NEWS ARCHIVES

2011:

[NOV 27] Well, there's not much happening this week at all - I hope it's the lull before the storm. (I'm expecting the Rock Hall Of Fame announcement should come in a couple of weeks - fingers crossed!) In the meantime, in the Donna is everywhere category, vinyl is apparently cool again - at least in some circles.  :-) (Does that make my collection "retro" instead of "old"? ;-) ) There is apparently a guy in Mumbai who has this new cleaning system for vinyl that really restores the sound to an old record. He did a demonstration for a reporter and apparently he picked a Donna Summer record for restoration.  :-) You can read the story here.

[NOV 27] And that brings us to the web news - yes, already! I told you it was a slow week.  LOL On YouTube, check out Glen Rivera's Restructured Mix of Summer Fever, I Cannot Be Silent from Child Of The Promise (audio only), Donna vs. Queen I Feel Love (DMC remix), and No More Tears with Westlife.

[NOV 20] Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends!  Happy normal day to everyone else.  ;-)

[NOV 20] Announcing E-Greetings for Donna 2011.  :-)  You guys know the drill - send your holiday/birthday message for Donna to me (webmaster @ donna-tribute .com without the spaces of course)  and I'll post them on a page for her to view. Yes you can send photos - but I reserve the right to edit them for size. You can send links to video hosted by YouTube or whatever and I'll add those. If you have your own Donna site and want to make a special page of your own, I'll send those links too. Let's make the deadline December 18 and please try to put "egreetings" or something like that in the title to make it easier to sort the mail. (I wouldn't want to mistake an egreeting for a phishing scam.  ;-) ) Get writing! There will be room on the page for everyone who wants to be a part of it.  :-)

[NOV 20] Let's start with Dan Fogelberg's website. It has a nice show of support on the top of the news page for Donna's possible induction to the Rock Hall Of Fame. There is also a very tantalizing mention of her contribution for the Dan Fogelberg tribute CD. 

[NOV 20] Moving on to David Foster - he got married recently and Donna was among the performers at the reception. You can see a couple of photos from the rehearsal here.

[NOV 20] Donna made a recent Ask Billboard column, It turns out she is one of only 11 acts to send 2 songs to #1 on the Hot 100 while the parent album was #1 on the Top 200 Albums. 

[NOV 20] The Cleveland Plain Dealer held a poll to pick the most popular of this year's crop of Rock Hall nominees. Guns N Roses won, but Donna came in pretty high in the results.

[NOV 20] In the Donna is everywhere category - I unexpectedly found her in my snail mailbox. I got one of those goofy little catalogs that seem to come every day at this time of year and they had a jigsaw puzzle titled "Divas". It's a collage of photos of various divas from movies, music, etc. I was able to track it down online and although the photo is pretty small, you can spot Donna on the far right in about the bottom third of the photo.

[NOV 20] And now for something completely silly... Drinkify.org lets you put in the name of any artist and it will suggest the appropriate beverage. If you put in Donna's name it tells you Red Bull on the rocks with a garnish of celery. That makes more sense than some of the other names I put in....

[NOV 20] That brings us to the web news for the week. Look for an interview with Nile Rodgers where he talks a little about Donna and Giorgio Moroder. Then check out Ruud's extended version of Whispering Waves,  an audio only clip of Ordinary Miracle, and Glen Rivera's ReStructured mix of Wasted. 

[NOV 20] And finally, Mark Tara fans should go check out his website for a free copy of his new Christmas single, Santa.  And Gold Legion customers will be happy to discover that  the Disco Discography compilation (featuring 7 minutes of Donna's With Your Love) and Debbie Harry's  Kookoo are in stock and shipping out. I got mine yesterday.

[NOV 13] Let's start off with Rock Hall Of Fame News - one of the eligible voters is none other than Goldmine Magazine. And they are allowing their readers to influence their vote. So if you head to the Goldmine website, pick your favorites in their poll and we'll see what happens.  :-)

[NOV 13] In the Donna is everywhere category - she gets a mention in an interview with sax player Steve Cadd. You will want to see the end of the article.

[NOV 13] Believe it or not, that brings us to YouTube. Check out the classic live clip from Japan of Fairy Tale High/Faster And Faster, an extended mix of Carry On, Andy's Slide Over Mix Mix of Slide Over Backwards, the My Man Medley from Japan, Forgive Me, and for the dub fans out there, the Sudden Death Dub of I Will Go With You.

[NOV 6] Johnnyswim fans will want to check the Family Matters section below.  :-) So will Brooklyn Sudano fans.

[NOV 6] In the Donna is everywhere category, she's come up again in discussions of Herman Cain's candidacy. (No, he didn't sexually harass her!  LOL) As you may remember, he has quoted lyrics from Power Of One in the past. Well, news commentator Rachel Maddow had some things to say about that and played a short clip from the song. You can see it on YouTube.

[NOV 6] Also in the Donna is everywhere category, she gets mentioned as a fashion icon in an article about  Kelly Rowland. 

[NOV 6] And in the Donna's music is everywhere category, a contestant sang On The Radio on the German X Factor this week. You can see it here. 

[NOV 6] Those of you following the annual Rock Hall of Fame press, might be interested in this Pop Matters article. There is no mention of Donna, but it's an interesting look at the criticisms of the RHOF.

[NOV 6] Finally, in the land of YouTube, Fernando has put together a video with Mae West and Donna's music. The song is Try Me - and II think Mae would have approved of that choice!  LOL For something a little unusual, check out the Donna Summer Scrapbook #1 video. Then check out the gospel medley from an old variety show featuring Donna, Tom Jones, Mac Davis and Dolly Parton. And if you still have some free time, look at  Bring Down The Reign (Jandry's Bring The Mix Mix), Glen Rivera's Restructure Mix of Mystery Of Love, and Happy Popper's mix of Whatever Your Heart Desires.

[NOV 1] It's another new month, so it's time for another Summer Fever Pick. This month we look at I Remember Yesterday.

[OCT 30] Happy Halloween! I thought about trying to scare you all for the occasion by saying something freaky like Donna was going to retire from recording - but then I realized that many of you know where to find me and they you would hunt me down and force me to listen to the Shout It Out collection over and over again.  LOL

[OCT 30] Before we get to Donna - Brooklyn Sudano fans will want to look at the Family Matters section below.

[OCT 30] Let's start with eBay. We have another script from the 1980 TV Special up for auction. This one is a little damaged, but it is autographed. It's also a little pricey, but hey - sometimes to get unusual things you have to be willing to pay.  :-) And the seller is tossing in a DVD copy of the special made from the edited master tape of the show.

[OCT 30] In the Donna is everywhere category, she got mentioned in the TV show Supernatural. The episode titled Slash Fiction (which aired Friday) had the line, "The quickest climb up the chart since Donna Summer." :-) Also in the Donna is everywhere category, look for one of her songs in the video game Dance Central 2 (for Xbox 360 and Kinect).

[OCT 30] That brings us to the web news for the week. In the world of blogs, look for the return of TheBestSingerDonnaSummer.blogspot.com with photos from the David Foster concert.  The blog is written in Portuguese, so if that's not your best language you might need to use a translator. (ON a side note, how can you not love anything called "The Best Singer Donna Summer"?  ;-) ) Over on YouTube, look for stampyurfeet's Halloween video for Cats Without Claws (it's pretty cool but I think most of those cats do have claws!  LOL) , the Hot Summer Night hit medley, the Marc Andrews Chops And Mash mix of I Feel Love, the Disco Purrfection edit of Need A Man Blues, and the Steve Lischinsky mix of Our Love. 

[OCT 30] I will be back in a day or 2 with the Summer Fever pick after the invasion of little goblins tomorrow.  :-)

[OCT 23] There's not much of anything happening this week, so lets look at the recent past for a minute. There was an auction on ebay recently for the original script from Donna's 1980 TV special. The auction was pulled by the seller before anyone could bid on it, but the listing is still viewable. There are photos of several of the pages, and if you look closely you can see mentions of things that had been tentatively planned but that never made it to the screen. 

[OCT 23] Studio Brussel polled its listeners and came up with the top 100 dance tracks. I Feel Love is at #99

[OCT 23] In the land of Facebook, Donna's page has surpassed 100,000 likes. Let's see how long it takes to double that.  ;-)

[OCT 23] In the Donna is everywhere category - there is a a Tribute to Giorgio Moroder posted on Studio Brussel. It's a nice long medley of Giorgio's music and I think you can guess which singer is pretty well represented in that medley.  ;-) 

[OCT 23] That brings us to the web. On YouTube look for clips from the 1980 TV special, an I Feel Love Megamix by Patrick Cowley, Hot Stuff live on the Dinah Shore Show,  Hot Stuff live again from a TV show that was filmed about 2 decades later, and finally, Stor Dubine's very entertaining video for Does He Love You.

[OCT 16] Let's start off with something a little silly. The Icon CD that has been postponed indefinitely had made an appearance (of sorts) at my local Target store. My Facebook friends probably saw this already, but here is the picture I took while shopping. It's amazing how much Donna looks like the Temptations in that cover photo....   LOL On a more serious note, there is still no release date and with a price that low you know it's going to be just the basic hits.

