Donna Summer: She could sing anything, anywhere, with anyone, at any time.

[NOV 28] Greetings al! And Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate! (And even to those who don't!) First up this week in the Donna's music is everywhere,  the new movie House Of Gucci uses bits of On The Radio, Bad Girls, Love To Love You and I Feel Love.  I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'd say it's got a pretty good soundtrack even if reviews for the film itself are mixed.

[NOV 28] In the land of remixes, this one just popped up for Ordinary Miracle of all songs.

[NOV 88] And in the land of covers, we have the David Morales/ Elle Cato version of I Feel Love available on YouTube.

[NOV 28] Johnnyswim fans - look for their new single, A Hard Year's Christmas on December 3 at the usual places.

[NOV 28] Bruce Sudano fans - if you find yourself in need of actual CD copies of Bruce's music, he's got a CD bundle for sale on his website that includes 6 of his albums: Ode To A Nightingale, The Burbank Sessions, With Angels On A Carousel, Spirals Vol 1 and Vol 2, and 21st Century World.  It's a great deal for $60.  (And of course he has the CDs available separately, along with Super Bruce bobbles, magnets, and stickers.

[NOV 28] I think that brings us to YouTube.  As many of you probably know by now, legendary Broadway  icon Stephen Sondheim passed away the other day.  As it so happens, Donna covered one of his songs on tour one year. The song is Send In The Clowns and this clip is a Suecase Hall video for the song.  Let's follow that with Donna's live cover of Celebrate Me Home,  her live cover of The Impossible Dream,  her live performance of A Song For You,  and finally Donna's recorded cover of Netherlands.

[NOV 21] Happy Sunday all! And an early Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends!

[NOV 21] First up, I'm A Rainbow Recovered & Recoloured is officially released.  You can stream it in all the usual places such as Amazon (paid link).  You can get physical copies too, but (at least in the US) you have to be a bit patient with the shipping. Don't forget the CD comes with a booklet with lines notes by Christian John Wikane.

[NOV 21] For more I'm A Rainbow goodness, check out Mark Tara's syndicated radio show, Rainbow Country.  He's interviewed Ladies On Mars and Michael Neidus from Demon Music for an episode that will debut December 28.  Each interview will be about a half hour plus music.

[NOV 21] In a blast from the past, Number1Albums.com posted an article about 10 years ago about Live & More.

[NOV 21] In musical news, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical is officially on tour now.  They've been having tons of fun in Pittsburgh and now they are heading to Utica, NY on Tuesday.  They've been posting  a bunch of photos on their Instagram,  and if you head over to the official website, you can catch up with all the tour dates, meet the cast, and even buy some merchandise.

[NOV 21] Bruce Sudano fans - catch him on tour in 2022 first in the UK with the Zombies, followed by a few dates in the US with them. Bruce also did a set for the Philly Folk Song Society recently. He posted the set Live From The Couch on Facebook, or you can catch the whole show on YouTube - Bruce comes in at 1:17:12 (which is where my link should bring you.)

[NOV 21] Bruce also did an interview for Inspired With Patrick L Riley for CrewTV. You can watch the teaser on Instagram,  If you want to catch the show, you can get CrewTV on Apple TV, Roku, Google Play and the web.  I think it airs Mondays at 6 PM and repeats until the next episode is available.  The show is not free however - you need to have a paid subscription to the channel.

[NOV 21] Johnnyswim fans - catch them Live at The Silos in Waco on December 13. They will be singing Christmas music (of course!)  Oh and Abner has been working on new merchandise, so be on the lookout for an announcement about that.  (He posted video on Instagram of him sewing patches  onto caps.)

[NOV 21]  I think that brings us to YouTube.  Let's go with a Thanksgiving theme... well sort of.  First up is Donna's appearance on the Thanksgiving episode of Queen Latifah's talk show. First is the interview and Love Is The Healer, then  there is the duet of Bad Girls.  Up next is a pre-Thanksgiving appearance on The View.  Then we have Summer: The Musical at the Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2018.  And for laughs, we have a clip from Family Matters that might reflect how some of us feel after a big Thanksgiving Day feast. LOL  And one more clip from that episode just because you don't usually find the Hard For The Money ending on YouTube and it always cracks me up.

[NOV 14] Greetings all! And a belated Happy Veterans' Day to all the veterans out there! Thank you for your service. 

[NOV 14] First up, the I'm A Rainbow Recovered and Recoloured Bookpack is available from Amazon (paid link) starting November 19.  The streaming version will also be fully available then. 

[NOV 14] In the Donna's music is everywhere category, Lady Gaga plugged her movie House Of Gucci with a TikTok dance to I Feel Love.  Then on Twitter someone shared a clip of Patti Labelle using a bit of Bad Girls with Lady Marmalade.

[NOV 14]  Bruce Sudano fans - check out his new video for Cosmic Ride.  It features the return of Super Bruce as you have never seen him before.  LOL (There must have been a really fun photo shoot somewhere! ) Also, if you grab a copy of the latest issue of Goldmine magazine,  you will see Bruce gets a nice shout out in the Indie Spotlight article. (It's not available online yet, you have to grab an actual copy of the magazine.)

