Facts About Donna Summer

Her songs were not without controversy.

Donna SummerPhoto byCreative Commons: France1978

Back in the days when disco was at its peak there was one undisputed queen of the genre, Donna Summer. She was prolific when it came music output, but her personal life had a lot of turmoil. There were awards galore during her life, but they didn’t necessarily lead to happiness.

In addition to her singing, she also did some acting. She did have some interesting aspects of her life that I was unaware of. So, here are some things you might not have known about Donna Summers.

1: Donna Summer played Steve Urkel’s Aunt Oona on Family Matters.

She must have married into the family.

2: Donna grew up in Boston.

She did seem to sing or talk with a Boston accent, or even groan and moan for that matter.

3: Donna moved to New York and eventually joined a musical called Hair, which led to a move to Munich in 1968.

Donna became fluent in German. She also teamed up with David Hasselhoff for some German chart toppers. Ok, that last part isn’t true.

4: She was a backup singer for Three Dog Night. A couple of producers noticed her while she was singing with them.

No doubt that led to joy to her world.

5: Her, I Love to Love You Baby, reached second on the Hot 100 chart in the US but was banned on some stations because of her moaning and groaning.

The problem was it was happy moaning and groaning not old people, “I’m hurting” moaning and groaning.

6: MacArthur Park became Summers’ first number one hit on the Hot 100 list.

I have to admit she showed more vocal range than Richard Harris. I’m still puzzled why people were so upset about a cake being left out in the rain. They seemed particularly upset about the rich green icing flowing down. Go figure.

7: Donna married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer in 1972. They were divorced three years later when he discovered her cheating on him with a German surrealist painter.

Apparently, she didn’t love to love him.

8: “She Works Hard for the Money” was inspired by a restroom attendant by the name of Onetta Johnson.

Summer awoke Onetta when she entered the restroom. There is a certain irony to the fact that the inspiration to “She Works Hard for the Money” was sleeping on the job, but that aside, the point’s song is well taken.

9: Her family wasn’t supportive about her looks or voice.

They made fun of both. But I bet Steve Urkel was supportive.

10: Summer’s “Last Dance” was on a CD distributed by Wendy’s in kid’s meals.

Wendy’s ended up pulling the CD after deciding the message in the song wasn’t right for kids. It does seem to be a different take on the “Happy Meal” concept.