[OCT 16] In the Donna is everywhere category, she gets a brief mention in a profile of artist Loring Cornish.  He's one of us.  ;-) She also gets mentioned in an article about the best dance movies of all time. #20 is The Full Monty and mentioned in particular is the scene where the guys start dancing to Hot Stuff while on the dole line. (On a side note, #19 is Flashdance which also contains a Donna song.... but the article didn't mention that. It was more interested in the dance under the showerhead.)

[OCT 16] That brings us to YouTube. Look for Nights In White Satin, Andy's Dancing All Night Mix of It's Only Love, The EuroNixMix French Kiss Remix of I Feel Love/Love To Love You Baby, and Sunset People and Bad Girls from the 1980 TV Special. And finally for those of you who just don't have time to listen to a whole long version of I Feel Love, here is a speeded up version - all it needs is a couple of cartoon chipmunks on backup.  ;-) (And no, I couldn't get through the whole thing - sped up vocals drive me nuts and not in a good way!  LOL) 

[OCT 9] Let's start with the Rock Hall Of Fame again. We have a nice article posted on TriValleyCentral.com.  One word of advice though - there is a little slideshow on the right side of that page. Put it on pause before you start reading. One of the photos is significantly taller than the others and it makes the text jump every time the slideshow cycles from small to big (or big to small.) Also, don't forget the Hall Of Fame website is polling visitors on their choices for induction. Looking at the list it got me to thinking - wouldn't it be cool for Donna to be inducted the same year as the Red Hot Chili Peppers? They could jam on I Feel Love together. 

[OCT 9] HamptonRoads.com has an excellent article about Once Upon A Time. 

[OCT 9] Boston.com is posting a series of articles on the "Boston 100" - the greatest songs from Boston. (That would be Boston the city not Boston the band.  ;-) ) Coming in at #37 is Bad Girls. They've been posting the songs in random order, so you can check out the selections posted so far here.

[OCT 9] Moving on to release news - as many of you know, Donna put down some vocals for an Omega Red track called Angel. Look for that to come out sometime next year as a single.

[OCT 9] Some of you remember that we were expecting a compilation out called Icon. Well, there is currently no release date, but people have found empty slots for the CD in Target stores here and there across the country. (or maybe they are not empty and the CD is actually invisible?  ;-) )

[OCT 9] I think that brings us to the web news for the week. On YouTube look for Hot Stuff from the David Foster concert and a white label mix of MacArthur Park. Also for you ladies out there (and some of you men too... or maybe I have that backwards?  ;-) ) somebody paired To Paris With Love with a slideshow of male models. (I must be getting old - some of those models look like babies to me.  LOL)

[OCT 2] First things first, the new Summer Fever Pick is up. This month we celebrate the Donna Summer album.

[OCT 2] So there is no news this week, none at all.... well, except for this one tiny little thing. ;-) Donna's been nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame again this year. It's only been reported in one or two (billion) articles this week. (There is nothing like opening up my Google news alerts folder and finding tons of articles turning up each day with Donna's name!)  The complete list of nominees is as follows: The Cure, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Heart, Freddie King, The Small Faces, The Spinners, The Beastie Boys, Donovan, Laura Nyro, Red Hot Chili Peppers, War, Erik B & Rakim, Guns N Roses, Rufus & Chaka Khan, and of course Donna.  This is the fourth time Donna has been nominated and hopefully this will be the year. (After all these nominationa, I'm getting really good at typing with all my fingers crossed.  LOL)

As I said before, there have been about a billion articles announcing the nominees. Here are a few of the ones that have something more to say than just a mere list of names:

Charlotte Observer
The Sun News
UCSD Guardian
Cleveland.com (there is also a poll where fans can vote for their favorites)
FutureRockLegends.com
Fox News (that just has a poll)
VH1 (also just a poll)

Look for plenty more articles to show up in the weeks to come.  :-)

[OCT 2] In other news, Donna just performed at David Foster's show in Vegas. Photos are up at Getty Images (with larger versions at Zimbio.com). There is an article on LasVegasWeekly.com (where they say Donna stole the show) with a few more pictures.

[OCT 2] I have one more thing that's not strictly Donna-related. The Boardwalk Entertainment Group is making a biopic about Neil Bogart (who I'm sure you all remember was the head honcho at Casablanca Records.) Justin Timberlake has been tapped to play Neil and the movie will be called Spinning Gold. You can read about it here.  There is no word yet on who else will be in it, or when they hope to start production.

[OCT 2] That brings us to the web news. On YouTube look for clips of On The Radio and Last Dance  from the David Foster concert last night. (They are shot from pretty far away so they are really only good for the audio.) Also look for Fernando's video for Autumn Changes,  EuroNixMix Donna Summer Mix 1 and Mix 2.

[SEP 25] So tonight's top news is David Foster & Friends. There will be more concerts at Mandalay Bay this autumn - one on October 1 and one on November 25. Now David Foster's website doesn't list performers yet, but his Facebook page mentions Donna as being part of the October 1 show. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster.

[SEP 25] In classic news um news (now that sounds like an oxymoron  LOL) - Google lets you search out news archives and if you search for Donna, you can find articles from as far back as 1978. (Warning - some of them are presented as scans of the original newspaper pages, and some are pay-per-view only.) I've been nosing through some of them and I found this one about There Goes My Baby that I thought you might enjoy. (This one is free to view and it's presented as a normal web page so it should be accessible to my visually impaired readers with whatever technology you usually use.)

[SEP 25] That brings us to the web. On YouTube, look for a clip of Donna presenting an award at the 1976 AMAs, the interview clip from her appearance as host of American Bandstand, Donna's interview with the Brooklyn Dreams from the same show, Donna picking up the 1979 Disco Female AMA award, the Disco Album award, and the Disco Single AMA award (she brings Paul Jabara up to accept with her), and finally the most frightening thing I can imagine... someone who has mistaken Donna's song, I Love You, with the theme song from the kids' show Barney. (I should explain that I have never recovered from being tortured at my job with Barney videos one Christmas when he was the hottest thing ever for kids.) Moving back to something way more fun, but not Donna related at all, there is a cool clip of Paul Jabara from American Bandstand on YouTube.

[SEP 19] So, uh, this week... really nothing happening.  LOL Let's go right to YouTube. Look for a rare clip of  Could It Be Magic, audio for all the Lady Of The Night tracks courtesy of athp123, an extended version of Love's Unkind, and a strange but clever mashup of Mc Hammer, Eurythmics, New Order,Talking Heads and Donna. (They mixed not only the music, but the actual visuals from the videos too and came up with something pleasantly demented.)

[SEP 19] In classic dance news, Gold Legion has Grace Jones' Fame slated for October 28 and Muse for November 30. And on October 17 Gold Legion plans to issue their first compilation Disco Discography 1. It will include tracks by Cheryl Lynn, Bonnie Pointer, Norma Jean Wright, Goody Goody, Two Tons Of Fun, Ren Woods, Jackie Moore, Stargard, Sylvester, Gonzalez, and Donna with a 7 and a half minute version of With Your Love. There will be a 16 page booklet with notes by Christian John Wikane.

[SEP 11] Happy Sunday everyone. As you can see it is September 11, but I'm not going to say anything about the anniversary because of something important I learned after the attacks 10 years ago. And that is, it's not healthy to allow yourself to immerse yourself too much in tragedy. At some point you need to take a break from all the coverage and focus on something else - even if it's only for a short time. The break makes it easier to cope and to think rationally about things. So to all my friends who have been glued to the memorial services all day - consider this your break.   :-) 

[SEP 11] On to Donna. :-) She got a mention on the Regis & Kelly show this week as Regis talked about David Foster's dinner party. You can see what Regis had to say here. (Just select Tuesday September 6 and skip ahead to about 6:15)

[SEP 11] In the Donna is everywhere category, her music gets mentioned several times in a satirical report about the recent Republican debate.

[SEP 11] It's getting to be Rock Hall Of Fame season, and Goldmine has an article on the people they feel should be inducted. Read the paragraph right before the one on the East Street Band.  :-)

[SEP 11] I think that brings us to the web news for the week. On YouTube look for Take Heart - a song that was originally recorded to raise money for a girls charity, but that got adopted shortly after 9/11 by people looking for comfort.  Also look for a mix of Now I Need You, a mix of I Feel Love, and a slideshow set to Last Dance. (That last one is nothing new and different with the music, but it uses a lot of very pretty nature shots.)

[SEP 4] So if you followed me on Twitter or Facebook this week, you know I survived Hurricane Irene. (Actually it was more like a tropical storm by the time it hit me.) There was no damage to my property and I didn't even lose power! YAY!  But my friend who lives about 3 miles away was not quite so lucky. Her property was under 2 feet of water for awhile, but fortunately the house itself stayed dry. (Her husband is a fisherman - he probably liked the chance to fish from comfort of his living room....   ;-) ) 

[SEP 4] So moving on to news. Johnnyswim fans will want to check the Family Matters section below. So will Brooklyn Sudano fans. And - a few days late - I have updated the Summer Fever page. This month we look at All Systems Go - finally updated to streaming MP3 format. 

