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

[JUL 21] Greetings all!  Let's start off with Johnnyswim. Their latest Songs With Strangers is posted, but they did it a little differently this time.  They still wrote a brand new song within an hour, but this time they did it with an old friend of theirs who has co-written with them before. The song may even be on the new album that they say they will be finishing this week.

[JUL 21] Also in Johnnyswim news, as you know they did an interview for CBS Mornings hat I posted last week. Well, CBS posted a web extra (that I think is just about as long as the original piece.) In this video they talk about how they came up with Johnnyswim.  Supposedly this story is the truth - but they have been making stuff up for 18 years, so who knows?  LOL (This one does sound plausible and involves Donna, so check it out.)

[JUL 21] Moving on to Bruce - he's been really busy lately!  He's got videos all over the place. On Instagram he posted a bit of Ball Of Fire - a song he co-wrote back in 1969.  And on Facebook he posted some work he did with his Italian band debuting Talkin' Ugly Truths Tellin' Pretty Lies, and a video of Bad Girls that he did recently with the Brooklyn Dreams.

[JUN 21] Take a good look at Bruce's YouTube channel. (And subscribe if you haven't already.)  He's been posting a lot of videos lately - I would call them "getting to know you" videos. There is a series called Album  By Album which so far has episodes on How It Started, and Alive 'N Kickin'. Then the other day he posted a video called How The Brooklyn Dreams Met. It's listed as episode 1, so look for more on that in the future. Also, that one is not just Bruce talking. That's one of the videos they filmed when the guys got together recently.

[JUN 21]  Bruce was also on the Let Christy Take It podcast yesterday.  You can find that on Spotify and all the other places you can grab podcasts.

[JUN 21]  Finally, don't forget that Bruce is on tour this fall. Tickets for Nashville just went on sale Friday.

[JUN 21] I think that brings us to YouTube.  Since this update seems to be Bruce-centric, let's do some clips of Donna and Bruce.  So we have them unplugged on Regis & Kathie Lee with On The Radio, unplugged with So This Is Lonely, and live with Worth The Wait. Then there is the Motown Medley with the Brooklyn Dreams, Donna interviewing them on Bandstand, and Donna just being silly with Bruce making an appearance toward the end of the video.  As a bonus, here is  a soundcloud audio of Donna and the Brooklyn Dreams on an alternate version of Hollywood Knights.

[JUL 14] Happy Sunday all! I guess we'll start with Johnnyswim this week. They have just released a new single called Frank Gehry.  You can watch the video for that on YouTube, And of course you can stream the song on all the usual sites.  Also, Team Swim has been in the studio working on their 5th album - so that is something to look forward to!

[JUL 14] As long as you are streaming, catch Johnnyswim's segment on CBS Morning from the other day.  And also check out the latest episode of Say Grace where Amanda makes Pasta alla Norma.

[JUL 14] Congrats to Bruce on getting 100,000 streams of Talkin' Ugly Truths Tellin' Pretty Lies!

[JUL 14] Bruce posted a couple of new videos this week.  The first one is on YouTube and is called Album by Album and it features Bruce talking about his early days in Alive 'N Kickin'. The other is on Facebook and it has Bruce performing So This Is Lonely.  Some of you may know that song from Donna and Bruce performing it on BBC Radio many years ago.

[JUL 14] I think that brings us to YouTube.  This list is partly inspired by current events here in the US... so first up is Let There Be Peace. Then we have Donna's covers of Let It Be, and New York Minute.  And finally To Turn The Stone.  As a bonus,  Bruce's American Sunset seems fitting this weekend.

[JUL 6] Greetings all and happy Saturday!  It's a  pretty quiet week with the holiday here in the US. First up, Bruce posted a video of he and Randy performing Talkin' Ugly Truths Tellin' Pretty Lies on Facebook.  And don't forget Bruce is gearing up for a tour in September.