[NOV 14] Some sad news today, Jeff Wald passed away yesterday. Some of you will remember that he was Donna's manager for awhile in the 70s.  My condolences to his friends and family.

[NOV 14] I think that brings us to YouTube.  I have a random collection of clips that fell my way this week. First up, Donna in Family Tree back in 1974. (Yeah, it's not her voice. I'm sure there is a reason they didn't use her voice - maybe some sort of legal thing or something.)  Then we have a reaction video to MacArthur Park and one for No More Tears.  Continuing, we have Donna on Solid Gold performing All Systems Go. (I haven't seen that one in ages!), the story of I Feel Love from UK TV, and the full Live & More Encore VH1 special.

[NOV 6] Greetings all!  It's November (already ugh!) so it's time for a new Summer Fever Pick.  This month we are celebrating The Wanderer.

[NOV 6] Bruce Sudano fans - we have a few new things out there this week.  And the very first one I am going to mention was written by Bruce himself. It is an essay on how songwriting shaped his life and you can find it on Muse by Clio.

[NOV 6] Bruce also did a couple of podcasts to promote his album.  He did an episode of Music Is My Life for Berklee Online,  and he did an episode of Rock Of Nations on Spotify.

[NOV 6]  UK Bruce fans - catch him on tour this coming February with The Zombies.  He's toured with them before and it's always a fun time.  :-)  For dates, locations, and tickets, head over to Bruce's site. 

[NOV 6] Moving on to Donna remix news.... many of you may remember that the early 2000s were a great time for fan mixes. One of the more popular fan mixers working then was Q. And then he gave it up for awhile.  But Q was inspired to comeback with a Celestial Vox Mix of To Turn The Stone.  He's billing it as the first of his Other Side Of The Rainbow remix project.  Check it out on YouTube.

[NOV 6] In cover news, you might remember that  Redhouse released a cover of If There Is Music There.  Well they have followed that up with a cover of MacArthur Park.  (And let's be clear - it's a cover of Donna's version of the song and not a cover of the Richard Harris version.  LOL) You can check out either cover on the Redhouse Recordings website.

[NOV 6] I think that brings us to YouTube.  I'm just gonna go where YouTube takes me this time.  Let's start off with a nice clip of MacArthur Park live from 2004.  That brings me to a compilation of Donna's best live vocals part 1,  and her best live vocals part 2.  From there we go to Donna on Oprah,  then Suecase Hall's  video remembering Donna, and finally Donna's appearance at the 2005 Night of the Proms in Belgium.

[OCT 29] Happy Friday all, and Happy Halloween! I'm pet-sitting for a friend this weekend so I thought I'd better sneak the update in early.  :-)

[OCT 29] First up, we have another new mix out there!  This one is the Jean Tonique Remix of Back Where You Belong.  This sounds A LOT different from the original.  I kind of like the slow groove to this one. You can check it out on YouTube and all the other usual places.

[OCT 29] This isn't a new clip, but it's the first time I saw it - Broadway star Andre De Shields reminisces about the Studio 54 era and listening to Donna's Four Seasons Of Love in the club.

[OCT 29] Bruce Sudano fans -  Bruce is all over the media again this week.  :-) RockWrite.Blogspot.com has a brief review of Ode To A Nightingale in an article about the latest new releases.  RoadieMusic.com has a review of the  single Cosmic Ride - that site has a couple of language options. So if the article appears in one you don't know, just click one of the flags for another option.  (English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.)  And then mythaxis.com has a really interesting article about Bruce's songwriting.

[OCT 29] I think that brings us to YouTube.  This week's clips come straight from that last Bruce article I posted.  So first up is I'm A Rainbow (lyric video).  Then we have Starting Over Again (live on Eddie Rabbitt's TV special), a demo for So This Is Lonely,  and  Worth The Wait live in concert.  Fun fact about Worth The Wait - Donna only ever performed it in concert in the 90s.  A&E did an episode of Biography on Donna that included clips from that particular tour.  Worth The Wait was one of the songs they aired a clip of.  Every time A&E reran that show, I'd get a bunch of emails asking me what that song was.  Every time!  (Here's a bonus audio only version of Worth The Wait taken from the concert I was at.  The part where Donna and the audience starts leaving was because Donna's jacket got caught in whatever she was sitting on and she couldn't stand up - it took me years to find out why people were laughing. The show was at a theater that did staging in the round and at that point in the show, the stage had rotated so that I was behind Donna and couldn't see what was happening,)