[SEP 4] And moving on to the diva herself.... let's start with release news. (Or lack there of....) The Icon CD compilation has a new release date according to Amazon.com. This should make you laugh... they say December 31, 2020. Yes, I said 2020.  LOL  It's still listed for October 25 according to CD Universe, but I'd say it's probably been postponed indefinitely. Of course if you are willing to wait for 2020, Amazon will email you when/if they get it in if you ask them to.

[SEP 4] There is a Dan Fogelberg tribute CD in the works being produced by Norbert Putnam. In a recent interview, it is stated that Donna will be one of the contributing artists on the disk. (You will want to go to page 4 to see that.) I've seen lots of mentions online of the tribute CD, but no one has a track list or a full list of contributing artists yet. So stay tuned.

[SEP 4] In the Donna's music is everywhere category... and in the remix category, Diesel's Loverdose fragrance is using a mix of Love To Love You in its ad campaign. Supposedly the remix will be made available some time in the future. But I know you guys are too impatient and want to hear at least a bit of it now. So check out the ad here.   :-)

[SEP 4] In the Donna is everywhere category, she recently attended a dinner given by David Foster. Also in attendance were Barbra Streisand, Dr. Phil and a number of other people. No Donna and Barbra didn't suddenly burst out into Enough Is Enough. (Although think of the possibilities... David Foster asks is anyone would like more coffee, Donna and Barbra both say no and suddenly launch into a chorus of Enough Is Enough while Dr. Phil sits there and tells them how messed up that is. LOL Yes I have a twisted imagination.) You can read a non-imaginary account of the dinner here. 

[SEP 4] I think that brings us to the web news. Check out TheDJDiscoCat for a few remixes of classic tracks and a TV performance of She Works Hard For The Money. 

[AUG 26] Well, this update is a bit early because my area is currently under a hurricane warning. So I expect that I will probably have no electricity Sunday night. And no electricity means no internet, which means I'll be curled up in some corner shaking from withdrawal!  LOL I will try to keep in touch via Twitter and/or Facebook.

[AUG 26] Ken fans (or enemies  LOL) - he's sent me a new Ken's Korner that talks about the recent passing of Nick Ashford, among other things.

[AUG 26] If you are in New York today, don't forget to check out Taihisha at Feinstein's At The Lowes Regency at 8:30 tonight. And if you are going, applaud for me because I'm stuck here.  :-(

[AUG 26] Sadly, that brings us to the web news. (I blame the hurricane - it blew the Donna news off the web.  LOL) On You Tube, check out this television show clip. At about the 11 minute mark, you can see a classic poster on the wall. You can find several new mixes by HarryPopper. And this one's not new, but it's nice to watch again: Donna's live cover of Don't Rain On My Parade. (A perfectly fitting song for the forecast!  LOL)

[AUG 26] In classic dance news, Gold Legion had Paul Jabara's Keeping Time in stock. I have mine in my hot little hands right now and it was worth the wait.  :-)

[AUG 26] Finally - for those of you in the path of the storm: take care of yourselves. Don't do anything stupid like surfing in the storm, stock up on all the needed essentials (soda, chips, chocolate.... oh yeah and don't forget the less essential items like water, batteries and medications.) Keep an eye on the news to track the progress of the storm and to see how many weathermen are tied to trees so they can report live on the weather conditions. (And I thought my job sucked!  LOL) And most importantly of all, while you have power get that ipod charged up so  you can crank some Donna tunes! See you on the other side!  :-)

[AUG 21] Let's start with radio news. For those of you still mourning the almost total demise of Sirius XM's The Strobe (it's still there but only accessible on the web with the right subscription package), you can now check out Studio 54 in channel 15. It is what the name implies - Studio 54 translated to radio. (Which means all the great music without the velvet ropes! LOL) You will hear a fair amount of Donna playing on it - usually long versions of the songs. The first time I tuned in I heard some Giorgio Moroder right off the bat, so I was happy.  :-)

[AUG 21] In copyright news, it looks like artists from the late 70s will soon have their chance to reclaim their song rights from the record companies. A revision in the law made in the mid-70s allows for what they call "termination of rights" 35 years after a work was recorded. Music from 1978 will be the first affected by this change. What this means to the artists is that they can in effect tell the labels to suck it unless they want to negotiate a licensing arrangement. At least that's how it will work in THEORY. In practice, I suspect there will plenty of lawyers getting rich off the copyright battles. (I'm telling you - if you are a lawyer in the US, start thinking about making your specialty copyright law. You might end up set for life!  LOL)  The NY Times has an interesting article about the whole "termination of rights" thing.

[AUG 21] In the Donna's music is everywhere category, I Feel Love will be featured in the Ubisoft game Just Dance 3 available for the Wii and XBox. Look for that October 11.

[AUG 21] That brings us to the web news. On YouTube look for Fernando's Once Upon A Time megamix part II, Heaven's Just A Whisper Away from the UK, Patrice's I Feel Love vocal extended mix, and a 1977 performance of I Feel Love from Venezuela.

[AUG 21] Classic dance fans, Gold Legion now has Paul Jabara's Keeping Time in stock. That's the one with his versions of Last Dance and Something's Missing.

[AUG 14] Let's start with... umm.. politics. I hate politics so it's best to get that over with.  ;-)  Herman Cain, one of the 4 million Republican Presidential hopefuls, said this in his closing remarks: "A poet once said, 'life can be a challenge, life can seem impossible, but it's never easy when there's so much on the line.'" I'm sure many of you recognize those words as being lyrics from The Power Of One which was the closing theme to one of the Pokémon movies. (It was sung by Donna but written by other people.) I guess he's aiming for the really young voters?  ;-) (Actually, this isn't the first time he's quoted the lyrics - check out the video clips posted here.) 

[AUG 14] On to fun things - remixes! As many of you know, PerfectBeat came out with a couple of compilations that include the To Paris With Love mixes. There is one small problem though - I'm told most of the mixes are mislabeled. The CDs in question are the DMC Dance Mixes Extra Vol. 6 and Vol. 7. Let's go down the list:

Volume 6: The one labeled WaWa Extended is  really DJ DLG Lazor Disco Mix, the one labeled Craig C Master Blaster is really the WaWa Extended, the one labeled Automatic Panic Remix is really the Mendy Club mix and the David Herrero Vocal Mix is really just exactly that.  :-) 

Volume 7: The Eddie Amador Break It Down Remix is really Craig C's Master Blaster, The DJ DLG Lazor Disco Mix is really the Eddie Amador Remix, the Mendy Club Mix is the Automatic Panic Remix, and the Uner Remix is correct.

So the bottom line, is if you are looking for one particular mix on the compilations be very careful about which one you buy.  Or if you are buying both compilations anyway because you are a collector, you might want to put a little note with your CD so you remember which mix is really which. Thanks to John for taking the time to sort all that out for me.

[AUG 14] In release news, look for the new song, Angel, by Omega Red in October. It features a certain diva we all know and love.

[AUG 14] In the Donna is everywhere category, she gets a mention in an interview with Linda Clifford. You can read (or even listen to it) on SoulMusic.com.

[AUG 14] And that brings us to the web news. On YouTube look for Donna's performance 2008 performance on American Idol, a TV performance of I Will Go With You, and The Wanderer from Tomorrow Coast To Coast.

[AUG 7] In release news the Icon compilation [Amazon, Amazon UK] has been pushed back to October 25. Amazon STILL has no track list which is not the least bit surprising. My guess is that perhaps the label is planning to do something with the whole line of Icon CDs for the Christmas shopping season so it makes sense to have something "new" come out then. Of course, I reserve the right to be COMPLETELY wrong.  LOL

[AUG 7]  The Advocate came up with its list of favorite disco tracks. Donna made the list twice with Last Dance and Enough Is Enough. (I haven't heard some of those other tracks listed in a long, long time - it might be time to dust off some old vinyl!  :-) )

[AUG 7] In the Donna's music is everywhere category, Bad Girls gets quoted briefly in the NY Times' Social Q column.

[AUG 7] And believe it or not that brings us to the web news. (Just in time too - thunderstorms almost knocked my power out just now!) On YouTube look for a new classic clip of Could It Be Magic, a mix of If It Hurts Just A Little, Shut Out/Heaven Is A Disco (read the uploader's comments too) and Andy's Hot Summer Video edit. Also check out Sebastiano's Donna Summertime site. He's updated the People Talk page a little and thrown in some cool photos.

[AUG 1] Time for a new Summer Fever pick. This month we go back to Cats Without Claws.

[JUL 31] Let's start in the land of flash mobs - because everybody like a good flash mob, right?  ;-)  This one was for a cause (instead of just for entertainment) and it was comprised of about 20 union workers in Australia singing She Works Hard For The Money outside an electorate office. The performance was part of a push for equal pay, so I'd say they picked the right song.  However maybe next time they could throw in some choreography too. They could just copy the choreography from the video if they can't come up with something of their own.  :-)

[JUL 31] Moving on to dance music.  A survey conducted by the electronic music festival Global Gathering, came up with the 10 top dancefloor filling songs. I Feel Love came in at #5.

