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

[FEB 16] Greetings all and a belated Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you all got to spend the day with someone you love - even if that person was yourself.   :-) (You gotta love yourself you know!)

[FEB 16] Let's start off with Johnnyswim. They just added a boatload of new tour dates - along with VIP packages to go with them.  Check the list on their site and remember - if there is a particular date that interests you grab those tickets as soon as you can. Johnnyswim does have a pretty good record of selling out. (And if you have ever been to one of their shows then you understand why.  :-) )

[FEB 16] Also in Johnnyswim news - they were on Jimmy Kimmel Live the other day. You can catch the performance on YouTube.  (Thank God because I fell asleep that night and only woke up for the last few notes.  LOL) 

[FEB 16] Clash Music has a short article posted about When The War Is Over punctuated with a giant photo of Abner and Amanda.  And they also did an episode of the Unplanned Podcast with Matt & Abby.

[FEB 16] Bruce fans - he also did a podcast recently. It was the Retro Rock Round Up and you can catch that here.

[FEB 16] I just want to warn everyone again about AI. I saw a post online recently where it said "According to ChatGPT, Donna.... whatever." ChatGPT is an AI program that will literally makeup a plausible-sounding story based on anything you chose to input as a prompt. It cannot be accepted as a reliable source of info.  I played with ChatGPT once and I had it write really good stories about Donna raising elephants in a tiny Brooklyn apartment, about Cher raising giant killer ants in Hawaii, about Marlon Brando recording an album of music made only by chainsaws. The prompts were deliberately ridiculous,  but all the stories that got spit out looked fairly legit.  And I was just playing with the free version - I can't even imagine what the paid version would do.  So when you are browsing the internet, please be mindful of your sources - whether you are looking up Donna, or something more serious.  (The same with photos - there are tons of AI photos out there.)

[FEB 16] I think that brings us to YouTube.  I think for Valentine's Day, we have to do a love theme this week.  So we have to start with Love To Love You Baby. Then we have Love On And On, I Feel Love live from Live & More Encore, a liveandmore video  for Our Love,  I Love You from The Tonight Show, Love Is The Healer from The View, and finally the live clip of the ballad version of I Will Live For Live.

[FEB 9] Happy Sunday all!  We had our first real snow storm here last night and I find myself wondering why nobody has invented self-shoveling snow yet!  LOL

[FEB 9] So the news of the week is that Johnnyswim's new album, When The War Is Over, is out now. And there is merch to go with it.  If you haven't listened to the album yet, go check it out.  It has a nice calming vibe to it that I personally find appealing these days. They've been celebrating the release all over social media so keep an eye on Instagram for videos and such about When The War Is Over.

[FEB 9] Don't forget that Johnnyswim will be on Jimmy Kimmel tomorrow (February 10), then Tuesday they will be playing at the Grand Ole Opry and  Wednesday they are doing at record signing at Grimeys in Nashville.

[FEB 9] There is also a new article in Relevent Magazine about the new album.

[FEB 9] Bruce Sudano fans - he posted a reel on Facebook where he talks about being a songwriter.

[FEB 9] Brooklyn Sudano fans - you remember that a couple of years ago she was on a show called Taken? Well, the streaming service Tubi has picked up that show so you can see her episodes again. She was only in the first season and her best scenes came towards the end of the season. As I recall, she was quite a bad-ass in one of those last episodes.  :-)

[FEB 9] That brings us to YouTube. Since tonight is Superbowl Sunday, I thought we'd do a (sort of) sports-themes list this time.  So we start off with Stamp Your Feet (which is appropriate for just about any sport), One Of A Kind (which I remember hearing years ago after some sporting event), and Run With It (which I think could also work for sports.) Then for specifically football videos, we have Donna doing an ad for Monday Night Football, and a clip of On My Honor being used for a football review. (Sorry, the sound is pretty bad on that one.)

[FEB 2] Greetings all and Happy Groundhog Day! Depending on which groundhog you believe, we are either getting an early spring, or a longer winter. Somebody needs to tell those groundhogs to make up their minds!  LOL  This week starts a new month so of course we have a new Summer Fever  Pick. This month we jump into the fairytale that is Once Upon A Time.

[FEB 2] Let's start with Johnnyswim since their album is coming out soon. (When The War Is Over - February 7!) They've done a few interviews in support of the album.  One was on Dadville Podcast the other day. You can listen on YouTube.  The other was on Talkshop Live.

[FEB 2] If you are into press releases, there is one for When The War Is Over posted here.

