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

[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.

[JUL 24] Happy Saturday all!  First up this week is Johnnyswim. Episode 3 of their new series is available on Discovery+/Magnolia. Watch Abner tease the episode on the Johnnyswim Instagram page.  And check out our favorite duo talking about the Magnolia Network launch on FirstCoastNews.com.

[JUL 24]  Bruce Sudano fans - don't forget he has a new song coming out August 6 - In Shadowland.

[JUL 24] That brings us to YouTube. (Yes, already - it's a quiet week.)  Let's cover some of the lesser viewed official music videos. First up, the one that inspired this list, When Love Takes Over You.  Then we have Work That Magic,  All Systems Go,  The Woman In Me, Love Is In Control, Unconditional Love,  and Romeo.  (Donna isn't seen in that last one - it only uses movie clips. I'm sure a clever editor could fix that....  ;-) )

[JUL 18] Greetings all!  Let me give a special shout out to my European friends who are dealing with that crazy flooding. I hope you are your loved ones are all safe.  And another shout out to my North American friends who are going through the insane heatwave - yikes!  Stay safe!  I don't know - excessive heat in some places, storms in others, flooding, a pandemic.... I get the feeling Mother Nature is a bit cranky these days.

[JUL 18] On to the news! First up, the word on the upcoming Donna bio film that the estate is working on, is that they have a very rough cut put together so far.  Now they are looking at what else they want to add. So progress is definitely being made.  (That doesn't mean a release date is imminent. It just means they have enough stuff to put together and now they are seeing where the holes are, and what they need to fix.  It's sort of like writing a novel - you make a first draft, then the editor reads it and shows you everything you did wrong. Then you fix that and the editor reads it again and shows you everything you did wrong this time...  And hopefully several rewrites later, you have a decent book. LOL)

[JUL 18] Johnnyswim fans - the Magnolia Network is up and running on it's own app or on Discovery + and with that comes Johnnyswim's SECOND series for the network.  Their Home On The Road series was fully available as soon as Discovery+ launched, and now their second series, The Johnnyswim Show, is partially available to watch.  The first series followed the Johnnyswim team in their adventures on the road, and the new one follows their adventures in lockdown. The first 2 episodes are available now (and you get to watch them learn how to film themselves and how to throw their Live In The Backyard concerts).  New episodes debut weekly on Fridays.  (I'm trying to figure out why if the first series was called Home On The Road, the second wasn't called Home Off The Road?  LOL)

[JUL 18] TheList.com has posted an interview with Johnnyswim about the new TV show. And if you head to Johnnyswim's Instagram, you can see Abner's Mom make their favorite meal (as seen in episode 1 of The Johnnyswim Show), Ropa Viejo. (Looks yummy!)

[JUL 18] If you are in Mary's Once Upon A Diva group on Facebook, then you can catch her live video from this weekend.  And if you aren't in the group, then why not join?

[JUL 18] In the land of things that just make me laugh, apparently Minecraft players have the option to dress their little 8-bit characters in the "Donna Summer Rainbow Tissue Dress".  It's the dress that you see on the back of the Live & More album.  It sort of loses something in 8-bit though.  LOL

[JUL 18] I think that brings us to YouTube.  Let's start with this really cool find I was sent the other day - it's a minute of Donna singing Lady Of The Night. She's wearing a fur coat and standing in a parking garage and that clip is new to me!  Too bad it's not the full song.  I had the opportunity to talk to someone this week about Donna songs that resonate with me, so let me find clips for those songs.  First was Mimi's Song (as performed on The Tonight Show). Then I talked about On My Honor (this is a lyric video),  MacArthur Park (live in Belgium 2005),  Sand On My Feet (live in 2008),  Be Myself Again (live in 2008), and Netherlands (a Suecase Hall video).  And yes, I did tell this person about Christmas Spirit too  LOL , but I will save those songs for December for you. I probably could have listed a lot more songs, but who wants to hear me talk THAT long.  ;-) You know what though? This is a very ballad heavy list (no surprise there for those who know me!) so let me leave you with Crayons because I do love that one too.   :-)

[JUL 11]  Happy Sunday all!  We're going to start with Bruce this week. He has a new album coming out soon  called Ode To A Nightingale, and the first single will be out August 6. The single is called In Shadowland.

