Donna Summer

Around 100 million copies of her records have been sold worldwide. Muhammad went on to found the R&B group Lucy Pearl and to also pursue a solo career. As of 2005, Summer has gotten 5 Grammy and 6 American Music awards, as well as 24 gold and platinum certifications from the USA and 19 gold and silver certifications from the UK. Q-Tip and Phife Dawg went on to pursue independent solo careers. Summer added to her credits in October 2004, when she performed "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch at Game 2 of the 2004 World Series at Boston's Fenway Park. Following their final album, the group disbanded. In 2003, Donna Summer released a greatest hits compilation called "The Journey", which rocketed into the UK top 10 in the following year thanks to her appearance on ITV1 show Discomania. The Low End Theory was followed by Midnight Marauders (1993), Beats, Rhymes and Life (1996) and The Love Movement (1998).

A new remix of "I Feel Love" was a big UK hit all over again in 1995. It is considered one of the most important hip-hop albums to date. In the 1990s, Summer has continued to work, producing numerous dance hits such as "Melody Of Love", which became the Billboard number one dance hit of the year, "I Will Go With You", the dance version of the beautiful Andrea Bocelli song "Con Te Partiṛ" and "You're So Beautiful", a club anthem she co-wrote with legendary DJ Tony Moran. Though this album was critically acclaimed and lead to a strong fan following, their next album, The Low End Theory (1991) was a massive artistic success, appearing on several best of the year lists. The first single "This Time I Know It's For Real" became a huge hit, first in Europe and later in the United States, and brought her back to the top of the charts. They made their studio debut in 1990 with People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. Summer's career began to slow down drastically in the mid 1980s but was revamped in 1989 with her Stock Aitken Waterman collaboration "Another Place and Time". Musically, the group helped pioneer the jazz-rap style (along with groups such as Gang Starr and De La Soul).

Summer continued her work with Geffen, later releasing the smash hit She Works Hard For the Money, which included a well-remembered hit in the title track. Their lyrics focused on abstract and social issues such as the word "nigger", date rape and consumerism. This song was the inspiration for Quincy Jones to later create with Michael Jackson "We are the World". At the time of their inception, A Tribe Called Quest was extremely unique within the hip-hop community for eschewing gangsta rap and macho posturing. Instead, Geffen had Summer drop Moroder and Bellotte, her long-time songwriters, and paired her with music sensation Quincy Jones on the self titled album "Donna Summer", which produced the dance hit "Love is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)", a Top 40 hit "Woman in Me" and the Vangelis penned "State of Independence", which became a huge hit in Europe with its New Age feel and star chorus that included Christopher Cross and Michael Jackson. Soon after, the group began performing live and recording on a local label. The follow-up album, I'm a Rainbow, was not released until 1996 because Geffen did not think it was good enough. The group's name was coined by The Jungle Brothers, whose members attended the same school.

Her first Geffen album was The Wanderer (1980), which included more rock and roll and R&B influences. Q-Tip and Phife had grown up together in Queens, and met Muhammad in high school. Summer then decided to leave Casablanca and sign to Geffen Records, then just starting up. The group is comprised of Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad. When a greatest hits album, On the Radio, became a #1 hit, Summer was the first artist with three consecutive #1 double albums. A Tribe Called Quest is an influential rap group of the 1990s, originally formed in Queens, New York City in 1988. Summer's songwriting was showcased on Bad Girls (1979), which included a hit single in the title track, as well as "Hot Stuff", which won Summer the Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocalist. The Love Movement, 1999.

After acting (and releasing a Grammy-winning song on the soundtrack) in the comedy Thank God It's Friday, Summer released a live album Live and More, which became another smash hit album and included a cover of "MacArthur Park". Beats, Rhymes and Life, 1996. Once Upon a Time was released soon after I Remember Yesterday; it was another concept album, concerning the fairy tale of Cinderella. Midnight Marauders, 1993. This song, which became a major hit, is enormously influential in the development of disco, electronica and techno music, thanks to Moroder's innovative production. The Low End Theory, 1991. I Remember Yesterday (1977) included the memorable hit single "I Feel Love", the first hit song recorded with an entirely synthesized backing track. People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, 1990.

Continuing to work with Moroder and Bellotte, Love Trilogy (1976) and the concept album Seasons of Love (1976) were hits, though not as popular as Love to Love You Baby. This established a pattern that made Summer unusual in the disco world: she focused just as much, if not more, on full-length albums instead of singles. This was followed by an album, Love to Love You Baby, critically acclaimed then and now, notable for including a seventeen minute version of the titular hit. Casablanca Records soon began distributing the album in the United States, and it became a sensation there as well.

Summer recorded "Love to Love You Baby" which was a huge European hit. Lady of the Night, Summer's first LP, was released in 1975 with moderate success in Europe. In that year, she, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte (who met assisting Three Dog Night in the studio) worked together to produce "The Hostage", a European hit. The single was unsuccessful, however, and Summer had to wait until 1974 to launch a solo career.

In 1971, Summer released "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", her first solo recording. After resettling in Munich, Germany, Summer married Helmut Sommer ("Summer" is an anglicization of his last name) and did various musical jobs in studios and theatres for several years. She eventually settled in Europe, joining the Viennese Folk Opera and participating in numerous musicals. A few months before graduating high school, Summer dropped out and joined the German productions of Hair, Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Show Boat.

She later joined a rock group called the Crow. Born Donna Gaines in Boston, Massachusetts, Summer began performing in her church's choir. Her work is still critically acclaimed and remains one of the few disco artists accepted by modern rock critics. Even though she is one of the best-known artists of the disco era, Summer has covered different genres including R&B, rock and roll and inspirational music, earning her Grammy Awards in those categories.

Summer was a rarity in the 1970s disco scene because her career began before the disco explosion, and continued afterward. Donna Summer (born December 31, 1948) is an American pop music singer best known for a string of disco music hits in the 1970s which earned her the title "Queen of Disco". 2003 The Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer. Encore.

1999 Live and More.. 1998 Greatest Hits. 1994 Endless Summer. 1994 Christmas Spirit.

1993 Anthology. 1991 Mistaken Identity. 1990 The Best of Donna Summer. 1989 Another Place and Time.

1987 All Systems Go. 1987 The Dance Collection. 1985 The Summer Collection. 1984 Cats Without Claws.

1983 She Works Hard for the Money. 1982 Donna Summer. 1981 I'm a Rainbow (originally set for release in 1981, finally released in 1996). 1980 The Wanderer.

1980 Walk Away. 1979 On the Radio. 1979 Bad Girls. 1978 Live and More.

1977 Once Upon a Time. 1977 I Remember Yesterday. 1976 Four Seasons of Love. 1976 A Love Trilogy.

1975 Love to Love You Baby. 1974 Lady of the Night.