She was the Queen of Disco and I had to listen to her albums secretly because, by the time I had really discovered her, disco was dead and I was living in the Poconos where Lynyrd Skynyrd was king. Sounds insane, right? Well, I’m not embarrassed now to say how much I love Donna Summer. She broke so many boundaries and her music is unforgettable. Her sound ruled the late seventies and her soul started the eighties with a huge song of empowerment, She Works Hard For The Money, another of the many songs that bring to mind my number one girl Maria, my life saver during the most tumultuous of times in my youth. But Donna Summer’s songs were many: Last Dance, Bad Girls, Heaven Knows, Hot Stuff, I Feel Love, MacArthur Park, and on and on and on… Her comeback song in 1989 is one of the two featured today: This Time I Know It’s For Real. Big shock, another Vinny song. We would hear the opening note and our eyes would lock and bulge out of our heads, cartoon-style, and we’d jet for the dance floor at Grand Central and just let the rhythm take over our bodies. I can only imagine how ill we looked. Song #2 is my personal favorite – (which was an impossible mission when it comes to Donna Summer songs) - On The Radio. It takes me back to that room in the Poconos, lifting the needle on the turntable every time the song ended just to start it back over. Simpler times, strangely fond memories.
From the historical writing archive. Original date: December 16, 2015. Recovered from local source material; editorial review is still in progress.