[JUL 6] In Johnnyswim news, look for their new video for Frank Gehry on YouTube.  Monday we should be looking for a new episode of Say Grace unless they opted to take a well-earned break for the holiday weekend.   :-)

[JUL 6] That brings us to YouTube. I think this week we will look at Donna's musicals. So first up is the demo for I Will Live For Love from the unreleased musical, Dreamway Express. Then we have Begin Again and No Ordinary Love Song from the unreleased musical Ordinary Girl. Going back in time to Donna's time in Germany we have a Suecase Hall video for Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In from Hair, O segn Gott mein Seel from Godspell, and How I Feel from The Me Nobody Knows. 

[JUN 30] Happy Sunday all! Tomorrow is the start of a new month, so you know what that means - time for the new Summer Fever Pick.  This month we celebrate Donna and musicals.

[JUN 30]  As you know, Thursday was Donna Summer Day in Boston and it looked like everyone had a great time!  Mary Bernard was on hand to sing a few songs again this year and she posted some video on her Facebook page.

[JUN 30] Boston.com asked Donna fans to submit their favorite songs and to share their memories.  The results of their poll are posted online now.  Over 900 people responded to the poll with Last Dance coming out on top.  MacArthur Park took the second spot tied with I Feel Love.  They also shared a bunch of quotes from fans from around the world. (I spotted a familiar name or two in there.  LOL)

[JUN 30] In Bruce news, London Mums Magazine posted an interview with him about Talkin' Ugly Truths Tellin' Pretty Lies. In it he mentions that he may have some dates in Italy with his Italian band in March.  But of course, he'll be touring here in the US throughout the month of September.

[JUN 30] I think that brings us to YouTube. Since Thursday is Independence Day here in the US (and tomorrow is Independence Day in Canada) let's go with that theme. So first up is Donna's video for  State Of Independence and a clip of her talking about the song.  Then we have Donna singing God Bless America, The Star Spangled Banner, and Livin' In America.  Fun bit of trivia, there is a radio station that my friend listens to in her car all the time. At noon they always play something patriotic. and several times when I've been in the car with her, they have played Donna's version of The Star Spangled Banner.   :-)

[JUN 23] Happy Sunday all! And Happy 45th Anniversary to the Bad Girls album.  (Yes, we are all old!  LOL) In honor of the anniversary, Bruce posted a Facebook video of him and the other Brooklyn Dreams, along with Pete Bellotte, talking about the Bad Girls album.

[JUN 23] Don't forget that Thursday June 27 - just a few short days away! - is Donna Summer Day in Boston.  As usual the party takes place at City Hall Plaza from 5 to 9. Members of Donna's family will be there, along with a DJ spinning tunes all evening.  It's free, so if you are in the area be sure to check it out.

[JUN 23] Speaking of events this week, Bruce fans will want to catch him this Tuesday June 25 on Folk Project's Streaming Tuesdays. The show is free, but you do need to get a ticket to watch and you will have 24 hours to rewatch it at your convenience.

[JUN 23] Moving on to Johnnyswim news, their latest Songs With Strangers is up.  This one is called It Starts With A Step Or Two and it was inspired by a story about a fan who had a "missed connection" with another fan at a recent concert.

[JUN 23] In other Johnnyswim news, they have been working on a film that they are producing. It's called Stages and keep an eye on Instagram for updates.

[JUN 23] I think that brings us to YouTube.  Let's celebrate the anniversary of Bad Girls this week. First up,  a 12 minute version of Hot Stuff/Bad Girls with the extra Hot Stuff adlibs included. Then we have a short of Donna singing My Baby Understands, a Suecase Hall video for There Will Always Be A You, and Sunset People from the 1980 TV Special. And finally, we started with Hot Stuff, so let's end with it too - Hot Stuff/Bad Girls from a UK TV appearance.

[JUN 16] Greetings all and Happy Fathers' Day to all the dads and father figures out there.  Let's start off with Donna Summer Day in Boston. As you know that takes  place on June 27, and in honor of the day Boston.com is asking readers to pick their favorite Donna Summer song.  They have a pretty extensive list to choose from, or you can write in something else.  They also ask you to share a favorite memory of Donna's music or performance.  If you participate, your contribution may be included in a future article.

