Donna Summer

• Genre: Disco
• Hometown: Boston
• Donna Summer Website

About

It seemed like a dubious honor at the time, but Donna Summer had the talent and charisma to climb to the top of the Disco heap. Considering that Disco was a style which showcased a producer's sound and faceless studio skill, the fact that Summer became a household name says a great deal about the power of her personality. Her toothy, ponyish beauty did have the sequencer-mad Giorgio Moroder behind it, and together they came up with the 1975 stunner "Love To Love You Baby." The song became more than a major Disco hit -- it helped give birth to the modern electronica movement. Summer's seemingly endless stream of supple hit singles dried up when Disco choked on its own dust in the early 1980s. Though she still possesses a strong voice and looks far better than many other performers on the current Dance Pop and R&B scenes, Summer's various comeback attempts have all fallen flat in the age of Madonna. If you want to see one of the worst documents of the Disco era, seek out Summer's acting debut in Thank God It's Friday.

- Nick Dedina