Donna Summer, the most important single performer in the disco and dance music fields, died Thurday morning at age 63.
Summer, who had been battling lung cancer, died at her home in Naples, Florida.
Her hits included “Love to Love You Baby” and “She Works Hard for the Money, both of which she wrote. Other chart-toppers included “Bad Girls, “Hot Stuff,” “On the Radio” and the dancefloor anthem “Last Dance.” She remains the only artist who had three consecutive two-LP sets shoot to number one. She also recorded a duet with Barbra Streisand, “Enough Is Enough.”
Although the emphasis in dance and disco has traditionally been on DJs and remixes, Summer was one of the very few performers who infused all her songs with her own personality and sound.
In the past few years, she’d appeared on “American Idol” and “America’s Got Talent.”
“Her records sound as good today as they ever did,” Elton John said in a statement. "She is a great friend to me and to the Elton John AIDS Foundation and I will miss her greatly."
Summer is survived by her husband Bruce Sudano, their three children (Brooklyn, Mimi and Amanda) and their four grandchildren.