[JUN 16] Now if you want to see a list that has already been ranked - For Women First ranked 11 of Donna's songs. It's a pretty standard list of Donna's hits - no surprises there.

[JUN 16] Moving on to Bruce. He just did a podcast called A Breath Of Fresh Air where he gets to talk about... pretty much everything.  LOL  They go from his early days as a kid playing the accordion, all the way up to Talkin' Ugly Truths, Tellin' Pretty Lies.  There is a bunch in there about his time with Donna too.  The show runs for almost an hour so give yourself time to listen.

[JUN 16] Bruce was also live on his couch again on Facebook. This time he sang a song he wrote back in 1973 about his then-girlfriend.  The song is called Nancy Goldstein.

[JUN 16] And Don't forget Bruce will be performing  for the Folk Project's Streaming Tuesdays on June 25.  The show is free to watch, but you do need to get a ticket. (And you will be able to rewatch it for 24 hours after the event.

[JUN 16] Johnnyswim fans -  the latest Say Grace is posted on YouTube. This week Amanda makes Connie's Chicken Soup. (Looks yummy!)  I think next up should be Songs With Strangers.

[JUN 16] That brings us to YouTube.  A clip of Love Shock live  from Montecatini Italy 1987 started making the rounds of social media lately, so let's start with that.  That same user posted a bunch of other clips from that show including Last Dance/Do You Wanna Dance, The Impossible Dream, Jeremy, and Celebrate Me Home.  And in honor of it being Tony night, here is the cast of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical performing at the 2018 Tony Awards. 

[JUN 9] Greetings all and happy Sunday! First up is an interesting find.  A fan discovered an album from 1973, recorded in Munich, by a group called Emergency. It's called Get Out To The Country and if you look at the album cover art, you will see that the band thanked Donna and Linda (no last names given) for backing vocals on the tracks Take My Hand, The Flag, and Little Marie.  Clearly they are referring to our Donna and her sister Linda. The album is available on Spotify if you want to check it out for yourself.  Also credited on the album are Viet Marvos and Juergen Koppers - both people Donna worked with in her early days.  Very cool find!

[JUN 9] Reminder: the annual Donna Summer Disco Party is taking place on Thursday June 27 from 5 to 9 pm at City Hall Plaza. It's always a good time with great music and appearances by members of Donna's family. If you are (or will be) in that area, go check it out.

[JUN 9]  That brings me to another reminder, but this is for Bruce fans. He's doing the Folk Project Streaming Tuesdays on June 25. That event is free, but you still need a ticket to watch.  You can get one here.  The show is at 7PM Eastern time, but you have 24 hours to rewatch it before it's gone.

[JUN 9] Speaking of Bruce, don't forget he's touring in support of Talkin' Ugly Truths Tellin' Pretty Lies this fall. He's got a number of US dates in September. Ticket info for all of them are available on his site. He's also been posting on Instagram about the tour.

[JUN 9] Moving on to Johnnyswim.  They are filming a movie. And part of that involves filming in Chattanooga and Nashville this week and next. Fans are invited to come to hear some tunes and see some scenes. The events are free but limited, so you have to RSVP. And you have to keep an eye on Instagram for more announcements. Here's the link to the Chattanooga announcement (It's an Instagram reel so it may disappear) which takes place Tuesday June 11 at 6:30 PM.  You have to  RSVP to find out the location the location.  The Nashville info is still to be announced.

[JUN 9] Also, don't forget that tomorrow is Monday so there should be a new episode of Say Grace coming. It should be the second part of the one she did last month. I think she was planning to male soup from the leftovers of the chicken she made.  This past Monday was New Music Monday and they released a new video for the latest single, Alchemy.

[JUN 9] I think that brings us to YouTube.  This week I'm sharing a few of the random things I've been checking out this week. First up, Donna on SiriusXM Artist Confidential with Science of Love, and Last Dance.  Then we have I'm A Fire live at Jones Beach,  I Love You from The Midnight Special,  and finally On The Radio from a David Foster & Friends concert in October 2011 - so yeah, one of her last appearances.  :-

[JUN 1] Greetings all and Happy Pride Month! Since it's a new month, you know it's time for a new Summer Fever Pick. So this month we are looking back at Donna's last album - Crayons.