[JUL 31] In the Donna is everywhere category, she gets name-checked in a Lady Gaga review where the writer mentioned that Lady GaGa has discovered her inner Donna Summer.

[JUL 31] That brings us to the web news for the week. I'm sure most of you will want to check out the new Last Dance, Smile, Enough Is Enough, Dim All The Lights, La Vie En Rose, On The Radio, and She Works Hard For The Money videos from Art On Ice on YouTube. They were all posted by the Art On Ice organization so they are good quality with a nice mix of shots of the skaters and shots of Donna.

[JUL 31] Finally, Gold Legion customers - they have Vicki Sue Robinson's Half & Half, Linda Clifford's I'll Keep On Loving You and Jellybean's Wotupski in stock now. Paul Jabara's Keeping Time is expected August 4. I'll be back tomorrow night with a new Summer Fever pick.

[JUL 24] Taihisha fans should jump down to the Family Matters section below.  :-)

[JUL 24] Let's start with a Donna sighting in San Francisco. (Maybe  I need to rephrase that - it make Donna sound like the Loch Ness monster or a UFO or something.  LOL)  Anyway, she was a guest at the Festival del Sole Gala. You can read about it here, or check out a photo of Donna and David Foster here.  Subscribers to the San Francisco Chronicle got to see that photo in the newspaper today. (It's in the Style section.)

[JUL 24] Moving overseas, there is a German documentary series called Queens Of Pop running on the Arte TV channel. They had an episode about Donna (of course!) which I will talk a little more about in a minute. She was also quoted in the Diana Ross and Madonna episodes where she had nice things to say about both Divas. (Sorry Ken!  ;-) ) Now getting back to Donna's episode, I'm told it was very positive on the whole. They apparently messed up a couple of details here and there, and they sometimes focused more her social impact than her music, but they wrapped it up nicely at the end with this quote from Nile Rodgers: "Donna Summer is magic. And history didn’t treat her all the time kindly. Many people don’t see her as what she is, a genius, genius artist. She is beyond just a pop, R&B, soul, disco diva. She is an avantgarde, revolutionary artist." You can read about the show and watch a clip here. That link is all German, but if French is better for you, use this link instead. (Yes the video clip changes language too.)

[JUL 24] In the land of remixes, the Patrick Cowley mix of I Feel Love came in at #7 on NME.com's list of the Top 50 mixes.

[JUL 24] That brings us to the web news. On YouTube look for the King & Little Steven Gypsy Classic Remix of Someday, and a Hot Stuff vs. Bad Girls mix, 

[JUL 24] Gold Legion customers - they now have the Linda Clifford CD in stock.

[JUL 20] And now for the secret link to the pics of Donna and Omega Red. (The link only appears after someone says the magic words: "Dummy, you forgot the link!"  LOL)

[JUL 17] Let's start off with new music. Donna has teamed up with her nephew Omega Red for a track called Angel for his forthcoming album. You can check out pictures of them in the studio . (It looks like they were having an awful lot of fun!)

[JUL 17] In the not so new music category, Perfect Beat is selling a compilation called DMC Dance Mixes Extra Vol. 6 that includes 4 of the To Paris With Love mixes. 

[JUL 17] JamaicaObserver.com has a feature on icons with strong fashion identities.  Their most recent article in the series focuses on Donna around 1976. In it they explain how they replicated Donna's style on their model.

[JUL 17] In the Donna is everywhere category, she gets a mention in Billboard's Chartbeat in a column about songs written by big name artists that were made hits by someone else. She gets another mention in an interview with Kristine W where she recalls watching Donna sing Last Dance in Thank God It's Friday.

[JUL 17] In the Donna can't be everywhere category, AtlanticCityWeekly.com has a photo of the current Legends In Concert cast - including their "Donna Summer."

[JUL 17] And that brings us to the web news. On YouTube check out the Gladys Knight vs. Aretha vs. Donna clip of The Way We Were. The guy who uploaded it asked viewers to comment on who had the best version (of those 3) and Donna seemed to be getting the most votes. The same poster also presented Donna vs. Aretha on MacArthur Park. There the voting seemed more split which may be due to the vastly different styles they used and the fact that they didn't use Donna's studio version. Also look for the EuroNixMix Moroder Years Mega Mix, and a clip from a UK Disco Top Ten show.

[JUL 10] Let's start off with BWCityPaper.com's This Week In Music feature. In it, they mention that I Feel Love held the top spot on the UK charts for a month. The article is accompanied by a vintage picture of Donna with Giorgio Moroder.

[JUL 10] There is a new article about the David Foster CD posted by Inquirer.net.

[JUL 10] In The Donna is everywhere category, she gets a mention in the new memoir Transparent [Amazon, Amazon UK] by CNN correspondent Don Lemon. In it, he remembers dancing to the disco music of the 70s and mentions that he is still a fan of Donna.

[JUL 10] In a more unusual news item, apparently there was a plan back in the day to make a movie starting a comic book character called Dazzler who was a roller-skating mutant disco diva. Part of the movie pitch involved getting various guest stars to play roles in the film. It was suggested that Donna would play the Queen of Fire. You can read more about it here. (Sounds like one freaky movie to me!  LOL)

[JUL 10] That brings us to the web news for the week. On YouTube look for the Royalty Mix tribute to Donna, a Donna megamix, a 1987 interview, and of course the ever popular clip of I Will Survive where Donna manages to sound EXACTLY like Gloria Gaynor.  ;-)

[JUL 2] Happy Canada Day to my Canadian friends and Happy Fourth to my American friends! Happy weekend to everyone else.  :-)

[JUL 2] This week is pretty much dead as far as news goes. I blame the holidays. The really big news for the week was that Johnnyswim was playing in my area and I had to work! Ugh! (Somebody get me the winning lottery numbers - I gotta give up this working for a living stuff!  LOL) There is an interesting interview from last summer posted here. 

[JUL 2] For those who are interested in site archives, the Internet Wayback machine can show you what a given site looked like at some point in the past. For instance, this is what Donna's old site looked like in 1999. And to my horror.. I have even found a VERY early archive of my site.  LOL

[JUL 2] Moving on to YouTube, we have a mix of No More Tears, a mix of State Of Independence, and a really cool Donna vs. Sting mashup of Someone To Watch Over Me.

[JUL 2] Gold Legion customers - this is what the latest release schedule looks like (in case you didn't get their email): Vicki Sue Robinson's Half And Half is expected July 8, Linda Clifford's I'll Keep On Loving You follows on July 15 and Paul Jabara's Keeping Time is expected July 29.

[JUN 26] Congrats (and it's about freaking time!) to all my gay friends in NY - I think the wedding planners are going to be VERY busy for awhile!  ;-)

[JUN 26] Johnnyswim fans will want to check the Family Matters section below. 

[JUN 26] Calling USA Comcast-Xfinity subscribers - you can catch Donna in Platinum Hit on demand for free. So if you missed the broadcast, you can catch it again at your leisure.

[JUN 26] In the Donna is everywhere category, she gets mentioned in the new Blondie Panic Of Girls fan pack. Debbie Harry mentions being a fan of Donna and Giorgio and particularly of I Feel Love. 

[JUN 26] Also in the Donna is everywhere category, America's Got Talent recently featured a drag queen named Hershae Chocolatae who danced to Last Dance. (Yes, it's on YouTube.) And she gets a mention in the Orlando Sentinel in an article about famous entertainers who got their start in Hair. 

[JUN 26] In the Donna can't be everywhere category, we have Legends In Concert at Foxwoods featuring tributes to Carrie Underwood, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Celine Dion and of course Donna. (Do I need to mention that Legends features impersonators? It's probably pretty obvious since Frank Sinatra has been dead for some time which makes him REALLY hard to book.  ;-) ) I should point out that there are 2 Legends lineups this summer - the one with the tribute to Donna starts August 2.

[JUN 26] That brings us to the web news for the week. Over on YouTube look for a remix of Could It Be Magic, Glen Rivera's I Feel Love Restructure mix, Parede fo Kings feat. Donna Summer Feel My Pulse, and the Fire Island Remix of Who Do You Think You're Fooling.

[JUN 19] Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.  :-) Unfortunately it's a pretty slow week this time.

[JUN 19] I Feel Love gets a mention in The Guardian as one of the 50 key event sin the history of dance music. Check out the whole timeline here.

[JUN 19] We have a couple of new books out there about dance music. The first is Disco: The Music, The Times, The Era [Amazon, Amazon UK] about, well.... the disco era obviously.  ;-) The other is The Record Players: DJ Revolutionaries [Amazon, Amazon UK], and that is of course, about the guys who spin the disks. 

[JUN 19] And that brings us to the web news. On YouTube, look for Glen Rivera's Restructured mix of Autumn Changes,  fan-made videos for The Wanderer tracks by orpheus4u, and a Patrice video for Are You Brave.

[JUN 12] Let's start off with a tiny omission from last week. I mentioned a new Donna Summer Persona for Firefox and forgot to give you a working link to check it out. Well here is the link.  While I was grabbing that link, I discovered a Bad Girls Persona I had never found before. That one is here.