[JUL 11] Bruce did the My Backstage Podcast recently. In it he talks about the new album (and you get a little sneak peak). He also mentions that the tour of  Summer: The Donna Summer Musical will hit the road in the US starting in November. the Brazilian tour will also be back, but he didn't have a date for that yet, and there will be a production in London at some point as well.  The usual caveats apply - everything depends on how the COVID situation plays out. Here in the US things are opening back up (fingers crossed, knock wood,  you get it) but I know other places are not so lucky thanks to the new variants out there.

[JUL 11] Johnnyswim fans - the Magnolia Network officially launches on Discovery + and the Magnolia app this week.  So tune in and watch Johnnyswim Home On The Road if you haven't already. (And watch it again if you have!)  Also, keep a close eye on our favorite duo - they too have an album coming out soon.  Keep an eye on their Instagram for updates.

[JUL 11]  Brooklyn Sudano fans - you know you can catch her on Hulu in Cruel Sumer, but now you can also catch her in My Wife And Kids.  Hulu just picked up that series, and you can see Brooklyn in seasons 4 and 5.

[JUL 11] And finally, in sad news Italian singer, dancer, actress, TV host, Raffaella Carra has passed away.  Donna fans will probably best know her for this 1989 clip of the song Lovin You performed with Donna.  My condolences to Raffaella's family, friends and fans.

[JUL 11] That brings us to YouTube. Let's do some duets this time.  Of course we have to start with Heaven Knows (with the Brooklyn Dreams of course!).  Then we have Donna with Barbra Streisand on Enough Is Enough. This one is just the raw vocals from the recording session. Up next is A Whole New World with Dave Koz - it's not your traditional type of duet as Donna sings and Dave plays his sax. But it's still beautiful.  Next is Donna with Darwin Hobbs on When I Look Up,  then Donna with Paul Jabara on Something's Missing.  (Something IS missing... both Paul and Donna. Sigh.) And finally, (you know I have to do this, I love this clip so much!  LOL) - Donna with Barry Manilow on Could It Be Magic.

[JUL 3] Greetings all and Happy Canada Day to my Canadian friends, and Happy Independence Day to my American friends.

[JUL 3] On to the news. Stacker.com posted an article called Donna Summer: The Life Story You May Not Know.  Basically the site did some research and came up with 25 facts about Donna that casual fans might not know. (I'm sure there is nothing there that will surprise anybody here. LOL)

[JUL 3] Last week was the Donna Summer Party in Boston and Omega Red posted a video celebrating the event.  (Before you say it - no, they didn't use any music from the event in the video. I assume that's so YouTube wouldn't kill it for copyright reasons.)

[JUL 3] Moving on to Brooklyn Sudano -  she appeared on the Typology podcast recently, where they spent the hour trying to pin down her Enneagram type.  (For those who don't know, Enneagram types are a way of examining people's personality traits.  Googling will get you more detailed info and even show you how to take free tests to determine your type if you want. )

[JUL 3] And speaking of Brooklyn, her show Cruel Summer  was the subject of a recent article on Gruntstuff.com. The article is notable because it looks like it was Google translated from some other language.  Read it and you'll see what I mean. Anyway, the show is coming to Amazon Prime August 6 for people outside North America. For those checking it out for the first time - pay attention to every detail and enjoy the ride.   :-) (And then feel very old when you find out they had to teach the young actors how to use a walkman because they had no idea.  The show's Instagram pas a video of a bunch of the main actors interacting with things from the 90s.)