[JUN 1 ] First up this week - you may have been hearing Hot Stuff a lot lately. That's because Pepsi is using the song in their latest TV commercial - which seems to be playing a lot around here.

[JUN 1] Bruce Sudano fans - remember that poll Americana Highways had for favorite album of March 2024? Well, Talkin' Ugly Truths Tellin' Pretty Lies came out on top! Congrats Bruce! Also, don't forget that Bruce is hitting the road this fall, and doing a streaming performance on June 25 for  Folk Project Streaming Tuesdays. Tickets for all these events are available on Bruce's website.

[JUN 1] Johnnyswim fans - they have released a new single called Alchemy. Yes, it's the song you herd on New Music Monday a few weeks ago and now it's a single you can streams/buy in all the usual places.

[JUN 1] Pete Bellotte fans - MBW has interviewed him for a series about  the world's greatest songwriters.  In it, Pete talks about working with Donna and Giorgio, among other things.  It's not often we get to hear from Pete, so this is definitely worth the read.

[JUN 1] That brings us to YouTube. Let's celebrate the Summer Fever Pick this week.  So we have a 2010 interview, a 2008 interview with ET,  the studio videos for Stamp Your Feet and The Queen Is Back, a stampyurfeet video for Crayons,  Nathan's video for Fame, Donna being silly in 2008, and the unreleased track, Run With It.

[MAY 26] Greetings all! This weekend here in the US is Memorial Day weekend where we honor our fallen service people. It's also the start of our summer (Summer?  ;-) ) season here, so let the warm weather fun begin!  First up this week, a new release of the track Black Power.  You may remember that this was a song Donna performed on a 1970 German action show called 11 Uhr 20. The song has been reissued as an EP on Spotify (and all the other usual places) with the English version we all know, a German version, an instrumental version and one other instrumental track. The EP is called Black Power/Minotti On The Run by the Peter Thomas Sound Orchester and Donna Summer.

[MAY 26] In other Donna news, Kelly Rowland starring in a biopic on Donna is back in the news.  People posted an article where they talked to Brooklyn about the potential casting. Just a reminder, Bruce has said that the family is looking to do a limited series instead of a biopic.  So as Brooklyn says in the People article, "We'll see what the future holds."

[MAY 26] This week  The Grammys hosted the Grammy Hall Of Fame Gala in which I Feel Love was honored. Vibe has photos of Andra Day performing in honor of Donna.  Entertainment Tonight posted a video on YouTube with various clips from the evening. I Feel Love is at about 53 seconds. Andra Day posted a shorter video on YouTube, but the sound is better quality there. And Getty Images has photos from the red carpet of Brooklyn and Brian Edwards.

[MAY 26] Johnnyswim fans -  their latest Songs With Strangers is up.  It's a song called Irrevocable and it's a beautiful ode to an adopted child. Also, team Swim is promising a new live performance video for their song Alchemy on Friday. In the meantime, you can see a short of them performing it live at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, and of course they made a video of the song (in the snow!) for New Music Monday a few months ago.

[MAY 26] Bruce fans -  he has added more dates to his fall tour: Portsmouth, NH, Burlington, VT, and Somerville, MA. You can also catch him on June 25 for FP Streaming Tuesdays. You do require a ticket for this event, but the tickets are free. The show starts at 7PM Eastern time, but there is a 24 hour rewatch window.

[MAY 26] Bruce also posted a couple of videos on Facebook. First is a jam he and the band did during rehearsals.  The other is Starting Over Again  from Folk Alliance International.

