I was so surprised and saddened to learn that disco queen Donna Summer had died at the young age of 63. Donna succumbed to cancer, in Florida, after a long battle. Donna is known for strings of hits in the late 70s and 80s. Her music helped define a generation and an era, and she will be sorely missed. Here’s a little more, from US Weekly:

The chart-topping, Grammy-winning singer behind such colossal disco hits as “Hot Stuff,” “Last Dance,” “Bad Girls” and many others — plus 80s smashes like “She Works Hard for the Money” — passed away in Florida after a battle with cancer.

The biggest, most enduring star of the disco era, Summer helped usher disco, dance and later electronic music into the mainstream — influencing the careers and sounds of Madonna, Beyonce, Michael Jackson and countless others.

She is survived by daughters Brooklyn and Amanda, her grown daughters with husband Bruce Sudano, a fellow musician whom she married in 1980, and Mimi, her eldest daughter with first husband, actor Helmuth Sommer.

Summer’s rep had no immediate comment. According to TMZ, Summer had been working on a new album weeks before her passing.

[From US Magazine]

Aw, I can hardly believe she’s gone. She was younger than my mom, and that’s way too early to go. This really saddens me.

RIP Donna, your music touched so many of us.

This is one of my favorite Donna Summer songs, and is one I remember so fondly from my childhood. “She Works Hard For The Money”

“Last Dance”

Donna performing “Bad Girls” in 1979

“Hot Stuff”

“I Feel Love”

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