[OCT 24] Greetings all!  First up for all the Facebookers out there - as you know Donna has an official Facebook page curated by her family. When you go there is has the blue "verified" checkmark and it states that it is her official page. But here's the thing, there is another recently created page out there called Donna Summer Fanpage, It tries hard to look like the official page with the same graphics, but it has no  "verified" checkmark.  That would not be an issue except for the fact that this fanpage account has messaged at least one fan, posing as Donna herself, offering a free ticket to show next time she's in town, blah blah blah. And all this is a prelude into asking for donations (to be sent as gift cards no less)  to "support orphanages around the world".  There are lots of alarm bells ringing there - not the least of which is that Donna is not in a position to be posting on Facebook or having concerts... well not in this plain of existence anyway.  The family has been made aware of fanpage, and if you have received one of these direct messages, please consider reporting it to Facebook.  And please don't  make donations to anyone unless you are sure of who they are and where the money is going.  :-)

[OCT 24]  On to the news!  For those eagerly anticipating the I'm A Rainbow Recovered & Recolored,  you can get a taste at juno.co.uk.  They have long samples of the 10 tracks that appear on the limited edition transparent blue National Album Day vinyl.

[OCT 24] Next up is Bruce.  We have a review (in Italian) on xtm.it of Ode To A Nightingale.  Then we have a video interview (in English) on Boomerocity.com also about Ode To A Nightingale (among other things), and an audio interview with omny.fm where Bruce gets to talk about the Casablanca years (among other things.)

[OCT 24] In the land of covers, the band Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs has covered Hot Stuff.  I don't think the cover will be to the taste of most diehard Donna fans, but it does show that the song really is a rock and roll song.

[OCT 24] I think that brings us to YouTube.  Next weekend is Halloween so let's look at some of Donna's potential Halloween costumes. Let's see there is the prostitute (Bad Girls), the waitress (She Works Hard For The Money), the 1930s era singer (My Man Medley), a wanderer (The Wanderer), a couple of different characters (Sunset People), Donna as Aunt Oona, and whatever you want to call this look (Supernatural Love).  And as a bonus, here is a clip  featuring Donna in her Kabuki makeup for the Another Place & Time album.

[OCT 17] Greetings all!  Let's see, we can start with  BBC Sounds, for National Album Day, they made a mix of 80s female artists - in particular, Whitney Houston, Kim Wilde, Janet Jackson, some woman named Donna Summer  ;-)  and Alison Moyet. And yes, I did say 80s, so Donna's part is drawn only from her 80s output.  You can check it out here.  (Donna comes in at about 36:00)

[OCT 17] While we are talking mixes, Eric Kupper remixed Reba McEntire's version of Does He Love You.  Some clever fan mixer took that mix and replaced the vocals with Donna and Liza's.  You can hear that on YouTube.  And then if you want a laugh, someone unearthed an old promo piece Liza did to promote her and Donna's original  recording of Does He Love You.  (I think they had a lot of fun making it!)

[OCT 17] Also in remix news,  Suecase Hall has been busy with the new I'm A Rainbow mixes. He's added Junior's Shiny Rainbow mix of I'm A Rainbow to his collection of fan videos.

[OCT 17] In the Donna's music is everywhere category,  The Voice used Enough Is Enough in the competition this week. You can see it here.

[OCT 17] Moving on to Bruce... he's got another interview out about Ode To A Nightingale.  This one is in Blog Della  Musica, and it's in Italian so if that's not your thing, Google Translate will do a decent job of converting it to English.  (Someone will have to let me know how it does converting  text to languages other than English.) Also, you can now stream all the songs from Ode To A Nightingale on Bruce's YouTube channel.

[OCT 17] I think that brings us to YouTube.  Let's  look at some of the original versions of the I'm A Rainbow tracks. First up, a Suecase Hall  video for To Turn The Stone. Then we have a lyric video for Highway Runner, the actual original People Talk (with the rap break),  the actual original True Love Survives,  the released version of I Need Time,  and I'm A Rainbow.

[OCT 10] Happy Sunday all! Let's start off with I'm A Rainbow. The new release is due out  October 29 now - hopefully that date stands!  (I think it should.)  As you know the mix  for Leave Me Alone was released recently, and now our own Suecase Hall has made a video for it.   But there is another new mix out there  as of Friday -  Junior's Shiny Rainbow Edit of I'm A Rainbow.  At this rate we may have the majority of the album before it's even officially released!  LOL

[OCT 10] In the everyone wants to dance to Donna category, someone has made a line dance for Dim All The Lights.  (I guess line dancing isn't just for Country music anymore!  LOL)  It would probably look pretty cool if they had a bunch of people doing it - line dancing always looks a little weird to me if it's only 1 or 2 people doing it.

[OCT 10] Moving on to Bruce. As you know, his EP Ode To A Nightingale is out now at all the usual places.  To promote it, Bruce has done an interview with MusicMap.it.  The article is in Italian, so if that's not your language, Google Translate does a pretty decent job of converting it to English.  (Your mileage may vary with other languages.)  One thing  Bruce mentions in the interview is that he would like to return to live performing and he's hoping to organize a tour of Italy some time in the future.  (Obviously, everything depends on how the pandemic situation is going.  Such weird times we are in!)