[MAY 26] I think that brings us to YouTube. Let's celebrate the Summer season this week.  So  of course we have to start with a clip of Summer Fever live in 1995.  Then we have Bad Girls/ Hot Stuff (from the Nobel Peace Prize Concert) - I don't know about you, but they pretty much defined my summer of 79.  Then there is Sand On My Feet  (live in NH) which just feels like summer here on Long Island (even though it was written in Florida LOL), and of course there is a full concert from Jones Beach, NY 2008. On Long Island, Jones Beach is THE summer concert venue. It's outdoors at the beach with the stage literally out in the water, and for me it usually meant an afternoon at the beach followed by the concert (and a sunburn! LOL) in the evening.  If you timed it right, you could hear soundcheck from the parking lot.  I miss seeing Donna there. Finally, in honor of Memorial Day I'll leave you with Let There Be Peace in the hopes that one day no one will ever have to make that ultimate sacrifice.

[MAY 19] Greetings all! So let's start with some good news. The lawsuit with Kanye has been settled. Apparently they reached an agreement on May 3 and now it's down to the paperwork. We'll probably never know the details of the settlement though - many times stuff like that is put under seal.

[MAY 19] As you know, I Feel Love is being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in a Gala event that is being held Tuesday May 21 in Los Angeles.  So I expect we may see some photos on the wire services later this week from the event. If you are in LA, keep an eye on your local news in case they do a puff piece on the event.

[MAY 19] An article in The Daily Kos has decided that many of us will want/need a "mental health break" this year. So to that end, they have an article addressing that. The author has decided that their solution is to start their day with a great song and this particular article recommends Hot Stuff.

[MAY 19] Amo Mama has an article celebrating 8 deceased female celebrities "who passed on their beauty" to their daughters.  This article includes Donna and Brooklyn and has several photos of each of them plus a couple with the 2 of them together. (There is also a photo of Donna with Mimi because I guess the person who found the photos got confused.  Yes, a celebrity is allowed to have more than one daughter! LOL)

[MAY 19] Moving on to Bruce - he's heading out on tour this fall. He'll be hitting Austin, Houston, Baton Rouge, Mobile, Nashville, and New York all in September.  Ticket info is on Bruce's website.

[MAY 19] Johnnyswim fans - the latest Say Grace episode is up. This week Amanda makes Connie's chicken in the first of 2 parts. The next Say Grace will be soup made from the leftover chicken.

[MAY 19] That brings us to YouTube. First up, Donna's girls remember her for Access Hollywood. Then we have the official video for Love to Love You, Donna, Seal and David Foster from 2010,  Donna and the Brooklyn Dreams with a Motown Medley and Heaven Knows from the same show, Bruce talking about Donna from an interview done a couple of years ago, and If There Is Music There from VH1's Live & More Encore.

[MAY 19] And finally, yesterday was my MS Walk and it was a great success! The weather held, we had a really nice walk, and thanks to you guys, we raised a bunch of money for a great cause. Hopefully one day, we'll have a cure.  So thank you all for your support. Like Donna says on a certain album - you really are, you're the greatest!

[MAY 12] Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and mom figures out there! OK, remember the Christie's auction a few months back? Well, one of the lucky winners happens to be the Museum Of Fine Arts in Boston. They got a couple of dresses and a couple of pairs of shoes - some of which are currently on display as part of their Dress Up exhibit that goes on until September 2.  WBUR talked specifically about Donna's dresses in a piece about the exhibit.  So Donna's dresses are in a museum that also houses  things like paintings by Picasso, Rembrandt, Renoir, and classic sculpture by the Greeks and Romans... in other words this is a real fine art museum and I find it so cool that Donna is represented there, even if it's just a couple of dresses.   :-)

[MAY 12] Moving on to Bruce, catch him on YouTube talking to JamTV about Talkin' Ugly Truths Tellin' Pretty Lies.  Bruce speaks in English (with Italian subtitles) but the rest is in Italian.  You can also catch Bruce in a Facebook Reel celebrating the anniversary of Closest Thing To Perfect. And he's got another Facebook video celebrating the 15th anniversary of  Life & The Romantic.

[MAY 12] Johnnyswim fans, check out the article  from Relevant Magazine where Abner and Amanda talk abut marriage advice.  (Married 15 years - in Hollywood years isn't that something like 100?  LOL)

[MAY 12] Last week I said we were due for an episode of Say Grace - I forgot that there were 5 Mondays in April, so I got ahead of myself. So last Monday team Swim was still promoting Hollywood for New Music Monday.  Tomorrow should be Say Grace.

