Hot Press is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Donna Summer who’s passed away in Florida, aged 63. The five-time Grammy winner had been suffering from cancer.
One of disco’s most unique voices, Summer broke internationally in 1975 with the Giorgio Moroder-produced Love To Love You Baby – a game-changing album that was a key influence on the likes of Soft Cell and The Human League whose mainman Phil Oakey also went on to work with Moroder.
Another of her big hits, ‘I Feel Love’, was covered recently by Dublin outfit Hello Moon on the Record Store Gay compilation that was released on April 21 in support of LGBT charity Outhouse.
Among the tweeted tributes flooding in are ones from fellow dance music pioneers Chuck D – “Always, always, always loved Donna Summer… had a crush on her”; Nile Rodgers – “For the last half-hour I’ve been lying in my bed crying and stunned”; and A-Trak – “Damn, Donna Summer too? Wow, RIP. Our culture is so indebted to her.”