Thursday, May 17, 2012

Donna Summers

UPDATE IN FRIDAY'S TENNESSEAN
MAY THIS BEAUTIFUL LADY rest in peace. Her music inspired and delighted us all. A real class act and woman of faith.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Such a great performer. Died way too young. Rush Limbaugh was recalling the time he was on a plane with her. Donna and her husband got up and came over to speak with him. (Must have been pre 9/11) Rush said that she was absolutely beautiful and extremely well dressed. She said how much she admired Rush and then Rush told her that when he was a D-J he would play her songs and would also air them during breaks at sporting events. Kind of an interesting insight from someone like Rush who always tells it like it is.

Elisabeth said...

I would love it if she is indeed a Christian but her songs are salacious aren't they? I am unconvinced that a Christian woman would sing them.

Webutante said...

Good point Elisabeth. This morning The Tennessean clarifies when Donna became a Christian in the 80s after those earlier hits then with her husband decided to move her family to Brentwood, Tennessee outside Nashville. Here's the quote:

Though her mainstream popularity waned as the ’80s progressed, she continued to pump out dance hits, while also exploring other genres, including jazz, reggae, rock and R&B. During this time, she became a born-again Christian and was accused of making anti-gay comments in the advent of the AIDS epidemic. The resulting boycott saw thousands of her records returned to her record label. She denied making the statements and profusely apologized.

Mrs. Summer’s renewed faith was a big factor in making the move to Middle Tennessee, which she did in 1995 with her husband, Brooklyn Dreams keyboardist/producer Sudano, and daughters Amanda and Brooklyn.

“Raising my kids in Hollywood, there wasn’t enough of a core of a moral structure there,” Mrs. Summer told The Tennessean in 2008.

“I felt like if you went to church there, people looked at you as if you were odd, where if you go to church or synagogue in Nashville, it’s expected. People in Nashville are very spiritual. I wanted my kids to grow up in a community where there’s music but where there’s also that groundedness. People have a sense of commitment and accountability in town.”

Mrs. Summer and her family lived a quieter life than most music stars in Middle Tennessee, and was a more frequent sight at shops like downtown Franklin home décor store The Iron Gate than on a concert stage or red carpet event.

“I’m really not a publicity hound,” she told The Tennessean in 2006. “I never have been...I’ve really made every attempt to keep my private life private.”