Donna Summer's death: pop mourns singer who transformed dance music

Donna Summer's death: pop mourns singer who transformed dance music Stars of the music industry rushed to pay tribute to the hugely influential singer, whose tracks included I Feel Love and Hot Stuff. Summer denied making the comments, but was the target of a boycott. She later called the incident a "terrible misunderstanding" and asked for forgiveness. Prayers will be said to keep them strong. Even as disco went out of vogue, her tracks remained a fixture in dance clubs, sampled and remixed into contemporary hits. "A poet once said, 'Life can be a challenge, life can seem impossible, but it's never easy when there's so much on the line. I was asked to create a record by a young pop star recently and the brief I was given was: "Make it sound like I Feel Love. The record was produced by Georgio Moroder, and really it was his vision. She played the part incredibly, so there is no sense in which her contribution can be discounted. For an entire generation - for bands like the Human League - it was so important, and its influence on house music and techno and everything else that followed is immense. Summer's acting career included an appearance in Thank God It's Friday (1978), for which she performed her hit Last Dance. The singer Dionne Warwick expressed her sadness at losing a great performer and "dear friend". It was certainly a key influence on my work with Duran Duran. Sir Elton John released a statement calling for broader recognition for the singer. It was released in 1977, which is a year that's supposed to be so important for punk, but along with Kraftwerk, it was this record that really changed everything. The idea that dance music is about funk and about the groove was stripped away, and instead came something very robotic, this machine-like sound. "That she hasn't been inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame is a total disgrace, especially when I see the second-rate talent that has been inducted. " Kylie Minogue described her as "one of my earliest musical inspirations". In the early 1980s, experiments with synthesizers and electronic drums carried Summer to new success. Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines, Summer broke into the music business in her early 20s as a backing singer for Three Dog Night. This record is unquestionably one of the most important records in the history of music as we know it today. '" The words are from The Power of One, which Summer recorded as the theme song for Pokémon: The Movie 2000. Madonna tweeted "rest in peace",and linked to a video of herself carrying out a song inspired by Summer's I Feel Love. She is a great friend to me and to the Elton John Aids Foundation and I will miss her greatly. Winner of five Grammy awards, disco queen had a string of hits in the 1970s, including Love to Love You Baby This is the best kind of historically informed performance, one that makes you listen to a familiar work with fresh ears, writes Andrew Clements . Donna Summer's death: pop mourns singer who transformed dance music Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 18/05/2012