Song of the Day (And a New Album!) - Love to Love You Baby - Donna Summer

Today is the day Donna Summer fans have been long waiting for.  Love to Love You Donna is a brand new compilation album of some of the icon's best known hits been reworked and remixed by some of today's hottest mixmasters, and it's definitely on my download list for the day.  The album contains a previously unreleased track called La Dolce Vita that Donna recorded with longtime collaborator Giorgio Moroder. You can check out a stream of the tune right here.

electronicrumors

I'm looking forward to checking this one out and I only wish I could share one of the new remixes here, but once again, YouTube....grrr!!!!  Anyway, since the album's titled Love to Love You Donna, I figured I'd throw this rare live performance of that tune for you to enjoy.  And afterwards, check out the tracklist of the album below.

  

Donna Summer - LOVE TO LOVE YOU BABY by Verdegaio

Love to Love You Donna Tracklist

1. Love To Love You Baby (Giorgio Moroder feat. Chris Cox Remix)
2. Dim All The Lights (Duke Dumont Remix)
3. Hot Stuff (Frankie Knuckles and Eric Kupper as Director’s Cut Signature Mix)
4. I Feel Love (Afrojack Remix)
5. Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger) [Chromeo & Oliver Remix]
6. Sunset People (Hot Chip Dub)
7. Working The Midnight Shift (Holy Ghost! Remix)
8. Bad Girls (Gigamesh Remix)
9. MacArthur Park (Laidback Luke Remix)
10. I Feel Love (Benga Remix)
11. On The Radio (Jacques Greene Remix)
12. Last Dance (Masters at Work Remix Short Version)
13. La Dolce Vita by Donna Summer & Giorgio Moroder (Unreleased Track)

Be sure to check out some pieces I've written on Donna for Yahoo...

Donna Summer: Reigning Disco Queen to Enduring Superstar

Donna Summer's Top Twenty Songs

Fifteen Awesome Donna Summer Songs You Probably Never Heard

Tweet

Song of the Day - Love's Unkind - Donna Summer

Most gay men have their diva, that one female singer that they adore.  Virtually any major female singer out there has their own legion of devoted gay fans following them and they're all so iconic that they're often recognized by just one name: Cher, Britney, Christina, Janet, Diana, Madonna, Mariah, Kelly, Liza, Kylie...the list goes on and on.

Now I've written before about my own divas.  In the span of my life, I've devotedly followed two of them: Diana Ross and Madonna, but that doesn't mean they're my only two divas. In recent months, I've met two people, the first two in my life, who were devotees of the late Donna Summer, who also holds a special place in my heart.

magesy

Donna Summer has been an iconic figure in her own right, but until recently I've never come across anyone for whom she was their number one diva, and she's a singer who deserves to have her own legion of devotees.  Donna has had a storied career, not only as a disco queen in the 70's, but a pop star in each decade that followed.

Though Diana and Madge were always my number one thing, Donna was always present in my music listening habits.  From the classic disco of I Remember Yesterday, Bad Girls and Once Upon a Time to the great pop sounds of The Wanderer, Another Place in Time and even her last album, Crayons, Donna's heavenly voice and keen sense for great music has made her a constant presence in my life.

When she suddenly passed away a little over a year ago, the world certainly lost a great talent, and I never thought she got the accolades or the coverage that she deserved. Anyway, yesterday was one of those days where I delved into Donna headfirst, listening to almost her entire catalog (the stuff I've got anyway), spurred on by a conversation with a recent acquaintance of mine, Evan. Between him and another pal, Milton, Donna's certainly covered.

So here's one of my favorites from Donna's 70's catalog.  It's a cutesy, retro tune about a crush she has on someone who doesn't even notice her.  The video is of poor quality, but the performance is amazing.  Check out Love's Unkind:

Donna Summer - Love's Unkind by DemonPreyer

Before you check out the lyrics below, here are three stories I've penned on Donna at Yahoo:

Fifteen Awesome Donna Summer Songs You Probably Never Heard

Donna Summer's Top Twenty Songs

Donna Summer, Reigning Disco Queen to Enduring Superstar

Love's Unkind

Well I seem him every morning in the schoolyard
When the schoolbell rings
And when he passes in the hallway
Well he doesn't seem to notice me
He's got a crush on my best friend
But she don't care, 'cause she loves someone else
I'm standing on the outside, not the inside where I wanna be