[OCT 10] I think that brings us to YouTube.  I think this week I'm gonna go with the theme of work.  So of course we have to start with the obvious - She Works Hard For The Money (live in Disney). Then we have I Don't Wanna Work That Hard (my personal theme song at my job!  LOL),  Working The Midnight Shift,  Lady Of The Night, Bad Girls (yes those girls are working!), Fame (also a job),  and End Of The Week.

[OCT 2] Happy Saturday all, and Happy October. A new month means a new Summer Fever Pick and this time we are dancing to the toot toots and beep beeps of Bad Girls.

[OCT 2] Let's start off with the upcoming release of I'm A Rainbow- Recovered and Recolored. It looks like we won't get that until October 29. Originally it was listed for October 8, but most places I see have changed to October 29.

[OCT 2] It's been a busy week in Donna land this time. We have a couple of new articles celebrating Donna's music. First up, The Guardian has come up with its list of Donna's top 20 songs.  And while I am sure nobody will 100% agree on the Guardian's list (I mean come on, we are Donna fans - we don't even 100% agree with each other on the best songs/albums!  LOL), there are some interesting choices. I mean any list that includes deep cuts like True Love Survives and Grand Illusion is worth looking at. It's probably no surprise to learn that they rank I Feel Love as #1.  Speaking of which, that brings me to the second article from Xtra Magazine that is specifically about I Feel Love. And finally with I'm A Rainbow expected this month, it only makes sense we'd have an article about that.  GScene.com  did an interview with Michael Neidus from Demon Music to talk about that album and Donna's other "post-Disco" recordings.  And finally, BBC America mentions I'm A Rainbow in their Pop Culture Pulse article.

[OCT 2] In the Donna's music is everywhere (well sort of), Dancing With The Stars used Hot Stuff for one of the dances. Unfortunately, somebody else was singing.

[OCT 2] Moving on to Johnnyswim.... Abner has teased that they would like to do a Live From The Backyard concert some time this month. Stay tuned to their social medial for more details.

[OCT 2] Bruce Sudano fans - his EP, Ode To A Nightingale came out digitally yesterday in all the usual places. And if you are old school and want a CD copy, head over to Bruce's website.  If you have not heard the album yet, get yourself over to any of the usual digital sites and listen! You will NOT be disappointed!  I just finally bought my copy today and now I'm on a Cosmic Ride with the EP on repeat as I work on the site.  :-)

[OCT 2] Moving on to Summer: The Donna Summer Musical - the full touring cast has been officially announced on Facebook, although it was on the musical's website last week. If you are planning to see the show (or even if you are not - yet) check out all the talented people bringing Donna's story to life in November.  Then head over to YouTube to watch a Zoom interview with the 3 touring Donnas.

[OCT 2] That brings us to YouTube.  Let's celebrate Bad Girls! First up, the title track on The Tonight Show (with those really cool glasses.  LOL)  Then we have a killer live version of Hot Stuff from the 1980 TV Special,  Dim All The Lights from Live & More Encore,  Sunset People also from the 1980 TV Special,  the 12" version of Walk Away (audio only),  the demo for Bad Girls, and because I need to add a ballad, an audio only version of There Will Always Be A You.

[SEP 26] Greetings all, and Happy Birthday Bruce Sudano!

[SEP 26] In honor of Bruce's birthday, we'll do his news first.  As you may know, he did a Facebook live set for Scenes the other day. You can still catch the video on Facebook.  Then make sure you check out the review of In Shadowland on IndiePulse Music.  The video for that song and for the new single Do Be Do (Day Trippin) are available to stream on Bruce's YouTube channel. (Like and subscribe!)  And both of those songs will be on the upcoming EP, Ode To A Nightingale which is coming out October 1.  (OMG  that's this Friday - where did September go?)

[SEP 26] Speaking of October.... we are expecting Donna's  I'm A Rainbow Recovered and Recolored on October 8. (Well depending where you are - Amazon US says October 29. You know how that goes.)  But  to keep us all going until the album is out, the estate has released yet another mix. This one is the Ladies On Mars Independence remix of Leave Me Alone and you can stream it now in all the usual places, including YouTube.

[SEP 26] In other mix news, ShyBoy has made a mashup of Fame (The Game) and Madonna's Vogue.  It works pretty well!  (And I love the cover art they made for it!) There is also a mix out there by Eric Kupper of Reba McEntire's cover of The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia. Why do I mention it here? Go listen to it and see....   it will only take you about 3 seconds before you find yourself singing "I feel looooooove".   LOL

[SEP 26] Moving on to Johnnyswim...  they have added new dates to their tour in Charlotte NC, Indianapolis, Memphis, Harrisburg PA, and an extra date in Atlanta.  For all the latest, keep an eye on Johnnyswim's website and/or sign up for their newsletters.

[SEP 26] And finally Summer: The Donna Summer Musical is BACK! The national tour that got cancelled for COVID is back on starting in November.  Dates and ticket info are on the musical's website.  The 3 Donnas will be played by Brittny Smith (Diva Donna), Charis Michelle Gullage (Disco Donna), and Ahmahri Edwards-Jones (Duckling Donna).  Welcome to the family ladies!  For additional cast info, check out the musical's website.  It is so nice to have live theater back!

