4] In the Donna is everywhere category, she gets a brief mention in an article extolling the virtues of disco music. (It's an interesting article even without the Donna mention.)

[DEC 4] Also in the Donna is everywhere category, she's mentioned in an article about Rihanna in which Rihanna is called the "Donna Summer for our time." (Silly me, I thought Donna Summer is the Donna Summer for our time.  Rihanna can be the Rihanna for our time.  ;-)  )

[DEC 4] That brings us to the web news for the week. Check out the JCRZ Vanishing mix of Grand Illusion on Soundcloud.  On YouTube, here is a clip of Power Of One for those of you who want to hear the song Herman Cain keeps quoting. Also look for a clip of Donna with Chaka Khan and Gloria Estefan, a mix of Katy Perry vs. Donna on The One That Got Away For The Money, To Paris With Love, and Der Wasserman from Haare.

[DEC 4] And finally - don't forget the deadline for E-Greetings for Donna is December 18. SO get writing!  :-)

[DEC 2] The Summer Fever Pick is up. I bet you can't possibly guess which one it is....  ;-)

NEWS ARCHIVES

PERSONAL APPEARANCES

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MEDIA:

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OTHER NEWS:

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Quote Of The Week:

[JAN 29]

On finding songs:

“I think of great performances. If there's a great performance, there's usually a great song there. You think of Nat King Cole and Barbra Streisand, people who sang really wonderful songs. I'll pick one or two songs and see if I can find the human being that sang the song. I try to find a character myself away from the person who sang it. Like, 'What would my Funny Girl be?'”

- Donna Summer AZCentral.com October 10, 2010

Summer Fever Pick
February 2012:

Click image

Family Matters:

[JAN 29] Brooklyn Sudano fans, you can grab her movie 5 Star Day on DVD starting February 7. (Looks like a North American release only for now.) Then in April look for her again on DVD in Crew 2 Crew.

[JAN 15] Johnnyswim fans - Abner was a recent contestant on the popular game show, Wipeout. For those who have never seen it, Wipeout subjects contestants to a rather sadistic obstacle course. The winner gets $50,000 and I think all the bruises they can stand. (Actually, I think the losers get to keep the bruises too.  LOL) American viewers can catch the episode online - I'm not sure it will work for viewers in other countries.  :-(  I'm not going to spoil things by telling you how Abner did, but I will say he got plenty of screen time, was given the nickname Country Strong, and even got to sing a little.

[DEC 4] Johnnyswim fans - check out their new single Hallelujah now available on iTunes.  Proceeds will benefit Visiting Orphans. 

[NOV 27] Bruce Sudano fans - he has cowritten a song called Doo Wop Christmas that appears on the album Mr. Santa by Kenny Vance and the Planotones [Amazon, Amazon UK]. (And if the band sounds familiar - think back to the movie American Hot Wax featuring a certain band from Brooklyn as the Planotones. These days "the Planotones" is a real band in its own right.) You can read the album review here. 

[NOV 6] Brooklyn fans - check out the new interview with her on Global Grind. Then go check out some of the reviews for her new movie 5 Star Day at the following sites: NY Times, NY Observer, LA Times, Hollywood Reporter, Examiner.com, and TenGossip.com.

[NOV 6] Johnnyswim fans - catch them in Jacksonville on November 19, 20 and 27. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for details. (And if you are in that area definitely try to catch one of the shows - you won't regret it!  :-) )

[OCT 30] Brooklyn's film, 5 Star Day opens this week. Of course that means any number of websites have mentioned it in the upcoming releases notices. So far I have found one review of the movie and it's a positive one. I expect more will turn up after the film hits theaters. It is a limited release (at least at first) so it might be hard to find theaters at first. Try MovieTickets.com to see if there are listings in your area.

[OCT 2] Brooklyn fans, look for her November 2 in a film called  5 Star Day. Read more about it here.

[SEP 11] Johnnyswim fans - check out this new article about the duo in Pop Matters.

[SEP 4] Johnnyswim fans - catch them in New York City on September 8 (details to be announced) and at the Wolffer Estate in East Hampton on September 9.

[SEP 4] Brooklyn Sudano fans - she was in a recent episode of Friends With Benefits. (The episode was called "The Benefits Of Being Shallow".) You can watch it online until September 18. (It's on the NBC website so it may be restricted to US viewers only.  :-( )

[AUG 14] Don't forget to catch Taihisha at Feinstein's in New York on August 26. You will hate yourself if you miss the show!  ;-)

[JUL 24] Taihisha fans - she will be hitting the stage at Feinstein's in NYC again on Friday August 26 at 8:30. I had the pleasure of being at her last show there and it was definitely a night to remember. If you are in (or will be in) the area, be sure to grab your tickets now.

[JUN 26] Johnnyswim fans - run, do not walk to iTunes (if you haven't already) and check out their new single Bonsoir and Good News.  (That's 2 songs - the hyperlink makes it look like one long title.) After you've done that, check out the Indie Artist spotlight on the pair, and if that's not enough for you - check out Fox30Jax.com. Abner and Amanda put in an appearance and got to sing a little. (You might need to scroll down to June 23 if the clip isn't showing when you go to the site.)

[JUN 5] Johnnyswim fans - look for their new CD on June 21. It will be called V-VII.

[APR 10] Bruce fans - check out his interview on ClassicBands.com.

[APR 3] Johnnyswim fans - they are coming back to New York on April 28 at The Living Room.

IN STORES:

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Crayons by Donna Summer

Stamp Your Feet (remixes) by Donna Summer

I'm A Fire (remixes) by Donna Summer

Life & The Romantic by Bruce Sudano

1-4 by Johnnyswim

You Made It by Mary Gaines Bernard

EDITORIALS AND THINGS:

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