Love's unkind, love's unkind
Love's unkind, love's unkind
'cause he's not mine

Just the other day I was praying that he would give me a chance
Hoping he would choose me for his partner
For the high school dance
I was standing outside the class
But it wasn't me, but my best friend, he asked
I went running back inside teary-eyed
And left the two of them behind

Love's unkind, love's unkind
Love's unkind, love's unkind
'cause he's not mine

[Spoken:]
Oh, how I love him, but I can't even let him know
'cause he loves my best friend
But she don't care, she loves someone else
And I asked my mama, and she said: love's unkind
Love's so unkind
She said: just keep it alive
'cause you may find love's unkind

Love's unkind, love's unkind
Love's unkind, love's unkind

[Spoken:]
Oh, Why did I have to love him so
Why did I have to love him so

Tweet

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - I Will Go With You (Con Te Partido) - Donna Summer

lamoradadelbujo

Since I spoke of divas yesterday, I figured I'd feature one for Flashback Friday that combines a modern diva and a song with traces of opera.  This cover of a song, Con Te Partido, by Andrea Bocelli, this beautifully done 1999 cover became yet another big hit for Donna Summer.  Great song!



Donna Summer - I Will Go With You by val6210




Tweet

Black History Month Song of the Day - Carry On - Donna Summer

Back to work Monday and time for a little Donna Summer. This is a great song from the diva that earned her her last Grammy. Now, click play, enjoy, and then carry on with your day, hehe...


Donna Summer - Carry On (Live) by kaz1988






Tweet

2012: A Dedication

styleemag

Well, it's a little after five o'clock on New Year's Eve, the last few hours of 2012.  As with any year, this one was full of ups and downs, both in my world and the world around me.  Such is life, right?

Writing has always been a form of therapy for me, and in my reflective posts I tend to think more clearly for myself, and so expect plenty of reflection from me tomorrow.  I have a party to go to in a couple of hours, so there's little time for that at the moment.   Besides right now I'm feeling a little sad about my Aunt Marion.

All I know is I do have regrets over my life in the last year, and looking forward I need to change some things.  We'll see how that goes.  In the meantime, here's one of my favorite ballads from P!nk's The Truth About Love.  Like I've said before, the title is a bit different, but the sentiment behind the song is tender and beautiful, and I know I'd like to be beamed up, if only for a minute.

ebony

Tana Hoy

hip-hop n more

So here's to the people who've passed this past year, starting with my aunt, and Brad, Michael, the poor children of Newton, Connecticut, and those in the limelight like Dick Clark, Whitney Houston, Davy Jones, Donna Summer, Robin Gibb, Etta James, and the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch.

Concord Monitor

So to all of my readers, have a safe and happy New Year.  Thanks, as always, for reading, and I'll see ya in 2013!

Tweet

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Hot Stuff/Bad Girls - Donna Summer

thefw

Today's Flashback Friday Song of the Day is actually two songs. In remembrance and honor of the late, great Donna Summer, who was name as an inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we feature two songs that have always gone together naturally anyway.

Donna's Bad Girls was a landmark album, one of the first and most illustrious disco albums to be considered as such.  The album played like a live set at Studio 54, each masterfully written and performed track blending seamlessly into one another, and one of the most identifiable mixes and two of the biggest hits are found below.

I remember when Donna Summer was at her biggest, around the late 70's/early 80's, and songs from this album were played on the radio everywhere.  Hot Stuff and Bad Girls had some very adult themes, those of which Donna temporarily tried to distance herself from in later years when she found God.  But eventually she knew she had to include these classics in her live shows, and performed them plenty of times, one of which was at Jones Beach  sometime in the 2000's, and I got to see it.  It was the only time I ever saw her in concert, and it was spectacular.  Donna had a voice like no other, equally beautiful and powerful.

I recall her concert tour for this album being covered on 20/20, or something like that.  I remember seeing the concert scenes and watching little snippets of the street walker choreography for this one.  I was only fifteen or so at the time and I was too young to go to such a show, but I dreamed of it.