[SEP 26] I think that brings us to YouTube. Since it's Tony night and the musical is back, let's celebrate its Broadway run.  So first up is a promotional compilation. Then we have the cast's performance at the Tonys, the cast performing outside in bitter cold for the Thanksgiving Day parade, LaChanze singing Friends Unknown, and  Ariana DeBose and La Chanze singing MacArthur Park in a live clip from the show. There is also a news clip from Cleveland featuring the original touring cast and featuring Mimi talking about the musical. ANd you may remember Donna's daughters got to introduce Summer: The Musical at the Tonys. The only clip I found of that is part of a larger  video Suecase Hall made celebrating the show. You see all 3 daughters at about the 48 second mark. If you feel really adventurous, there is a "clickbait" video about Summer The Musical. It does have spoilers if you haven't seen the show yet.  And for a special bonus, I have Donna's demo for Begin Again which would have been part of Ordinary Girl.

[SEP 19]  Happy Sunday all!  Let's start off this week with Rolling Stone's Top 500 Greatest Songs of all time. It's a pretty eclectic list of songs from the rock era and I guarantee you that 500 songs will provide 500 reasons for music fans to debate.  LOL  Donna makes the list at #52 with I Feel Love.  (For those who are curious - Aretha made the top spot with Respect.)

[SEP 19] The big news this week if Bruce's new single, Do Be Do (Day Trippin').  This one is a fun lyric video and I'm pretty sure there is a cameo by Honey the cat's paws.  LOL   If you like what you see - subscribe to Bruce's channel.  Celebrating the new release are 2 new articles.  One is in Italian from Jam TV.  The other is Americana Highways which  includes an interview about the upcoming Ode To A Nightingale album.

[SEP 19] Speaking of Bruce, he was like live for O Museum with Handsome Bill.  You can watch the show on YouTube now.

[SEP 19] I think that brings us to YouTube. Let's do some really early tracks this week.  First up a clip called Black Power. (This one includes clips of Donna from the actual TV show, but since the whole performance didn't make the TV show, the video is padded out with clips from other things so we get the whole song.)  Then we have the rare single If You're Walking Alone/ Can't Understand. (This is audio only with a photo of the single.) Then we have Sally Go Round The Roses and So Said The Man.  And finally, the recently discovered  Time For Change and Something I'd Like To Say.

[SEP 13] I have breaking Johnnyswim news for you. Today they announced that the  fall tour will be postponed until spring.  This is not a decision they made lightly. They really want to be able to do things right, so rather that deal with all the restrictions that are happening now, they'd rather tour later when things should be safer. The last thing they want is to become a spreader event.  So if you have tickets to the fall tour, they will be honored for the new dates EXCEPT for Nashville.  The Nashville show is moving to the Grand Old Opry House, so if you have tickets for that show, get a refund from your point of sale (probably Ticketmaster). Then you will get an email with a code to use to get tickets for the new venue/date.  New dates for the shows are as follows: March 27 - ST Louis,  March 28 - Minneapolis, March 29 - Chicago, March 31 - Knoxville, April 1 - Cincinnati, April 2 - Columbus,  April 4 - Boston, April 5 - New Haven,  April 6 and 7 - New York, April 11 - Raleigh, April 13 - Nashville, April 15 - Atlanta, April 18 - Houston, April 19 - Dallas, April 21, OKC, April 22 - Kansas City, April 23 - Denver, April 27 - San Francisco,  April 28 - Los Angeles. The dates are on Johnnyswim.com but they are not fully updated in that the old dates are still listed as well as the new ones.  How much you want to bet that making the decision to postpone will be an episode of the upcoming season 2 of The Johnnyswim Show?  ;-)

[SEP 12] Greetings all!  Let's start out with the latest from the upcoming I'm A Rainbow release.  Just the other day they released the Ladies on Marc "Child Of Rhythm" Extended Remix of Brooklyn.  You can check it out on YouTube .

[SEP 12] Also in Donna news, we have a new article on uDiscoverMusic.com talking about the "best" Donna Summer songs.  They mostly go with hits, with a couple of deeper cuts thrown in for good measure.  And of course the list is mostly from the 70s with just a couple of 80s tracks thrown in. It's very heavy on Bad Girls tracks.  :-)

[SEP 12] In Bruce Sudano news, he's performing for O Museum tonight at 6 and that will be followed by a Zoom green room Q&A at about 7:15.  If I don't, or you see this too late, I believe they record the Zoom meetings and post them on the website later.  And while you are waiting for the new single, check out the videos he already has posted including a lyric video for September In Your Eyes that he just recently posted.

[SEP 12] Also in Bruce news, his new single Do Be Do (Day Trippin) is out on Friday, so be sure to keep an eye on his YouTube channel for that.  (Or better yet, subscribe and click the bell for alerts when new things come out.)