[JUL 3] In Johnnyswim news, I just found an article on TheList.com  called The Untold Truth Of Amanda Sudano. I'm not really sure how it's "untold" truth as everything they list comes from interviews Amanda gave at some point. Maybe they should call it the Told Truths?   LOL

[JUL 3] Oh, by the way, the new Magnolia Network starts streaming on Discovery+ and on the Magnolia app July 15. It will hit cable in January.  So if you are looking to see Johnnyswim's show - head to Discovery+.

[JUL 3] I think that brings us to YouTube. It's a bit of a mixed bag this week.  First up is a Suecase Hall video for the new version of I Believe In You.  Then we have a 2008 video of Donna on CBS This Morning. As I recall it was very popular when it aired.  After that is Donna singing On The Radio and Starting Over Again on the Tonight Show. (Listen to Bruce talk about Starting Over  Again on Border Crossings here.) And of course since it is Independence Day this weekend, we have to have Donna singing God Bless America and The Star Spangled Banner.

[JUL 1] Greetings all! It's a new month so it's time for a new Summer Fever Pick.  This month we get nostalgic with I Remember Yesterday.

[JUN 27] Happy Sunday all!  Well the big news this week is the release of I Believe In You (Figaro Sound Version).  It is the first track off the upcoming  I'm A Rainbow Recovered and Recoloured and you can find it in all the usual places you find singles. You can also listed to it on YouTube.  It's very different from the original which probably means you will either love it or hate it!  LOL Personally, I think it's pretty cool. :-)  It makes me eager to hear what they did with the other tracks. 

[JUN 27] Speaking of I'm A Rainbow, Instinct Magazine posted an article about the new release. There isn't much there we don't already know, BUT they do have larger versions of the cover art - front and back.  And I know some of you are in love with those photos! Then over in Italy, the Italian version of Billboard has an article written by super fan Andrea Angeli Bufalini.  The article is in Italian (of course) but you can get Google to translate it.

[JUN 27] The other big event this week was Donna Summer Day in Boston.  They had dancing instead of roller skating this year because they were using a smaller  space. (That seems to be a thing this year with events - they are all a little different than usual, since at the planning stages nobody was quite sure what pandemic restrictions would be in place.) Boston Globe has an article about the event, and if you are on Facebook check out some of the Donna Summer groups there. You will find photos. And if you are in Mary's group, you will find her photos and videos because she was there. (So weird - no masks in sight. I almost forgot that people have faces!  LOL)

[JUN 27] In the Donna is everywhere category, she was an answer on the game show Beat Shazam.  The game is basically a musical quiz show with teams competing to see who can answer the name of the songs the quickest. In the category of Divas, Donna was represented by her song Bad Girls. 

[JUN 27] And in the Donna's music is everywhere category, there is an internet show called Stars In The House hosted by Broadway's Seth Rudetsky and his husband James.  They usually host these Zoom reunions of starts from various TV Shows, Broadway Shows, etc. For Pride, they dropped the idea of a remote gathering and instead hosted a live-streamed Concert For America: Pride Edition.  They closed the show with Last Dance as sung by Broadway star Shoshana Bean.  (By the way, all the Stars In The House episodes are fundraisers for the Actor's Fund. )

[JUN 27]  In Johnnyswim news, I finished reading their book, Home On The Road.  I really enjoyed it! I mentioned last week that they wrote 2 stories about how they came up with the name Johnnyswim.  There are actually THREE real official final stories about how the band got its name. #3 might be the most creative one yet.  LOL  May I suggest that the next book be called How We Got Our Name, and it would be a compilation of all the stories they have told thus far, plus any new ones they come up with. Maybe the kids can help? LOL

[JUN 27] On to YouTube.  I ran into Donna's Walk Of Fame Ceremony recently and it was nice to watch again. So I'll share those with you this week.  So here is part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.  And finally, footage of her star right after she passed in 2012.

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