In honor of that memory, I tried to find vintage performances of both songs, preferably together, which I couldn't find, though if I eventually do I may post them here one day.  The first video is a vintage concert performance circa 1980, during the time I spoke of earlier.  The second is dubbed the "official video" for the song, but I found out that it was from a television special sometime during that same era.  It features Twiggy, Debralee Scott and Pat Ast (?).  Anyway, I thought it was cool.  Enjoy!





DONNA SUMMER - BAD GIRLS (marlozvideomix) by MARLOZROCKBAR2





Tweet

Song of the Day - She Works Hard For The Money - Donna Summer

atomicballroom

Today is Labor Day, and what better song to feature than Donna Summer's classic homage to working people.  Happy Labor Day!  Enjoy!

Tweet

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - On the Radio - Donna Summer

Someone found a letter you wrote me 

On the radio 

And they told the world just how you felt 

It must have fallen out of a hole 

In your old brown overcoat 

They never said your name 

But I knew just who they meant

I was so surprised and shocked
And I wondered, too
If by chance you heard it for yourself
I never told a soul
Just how I've been feeling about you
But they said it really loud
They said it on the air...

I'm gonna finish this week of Donna Summer tributes with one of her most famous, the dancy, discoey, wonderful "On the Radio."  Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Tweet

Song of the Day - She Works Hard For The Money - Donna Summer

Well it's back to work for me today after six days out recovering from last week's surgery, and here's the perfect song for this day. Donna Summer's "She Works Hard for the Money" struck a chord with working people everywhere back in 1983. I remember the story of how she was in a restaurant, or maybe even a diner, and a hard-working waitress inspired her to write the song. I hope she gave that woman some of the profits...

   

 

Ooh, check out the prices they're asking for the CD at Amazon, even for a used one.  Wow!  So sad!

Tweet

Writing Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012

Well it's been two weeks once again since my last WW, but at this time last week I was in the hospital after my surgery, so at least I've got an excuse.  In the past week that I've been home recuperating, I've been doing a lot of writing, mostly for Examiner.  Check it out:

Gay Pride is Coming

June is Gay Pride month.  Ever since the Stonewall riots in June of 1969, gay people have stood loud and proud every year to commemorate the event and show some unity in the face of hatred and discrimination, something I feel very strongly about.  New York City, the birthplace of the gay pride movement has the biggest such celebration in the world, and Long Island's is not too shabby either.  Here's the lowdown on both events:

NYC Pride Week 2012 events

The 2012 LI Pride Parade and Festival, Saturday, June 9th

R.I.P. Donna Summer

Just six days ago, iconic singer Donna Summer lost a bout with cancer, something no one really even knew she had.  Donna Summer was one special singer.  She was music royalty, and she was one of my favorite divas.  I've been paying tribute to Donna ever since, both with a week's worth of Songs of the Day and some pieces I penned.  Currently I'm planning just one more piece, which has yet to be written.  I'm just waiting for both the time to do so and deciding where to put it.  

So yes, the Donna Summer tributes will continue, at least for a little while.  I think she's worth it, and I believe the coverage and tributes to her have been too little for such an icon.  She was low key, but she deserves a bit higher key for all she's given us in the form of great music.  Here's a tribute piece I penned in honor of her and the gay community that loved her so much:

Remembering Donna Summer, an atypical gay icon

And here are some great Donna Summer tunes that have been featured this week:

I Will Go With You

MacArthur Park

Could It Be Magic

Carry On

Romeo

No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)

Defending My Own

Most of my readers know that I am a teacher, and a proud one at that.  After seeing yet another newspaper article about teacher jobs being cut in the latest round of budget votes, I was motivated to write this piece:

In defense of teachers

Summer Concerts at Jones Beach

The Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, Long Island is my favorite place to see a concert.  Every summer, the theater puts on a summer festival of the best of music old and new and this year's schedule can be found here, of course with a little commentary by me:

The Jones Beach Theater Summer Concert Series 2012 lineup

New Coasters

Roller coasters and theme parks are a big part of this John's world, and here's a rundown of the newest thrill rides coming to an amusement park near you:

Theme parks newest roller coasters for 2012 Season

There's been plenty more posted here on John's World, but I think I've already given you enough to read, lol.  If you like, just take a look at the sidebar to check out some new coaster videos, a hateful speech against gays by a North Carolina pastor, an obituary for the Bee Gees' Robin Gibb, who passed away last Sunday, and much more.  As always, thanks for checking in with me!  have a great Thursday!