[SEP 12] Moving on to Johnnyswim,  we have 2 new articles out there. The first is on AtwoodMusic.com and it discusses the new single Devastating.  The other one is on AmoMama.com and is about Amanda making a career in music.  Also Abner posted a video on Facebook  teasing the start of season 2 of The Johnnyswim Show.  And before you say - wait, season 2 is already out... there are 2 different shows.  The first one they did was Home On The Road. Then The Johnnyswim Show was a different show covering their time home in the pandemic.  I would think season 2 would cover them getting ready to go back out on the road and what you do with school age kids  (and their chickens!) when you can go back on the road.

[SEP 12] I was just sent a radio interview with Susan Munao from earlier this year and in it she does talk about Donna a bit.

[SEP 12] I think that brings us to YouTube. I think  this time we will look at that uDiscoverMusic article and spotlight some of the deeper cut tracks they included  in their "best of" list. So we have Sunset People (from the 1980 TV Special),  Our Love (lyric video),  Lucky (lyric video),  There Goes My Baby (official video),  and Walk Away ( the 12" version audio only).

[SEP 5] Greetings all, and happy Labor Day to my American friends. Can you believe the summer season is over?  Anyway, a new month means a new Summer Fever Pick and this month we are celebrating my first Donna album - Live & More.

[SEP 5]  First up, you all know My Life from Live & More Encore. Well there is a studio demo out there now - the Junior Vasquez Private Collection mix long edit.

[SEP 5] Beat posted an article online celebrating black female vocalists of the 70s.  Of course Donna is on the list - and she is in very good company. (Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, Chaka Khan and a whole bunch of others.)  They don't say anything we don't already know, but it's nice to see her in such illustrious company.

[SEP 5] In Bruce Sudano news - don't forget that he will be  livestreaming a live concert for  O Museum one week from today.  Then on Friday September 17, he's got a new single coming out.  So mark your calendars!  (Silly me, I forgot it's 2021 - mark your calendar apps!  lol)

[SEP 5] I think that brings us to YouTube.  Let's start with a quote from Donna about the voice.  And now let's have some clips of Donna showing off her voice - the sexy Love To Love You voice, the power of MacArthur Park, the rock and roll edge of Cold Love, the trippiness of Grand Illusion, the softness of Sand On My Feet, Donna in character as Hattie Mae in Slide Over Backwards, her "unplucked" Rod Stewart voice in Dim All The Lights, the torch singer voice on Lush Life and the silly Donna goofing around with the Brooklyn Dreams on Hollywood Knights.

[AUG 29] Happy Sunday all! As you can see, my area survived Hurricane Henri just fine (in fact is was pretty much a bust here.) But right now I am thinking of the people in the path of Hurricane Ida.  That one looks like it will be catastrophic and I am hoping everyone in its path is safely evacuated or hunkered down in the safest place you can find.

[AUG 29] Let's start with Donna.  The latest single from the upcoming I'm A Rainbow Recovered & Recoloured is Brooklyn (Ladies on Mars "Child Of Rhythm" Remix) and you can hear it in all the usual places including YouTube. Personally, I like the music, but I am still not a fan of sped up vocals.  But that's just me - the ballad freak.  LOL

[AUG 29] In the Donna is everywhere (sort of) category, the songwriter Jimmy Webb (MacArthur Park), did a livestream on Facebook recently.  Bruce shared a piece of it where Webb talks about a change Donna made to MacArthur Park.  Bruce said that Donna would have loved what he said.

[AUG 29] In the Donna's music is everywhere category, Burger King has been running an ad for it's spicy chicken sandwich.  Now I haven't tried the sandwich, so I have no idea if it really is "hot stuff" it is, but I do like Burger King's taste in music. (Although nothing beats the time McDonalds adopted She Works Hard For The Money and made a whole bunch of remixes for the ads!  By the way - this is not a comment on the food - only on the music.  LOL)

[AUG 29] Johnnyswim fans - the final episode of The Johnnyswim Show is now streaming on Magnolia/Discovery+. In this episode you will see how they wrote the new single, Devastating.  Speaking of which, check out the video for Devastating on YouTube.  It is made up of a lot of clips of Amanda and Abner's life together so far including a whole bunch of clips from their wedding.

[AUG 29] Also in Johnnyswim news,  as you know they have been posting videos to social media after each episode of The Johnnyswim Show airs. As you know, last week's episode of the show focused on all the adults helping Joaquin make a movie called Water Spies (which included no water and no spies.  LOL)  Johnnyswim has posted his movie on Facebook (and Instagram) for anyone who wants to see it.  It looks like a fun time was had by all.

[AUG 29] Moving on to Bruce news.  He will be performing at a livestream benefit for O Museum in  Washington DC  on September 12.  Tickets are available here,  or you can livestream it here.