[JUN 12] On to the news. As many of you know, Donna was on Platinum Hit last week. The episode is now available for sale on iTunes for 1.99. (You want the episode called Dance Floor Royalty.) There is also a short interview with Donna on the Bravo site - and I should tell you now that it was filmed last year. (That's when the show was in production.) Now I know international fans are having trouble seeing the Bravo videos. (I totally understand the frustration - been there done that myself.) So you guys might want to take to YouTube. I can't guarantee how long any of the clips will last there, but a basic search will give you the current crop of available clips.  :-)

[JUN 12] In release news, the Icon compilation will be out August 23 in the US and July 19 in the UK. [Amazon, Amazon UK] There is still no track list, but it will be just a basic Greatest Hits package. And judging by the low price, I'd say it's probably only about 10 tracks.

[JUN 12] There is a new book out there by Craig Halstead called Donna Summer: For The Record. It is a comprehensive overview of Donna's recording career - something that I think just might interest one or two of you. (Or maybe 1 or 2 hundred of you.)  ;-)  Check it out at Author's Online where you can even look at a sample from the book. You can buy a copy there if you want or just head over to Amazon or Amazon UK.  Be patient if you are buying the actual paper book (as opposed to the ebook) as it can take 2 weeks to ship. (That happens with new releases sometimes.)

[JUN 12] German fans, ARTE TV will be running Portraits: Queens Of Pop over 10 days in July. Donna's portrait airs on July 20.

[JUN 12] That brings us to the web news for the week. On YouTube, look for The Loverboy 2011 mix of This Time I Know It's For Real, Jandry's  Good Time remix of Breakaway,  and AJ's 2011 Electro Dub of This Time I Know It's For Real.

[JUN 5] Before we get to the Donna news, Johnnyswim fans should look for their new CD on June 21.  :-)

[JUN 5] And better late than never, the new Summer Fever pick is up. This month we celebrate Once Upon A Time - mainly because I was in the mood for a fairy tale.  :-) 

[JUN 5] On to the main event! Tomorrow is the debut for Donna's episode of Platinum Hit. It repeats multiple times over the course of the week and I have the list below. (All times listed are Eastern.) If you want a sneak peek, check out the clip on the show's website. I believe the videos over there are region restricted though.  :-(  (I hate when that happens!)  It looks like US fans will be able to get episodes of the show on iTunes as well. I'm not sure about other countries, but I'm sure creative Googlers will find a work around. There is a photo from the episode posted here.

[JUN 5] In the Donna is everywhere category, she gets a name check in an interview with Alana DaCosta, and again in an interview with her former manager, Jeff Wald. (Don't get excited - the article is about his former drug use - Donna is only mentioned as a former client. There are no juicy details of things locked in the vault or anything like that. LOL)

[JUN 5] In the Donna's music is everywhere category, the Broadway play, The Normal Heart, opens with a montage of pre-AIDS life in New York. The montage is accompanied by Bad Girls and Le Freak back to back.  :-)

[JUN 5] I think I forgot to mention this when it came out, but thanks to Sebastiano over at Donna Summertime, there is now a Donna Summer Persona for the Firefox web browser. You can check it out here. (My browser is wearing it right now and seems quite happy with the fashion statement.  ;-) )

[JUN 5] That brings us to YouTube. Look for Jandry's Neon Sign mix of Sunset People,  a classic live clip of I Remember Yesterday, and a whole bunch of animated videos courtesy of orpheus4u.

[MAY 29] Happy Memorial Day! It's officially summertime now.  :-)

[MAY 29] Let's start off with the new TV series Platinum Hit. As many of you know, Donna is slated to be one of the guest judges this year. The show debuts tomorrow on Bravo at 10 PM. According to TV Guide, Donna will be on the episode that debuts on June 7 at 10 PM. The show is repeated multiple times throughout the week and it looks like it may be possible to view episodes online after they have aired on TV. One of the guys behind the show is none other than Evan Bogart and you can read an interview with him on Boston.com.

[MAY 29] In the Donna is everywhere category, Love To Love You made a list of the worst album covers believe it or not.

[MAY 29] She also got a mention in a short article about a private bash for Haim Saban. Apparently Seal performed On The Radio and got Donna to join in.

[MAY 29] Also in the Donna is everywhere category, I think I may have mentioned previously that a couple of Donna's songs appear in the stage musical Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert. The booklet for the London production also includes this anecdote: In an attempt to secure further international investment, trainee producer Grant Lee makes an impromptu appearance in a pink afro and sequinned green swimsuit miming to Donna Summer at a distributors' lunch at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. And speaking of anecdotes, supermodel Sophie Dahl shares this memory in her cookbook:  I celebrated my twenty-second birthday on a rooftop in the Lower West Side, dancing to Donna Summer in a black lace ball gown that I borrowed that day from a fashion shoot.

[MAY 29] And in a little more unusual version of the Donna is everywhere category, there is a show horse in the UK known as "Donna Summer". Strangely enough, the horse seems to be male. I guess if those Donna is a man rumors ever start again, we'll know why.  ;-)

[MAY 29] On YouTube, look for Love To Love You from The Midnight Special, a remix of Dance Into My Life with images that you men will like ( and maybe some of us ladies too) ;-) ,and an I Feel Love video, 

[MAY 22] Happy Apocalypse everybody! ;-) (Boy I bet that guy who predicted it feels pretty silly about now!)

[MAY 22] Calling all you mad voters out there (you know who you are!  LOL) Studio Brussel is doing a poll to select the top 100 albums. You can vote here, but keep in mind that the site is in Dutch so you might need the help of Google or a Dutch buddy if that's not your best language.  :-)

[MAY 22] In the land of covers, the band Lady Of The Canyon will be doing a tribute to Donna in Fitzgerald's in Chicago on Wednesday.  You can read a bit about the show here. 

[MAY 22] In the Donna is everywhere (sort of) category, she gets a mention in an article about the song MacArthur Park.I should warn you now that the author pegged the song as his/her least favorite song of all time. But the article mainly talks about the original Richard Harris version of the song. 

[MAY 22] Also in the Donna is everywhere category, she gets a mention in the Mixt Cosmetics blog as one of their style icons. 

[MAY 22] On YouTube look for a 1976 clip of  Could It Be Magic, MacArthur Park live from Chile, and El Verdadero Amor (Whenever There Is Love, the Spanish version).

[MAY 15] Happy Sunday. It's been a slow week and I'm a little bit bitter that Donna got no mention at all on Celebrity Apprentice tonight.  ;-)  (They have to create a 70's themed ad campaign and the team is trying to be a bit disco with some of it.)

[MAY 15] In the Donna is everywhere category, she gets a brief mention in a trivia quiz about songs about weather. She also got a mention on the TV show, The Talk. Dionne Warwick was interviewed on the show and when asked about the longevity of her career she said (and this is paraphrased a bit): "I have remained true to myself for fifty years. I did my thing and the brilliant Donna Summer did her thing. I never stepped into her pool, and she never stepped into mine." You can watch it on YouTube right here. And, she gets another mention in an interview with Moby. (Scroll down to the question about the "thingness of things." That phrase will make sense when you get to the question.)

[MAY 15] That brings us to the web news. Over on YouTube, look for I Remember Yesterday from Japan, Nightline's Playlist from 2008, an excellent quality clip of Heaven Knows from The Midnight Special, an Donna vs Usher mashup called DJ's Got Us Falling In  Hot Stuff.

[MAY 8] Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there.  :-)

[MAY 8] In book news, And Party Every Day: The Story Of Casablanca Records is officially out now as an audiobook now for those of you who like to listen instead of read. You can grab a copy through Audible (via Amazon or Amazon UK) and if you sign up for an Audible membership you can usually snag a really good deal. And on a side note, I see it's available in a Kindle edition for those who prefer ebooks.

[MAY 8] Remix fans, check out the new unofficial mix of Heaven Knows by DJ Valvanis.

[MAY 8] Photo hounds, I was messing around Getty Images and discovered that if you search for Donna (and spell her name wrong) you can find some extra photos from the 2008 People Magazine article.

[MAY 8] In classic news (is there such a thing?  LOL) I found a 1981 article talking about Donna's return after taking a year off to have Brooklyn. The article is presented as an image file so people depending upon screen readers will need to find a person to help them out.

[MAY 8] That brings us to the web news. Over on YouTube look for a new clip of Dim All The Lights from Art On Ice earlier this year, a Glenn Rivera mix of I Feel Love, and a Patrice slideshow set to To Paris With Love. 

[MAY 1] Well, it's a new month so you all know what that means - it's time for a new Summer Fever Pick. This month we're going back to Love To Love You.

[MAY 1] It's a slow week this week, so the big news is the blu-ray release of the movie Daylight.  As many of you know, Donna and Bruce Roberts recorded Whenever There Is Love for the movie, and this release does include the video for the song. There is a review of the DVD at blu-ray.com, but don't expect it to be overly flattering. You can pick up a copy at Amazon or Amazon UK.

