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

[SEP 17] Happy Sunday all! Let's start with a little chart news. Currently the iTunes Dance Albums chart has On The Radio sitting pretty at #8. (Of course that chart updates frequently, so it may be elsewhere by the time I finish this update. )

[SEP 17] Speaking of rankings, SiriusXm had a countdown of the  top 30 divas of disco. Donna came in at #1 followed by Diana Ross in the #2 spot. (I find that interesting because even though I know Diana has had a long and varied career, I think of her as more of a pre-disco diva.)

[SEP 17] The New York Times has an interview with Giorgio Moroder in honor of the 40th anniversary of I Feel Love. In it, he gets to talk about Donna.

[SEP 17] I think that brings us to YouTube. Since it's Emmy night here, let's do some TV stuff.  And to do that right, I have to cheat and go to Daily Motion first to see Family Matters: Aunt Oona and Family Matters: Pound Foolish - both featuring Donna as "Aunt Oona from Altoona". These are both full episodes. Then on YouTube we have Lifetime's Intimate Portrait of Donna, A&E's Biography of Donna, VH1's Behind The Music on Donna, and Donna's 1980 TV Special.

[SEP 8] Greetings all and happy Friday. (Sunday isn't going to be good for me this weekend - stuff to do, so here I am now.) First up - I think the world is ending. Ok, that might be a bit extreme, but the west coast is dealing with wildfires, the Houston area is under water, Mexico just had an earthquake, a bunch of islands were torn apart by mega-hurricane Irma, (one in particular, Barbuda, is about to get hit again by another hurricane) and Florida is about to take a direct hit from that same storm this weekend. Yikes! Mother Nature is on a rampage!  My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in all the affected areas. You will get through this! Stay strong! And Florida - if you are in an evac zone and are just sitting home reading this - GO! You saw what happened to the islands Irma hit and you saw what Harvey did to Texas. Seriously - GO NOW! The update will still be here when you get settled someplace safe.  Florida Keys, I am especially looking at you - GET OUT NOW!

[SEP 8] Ok let's start with the bad news in Donna land. Last week I reported that her Ultimate Collection was on the UK Top 100 Album chart. This week it has fallen off.  :-( Well, it was nice while it lasted.

[SEP 8] We have a small update on the Donna Summer Musical playing in La Jolla later this year. They have cast Jared Zirilli in the role of Bruce. You can find out more about him at his website.

[SEP 8] Johnnyswim fans - the pair have announced more US tour dates throughout October, November and December. And they are bringing special guest, Striking Matches, with them.

[SEP 8] Bruce Sudano fans - catch Bruce live September 27 at the City Winery in Nashville, September 29 at Levitt Shell in Memphis, and October 6 and 24 at Genghis Cohen in Los Angeles.

[SEP 8] I think that brings us to YouTube. First up, the audio for The Power Of One,  Heal Them from a telethon appearance, Stor Dubine's video for Stamp Your Feet, Donna and Giorgio performing Carry On, Don't Rain On My Parade live, Riding Through The Storm from Live & More Encore (this one isn't on YouTube - you have to deal with a commercial first), and finally an Ordinary Girl demo called Begin Again.

[SEP 8] And finally, for all of us out of harm's way (so far) who would like to help - Charity Navigator has a list of organizations that are providing assistance and it gives you info on each so you can see how well they use the money.

Hurricane Harvey (Texas, etc)

Hurricane Irma (Caribbean and coming to Florida)

And if I can just offer my two cents to the survivors of the hurricanes - it's been 5 years since we had Superstorm Sandy here. I have spent that whole 5 years watching my best friend working through the red tape of FEMA and other relief agencies in an attempt to her her home rebuilt.  It literally took her 4 years and 11 months from the day of the storm until she could move back in. What I have learned is this - you have to be persistent, patient and organized! Keep copies of EVERYTHING and if you have the opportunity to get an dedicated caseworker - DO IT. That person can show you programs you never would have learned about on your own. Seriously - rebuilding is like having another full time job. Oh, and watch out for crooks - after a disaster, they race out of the woodwork like a swarn of ravenous cockroaches. (Be especially wary of crooked "charities" that appear overnight, and thieving "contractors" who will take your insurance money and run without building a damn thing.)

[SEP 3] Greetings all! And Happy Labor Day Weekend to my American fans. It's a new month and so it's time for a new Summer Fever Pick. This time we take a look at Donna's work in musical theater.

[SEP 3] OK how does some chart news sound? Over in the UK, Donna's Ultimate Collection is back on the top 100 albums chart. It debuted at #85 last week and is now at #79. I think we can credit all the recent interest in I Feel Love for the chart news.  :-)

[SEP 3] Arizona - look for a concert salute to Donna's music on February 23 at the CPAC Community Performing Arts Center. The show features Crystal Stark and her band performing Donna's hits. You can see a sample of her work on YouTube.

[SEP 3] Johnnyswim fans - don't forget that Johnnyswim is taking their show to Europe in the second half of this month. Check out the dates and places on their website.