[AUG 29] I think that brings us to YouTube.  First up, the long lost interview clip from  Tom Snyder's old talk show. (It's the show that gave us performances of The Wanderer and Cold Love). And then because I happened to hear Love Is In Control on the radio today and the friend I was with didn't even know the song (I know, right?  LOL),let's so some clips from the self-titled album. So first up is the video for  Love Is In Control.  Then we have a Suecase Hall video for Mystery Of Love, the video for The Woman In Me,  the video for State Of Independence,  and a live performance of Livin' In America.

[AUG 21] Happy Saturday all! First things first, I am expecting Hurricane Henri to make landfall in my area sometime tomorrow morning so there is a good chance I may lose power for a time. (Last time we lost power for 8 days - but that was partly due to someone at the power company forgetting to turn on our part of the street after they made repairs.) Anyway, I will be perfectly fine here but there is a chance next week's update  will be late.  I'll be checking in on Facebook with my phone after the storm.  Those who followed me in 2012 when we had Hurricane Sandy may remember that my posts got sillier and sillier the longer I was out of power.  LOL

[AUG 21] On to business...  Let's start with Johnnyswim. Of course the next episode of The Johnnyswim Show is streaming on Magnolia/Discover+ and this one is about them filming a movie in their backyard written and directed by their 5 year old son.  It's a fun episode. Oh! And check out Amanda's t-shirt in that one. Donna fans will recognize it!   But they have more than that going on. Also in the fun category,  they did a little feature for  Good Housekeeping's YouTube channel called Celebrity Spin.  It's sort of a truth or dare type thing where they answer random questions.  A little teaser for you.... they talk about the time Abner mooned Donna.  Oopsie.  LOL

[AUG 21] That isn't all going on in Johnnyswim-land. They have a new album coming out later this year and the first single will be out August 25. It is called Devastating and it will be available at all the usual places.  Check out the cover image they chose - talk about your perfectly timed photos!

[AUG 21] In Bruce Sudano news, his new EP is due October 1, also at all the usual places, and also with an interesting cover image.  He shared the track list on Facebook: Cosmic Ride,  Fatal Love, Ode To A Nightingale, In Shadowland, Do Be Do (Day Trippin'), Not Your Hero, and All Hands.  Of course, In Shadowland is already out on YouTube. So go check it out there, and subscribe to Bruce's channel.

[AUG 21] In some silly Donna news, Pink News picked up an old story about a Marvel Comic movie idea called Dazzler,  that would have had Cher and KISS vs Donna and Village People. Cher would have been the Witch Queen and Donna would have been Queen Of Fire.  It's funny to read about now. If they had actually ever made the thing I think it would have become either a hysterically funny camp classic or an unmitigated career-ending disaster.  LOL  There is a PDF of the movie treatment. You can download it here.

[AUG 21] Moving on to something saner (although really, ANYTHING is saner than that Dazzler thing  LOL), in the land of covers there is a performer called REDHOUSE who has made a cover of If There Is Music There. It comes out on Friday (August 27) and keep an eye on his website for the appropriate links.  It will be interesting to hear his take on it - as far as I know this is the first cover of any of the Ordinary Girls songs.

[AUG 21] I think that brings us to YouTube. Let's start with a gem I never saw before until it turned up on Facebook. (Don't worry, this IS a YouTube link.) It is Donna promoting  Monday Night Football in 1994 with a variation of She Works Hard For The Money. (It almost makes me sorry I don't watch football. Although if I had known about this then, I would have! LOL)  Now the same YouTuber that posted this treasure has also been experimenting with remastering and enhancing some other Donna videos in 4k.  So far he has done Sunset People  and Bad Girls from the 1980 TV special,  and She Works Hard For The Money from the 1984 Grammys.  And in honor of the upcoming hurricane, let me leave you with Riding Thru The Storm.

[AUG 15] Happy Sunday all!  I'm going to start off with a throwback to earlier this summer when Boston held Donna Summer Day at Copley Square. I was just sent a video promoting the event featuring Officer Kim Tavares from the Boston Police. Watch it to the end - Officer Kim could totally moonlight as a singer if she wanted to.

[AUG 15]  Speaking of Boston,  New Kids On The Block and Bel Biv Devoe held a concert there recently and they sneaked in a little Hard For The Money in tribute to our girl.  :-)

[AUG 15]  In Johnnyswim news, the latest episode of the Johnnyswim Show is now streaming. In this one you get to see them silk-screening merchandise for one of their Live In The Backyard events.  If you are on Facebook, you can also catch Abner's silly video for the last episode (which was about getting chickens if you recall.)  The video is the Hen Debutante Ball.  lol 

[AUG 15] Bruce Sudano fans,  check out the press release for his new single on EINPresswire. Then head over to YouTube to watch the video for In Shadowland if you haven't already - or even if you have.  ;-)  If you like w hat you see, subscribe to his channel and click the bell so you get notifications when Bruce posts new content.  (That will also help your YouTube feed - you will get suggested videos based on channels you have subscribed to.) Did you know that as I write this, Bruce only has 880 subscribers? That's nuts because I know he has WAY more fans than that. Let's see if we can het him into the 4 digit category at least.  :-)

[AUG 15] Finally, in sad news this week, Singer-Songwriter Nanci Griffith has passed away. While she had written songs for many different artists, Donna Summer fans will probably know her most for the recording of From A Distance she did with Donna and Raul Malo for the 1996 album, One Voice.  My condolences to her family, friends and fans.