[MAY 1] On Youtube (I told you it's a slow week!  LOL) look for the medley with Seal from the David Foster DVD, a mix of Whenever There Is Love (audio only), Supernatural Love from Soul Train, and the rare track, The Planet Is Alive.

[MAY 1] In classic dance news, I just received 2 Vicki Sue Robinson CDs and 1 France Joli CD from Gold Legion. So if you have an order outstanding for those, expect to  have them soon (if you didn't get them already.) Over at Big Break Records, they have released two more Casablanca classics, both produced by the one and only Tom Moulton. They are T.J.M. and Loose Change. So check those out if you have a chance.

[MAY 1] And finally on a personal note, I did my MS Walk today - and it was such a gorgeous day for a walk!  I just want to thank all of you who contributed, and all of you who wanted to but couldn't. Together we raised over $400 from my site visitors alone, while my team raised about $4000 from various offline activities. Not bad.  :-)  I had a blast and hopefully we helped someone in the process.  :-)  Thanks for helping and thanks for putting up with me.  :-)

[APR 24] Happy Easter, Passover and National Pickle Week..... oh wait, that's not this week.  ;-)

[APR 24] Trivia junkies, check out WhoSampled.com. They have a list of songs that sampled Donna's music, a list of songs that Donna covered and a list of her songs that other people covered. The lists are by no means fully comprehensive (Particularly the one covering covers of Donna's music) but they are still interesting to look at. 

[APR 24] In classic news, there is an article on the web from 1989 talking a little about Donna's switch from Geffen to Atlantic for the release of Another Place And Time.

[APR 24] In the Donna is everywhere category, she gets a number of mentions in a new interview with France Joli in Daeida Magazine.  (Just click the cover to get access to an online copy of the entire issue.) 

[APR 24] In the Mistaken Identity category - you might run into articles about The Glade Festival in England this June.  The "Donna Summer" listed on that roster is DJ Donna Summer aka Jason Forrest.  So if you catch a glimpse of the name "Donna Summer" in an advertisement in the general vicinity of London, it's not OUR Donna.

[APR 24] That brings us to the web news for the week. Over at YouTube, look for Stampyourfeet's mashup for The Queen Is Back, and a live clip of the Star Spangled Banner. Also uploaded this week, a live clip of Love To Love You  from the Midnight Special and This Time I Know It's For Real from Arsenio.

[APR 24] Finally in classic dance news, Gold Legion has finally mailed out one France Joli album and one Vicki Sue Robinson CD.  They say to look for more from those two artists in early May, and then in late May look for other releases later in May. There is other stuff still in the works too, but the guys at Gold Legion are learning not to say too much until they can be more certain of release dates.  :-)

[APR 17] Let's start with the big news of the week. The cable channel Bravo is coming out with a new show called Platinum Hit. Think of it as a Project Runway or America's Top Model for singer/songwriters. In addition to a regular panel of judges, a few celebrity guest judges will be brought in for an episode or two. Donna is slated to be one of the guest judges. The television show debuts on May 30, but there is no word yet as to when Donna will appear. You can find out more a bout the show on the Bravo website. There were about nine billion articles this week about the show, but they were all pretty much just the press release. This one included a picture of Donna from last year.

[APR 17] In the Donna is everywhere category, she gets a mention in an article marking 30 years of Billboard's Chartbeat column. Also the Word Thoughts blog used Spring Affair in a post about the arrival of spring.

[APR 17] In web news, look for Fernando's video remix for Once Upon A Time on YouTube, along with Glen Rivera's Restructured mix of the Once Upon A Time. Also look for Glen Rivera's mix of Queen For A Day, Work That Magic from UK television, and an acoustic (audio only) clip of acoustic versions of On The Radio and Bad Girls.

[APR 10] Let's start off with some release news. First up is a new compilation called Icon due May 24. [Amazon, Amazon UK] There is no track list yet, but I can tell you that it is one of a series of compilation albums. To give you an idea, here is an article about other albums in the series.

[APR 10] In other release news, PerfectBeat is putting out a compilation of mixes called DMC Dance Extra Mixes that will include several mixes of To Paris With Love on volumes 6 and 7. There is nothing that hasn't already been released as a download, but for those of you looking for an actual CD, this is your chance. (Plus each disk includes mixes by other artists as well.)

[APR 10] In the Donna is everywhere category, she (and I Feel Love) gets a mention in an interview with Moby.

[APR 10] That brings us to the web news for the week. Over on YouTube, look for Fernando's video remix for Once Upon A Time, the MAW mix of I Feel Love, and Jimmie's Jam Of The Day: Eyes. 

[APR 3] First things first - I replaced the April Fool's page with the real Summer Fever pick which is Bad Girls. (Something some of you were calling me I think when you saw the trick page.  ;-) ) If you missed the joke, it's still here for you to see. By the way, that page marks a first for this site - it was the first time I ever posted only full length tracks for an album.  (Of course my usual clips are way longer than those "full length tracks."  LOL)

[APR 3] This week I also have a new Ken's Korner for you. He's being nice so obviously the aliens have gotten to him or something.  ;-)  And Wolfgang has updated the first page (the biography) to his German discography. You will find that here. 

[APR 3] Moving on to the diva, classic photo hounds will love these pics from 1976. The resolution on those is huge which makes them just right for making wallpapers for your computer or whatever.

[APR 3] In the Donna is everywhere category, there is an off-Broadway play called My Big Gay Italian Wedding. In it, there is a scene where the two main characters are leaving a gay karaoke bar. One asks the other, "Why did you run out in the middle of our duet? I can handle the Barbra part, but there is no way I can sing both Barbra and Donna." The line got a big laugh, but I can't help but wonder what song they were referring to?  ;-) 

[APR 3] That brings us to the web news for the week. On YouTube look for Fernando's videos for a remix of Eyes, and a Toni Braxton/Donna Summer/Seal mashup of Unbreak My Heart. Then there is the MadMixMustang mashup of Donna vs. Jimi Hendrix Foxy Stuff,  and the Peter Zohdy & Michael JT's Chicago Rework of Our Love.

[APR 1] The new Summer Fever pick is posted and this time instead of looking to the past, I'm looking to the future. I got the scoop on a compilation of  new single edits of the hits.

[MAR 27] Let's start off with some chart news. The David Foster album debuted on the Billboard 200 Album chart March 19 at #197. From there is climbed to #108 (where it was tagged as the pacesetter) on March 26, but then it dropped back to #160 for the week of April 2. I don't know if the copied PBS gave away to donors counts towards the chart position. My guess is that it doesn't. (Although the repeated airings on PBS no doubt increased sales.)

[MAR 27] As you all know, Donna performed last weekend at the Israeli Leaders Council Gala. There is a write up about the event here, but be warned that Donna is mentioned only briefly.

[MAR 27] In the Donna's music is everywhere category, the New York Gay Men's Chorus is doing a show called The Big Gay Sing 3D. In it they cover songs by a number of artists. One particular medley of note is made up of I Feel Love, Bad Girls, Hot Stuff and Last Dance. 

[MAR 27] Also in the Donna's music is everywhere category, listen for versions of Hot Stuff and MacArthur Park in the musical  Priscilla Queen Of The Desert.

[MAR 27] That brings us to the web news for the week. Over on YouTube look for a remix of State Of Independence, Fernando's latest video simply called Love Song, a classic clip of Once Upon A Time (from the Midnight Special if I recall), and a mix of La Vie En Rose.

[MAR 27] I will be back later this week with an update to Wolfgang's German discography and the new Summer Fever pick. Hmmm... April is around the corner. Who knows what I might find to post on Friday?  ;-)

[MAR 20] For those of you who ever wondered just what Donna is doing while I update the site (c'mon, there must be one person, right?  LOL)  tonight I actually have an answer. Right about now she's performing in Beverly Hills at  the Israeli Leadership Council Gala. It would not surprise me in the least if we got a few photos out of it later this week from the usual sites (Wireimage, etc).

[MAR 20] In the Donna's music is everywhere category, the Scottish Sun voted the scene in The Full Monty with the guys dancing to Hot Stuff as the funniest ever movie moment. Also, look for the song in the wedding scene in the movie Burlesque.

[MAR 20] In the ancient history category... ok, well maybe not quite so ancient  ;-) I have a French promo clip promoting The Journey, and another French clip promoting her 1993 comeback. 

[MAR 20] Trivia fans, FunTrivia.com has a collection of facts about Donna. It's probably nothing the diehards don't know already but you can probably freak out casual fans by saying, "who doesn't know that?" ;-)

[MAR 20] In the land of covers, Andrea Corr is releasing a covers album called Lifelines. In it she covers State Of Independence. Also Cece Penniston has been covering Last Dance in her recent shows.

[MAR 20] That brings us to the web news for the week. Over at YouTube look for Jandry's  Easy With Me 2010 remix of The Woman In Me, Donna winning the Grammy for Last Dance, and Spring Affair from Soul Train.

