In Memoriam: Donna Summer

2012 has been a difficult year for many divas.  Earlier in the the the extraordinary female vocalist Etta James passed away, and then Whitney Houston.  Today the music community faced another great loss when the "Queen of Disco" Donna Summer passed away from cancer at the age of 63.  Summer was born in Dorchester, MA; she was raised with an incredibly conservative background, and struggled throughout her career to find the balance between her music and her religious upbringing.

Summer found the balance well using her mezzo-soprano vocal range to become one of the most successful female vocalists of her time.  Summer was given the title of "Queen of Disco" because in a way she elevated the genre of music to be more than it was, with an infusion of dance, funk, and R&B.  Summer's was an incredibly accomplished vocalist; she had 17 Grammy nominations, including one nomination for Album of the Year (the album was entitled "Bad Girls") in 1980.  Summer won five Grammy awards throughout her entire career.  This woman's vocal range was awe inspiring, and her voice will be missed; she was a living legend!

Here are some of Summer's best and most famous tracks:

"Last Dance" -This was the track that made her the most famous, and catapulted her career.

"Bad Girls" This was one of the tracks that was difficult for her to reconcile with her upbringing, but in the end she sang with grace and poise.

"She Works Hard for the Money" This is one of the earliest music videos, and has since become a classic for the iconic "working girl"

"Hot Stuff"-Another fun disco beat that made Summer a legend!

"I will go with you (Con te Partiro)- Original from Andrea Boccelli this dance remix brought  Donna Summer  fans on the dance floor in 2000