Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines in 1948, Donna Summer went on to become the face of dance
music in the 1970s — and one of the most influential artists of her era.
Sadly, though, her road to fame was anything but easy. This is the tragic tale of Donna Summer.
In her memoir, Ordinary Girl, Donna Summer writes:
"I was always the type of person to dive into things,
literally and figuratively, regardless of whether or not I fully knew what I was getting into."
This sentiment can be found throughout the many adventures Summer embarked on during her life.
But it all started when she quite literally jumped into a pool and almost drowned — at the age of
only 8. After struggling below the surface, her brothers and sisters pulled her out. She had no
idea how long she was unconscious, but remembered when she came to that she believed God had saved
her, and that he had a special life planned for her. With a new sense of purpose, Summer prayed:
"God, please teach me how to sing better."
"You know, I had pretty low self-esteem as a kid.
Singing was the place that I got attention, and it made people happy."
But it took a while for Summer to find her confidence. At age 7,
she accidentally cut a large gash in her cheek on a kitchen chair her father was repairing,
leaving a scar that, for the entirety of her childhood, made her feel ugly and insecure.
She wore wigs to try to hide it, and for years, was teased by her siblings and neighbors. A bout
of childhood depression ensued, and Summer saw a therapist until she was 16 years old.
While the singer later lamented this time in her life, she also claimed it helped her
to develop a sense of humor — as well as an overwhelming desire to prove herself.
While living in Greenwich Village in the summer of 1968, Donna Summer relished in
living the counterculture lifestyle - playing in her band Crow by night, sleeping all day,
and hanging out in public parks during the interim. During this period, Summer landed a part
in the stage musical Hair. When asked what country in Europe she'd like to perform in she said,
"Germany" — and so, before she knew it, the 19 year old singer was headed to Europe.
Summer later wrote that she dated another performer from Hair;
a man named Ronnie, who was both American and Black. Summer recalled:
"I quickly came to understand, liberal post-war generation Germans [...] wanted
to make some sort of personal statement about the Civil Rights movement in America.
Frequently that statement took the form of friendship, support, and work for anyone of
color who happened to be from the States. Yippee! I was in the right place at the right time."
While Ronnie was helpful in getting her acclimated to life in Germany,
she found him a little cocky, and the romance lasted only two weeks. Soon after,
whilst living in Austria, Summer met a man she has only ever referred to as "Dr. Meyer,"
a psychiatrist who believed in the healing power of music. In her memoir, Summer writes:
"By the end of my first year in Vienna, I was completely in love with him."
Summer and Dr. Meyer even discussed marriage at one point, but it didn't work out, as Meyer
claimed Vienna would be too small of a town for the singer. In Ordinary Girl, Summer explains:
"Our romance was over but not our friendship."
The future Queen of Disco subsequently began dating Helmuth Sommer, a Viennese actor she
had met in Berlin whilst performing in Hair. The couple rekindled their friendship when they were
both cast in the Hamburg production of The Me Nobody Knows. They went on to perform in other
productions together, and when their final tour was over they went home to Vienna — where Sommer
asked her to marry him. They married in 1972. Soon after, Summer discovered she was pregnant.
In her memoir, Summer describes a morning on which she was rushed to the hospital by
her husband. A doctor told her she was in danger of miscarrying. The couple decided
to move to Sommer's parents' apartment, where she remained on bed rest for the remainder of
her pregnancy. In February 1973, Summer gave birth to her first daughter, Mimi.
The year following the birth of her daughter, Summer entered into a deep depression.
She felt unprepared for motherhood; her husband worked a lot,
leaving her alone to care for their child; and she had long since given up singing.
So she turned to a friend she refers to in her book only as "Anna." Anna taught her to bathe Mimi
and how to get her to sleep, and through Anna, the singer met a man she calls "Gunther." Gunther was
a painter and what Summer describes as kind of a "wild man." She was instantly attracted to him.
Desperate to move on with her life, Summer and Helmuth temporarily separated.
Summer then moved in with Anna and often saw Gunther, who, despite being a married man,
often confided in Summer — and she with him. Soon enough, the two became lovers. Shortly afterwards,
Helmuth learned of the affair, and he and Summer divorced. In the end,
Donna — whose surname had been "Gaines" until her marriage - kept Helmuth's last name… but
decided to tweak just a single letter. And that's how Donna Sommer became Donna Summer.
Summer knew Gunther could be an angry and violent drunk. She tried to keep her distance,
but had come to rely on him for emotional support.
According to her memoir, when she tried to leave him, he kicked in her bathroom door,
slapped her, and threw her into a glass cabinet. Finding herself unable to leave him,
Summer continued dating Gunther for years, even after becoming an international success.
Then, in 1977, Summer met Brooklyn Dreams singer Bruce Sudano while living in Los Angeles.
They were drawn to each other, but like her, he was also in a committed relationship.