[MAR 20] And finally - my thanks to those of you who have sponsored my walk for MS.  I know that money is tight and there are a ton of very worthy charities all competing for every dime, and it means a lot that you have sent your cash my way. I will be emailing all my contributors about the time of the walk (May 1) but I wanted to just say something here so you don't think I'm entirely ungrateful.  ;-)  

[MAR 13] Let me start off by saying hello to all the friends unknown in Japan. I've been watching the news and the images I've been seeing of the destruction is just... overwhelming.  When Mother Nature is in a bad mood, boy does she show it!  I hope all of you and your families are safe and sound and remain that way as events unfold. For those people worldwide who are looking for information or for ways to help the people of Japan, Google has (as usual - go Google!) compiled a list of resources including a person finder.  (Now THAT is a great tool!)

[MAR 13] On to lighter and infinitely more fun things... Let's start with David Foster again. (At this rate I may have to change the name of the site!  LOL) The March 7 issue of USA Today called the David Foster special "must watch TV" and in the March TV calendar they mention that Donna is in great voice these days and the show is worth it just to hear her "rip into" Last Dance. I also have a PDF of the PBS press release for Channel 13 in NY.

[MAR 13] Out.com has compiled a list of the 100 Gayest albums of all time. Donna comes in at #72 with Once Upon A Time and #34 with Bad Girls. I think we can give an honorable mention to Hair at #68. Ok, so Donna wasn't on the particular recording Out selected, but she did appear on the German soundtrack.  ;-)

[MAR 13] Omega Red has tweeted that he was in the studio with Donna the other day. He posted a picture to go with it.

[MAR 13] In the Donna is everywhere category, look for a mention of Last Dance on AVClub.com's list of first favorite songs. Also a recent episode of RuPaul's Drag Race had 2 contestants "Lip-Syncing For Their Life" to MacArthur Park.

[MAR 13] That brings us to the web news for the week. Over on YouTube look for more Art On Ice clips courtesy of lelo546, a re-scored clip from Three Days Of The Condor using Come With Me, and a whole bunch of karaoke clips courtesy of TheSoloKaraoke.

[MAR 13] And finally on a personal note, thanks to those of you who have already contributed to my walk for MS. There is still plenty of time if anyone else would like to contribute - although I realize that especially now after the disaster in Japan, there are other causes vying for your money as well. Every penny is appreciated and I will be emailing all m y donors closer to the time of the walk. (And don't forget I have those Brooklyn Dreams cds for my 2 top contributors! :-) )

[MAR 8] I have been given the complete list of PBS airdates for the David Foster concert. It's too big to post on this page, so check out this PDF file.  Please keep in mind that this show is part of most (if not all) of the stations pledge drive, so if you are so inclined to donate to PBS, a good time would be during the breaks in the concert.  ;-)

[MAR 8] On a personal note, I will be walking for MS on May 1. (Make that walking for a cure to MS - it would be pretty mean to walk to support making people ill!  LOL) If any of you would like to support me, you can donate at my (really boring hardly customized) page on the National MS Society website. I mentioned previously that I have 2 extra copies of the Brooklyn Dreams Sleepless Nights CD that I was trying to decide what to do with. I propose to give them to  the 2  people who donate the most to my MS walk. (Or in the event of many people sending the same amount, I'll pick 2 people at random from the highest donors.)  Now for those of you asking why I'm walking - well there is a really boring, and standard paragraph on my MS page that the MS Society wrote. The real reason is that my boss, who happens to be a really cool person (end blatant sucking up here), has the disease. She has to give herself an injection every day and the thing that really strikes me about that is that she has 2 young children. Her 7 year old has learned how to give her the shot. What 7 year old should have to know about that? When I was 7, I was still running away from needles screaming..... (The same was true when I was 37, but I digress.  ;-) ) 

[MAR 6] I have another airdate for the David Foster concert: WHYY in Pittsburgh is running it various times this week.

[MAR 6] Pretty much all the news this week is about the David Foster concert. Because it is airing all over the country over the next couple of weeks, there are articles all over the web promoting it. (And with very good reason - aside from being a good show, PBS is in the midst of fundraising so they want all the publicity they can get.) Here are a couple of the recent articles:

BroadwayWorld.com
Philly.com
SiouxCityJournal.com
LasVegasWeekly.com
KansasCity.com

(On a non-Donna related PBS side note, they are running the 25th anniversary concert version of Les Miserables this month - I just caught the second half of it and it's AMAZING. You have to catch the guy playing Jean Valjean.  :-) )

[MAR 6] That brings us to the web news. On YouTube look for an extended version of Melody Of Love with some rather random images, the Jonathan Peters mix of Love Is The Healer (also with pretty random images), Try Me from American Bandstand, the Unconditional Love video, and of course, another PBS promo for the David Foster concert.  :-)

[MAR 1] The new Summer Fever pick is up. This month I'm bringing back Live & More Encore.

[FEB 27] Happy Oscar Night everyone. And the winner for Best Performer in a movie in my mind is..... well, you know.  ;-)

[FEB 27] Let's start with David Foster. If you pre-ordered the CD/DVD through his site, then it might already be in your hands. (And if it's not, it will be soon.  :-) ) If you are waiting to catch the show on PBS here in the US, well March 9-ish seems to be the timeframe we're looking at. The dates I have so far are KQED (Northern California) : March 7, KLRU (Austin, TX): March 9, KTEH (San Francisco Bay Area): March 9, Thirteen (New York City): March 9, WGBY (Boston): March 7, CPTV (Connecticut): March 10. Those are of course the premiere airdates - most (if not all) of those stations will repeat the broadcast several times over the course of the week. Everyone else, just keep checking your local listings. (PBS.org is a great resource for that). 

[FEB 27] Photo hounds, there are 3 images from 1977 posted on Picasaweb. 2 are backstage photos from a Puerto Rico concert and one looks like a Summer Nights business card or something.

[FEB 27] I think that brings us to the web news for the week. Over on YouTube, check out Fernando's video combining the footage from Work That Magic and the music from Mr. Music, Glenn Rivera's Restructure mix of Rumor Has It, MacArthur Park from Art On Ice (shot by a Donna fan instead of a skating fan this time  :-) ), and  the DJs from Mars Bootleg mix  of Donna vs. Usher DJ got us Falling In Hot Stuff.

[FEB 20] It's a new week and there is absolutely nothing going on at all. Nope, not a thing. Well, except for this rather interesting link.  ;-)  It's David Foster's website and if you happen to go there, you will find that The Hit Man Returns: Foster & Friends is available for pre-order. (It's also available at Amazon and Amazon UK for pre-order now too.)  But for just a moment, try to ignore the pre-order popup and continue to the main site and notice the audio player. You WILL want to click on the track called Unbreak My Heart. And after you play that a few hundred times, check out the video trailer.  :-)

[FEB 20] Arte.tv's favorite diva poll has ended and the top vote getter for the 1970s is none other than Donna. :-) I know a lot of you voted - good job!

[FEB 20] In the Donna is everywhere category, fashion designer Michael Kors used I Feel Love in a recent runway show.

[FEB 20] Also in the Donna is everywhere category, check out Billboard.com's 1000 #1s (you will want to click pages 441 and 461, and the Top 40 duets (#33).

[FEB 20] That brings us to the web news for the week. Over on YouTube look for a remix of Cold Love, one for I'm Free, Fernando's combination of Stamp with the video for Work That Magic, a 77 clip of Love's Unkind, a short interview clip coupled with the video for I Don't Want To Get Hurt, and for you bass guitar fans, a clip of a guy playing bass along with the Love To Love You record.

[FEB 13] Happy Valentine's Day everyone! (And happy Grammy night too!) I guess the best place to start is with the MusiCares concert. As Donna announced on her site this week, she was unable to do the concert because of scheduling conflicts.  :-(  I know we have a few Barbra fans lurking here, so for you guys here is a link to see photos from the event. 

[FEB 13] In release news - here is one I never expected. There is a compilation called Funky Frauleins Volume 2   that is a collection of tracks from female artists in Germany from 1968-1981. The final track on the set is Can't Understand by one Donna Gaines. (I think most of you know her by a different name now.  ;-) ) I never expected to find that on a compilation anywhere. You can read the album review here, or check it out on Amazon or Amazon UK. (The US version of Amazon actually has sound clips posted.)

[FEB 13] Overseas, Art On Ice continues. Catch videos of Enough Is Enough, La Vie En Rose, and Smile.  I also have a fan report from Zurich for your reading pleasure.

[FEB 13] Chart fans, there is a site out there called Chart Stats that has a comprehensive archive of UK chart info. If you click the link, it will bring you right to Donna's stats.

[FEB 13] I think that brings us to the web news for the week. Over on YouTube, (in addition to the  Art On Ice links above) look for the live version of Romeo from the 83 HBO special, the Love Is In Control video,  and a karaoke version of I Will Survive.  LOL (I couldn't resist the last version - it really is posted under Donna's name on YouTube.)

