Donna Summer - Gone At 63

Numerous media outlets are reporting the passing of musician Donna Summer this morning.  She died at the age of 63, after a long, private battle with cancer.

Summer was the Queen of Disco.  Hell, she was the very definition of the genre.  Speaking for myself, I was never much of a fan of disco myself, but I always liked her songs.  She was one of the rare singers in this world that could effortlessly convey emotion.  When it comes to the disco era, that was hard to come by.

My favorite Donna Summer song, hands down, was 'On The Radio'.  From a very young age, the song affected me.  It still does.



On a side note, I'll share my fondest Donna Summer memory.  When I used to work as a strip club DJ, I made it a tradition to play Summer's 'Last Dance' at the end of each night.  Typically, songs in a strip club are limited to two-and-a-half minutes or less.  It maximizes the rotation of dancers, and prevents one from spending too much time giving a lapdance to someone that's skeeving them out.  I would play 'Last Dance' in it's entirety....all eight minutes and ten seconds of it.  Needless to say, I pissed a lot of women off.  The regulars loved it.  Some would get in the habit of waiting for a lapdance until 1:45AM.  Eventually, it got to the point where all of the dancers would mysteriously wander back into the dressing room for the last half hour of the night.  My "tradition" didn't last long.