Image Sources:

Gay Pride - J. Myers

Donna Summer - stereogum 

Jones Beach Theater - gatewayinnlongisland

Verbolten, Busch Gardens Williamsburg - MSNBC

Tweet

Song of the Day - No More Tears (Enough is Enough) - Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand

The year was 1979, and these two world-class singers from different musical worlds came together to record a song in mixed musical genres. Donna and Barbra's now classic female anthem starts off as a tender, sweet ballad and segues into a frenzied disco tune. Great stuff!

 

Tweet

Song of the Day - Romeo - Donna Summer

Here's Donna Summer's catchy contribution to the 1983 cult classic, "Flashdance." Love it!

"He's a boy, he's the boy, he's the boy, he's the boy, he's my Rome-oh-oh-oh!"

 

Tweet

Song of the Day - Carry On - Donna Summer

Happy Monday! We continue our Donna Summer tribute with one of her more recent hits, a song which united Summer with Giorgio Moroder, her long-time partner in crime during her disco years. The song was originally recorded in 1992 for a Moroder album, and was included on Donna's Anthology set the following year. It took awhile for the song to catch on, but catch on it did, as it became a #1 dance song almost five years later, in 1997.

Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder

"Carry On" is a pleasant, easy-going dance song that's a little bit melancholy. It's very melodic and very contemporary, even today, and the tune earned Donna her fifth Grammy Award for Best Dance Record of 1997. Take a look at a (German, I believe) television show in which the two reunited to perform the song on stage. The video quality isn't that great, but luckily the sound is perfect and Donna looks oh so good.  Enjoy!

   

Image Source: death and taxes mag

Tweet

Song of the Day - Could It Be Magic - Donna Summer

Spirits move me 

Every time I'm near you 

Whirling like a cyclone in my mind 

Oh sweet Peter, angel of my lifetime 

Answer to all answers I can find

Just a year after Barry Manilow wrote and recorded the tender ballad "Could It Be Magic" for his eponymous debut album in 1973, Donna Summer took it and ran with it, turning the tune into a dance classic that would hit the #3 spot on the Dance Charts in 1976.

Baby take me

High up on a hillside

High up where the stallion meets the sun

I could love you, build my world around you

Never leave you till my life is done

Donna Summer's dance version of "Could It Be Magic" is an infectious disco ballad that worked perfectly.  Since I hadn't discovered Donna until years after this first came out, I had only known Barry's version until I bought the her "Greatest Hits Anthology" almost 20 years after it was first recorded, in 1993.  The song became a staple on my stereo, getting played out by both myself and my former partner Joe, who loved it as well.  

Baby I love you, come, come

Come into my arms

Let me know the wonder of all of you

And baby I want you now, now

Now and hold on fast

Could this be the magic, at last?

If you know only Barry Manilow's version of "Could It Be Magic," then you should definitely check this one out.  You're gonna love it!  As an added bonus I've included a rare performance video of the two of them singing the song together at one of Barry's shows in Vegas in 2003. I had never seen it before, and I loved it....check that out after the audio file below... 

Image Source: Idolator

Lyrics courtesy of AZ Lyrics

Tweet

Song of the Day - MacArthur Park - Donna Summer

Since Donna Summer was such an icon, I've decided to dedicate a whole week's worth of videos to her memory. Donna Summer, of course, first became famous when she hit the big time during the 70's disco era, but I hate that moniker Disco Queen when it refers to her. Though her brand of disco was famous and enduring, Donna was not just disco. She managed to endure for years after the genre had passed and she kept us entertained with her rich beautiful voice for 30-plus years. If Diana Ross was my first diva, then Donna was my second, and she deserves plenty of accolades from this fan on this blog, so stay tuned for special Song of the Day posts, tidbits, memories and more of the late, great Donna Summer.

