R.I.P DONNA SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It started with sex.

Donna Summer’s breakthrough record, 1975’s “Love to Love You Baby,” titillated and amused the world with her deep- breathing approximation of an epic orgasm, a sound that served as both the song’s musical hook and its talking point.

Yet, even on that record, Summer was far from a cheap gimmick. Her voice had a muscularity and a purity that made it the perfect vehicle for the driving disco rhythms idealized by her great producer Giorgio Moroder.

In Summer’s long string of hits, both with Moroder and without him, she established a daringly forthright sound. Her vocal style indulged no fancy runs and required no showy melismas. Instead she sang every note straight on the melody, trusting the power of her tone alone to tell the story. That tone told a tale full of confidence, awareness and, yes, sex too.

RELATED: DONNA SUMMER DEAD AT 63

PHOTOS: REMEMBERING THE QUEEN OF DISCO

While Summer rose to power in the eroticized world of disco and dance-club culture, her voice had a gospel power and a pop clarity. In truth, she could sing anything and often did during her long career.

Her earliest exposure came in musical theater, performing in the German version of “Hair” in the late ’60s. She also performed in the Euro versions of “The Me Nobody Knows,” “Godspell” and “Showboat.” In addition, she sang with the Viennese Folk Opera in Munich.

Her fine diction and sense of musical economy made her ideal for a wide range of styles. But it was a seeming novelty record in ’75 that put her at the forefront of what then ranked as the cutting-edge world of disco.

She concocted the “Love to Love You” refrain while Moroder matched it to a throbbing, and very new, electronic sound that would ignite a revolution. By the bicentennial year of 1976, the outrageous song became a sensation in this country and in many others.

The subsequent long string of singles Summer sang had finely realized melodies on their side, from the grace of “Last Dance” to the strut of “Hot Stuff.” But they wouldn’t have had nearly their commercial potency, or emotional resonance, without her declarative style. She sang each note emphatically, luxuriating in the rhythmic sharpness of the diction and the directness of the language.

In the two-part structure of “Last Dance,” she rang every bit of urgency from the lyric, peaking into loneliness while grasping for a final chance at fleshy connection. In the smash “Enough Is Enough,” she had the force and moxie to go head-to-head with Barbra Streisand, matching her shout for shout in the single’s wildly escalating chorus.

Summer proved she could make it without Moroder in later hits produced by Quincy Jones (the valiant “State of Independence”) or Michael Omartian (the socially conscious “She Works Hard for the Money,” whose video became a parallel smash).

Together, her enviable list of hits from the late ’70s and early ’80 helped define an era, while also transcending it. Unlike so many disco dollies out to milk an old hit for decades, Summer’s main calling card remained her voice itself. In both the pile-driving vitality of her instrument, and her taste in applying it, she showed how a spare, clean style can create a sensation.

Donna Summer’s pulsating hits, from 'Last Dance' to 'She Works Hard for Her Money' pushed ’70s disco to an electrifying peak

The powerful voice that helped define early dance-club scene got its start in musical theater

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images

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Long live the Queen of Disco

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Donna Summer

G3000	I would like to suggest that the mods create an Obituary/Memorial forum and keep those discussions seperate from the Non-Music discussions, as it's getting flooded with R.I.P sticky's. I hate to say it, but it seems like there are more to come as our icons are getting up in age. [Edited 5/17/12 13:03pm]
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uPtoWnNY	This was a major shock. As others have said, we're losing our legends. RIP Donna......
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JoeBala	purplethunder3121 said: Besides MacArthur Park this is my 2nd fav of hers. Thanks for posting a pic of her daughter stunning like her mom. I feel for her. Damn would have never expected this, so damn sad. Just Music-No Categories-Enjoy It!
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nursev	Dim all the lights sweet darlin may she rest in peace.
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Visionnaire	R.I.P. with much love.
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SoulAlive	So far,2012 has been a very depressing year
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SoulAlive	steelyd said: I'm through! Why are all the people who brought joy to my life dying??? Ugh I'm just through, I can't even bring myself to say rest in peace. I'm getting drunk tonight and playing Donna Summers all evening. I feel the same way!! I can't take this anymore.Gonna get a bottle of Jack Daniels and allow myself to grieve in my own way
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Timmy84	vainandy said: Hey, where's the orger that used to post a different Donna Summer song each day? I can't think of her name but that's a true Donna Summer fan right there. leecappella... I don't know where lee's at but I can imagine he (or she?) is devastated as are the millions of her fans.
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mjscarousal	SoulAlive said: So far,2012 has been a very depressing year I know
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aardvark15	nursev said: SoulAlive said: So far,2012 has been a very depressing year It's been a rough one And I doubt they're the last icons we're going to lose this year
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