[FEB 2] As you know we have some tour dates already announced, but there are other events coming up too. Look for them at the Grammy Museum on February 6 for an album release event, on Jimmy Kimmel Live on February 10, on The Grand Ole Opry on February 11 as part of the year long Opry 100 celebration, and at a record signing at Grimey's in Nashville on February 12. Beyond that, Abner has said that there will be an announcement of more tour dates. (Which is probably not really news - given the chance, Johnnyswim seems to live on the road. LOL) He's also said there will be some bonus tracks from When The War Is Over coming out in March. Johnnyswim is also writing a musical and possibly exploring the idea of writing a cookbook. (When do they have time to do all this? LOL)

[FEB 2] As you know both Johnnyswim and Bruce did the Benefit for LA at the Hotel Cafe the other night. Both shared short clips from their performances. Johnnyswim's is a reel on their Instagram, and Bruce's is posted as a story on Instagram. (You may need to login to see it.)

[FEB 2] Speaking of Bruce, he posted a video on Instagram talking about staying positive as an artist/songwriter. And he did  an interview on Downtown With Rich Kimball  the other day in which he talks about lots of things.

[FEB 2] There was also a short article about Bruce for the benefit event in LA at Hotel Cafe. I'm sure there was one for Johnnyswim too, but now that the benefit is over I can't find it.

[FEB 2] And that brings us to YouTube. This week we are celebrating Once Upon A Time.  So we have the title track live in 1979,  Fairy Tale High from the 1980 TV Special (with Mimi), a liveandmore video for Working The Midnight Shift, I Love You from The Tonight Show, and A Man Like You from The Midnight Special.

[JAN 26]  Greetings all and happy Sunday. Let's start with Johnnyswim this week.  Their live version of I'm Alright/Cuando Salí de Cuba is now up on YouTube and you should go give it a listen if you haven't already.

[JAN 26] The new album When The War Is Over is coming out February 7 which is ridiculously soon! LOL , so Johnnyswim has teamed up with Talk Shop Live to promote it. On Wednesday January 29 at 8PM Eastern time they will be talking about the album, and if you tune in and buy the vinyl at that time from Talk Shop Live, Amanda and Abner will sign it for you. (They showed the vinyl on an Instagram real and it looks really nice!)

[JAN 26] On January 31 The Hotel Cafe in LA is doing a benefit to benefit Musicares at 7PM. (Musicares is currently raising money to help the music community that has been affected by the wildfires.) Johnnyswim will be performing there and so will Bruce Sudano. (Plus a whole bunch of other people!) Tickets are available here.

[JAN 26] Then on April 13 ta 7PM Johnnyswim will be performing for Mountain Stage at the Culture Center in Charleston WV as part if a radio show that will air on NPR. Details are on the Mountain Stage website.

[JAN 26] And if you need a little fix right now, our favorite duo on the Relevant Podcast starting at about 36:35. They are there to promote When The War Is Over (of course!) They talk about how they overcome the stuff that life throws at you - which seems pretty relevant these days.  (I think 2025 is trying hard to be a raging dumpster fire.  LOL  We have 11 more months this year - it's got to get better, right?)

[JAN 26] Moving on to Bruce, as I mentioned above, he will be doing the benefit at The Hotel Cafe in LA along with Johnnyswim and others. If you are in the area - go check it out. It's for a good cause! (And how often do you get to see Bruce and Johnnyswim at the same show?)

[JAN 26] Also,  you can also catch Bruce at Genghis Cohen in LA on February 4th. Bruce takes the stage at 8 but Waldo Bliss is on before him at 7, so go early and check them both out. It's a free show- you can't beat that!

[JAN 26] Giovanni Savastano, one of the authors of  Donna Summer La Voce Arcobaleno was interviewed recently by Radio Roma.  You can catch it here but it is in Italian, so if that is not your language go find a cute Italian to translate it for you.   ;-)

[JAN 26] That brings us to YouTube.  This week's theme is... well, me trying to keep things upbeat since the news lately hasn't been so great these days.  (I mean the actual news that you see on TV or in the papers,  not the fun Donna and family stuff I post.)  So first up is Love Is The Healer live on The View. Then we have  I Love You live from The Midnight Special,  Donna and Giorgio doing Carry On in 1992, I Will Live For Love (the ballad!!), and a Suecase Hall video for  We're Gonna Win/One World.  (That's an unreleased track that I don't usually post in deference to Paul Jabara's estate, but I really feel like that even though it's about the AIDS crisis, it's a song that people need to hear these days.  And as a bonus clip, we have Bruce's It Ain't Cool.

[JAN 19] Happy Sunday all!  Another week with not much going on in Donna-land, but we do have a brand new single from Johnnyswim.  This one is called I'm Alright and you can catch it in al the usual places.  Abner describes is as "an autobiography wrapped in music. It’s about refusing to trade away pain, embracing the battles that shape us, and finding peace in the midst of chaos. In it we honor family struggles and personal victories, as a testament to resilience. It’s a message for anyone who has weathered life’s storms: 'I don’t need saving—I’m alright.'" I think that's something we can all relate to since we all face struggles of one kind or another. And especially these days with the fires, and the wars, and god knows what else that's going on....

