This post was originally an episode of The Old Time Review Daily Podcast. In each edition, Jamie Dyer spoke off the cuff about a famous person, film or song for up to three minutes. The following is a transcription, which has been cleaned up to remove any hesitation and some repetition. Where possible, the subject has been expanded on from the original broadcast.
This is the Old Time Review Daily Podcast for the 17th of May 2021, and this is Jamie Dyer speaking to you from the UK. Sadly on this day in 2012, American singer, songwriter and actress Donna Summer passed away at the age of 63. Now to many, she was known as the Queen of Disco, and she certainly deserved that title.
She had so many great songs, and I suppose the ones that stick out in my mind are her collaborations. With music producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. She recorded the tracks, “Love to Love You Baby” and “I Feel Love”; The latter track being her massive breakthrough. Even now, it is such a brilliant record.
She’d go on to record many great songs including, “Last Dance”, “MacArthur Park” “Heaven Knows Bad Girls”, “Dim All The Lights” and her duet with Barbara Streisand. Also “On the Radio”, which is also a disco classic; That’s been covered by so many people and is one that also really sings to me; I can hear it in my head as I say it. “Hot Stuff” is another, which has been used in many movies including the cult British movie The Full Monty. She had a career that went on for decades, well into the 80s and 90s. Her collaborations with Stock Aitken and Waterman, including “This Time, I Know It’s For Real”, and the subsequent albums, are amazing.
Her voice is incredible, and I don’t think it ever faded in any way, My question to you today is: What track from Donna Summer was your favourite?
