RIP...

The queen of disco has died! RIP Donna Summer!

Donna Summer, the graceful singer who ruled the disco era with hits like “Last Dance” and “Bad Girls, winning five Grammy Awards, died Thursday in Florida. She was 63.

The cause was cancer, according to a statement released by her family through her record label Universal Music: “While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy. Words truly can’t express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time.”

Ms. Summer, whose background as a gospel singer gave her a commanding voice, had kept her battle with the disease quiet, maintaining a regular performance schedule and even working on a new album. Her 2010 single, “To Paris With Love,” topped the Billboard dance charts. Last year she appeared on television as a guest judge on the Bravo reality show “Platinum Hit.”

Ms. Summer was one of the most popular American singers of the 1970s, releasing a string of disco influenced pop hits such as “I Feel Love,” “Love To Love You” and “Hot Stuff.” Her success was rivaled only by the Bee Gees.

She was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach the No. 1 position on the Billboard charts, with her hit streak continuing into the early 1980s with singles “She Works Hard For The Money” and “This Time I Know It’s For Real.”

Ms. Summer later became a born again Christian, denouncing her past material. She caused controversy in 1983 when she allegedly made comments saying AIDS was “divine punishment” on homosexuals for their “sinful lifestyle.”

She later denied making the comments and actively reached out to the gay community, playing fund-raisers and telling “The Advocate” magazine that, “What people want to do with their bodies is their personal preference.”

Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines in Boston on Dec. 31, 1948, she was one of seven children in a devout Christian household. She sang in church as a child and formed several family groups while growing up, imitating the style of the popular Motown girl groups of her teenage years.

She later dropped out of school, reportedly inspired by the singer Janis Joplin, and joined a psychedelic rock group called Crow, moving to New York. Ms. Summer auditioned for a part in the Broadway musical, “Hair,” which she did not get. But when the musical moved to Germany, she took the role and relocated to Munich for several years.

In 1972, she married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer and, a year later, had a daughter, Mimi. Their marriage didn’t last but she kept the name, anglicizing it to Summer.

As a backup singer for the rock group Three Dog Night she met producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and presented them an idea for a song around the lyric, “love to love you, baby.”

The finished tune, a 17-minute dance cut called “Love To Love You Baby,” became a hit in Europe and was released in America by Casablanca Records, the reigning label of the disco era. Its album of the same name sold over a million copies in 1976.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees was the first female artist with four No. 1 singles in a 13-month period, as three consecutive double-LPs hit No. 1, “Live and More,” “Bad Girls” and “On the Radio.”

Her chart dominance continued even after disco’s popularity faded. She has sold more then 130 million records worldwide and continued to have great success on the US dance charts.

With a total of 31 #1 hits (singles and albums) on the Billboard Pop/R&B,Disco/Dance, Album charts combined, over a period of 35 years, Donna Summer is ranked at #24 on Billboard Magazines 50th Anniversary issue featuring the Hot 100 Artists of All Time.

She is survived by her husband, Bruce Sudanno, and three children.

Here is a look at many of the releases she put out during her amazing career:

Some of the singles:



And a little known track from her that I adore:



The world will miss you!