[JAN 19] Johnnyswim has said there will be a live version of I'm Alright out tomorrow  on YouTube which looks like it was filmed in the same pub their last live videos were.  But there is also another live version on Instagram right now.

[JAN 19] And while we are on the subject of Instagram, as you know both Johnnyswim and Brooklyn live near the California wildfires.  Everybody is safe, but they are using social media to help with the disaster relief. Brooklyn posts various tips and resources on her Instagram page all the time,  and Johnnyswim has been all about LA Dream Center which is taking donations of various things (the list changes frequently) and distributes those things to those who need them. Like the last time I looked, they wanted things like sunscreen and chapstick for the firefighters.  Other times they have collected things like diapers or clothing.  Like I said, the list changes frequently depending upon what they have received and what there is a demand for.  So whether you are one of the many people affected by the fires, or you are one of the many people looking for ways to help out - keep an eye on those Instagram accounts.

[JAN 19] That brings us to YouTube.  Since tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day here in the US, let's start off with a mix of State Of Independence that uses part of his Birth Of A New Age speech.  Then we have a Suecase Hall video for Freedom, a Suecase Hall video for Livin' In America, a live version of The Impossible Dream,  a live version of Be Myself Again,  and the unreleased Ordinary Girl track, Begin Again.

[JAN 12] Greetings all! To my friends in the LA area - I hope you are safe and well.  I can't believe the photos I have seen from the fires. I keep hoping someone will say it's all special effects for a movie.... sigh.  Let me share with you a couple of things I learned when my friend lost her house in a hurricane. First - beware of scammers! While there are many people out there who are willing and able to help, there is always that group of lowlifes that will use disaster as a way to line their pockets. (And I am convinced there is a special place in hell for people like that!) So if you are looking to donate to help the people of LA, make sure you are donating to a reputable organization and not some fly-by-night scammer. And if you are in need of help - watch out for phony contractors who will take your money to rebuild and then disappear. (That happened to my friend to the tune of $30k.)  Secondly, if you are dealing with the loss of your home and you have the opportunity to get a caseworker who can navigate through the various agencies out there to provide assistance - DO IT! My friend did and because of that she got help from several programs that she never would have known abut otherwise.  Third - one of the first purchases you should make is a file cabinet or something similar to organize all your papers. You will find yourself needing to send out the same documents to various agencies over and over and you need to have a way to organize yourself. And finally -  have patience. It took my friend nearly 7 years from the storm until the day she could move back into her rebuilt home.  And keeping track of everything involved was like a whole other full time job for her.  Things are going to suck for awhile - but you will get through this, I promise.

[JAN 12] Speaking of the LA fires - Bruce, Brooklyn and Johnnyswim have all been posting on Instagram regularly, so they are all ok.  They are probably dealing with smoke, but I think depending on wind direction, most of Southern California is dealing with that - and eventually the wind will send that smoke pretty much everywhere.  I remember the Canadian wildfires from a couple of years ago and seeing the smoke obscure the sun here (Long Island). It was pretty freaky.

[JAN 12] On to the news (such that it is - people are in vacation mode to some degree still.  LOL)  Johnnyswim's album When The War Is Over is slated to come out on February 7 which is somehow only a couple of weeks away.  With the album comes the release of new merch because as you may have figured out, Johnnyswim are the King and Queen of merch!  LOL And then the new tour kicks off on March 20.  Get your tickets early before they sell out! Info on the album,  merch and tour is on Johnnyswim.com.

[JAN 12] Bruce Sudano fans - keep an eye on Bruce's Facebook. He's been posting the occasional teaser showing him working on some stuff. Here's the latest video he posted.

[JAN 12] That brings us to YouTube. Let's celebrate the Summer Fever Pick this week. First up is the video for I Remember Yesterday followed by a live clip of the same song from 1977.  Up next is a live clip of Love's Unkind,  a live clip of Take Me,  and finally a hardly known little track called I Feel Love. LOL And finally a bonus clip (featuring a cameo by Donna) LA Is My Lady by Frank Sinatra - dedicated to the people of LA.

[JAN 05] Happy New Year all! It's a new month so it's time for the new Summer Fever Pick. This month, I Remember Yesterday.  :-) Also, it's January 5, so Happy Birthday  Brooklyn Sudano! (And no, I will not say how old she is because that will remind me how old I am!  LOL)

[JAN 05] First up, an update on the seemingly never ending saga of security errors on my site. I think it's fixed but only for donna-tribute.com. Now, www.donna-tribute.com is still giving me a hard time. (You would think it wouldn't matter if you used the www, but it does.  LOL)  I tried to fix it with the www the other night, but something at my webhost was not playing nicely with me so I'm still working on it.  And on a related side note, I have been working on revamping the site and now that my webhost has made the changes they did I am terrified of what will happen when it's time to tear it all down and re-upload it.  Fortunately it will be a long time before I'm ready for that.  LOL

[JAN 05]  There is not a lot going on at the moment due to everyone taking time off for the holidays, but Bruce did share a Facebook video of him working on some stuff.