[SEP 3] I think that brings us to YouTube.  Let's do a few covers this week. First up, Could It Be Magic  on German TV from 1976,  Nights In White Satin live in concert, Natural Woman live in concert,  Superstar live at the Hollywood Bowl, Send In The Clowns (audio only), Anything For You live in Spain, Let It Be (fan video by stampyourfeet), Masquerade on TV from Venezuela 1977, and finally Pearls live in concert.

[AUG 27] Greetings all and a special shout out to Houston and all the other communities being devastated by Hurricane Harvey. The photos I am seeing are just unbelievable and the storm isn't even really over yet. They are still expecting an unprecedented amount of rain to fall over the next few days. If you are anywhere near that area please stay safe! And if anyone wants to help the victims of the storm, NBC has posted a list of some organizations that are helping out. Texas - know that all my best wishes, good thoughts and prayers are heading your way. You will get through this - you are TEXANS! :-)

[AUG 27] In the Donna is everywhere category, she gets name checked in a LA Times article about Sunset Blvd. It's an interesting read about some of the musical history of that street. (And yes, when I read it, Sunset People started playing in my head.  LOL)

[AUG 27] Bruce Sudano fans - there is a nice long interview with him on PopMatters by our very Donna fan, Christian John Wikane.  :-)

[AUG 27] Johnnyswim fans - they have a new video they did for Crate And Barrel talking about their home (and how they got their stuff at Crate And Barrel.)

[AUG 27] I think that brings us to YouTube. I feel like seeing some full concerts tonight, so here we go. First up is Italy 1977. The we have Japan 1979, A Hot Summer Night from 1983, Japan 1987, Spain 1990, Brazil 1992, Belgium 2005, and Jones Beach 2008.

[AUG 20] Greetings all! What a week its been - terror attacks, so-called free speech rallies, heck tomorrow's eclipse probably signals the end times or something. (Don't eclipses usually?  ;-) ) Anyway, I just wanted to remind everyone that the hate groups and terrorists out there are vastly outnumbered by the kind and decent people out there. They are just noisier and more violent - and they have to be in order to get anyone to notice them, So when you see terrible things in the news - try to look past the bad and see what the good people are doing. There is always someone there to help victims or to stand up for what's right. Don't let the bad things in the world lead you to despair. As long as the good people stand together, evil cannot prevail. To quote someone we all know - Love is the healer.  :-)

[AUG 20] On to Donna!  First up some great news - the Donna Summer Musical  playing this November in La Jolla has been EXTENDED an extra week. Now it runs from November 7 to December 17 and  tickets for the new dates are on sale  now.  It must be a hot seller if they feel they can extend the run another week.  :-) The musical gets a mention in the San Diego Tribune.

[AUG 20] Giorgio Moroder did an interview for the On Rotation podcast in which he talks about I Feel Love (and Donna of course.)  Giorgio doesn't show up until about 16 minutes in.

[AUG 20] Bruce Sudano fans - live from the couch is back! This time Bruce treats us to a new song called Can't Go Home Again.

[AUG 20] Johnnyswim fans - go check out their video for First Try on YouTube. Or you can catch it on the Rolling Stone website and read the accompanying article.  :-) (Little Joaquin puts in appearances throughout the video too. :-) )

[AUG 20] I think that brings us to YouTube. And in light of all the stuff going on in the world these days, I think we need to put a little love out there. So let's start with Love Is The Healer (on The View), Whenever There Is Love  from Regis & KathieLee, and Love Is In Control (the official video). Then we have State Of Independence (from the HBO special),  Crayons live at Coney Island, The Impossible Dream live from Spain, and finally the beautiful symphonic version of I Will Live For Love.

[AUG 13] Greetings all and a special shout out to Charlottesville. Hang in there guys - the hate mongers are vastly outnumbered by the rest of us and I am a firm believer that karma will get them in the end.

[AUG 13] On to happier things! There isn't much going on in the world of Donna this week, but Johnnyswim has a new video coming out for First Try. (If you have been to one of their concerts, then you know that this is a favorite for fan sing alongs!)  The video will debut on Rollingstone Country between 9 and 11 AM CST. You can get a taste on Facebook here and a tinier taste here.  :-)

[AUG 13] In Bruce Sudano news, he has announced 2 new dates. The first is September 29 at Levitt Shell in Memphis, TN,  and the other is October 6 at Genghis Cohen in Los Angeles. His live on the couch series of videos is on vacation so he reposted this live video of Bat Shit Crazy. (Who knew couches need vacations?  Now I have a mental image of a sofa sunning itself on a beach somewhere.  LOL)

[AUG 13] And that brings us to YouTube. Let's do some interviews today.  First up is a compilation piece called Up Close. Part 1 is here and part 2 is here. Then we have a BBC interview from 2004, On Time TV from about 2008, a 2007 radio interview where she talks about 9/11's effect on her, Donna on Say It Loud, a 2008 interview for Curtain Call, and finally Donna on Nightline's Playlist from 2008.

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