[FEB 13] And finally -  Gold Legion sent out an email with the dates the France Joli and Vicki Sue Robinson will be shipped to Gold Legion.  They are February 15 for France Joli, and February 17 and 25 for the two Vicki Sue CDs. Shipping to buyers should follow shortly thereafter, and Gold Legion has promised another email soon with more dates for the pre-ordered stuff.  Now, Big Break Records customers, check out the Brooklyn Dreams CD Sleepless Nights. (It's the one with the alternate version of Heaven Knows - among other things.  :-) ) I got a copy this week and they did a great job. They also sent me a couple of extras that I need to find worthy homes for. I'm thinking a contest of some sort is on order, but I haven't decided what exactly I want to do yet.

[FEB 6] My apologies if any of you had trouble accessing the site over the weekend. I had some technical difficulties involving a Canadian webhost, a hosting bill and a credit card company that apparently hates Canada and even more apparently did not take my previous complaints seriously. I believe the situation has been resolved permanently thanks to another credit card, a sharp pair of scissors, and just a little bit of profanity.  ;-)

[FEB 6] The big news this week is Switzerland. As you all know, Donna is performing at the Art On Ice shows over there and the photos and videos are starting to surface. Let me explain Art On Ice for those of you who don't know what it is. Basically it's a figure skating showcase featuring world class skaters and live music. So while Donna is on stage singing, there is somebody on the ice skating to her song. I've seen it with other musical artists and it's usually a lot of fun. Now with that in mind, understand that in a lot of the videos you will see, the  camera will be mostly focused on the skaters. For photos check out the collection at Getty Images, or WireImage.com. (They are the same photos at both sites.) There is also a slideshow here (check #3) and a few photos on the Art on Ice Facebook page.  For video, YouTube is your best friend. Look for videos posted by MyBrige, MichieStanley, skating4us, froschkoenig8152, and M0vieZ0ne. There is also some rehearsal footage/interviews here, a news report here. And finally, don't miss the interview clip here, and another one here. 

[FEB 6] The appearances in Switzerland are having an effect on music sales. Endless Summer is #7 (as of this writing) in iTunes Soul store for Switzerland.  :-)

[FEB 6] Life Magazine's website has a number of of photos from the David Foster concert and from the subsequent promotional event. (Those are just the most recent photos, there are others from other events too.)

[FEB 6] In the Mistaken Identity category, I got a Google alert for a dressage competition. When I investigated, I found out that the horse is named Donna Summer. That's not so strange (people do name animals after people they admire)... until you read the whole article and learn that the horse is a gelding. I feel the rumor about Donna being a man may return....   LOL (Or maybe since we're talking geldings, I mean a former man?  ;-) )

[FEB 6] I think that brings us to the web news for the week. After you check out the Art On Ice clips, look for a couple of Glen Rivera mixes and a clip of Last Dance from the David Foster concert. Also, Fernando has posted the 1979 tour book accompanied by music from Live & More.

[JAN 30] February 1 is right around the corner, so I've updated the Summer Fever pick already. I thought A Love Trilogy was appropriate for Valentine's Day.  :-)

[JAN 30] Just a reminder for the fans in (or near) Switzerland - Donna will be appearing with Art On Ice in Zurich on February 3 to 6 and in Lausanne on February 8 and 9. Get details from the Art On Ice website. (My link will go to the English version of the site, but are links on the bottom of the Art On Ice site to switch to French or German for those of you who are more comfortable with one of those languages.)

[JAN 30] I know I mentioned this before, but Arte.tv has a poll to pick their visitors' favorite diva. The poll ends very soon, so if you haven't voted - do it now. Donna's doing pretty well, but a few more votes certainly wouldn't hurt.  ;-)

[JAN 30] People Magazine had an advertisement for the MusicCares tribute to Barbra Streisand. A kind soul sent me a scan of the page, so it's here for anyone who wants to see it.

[JAN 30] Johnnyswim fans - I have a fan report from Eli from one of the recent shows in California.

[JAN 30] And that brings us to the web news for the week. Last week I posted a link to a Work That Magic clip. I found out it's from a UK show called Wogan. This week there is a Russian TV report about Donna. The Russian translation plays over Donna's interview but if you listen closely you can hear her English.

[JAN 25] Well, now that I feel human again, we can get down to business.  :-)  I hope you all enjoyed the Johnnyswim interview while you were waiting. (You probably also enjoyed playing "count the typos" too.  LOL)  Before I get to Donna, let me tell you that Johnnyswim has a new video out for Bon Soir, and you can vote for them in the Russell Simmons Hijack Hip-Hop challenge. I know some of you have seen both links already judging by my Facebook feed.  :-)  And on another side note, Amanda's dfad has a new single posted on SmoothJazz.com. It's called Love Is Sacrifice.

[JAN 25] On to the main event. ;-)  Let's start off with a new release - namely the David Foster & Friends DVD and CD. That will be out on March 1. You can read the press release here, or Amazon has the listing the the pre-order for the blu-ray version up already.  (No details posted with the listing yet though.)

[JAN 25] Photo fans - there is a collection of photos from the Boston concert last year posted on TheyWillRockYou.com. 

[JAN 25] In the Donna is not quite everywhere category, catch a cover of MacArthur Park in the Dutch program Het Spaanse Schaap. (There is a clip on YouTube.) And you can find covers of Hot Stuff and I Feel Love in a Canadian film called Funkytown, opening very soon in Montreal.

[JAN 25] And that brings us to the web news for the week. Look for the official music video for Romeo (which is really more of a clipfest from the Flashdance movie than an actual video. You won't see Donna in it.) Then there is the television performance of Work That Magic. (The clip isn't identified, but I'd say European television?) And finally there is what I am told is a Flamenco version of She Works Hard For The Money that does not play in the United States. And more unfortunately the block prevents me from even seeing the description of the video so I can't tell you who recorded it. It was sent to me by a fan in Spain so I believe that probably all (or most) of Western Europe should be able to see it. Everybody else will just have to try their luck and hope for the best.

[JAN 23] The regular update will have to wait a little while because I'm fighting off some nasty bug, but I did want to take a few minutes to bring you an exclusive interview with Johnnyswim courtesy of Eduardo in San Francisco. If you are in the Los Angeles area make sure you catch the pair at Hotel Cafe at 8 PM on Wednesday January 26, or if you are in San Francisco catch them at  Hotel Utah on January 25 at 8 PM or at 9 PM on Thursday January 27 at Lestat's.

[JAN 16] This week let's start off with David Foster. The David Foster and Friends concert that was taped last year (with Donna of course!) will start airing on PBS stations in March for the Spring pledge drive. Check your local listings for the time and station in your specific area. And while we're on the topic of David Foster... you just might want to read this little article on Boston.com. There is a little mention that Donna and David will be teaming up for a future album.  :-) And I have just one more little article for you courtesy of the Sioux City Journal Blog and a few photos promoting the PBS broadcast can be found on PBS' Facebook page. 

[JAN 16] Masterbeat.com has posted its year end charts for 2010. To Paris With Love comes in at #9 on the top 100 releases and at #33 on the top 100 remixes.

[JAN 16] Poll fans - you can vote for your favorite pop diva at Queens Of Pop on arte.tv. You have a choice of voting in French or Dutch so if those aren't your best languages, find somebody cute to translate for you.  ;-)

[JAN 16] As you know Donna will be performing next month at the MusiCares concert honoring Barbra Streisand. You can win tickets to the show by joining Barbra's fundraising team to raise money for the Cedar-Sinai Women's Heart Center. The team member who raised the most cash gets a pair of tickets.

[JAN 16] That brings us to the web news for the week. Over on YouTube look for a couple of clips from Rio de Janeiro  courtesy of niteroi1966, an AMA acceptance speech, Peperamico's video for Breath Of Heaven, and Bad Girls from Divas 2000.

[JAN 9] Let's start off with the MusiCares concert honoring Barbra Streisand next month. Two new articles have popped up about that show this week. Neither is long, but I suspect we will hear more as we get closer to Grammy week. The first one is on the Soul Culture blog, and the other is on CMT.com.

[JAN 9] The BBC compiled a list of the 50 top selling duets in the UK. Enough Is Enough is right there on the list (along with some other great songs I had half forgotten about.)

[JAN 9] That brings us to the web news for the week. On YouTube look for Fernando's upload of Hot Stuff from the 1980 TV special, Stampyurfeet's video for the DJ Strobe Ulti-Mix 2011 of To Paris With Love, a mashup of the B-52s' Love Shack and I Feel Love, and an Another Place And Time megamix.

[JAN 2] Happy New Year everyone!  It's a New Year and a new month which means it's time for the new Summer Fever pick. This month I'm bringing back The Wanderer.

[JAN 2] It's another slow week (barring the dozen or so mentions of celebrity birthdays) thanks to the holidays. But I did run into an interesting poll about the rumor. (Also of interest on that page to many of you will be the totally unrelated photo above the poll. I believe a number of you are fond of scantily clad men?  ;-) )

[JAN 2] And yes, that brings us to the web news already. Over on YouTube check out Fernando's video for Pandora's Box and his birthday video for Donna. Stampyurfeet also did a birthday video for Donna. For something that's more than a little strange, check out the Donna vs. Guns 'N' Mix of Sweet Hot Stuff O' Mine. (Donna and Guns N Roses are not a combination I thought anyone would ever try.  LOL  I don't really think of them as sharing a common fan base.)

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