[MAY 12] I think that brings us to YouTube. As you know Friday will mark 12 years without Donna.  So I'd like spotlight a few of my favorite clips.  So we have (in no particular order) Love Is The Healer from VH1 Divas 2000, Mimi's Song from The Tonight Show, MacArthur Park from Live & More Encore, Be Myself Again live, and Worth The Wait live.  I could list about a million more, and yes that would include some Christmas music - but since it's May I will spare you that!  LOL I will end with my very favorite clip - Dona and Barry Manilow having way too much fun with Could It Be Magic.  (Thank you team Manilow for originally sharing that clip 13 years ago.)

[MAY 12] Finally, my MS Walk is Saturday and you guys have come through for me once again! You guys are amazing!  I'll be wearing one of my Donna shirts that day and as always, I will be thinking of her as I walk past the amphitheater and remembering all the great shows she put on there.  (Like this one.)

[MAY 5] Greetings all and Happy Cinco de Mayo for all who are celebrating (or who are reposting that old meme with the jar of mayo in a sink.  LOL)  It's the start of a new month so it's time for a mew Summer Fever Pick. This month we are looking back at Live & More Encore.

[MAY 5] So let's start off with Grammy news. As you probably know, I Feel Love is being inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame at the gala being held on May 21. What I didn't realize is that makes Donna the first female solo artist to be inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame AND receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in the same year.  I just wish she was still here to enjoy it.

[MAY 5] In another bit of interesting news, Billboard posted an article about how RuPaul's Drag Race causes songs to increase on-demand streaming of the songs that are used on the show.  In Donna's case, This Time I Know It's For Real got over a 180% increase in streams the day after it was used on the show, and Dim All The Lights earned over a 96% increase the day after it was used.

[MAY 5] Moving on to Bruce, he recently did an interview with Billboard about Talkin' Ugly Truths Tellin' Pretty Lies. Although the album is the primary focus of the interview, the conversation did also touch on the lawsuit with  Kanye West over I Feel Love. RollingStone also picked up on that part of the interview.

[MAY 5] Johnnyswim fans - their New Music Monday video is up. They recorded a video for Hollywood - one of the Diamonds outtake tracks that was brought back for the anniversary release.  Tomorrow is Monday, so if they are not still recovering from the Diamonds events, Abner's birthday, and Luna's birthday (what a packed week!) they should be posting an episode of Say Grace tomorrow.

[MAY 5] I think that brings us to YouTube.  In honor of the new Summer Fever Pick,  let's look at clips from Live & More Encore. First up, the whole VH1 special.  Then we have the video for I Will Go With You, and a live version of the song from Queen Latifah's show.  And then there is Love Is The Healer live on The View, and the Thunderdub mix of the song as well. (That one has extra spoken lyrics.)

[MAY 5] And finally... my annual MS walk is rapidly approaching! Thank you to all who have supported me, both this year and in all the previous years.  If you are interested in donating, my link is here. But I also accept positive thoughts/prayers/good wishes for all who are dealing with this disease.  To quote Christina Applegate, "FU MS."

[APR 28] Greetings all! And a belated Happy Passover to those who celebrated! First up, some people have been getting their copies of the Japanese Singles Collection.  One fan posted an unboxing video, so you can see what it looks like if you haven't gotten yours yet.

[APR 28] Forbes posted its list of the best 30 disco songs.  Donna made the list several times.  :-)

[APR 28] And speaking of great songs... Donna's bad Girls album turned 45 this week.  (Yes we are all old!  LOL) In honor of the occasion, uDiscoverMusic posted an article about Bad Girls.

[APR 28] Those of you planning to go to the Donna Summer Disco Party in Boston this year - the date will be June 27, and it will be at City Hall Square once again. They are advertising special performances from Mary and Omega Red, with DJ Vince1 taking charge of the rest of the music for the night.  So if you want to go, start making your plans now.