[AUG 15] That brings us to YouTube.  You know, I've already shared From A Distance this week, so let's stick with Donna's collaborations with others. So first up is Donna with Joss Stone on Try A Little Tenderness.  Then we have No More Tears with Westlife,  Donna with Seal on Crazy,  Donna with Mac Davis, Dolly Parton and Tom Jones on a gospel medley,  Donna with the Brooklyn Dreams on a Motown Medley, and of course, Donna with Barry Manilow on Could It Be Magic.

[AUG 6] Happy Friday all!  (Yes my schedule is a bit weird this week so I am fitting in the update while I can.  :-) ) So today's big news is Bruce Sudano's new single and video, In Shadowland.  It's gotten a really positive review on Music-News.com,  and while they have posted the video there, I recommend clicking through to YouTube itself for a bigger video and for the lyrics posted in the description.  I don't want to spoil anything other than to say the song has a really nice vibe to it similar to the Rainy Day Soul album, and the video has a story to tell in a sort of dream-like way. (Sorry, no Super Bruce or Honey the Cat.  LOL )

[AUG 6] In Johnnyswim news, since today is Friday there is a new episode of The Johnnyswim Show available to stream on Magnolia/Discovery+.  I haven't had a chance to see it yet, but from Amanda's Instagram post it looks like we will see Abner's growing obsession with the chickens he didn't actually want to get (at first). LOL

[AUG 6] In other Johnnyswim news, if you have Apple Music, you can hear the duo on episode 24 of Color Me Country Radio.

[AUG 6] In Donna news, she got mentioned in a couple of articles this week.  An article about Tony Armstrong included songs that were the soundtrack of his life (so far). The first one talked about was I Feel Love.  The Pratt Tribune had an op-ed piece about disco that name checks Donna near the end, and a piece from Far Out Magazine about Blondie's Heart Of Glass mentions that Debbie Harry loved Donna. (I knew there was a reason I liked her!  LOL)

[AUG 6] I don't know if you want to call this Donna news or Bruce news, but Bruce did a short segment  with Bernie Keith on BBC Radio where they talk about the infamous vault and the new I'm A Rainbow release.  Some of you can listen on the BBC website.  Those who are locked out by region restrictions (North America for sure, and probably almost anyone outside the UK) can catch it on YouTube.  And I think Bruce understand us fans pretty well judging by what he said in the beginning.  LOL  We must drive him absolutely nuts sometimes!  (Let me clarify that - I'm not saying he doesn't like us... it's more like a family thing. It's like you have a spouse or kids or parents and you love them to death, but yes they make you absolutely nuts sometimes with the things they do!  LOL)

[AUG 6] I think this brings us to YouTube. Well.... the vault has been mentioned, so let's go there! (Well, to the few things that have escaped anyway. )  So we have Ordinary Miracle (that only ever came out on a hard to find movie),  Freedom,  Adonai, Walk Hand In Hand, My Life (Junior Vasquez mix),  and the ballad version of I Will Live For Love.

[AUG 1] Greetings all and happy Sunday. Congrats to all the Olympians competing in Tokyo. Whether you medal or not, just getting to the Olympics is a huge achievement in and of itself - despite what media coverage might make you think.

[AUG 1] Well it's a new month so you know what that means - time for a new Summer Fever Pick. This month we explore the fairy tale high we get from Once Upon A Time.

[AUG 1] First up this week, we have new single from the upcoming I'm A Rainbow release. This one is the Oliver Nelson mix of You To Me. It is available to buy/stream at all the usual places.

[AUG 1] Billboard recently posted an article called 8 Times MTV's Impact Was Seen At Awards Shows. Donna was credited as the first performance that was clearly influenced by MTV when she performed She Work Hard For The Money on the Grammys.

[AUG 1] Bruce Sudano fans - don't forget he has a new single coming out next week called In Shadowland which he describes as "an illusionary song and video." So you know what that means, right? There will be a video too.  :-)

[AUG 1] Johnnyswim fans - episode 4 of The Johnnyswim Show is streaming now. In it you get to find out how they came to raise chickens during their quarantine time.  Also in Johnnyswim news, check out their Instagram page where they have posted a video of Amanda and her friend making charcuterie boards for the family.

[AUG 1] Moving on to YouTube... let's go with some tracks that might inspire athletes. First up Stamp Your Feet.  Then we have One Of A Kind (I actually did hear that played after a sporting event a long time ago),  the unreleased Run With It,  the also unreleased Begin Again, She Works Hard For The Money (or for the NO money lol),  The Power Of One,  and finally,  Looking Up.

MEMORIAL NEWS PAGE

OLD NEWS ARCHIVES