R.I.P. Queen of Disco Donna Summer Passes Away At 63

The last days of disco are well and truly gone as one of music’s original divas often heralded as The Queen of Disco itself, Donna Summer, has passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer today at the age of 63.

Summer released seventeen studio albums throughout her 30 year career, won five Grammys (amongst numerous other awards) and broke LED dance floor ground with hits like ‘I Feel Love‘, the 17-minute long disco hit ‘Love To Love You Baby,’ ‘Hot Stuff‘, ‘Bad Girls‘ and 80s timeless feminist mantra ‘She Works Hard For The Money,’ which was written on a piece of toiler paper. Glamourous.

Fun fact: In December 1975, the year that ‘Love To Love You Baby‘ was released, Summer told TIME she had to put aside her Christian beliefs to write and perform the song, which infamously features a whole lot of moaning, breathless singing and writhing: “I let go long enough to show all the things I’ve been told since childhood to keep secret.

TIME counted 22 orgasms in the extended version of the song.

Then in 1979, Summer reaffirmed her faith and refused to perform ‘Love To Love You Baby‘ live stating: “If I were to do that song like I did it in the old days, the fire department would have to be at the show. Seriously. Riots broke out in, like, Argentina and Italy. It’s not the kind of song you just want to throw out there.” Why yes, yes it is:

Summer is survived by her husband, singer and producer Bruce Sudano, their daughters, Brooklyn and Amanda, Summer’s daughter from a previous marriage, Mimi, and a back catalog of infectious disco rhythms on repeat everywhere all weekend.

Via The New York Times

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