[APR 28] Bruce Sudano fans - Talkin' Ugly Truths Tellin' Pretty Lies is now available on cd and vinyl in all your favorite places such as Amazon. (paid link) Also, you can still vote in the  Americana Highways  poll for favorite album of March.  Voting ends on May 5.

[APR 28] Johnnyswim fans - our favorite duo has been spending this weekend celebrating the 10th anniversary of Diamonds. Part of that celebration includes an auction of some artwork on Johnnyswim.com. The auction closes tomorrow April 29 at 7:30 PM CST. A portion of the proceeds will go to St. Jude's Children's Hospital. And while you are on their website, if you are looking for a limited edition vinyl of Diamonds X, that's the place to get it.

[APR 28] I think that brings us to YouTube.  First up, a new Suecase Hall video spotlighting Donna's country side. Then in honor of the 45th anniversary of Bad Girls we have the title track on The Tonight Show, Hot Stuff from The Dinah Shore Show, Dim All The Lights live in 1995, Sunset People from the 1980 TV Special, the Bad Girls demo that was used in the documentary, and the Bad Girls demo from Bad Girls deluxe. As a bonus we also have Bruce's version of Bad Girls, and outtakes from the 1980 TV Special. (I love those outtakes!  LOL)

[APR 21] Happy Sunday all! I just got back from a week visiting with my little 20 month old friend and I have to say that after a week of Baby Shark, it was a REAL pleasure to come home to my Donna music!  LOL! (My little friend is cute though - her musical taste will develop.) So I guess we should start with Johnnyswim.  Their latest Songs With Strangers is up. It's a song called Fireflies that's a nostalgic look back at home, and it's really nice. Coming up tomorrow should be Swim Or Die where Abner makes merch - unless they are crazy busy with the Diamonds anniversary.  That is this weekend coming up, so get ready to party Nashville!

[APR 21] Also in Johnnyswim news - Diamonds X is available NOW for your streaming pleasure. It's got all the original tracks plus a whole bunch of commentary and  two previously unreleased tracks: Hollywood, and Keep Me Around.

[APR 21] Moving on to Bruce...  Congrats on getting over 2.5 million views for Talkin' Ugly Truth Tellin' Pretty Lies!

[APR 21] Also catch Bruce (with Randy Mitchell)  on No Depression Session where he gets to perform 3 songs and talk a little about them. The ones he did are How'd You Get Here, Talkin' Ugly Truths Tellin' Pretty Lies, and Starting Over Again.

[APR 21] Don't forget, Americana Highways is still accepting votes for  your favorite albums of March 2024. Bruce is currently killing the competition!

[APR 21] I almost forgot! It was Record Store Day yesterday, so a number of people grabbed a copy of  Many States Of Independence.  It comes as a beautiful blue vinyl edition.

[APR 21] I think that brings us to YouTube. Why not go with the State of Independence mixes.  So we have the New Bass Mix, the DJ Dero Vocal mix,  the N.R.G. mix, the 12" Millennium Mix (with Martin Luther King),  the Murk Club Mix, the Creation Mix, and the Jules & Skins Vocal mix.

[APR 12] Happy Friday all!  Let's start off this week with a video that just started making the rounds (in various forms) on social media today. I'll link you to the YouTube one because it's longer.  It is a video of Donna's "abandoned" house in Tennessee.  Now the first thing you need to know is that Donna had at least 2 houses in Tennessee  over the course of the years that she lived there.  The first one was bought by Tommy Shaw of Styx a number of years ago.  There was a TV show called Flipping Out that showed the Shaws touring the house in one of the episodes. And you can see photos of the house from AFTER the Shaws put their mark on it on the Nashville Lifestyles site.  Donna's other house is the "abandoned" one.  You can see a little bit of the interior of that house in an interview clip for CBS Morning News. And you can see Donna and Amanda in the kitchen here.   I keep putting "abandoned" in quotes because if you watch the video, the house is in pretty decent shape for an empty house, and it still had power. Yes the windows are boarded up, but that's what you do with an empty house that is not destined to be occupied. According to the YouTuber, the house is going to be demoed and replaced by a housing development. That checks out because the property shows as being sold to a company at the end of 2022.  Plus there are online news stories from 2021 talking about rezoning the properties on that street. (And no, I'm not going to provide the address here.  Even though it's easy enough to Google if you really want to, and the family obviously doesn't live there anymore, I still feel like I'd be doxxing them if I gave out the address. I know it's silly, but what if one of you has secretly invented time travel and decides to go back and harass Donna?  LOL)