"MacArthur Park" is one of Donna's earlier iconic songs, and it was actually a remake of a song written by songwriter Jimmy Webb. It was originally part of a 17-minute long track called "MacArthur Park Suite," which featured bits and pieces of other songs. The record hit the number one spot for three weeks in 1978 and I can remember singing it in the car when I was a young teenager, and always being confused by the 'strange' lyrics. ("Someone left my cake out in the rain" What the heck did that mean?) MacArthur Park was also the name of a bar where I was the house deejay for more than three years, and of course it was the very first song I played on opening night.

So check out this vintage footage of Donna Summer singing "MacArthur Park," which was originally made famous on her fabulous "Live and More" set.

 

  MacArthur Park

Spring was never waiting for us dear

It ran one step ahead

As we followed in the dance

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark

All the sweet, green icing flowing down

Someone left the cake out in the rain

I don't think that I can take it

'cause it took so long to bake it

And I'll never have that recipe again

Oh, nooooo

I recall the yellow cotton dress

Foaming like a wave

On the ground beneath your knees

The birds like tender babies in your hands

And the old men playing chinese checkers by the trees

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark

All the sweet green icing flowing down

Someone left the cake out in the rain

I don't think that I can take it

'Cause it took so long to bake it

And I'll never have that recipe again

Oh, nooooo

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark

All the sweet green icing flowing down

Someone left my cake out in the rain

I don't think that I can take it

'Cause it took so long to make it

And I'll never have that recipe again

Oh, nooooo


Image Source: vinyl surrender

Tweet

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - I Will Go With You - Donna Summer

Well I'm back from my little trip to the hospital and back to John's World after a couple of days absence. Of course, since I was last here, one of my all time favorite singers, Donna Summer, passed away and I am simply heartbroken. I plan a bigger, tribute post later on, but for now I'd like to share one of my favorites.

"I Will Go With You" is a pop version of opera star Andrea Bocelli's "Con Te Partido," and Donna was the one singer who could take on this song with such success. The song is beautiful, happy and sad all at the same time and a living testament to the Donna's singing abilities. Enjoy:

   

 

 

Image Source: Facebook: Vanity Fair

Tweet

Song of the Day - Spring Affair - Donna Summer

Well, we're now into the second day of longer days and I'm starting to get spring fever! The change of seasons is one of the reasons I love living in a place that gets all four of them...life is just soooo good once the flowers start blooming, the days get longer, and the temps get warmer.

"Spring Affair" is an absolute disco classic from a bona fide superstar. Many disco detractors could always criticize the fact that much disco music was meaningless and mindless, but Donna was a rare exception to that rule. At the time this came out, I was a mid-teen, disco-hating fool, and I didn't really get to know Donna and her music until way after, but once I did, it was love!

Donna Summer's "disco" music was always lyrically sound and beautifully produced, and "Spring Affair" was just one of many of her great tunes of the era. So, roll your windows down (or just pull em open if you're sitting at home, lol) click play, and enjoy! Happy Monday and happy spring!








Image Source: Analog Giant

Tweet

Song of the Day - Try Me, I know We Can Make It - Donna Summer

Yesterday I found myself back in the car on the long route to work where I returned to going through all of the music on my iPod. The last time I had done it was before the Christmas break and I was somewhere in the "T's." I continued on and got to hear a lot of great stuff of all different artists and genres, stuff I don't normally listen to, like "That Girl," by Maxi Priest, "They Don't Know," by Tracey Ullman,"Thieves in the Temple," by Prince, and a whole lot more, but when I got to this one, I knew I had my song for the day.



I first remember hearing "Try Me" on Donna Summer's first greatest hits album, "On the Radio." That album came out towards the end of disco days and recapped nicely all that Donna had contributed to the movement. The album was a continuous mix and fabulously done, too, especially when this one segues into the next tune on the record, "I Feel Love." Still one of the coolest mixes ever, especially from that era.

Anyway, I hadn't known this song until that album and it quickly became a favorite for all it's repetitive, hypnotic and sensual rhythms. Like much of Donna Summer's music from back then, it is very well written and arranged and it's a classic dance tune! Enjoy!





Check out a couple of pieces I've written about Donna Summer on Yahoo Voices:

Donna Summer: Reigning Disco Queen to Enduring Superstar

Donna Summer's Top Twenty Songs

Tweet


Image Source: page2live