Donna Summer
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Year:
2013
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Inducted by:
Kelly Rowland
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Category:
Performers
Introduction
Queen of disco, mother of modern dance music.
Dance music would not be what it is today without five-time Grammy winner Donna Summer. When Brian Eno heard her, he declared, “I have heard the sound of the future.” He was right.
Kelly Rowland Inducts Donna Summer
Kelly Rowland Inducts Donna Summer at the 2013 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony-
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Kelly Rowland Inducts Donna Summer00:03:21 -
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Family of Donna Summer Acceptance Speech00:02:33 -
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"Last Dance"00:03:28
Hall of Fame Essay
2013
Donna Summer is the Queen of Disco. Within a genre that sprouted anonymous voices, Summer, who died on May 17, 2012, was prolific, versatile, and determined.
Pushing boundaries, she symbolized a time that her work transcended. Her influence, from Madonna to Beyonce, from the invention of the twelve-inch to the whole of modern EDM, is immeasurable.
She was no producer’s puppet: Her association with the production team of Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte was one of collaboration, as she cowrote eight of her fourteen Top Ten pop chart singles. A ninth, “Dim All the Lights,” she wrote on her own.
her gift filled every ear.