But everything changed after Summer went out with Sudano and his band one night.
When she came home, Gunther asked her where she'd been. In her book, Summer writes:
"Before I could say anything, he grabbed me, threw me up against the wall, and proceeded to slap me
around. He threw me into the laundry room, where he continued to beat me up. I fell into a heap,
and Gunther disappeared. After a moment he returned with a gun in his hands."
Gunther was charged with assault and battery and deported back to Europe. Summer continues:
"Battered, bruised, and beaten nearly to death,
I realized that God had come to my rescue yet again."
She subsequently took some time to heal — and waited for Sudano to break up with his girlfriend.
Finally, in 1978, Summer showed up at Sudano's doorstep to confess her love.
The two married on July 16th, 1980, and remained together until Summer's passing in 2012.
In the early 1970s, Summer met Giorgio Moroder, the so-called "Father of Disco" and pioneer of
electronic music. Summer recorded a few singles with Moroder and then brought him her idea for
the song, "Love to Love You Baby." He loved it and immediately started laying down tracks.
Moroder took the song to Neil Bogart of Casablanca Records, and Bogart decided
he wanted to make it into a record. To do that, however, they had to add 14 minutes.
"Whose idea was that?" "Well it was Neil Bogart." "He's the man who owns the record company."
"Yep, that's him." "He has some rather strange ideas."
Since Summer only brought a mere idea of a song,
she had no other lyrics — hence why most of the song is filled with "oohs and ahhs."
In November 1975, Summer moved back to the United States to promote the record. The moment she got
off the plane she was suddenly a celebrity - limos, press packs, parties; the works.
It was expected by the media that Summer keep up appearances as the sex goddess character she had
created for the song, even though she didn't feel that's who she truly was. Summer soon began to
worry that she'd garner a reputation for selling sex, rather than being a talented vocalist.
Indeed, the song was so risqué that it was banned by many stations. Audiences at
Summer's shows would take off their clothes during the song and throw them at her.
At one concert in Italy, an actual riot broke out, making Summer fear
for her life. In the end, she was forced to give up performing the song altogether.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Donna Summer revealed that her success came with intense
levels of physical and psychological pressure. She hated having to sell an image that wasn't her,
for example. And her problems were only made worse when, while on tour in Europe,
her ex-husband Helmuth Sommer tried to take their daughter, Mimi. Given the circumstances,
with Summer always working, he had a good case — and could well have won custody of the young girl.
In 1976, while living at the Navarro Hotel in New York City, Summer believed the world was
caving in on her. Between her troublesome family life and her career obligations,
Summer felt she had no power over her own life. So, one day, she walked to the hotel's window
and put her leg on the sill. It got caught in the drapes just as a maid walked in,
however - a disruption which Summer later revealed helped her to snap out of what she was doing.
Within 24 hours Summer was seeing a therapist, who eventually helped her to understand
that much of her stress was down to the culture shock of moving from one continent to another.
She was put on medication to help her focus, but soon found herself unable to sleep as a result.
In the end, Summer decided that what she really needed was to work on her relationship with God.
Soon after, the Queen of Disco became a born-again Christian.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts,
please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
In a stroke of luck for the singer, the gay club scene was coming of age just as Donna Summer's
star was rising. Her openly erotic and "easy to dance to" music became iconic in the community,
and when her career declined in the early 80s her gay fans remained among her most loyal.
But then Jim Feldman, a writer for the Village Voice, wrote a review of Summer's
comeback concert in Atlantic City in 1983. He alleged that, during the show, the singer said:
"It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve [...] I've seen the evil homosexuality come out of
you people... AIDS is the result of your sins. Now don't get me wrong;
God loves you. But not the way you are now."
Summer later denied she had made the comments and tearfully lamented the
loss of her own friends to the AIDS epidemic. She also insisted that many people she worked
with in the music business were gay, and that she would never make those kinds of remarks.
Nonetheless, Summer's 1989 performance at a Boston Pride parade was subsequently protested
by the AIDS activist organization ACT UP. Although she later sent a letter to the group asking for
their forgiveness, Summer's connection to the LGBTQ community has been tainted ever since.
On May 17th, 2012, Donna Summer died of lung cancer at her home in Naples,
Florida. She was 63 years old. No one knew she had cancer at the time,
except her immediate family and a few close friends. Some said she wanted to keep it hidden,
and so lived as a recluse for the year leading up to her passing.
People magazine also reported that her family wanted to make it clear that her cancer was not
caused by smoking. While alive, the singer told people it had been caused by the asbestos in the
air from the fall of the twin towers on 9/11; an event which she had witnessed close-up. In
the years since, however, many have argued over the true cause of the singer's cancer.
What's not up for debate, though, is the tragedy of her loss. Summer left behind
three daughters and her husband of thirty-two years - as well as millions of fans worldwide.
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