[APR 12] Moving on to Bruce... Americana Highway is asking readers to vote for their favorite albums from March 2024. Bruce is on the list of choices.  :-) You can vote for him and up to 2 others on their website until May 5.  Bruce was doing really well in the poll when I last looked.  :-)

[APR 12] Johnnyswim fans - the latest episode of Say Grace is up. This week Amanda made granola.  Monday should be Songs With Strangers I believe - IF they have time to do it. Abner and Amanda are gearing up for the 10th anniversary celebration of Diamonds in just a couple of weeks, so they are a bit busy at the moment. :-)

[APR 12] Speaking of Diamonds - Johnnyswim is putting out a new vinyl edition of that album that includes an archival interview from 10 years ago where they talked about what they hoped the album would mean to everyone in 10 years. This will be a limited edition release. Only 1000 will be printed and the first 500 will be autographed. It will be offered to people going to the show at the Ryman first. So if you are a ticketholder to that show, watch for an email with details. The rest of us should just stay tuned. The new vinyl is pretty! Abner posted a video of it on his Facebook.

[APR 12] I think that brings us to YouTube. Let's start with a fun one from Ms Mojo listing 20 songs that people think are by someone else. I Will Survive is on the list, as is Don't Leave Me This Way. LOL (Those are by Gloria Gaynor and Thelma Houston if you don't know. Oh and mark my words if you watch The Masked Singer - the Clock is Thelma.  That's my guess and I'm sticking to it.) Moving on to the land of fun videos, someone on YouTube posted a video for a DIY version of Donna's Four Seasons Of Love album cover. Also in the land of fun videos. I love the animated videos of Stor Dubine and since I haven't posted them in awhile, let me share them now: Does He Love You,  I Got Your Love,  and Stamp Your Feet.

[APR 06] Greetings all and happy Saturday!  Let's start off this week with Bruce. He finished up his Italian dates and is now doing the On The Blue New Horizons Cruise to be followed next week with dates in Fort Lauderdale and Clearwater.

[APR 06] Also in Bruce news, he did an episode of the Caropop podcast. They talked about a whole bunch of things, and Bruce even mentioned Donna MAYBE getting into the Songwriter's Hall Of Fame. (Fingers crossed!)

[APR 06] In Johnnyswim news, they are gearing up for the 10th anniversary of Diamonds at the end of this month. They still have some of their Take The World packages available, and they have added a little extra to that package. There are also still some regular tickets to the Ryman on the 29th.

[APR 06] In other Johnnyswim news, they skipped New Music Monday this week because they are prepping for  the shows at the end of the month.  They should be due for an episode of Say Grace on Monday, but that may be on hold until after the Diamonds celebrations. But that would make this a really good time to check out their previous videos. Or if you have MAX, go check out The Johnnyswim Show  (2 seasons of that - plus Home On The Road, plus In The Kitchen with Abner and Amanada) streaming there (and on Discovery+/Magnolia).

[APR 06] I think that brings us to YouTube. First up, a 1975 radio ad for Electronic Industries Association.  (I never heard that one before!)  Then we have another short with Donna talking about The Carpenters, Donna's 1979 appearance on 20/20, Donna on the Eddie Rabbit TV special,  a 1989 interview for ABC News, and finally almost 9 minutes of I Feel Love goodness.  :-)

[APR 06] I'll be going away next weekend for about a week so I'm not sure if the update will be a little early, or really late. So don't worry if I miss a week.  :-) (And if any house robbers are reading this -  I may be going away, but my house will not be empty. The rest of the family is staying home to wait on my pets and guard my Donna collection.  LOL)

MEMORIAL NEWS PAGE

OLD NEWS ARCHIVES