[JAN 05] And speaking of Bruce, he made Goldmine's list of fabulous songs and albums of 2024. He's at #71 on the songs list for Under The Gun.

[JAN 05] That brings us to YouTube.  First up, a lyric video for Brooklyn.  Then we have Donna performing Hot Stuff on Sharon Osbourne's show (with a surprise appearance by Brooklyn),  and a video  featuring a first look at Love To Love You Donna Summer. Up next are the music videos for This Time I Know It's For Real, Work That Magic, and The Wanderer.

[DEC 29] Happy almost New Year everyone! (And happy almost birthday to Donna!)

[DEC 29] There's not a lot going on this week due to the holidays but we do have more AI shenanigans  going on at that HalfTimeNews website. The last article about Donna that I saw (so far) announced a Netflix documentary series. While I know the family was talking about trying to do something like that, this particular story was more AI generated fiction. Netflix documentaries seemed to be the theme for a couple of days with stories about a number of artists with docs in the making, just like new albums were the hot topic before that. And of course clicking on any of the Donna stories just made their algorithm think Donna was a good subject for more stories. At the moment, they seem to be giving Donna a rest, but they are doing a ton of Depeche Mode and Madonna stories. So just keep in mind, ANYTHING from that website is garbage.

[DEC 29] In real news, Spotify has put together its annual summary (viewable only to the artists) and Donna's estate released her final streaming stats. She wrapped up 2024 with 25 million listeners, 152 million streams, 11 million hours of music played from 183 countries. I personally am only responsible for 150 million of those streams.... LOL

[DEC 29] Bruce fans - he posted  a Facebook video for Morning Kisses the other day.

[DEC 29] That brings us to YouTube. (I told you it was a quiet week.  LOL) First up we have the whole week of episodes from 2003 when Donna did Hollywood Squares. Then we have Donna fooling around singing Happy Birthday  which seems appropriate for this update. And of course I can't resist closing the year out with Donna and Barry doing Could It Be Magic. That clip is just so much fun!

[DEC 21] Greetings all and Merry Christmas,  Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, Happy Kwanzaa - whatever you like to celebrate! Let me start off this week with an apology to anyone who had trouble accessing the site recently. My webhost made a few changes that I didn't discover until I tried to upload the last update. (An email from them would have been nice!) I have to say it was strange to get security alerts while trying to access my own site. It was like I was trying to hack myself! LOL I believe the problem should be fixed now. I had to change a setting with my webhost and it did take a little while for the change to work its way through the system. Fingers crossed we'll have no more problems!

[DEC 21] Ok, here's a story I need to nip in the bud. You may have run into a story (or stories - there were 3 last time I checked) about a new Donna Summer album coming out in February. It's NOT true. The article was AI generated (and I was able to make ChatGPT spit out a VERY similar story about Michael Jackson with the right prompts. And let's not mention the other ridiculous stories I could make it spit out about - well, anybody. LOL It's a lot of fun actually - I made it write a story about Donna raising elephants in a tiny Brooklyn apartment and another about Cher raising giant killer ants in Hawaii!) The AI story appeared in only one place - a very click-bait-ish sort of site that had a ton of other stories that also seemed to be AI generated. Well, unless, Justin Bieber really is recording an album of kitchen utensil sounds. (Yeah, that's really a story on that site! LOL) So the lesson here is, AI is going to make us all crazy! But seriously, with all the AI out there you have to be really careful about what to believe. An album release is one thing, but imagine AI unleashed on the news of the day. If you want to check out the website involved, It's HalfTimeNews.co.uk BUT.... before you go there, know that you will run into pop-up ad after pop-up ad unless you have a good ad-blocker. I think that's how the site host makes money - they post a bunch of AI content guaranteed to get clicks and then they inundate you with ads.

[DEC 21] On to better things!  LOL Fans of State Of Independence will like a video that I ran into on YouTube.  It talks about the story behind State Of Independence. It's pretty cool - they have a little of Donna's vocals isolated, a little bit of the backing vocals isolated, and they demonstrate the bass lines used in the song. It's a great clip for the music nerds out there. :-)

[DEC 21] If you are in The Netherlands, you might run into a tribute band in the Netherlands called Donna's Hot Stuff. Yes you guessed it - they play Donna's music. They sound pretty good too, although nobody can ever replace Donna.  :-)

[DEC 21] I think that brings us to YouTube.  Rather than give you individual clips, I'll just post my annual holiday YouTube playlist that also includes a little Bruce, a little Mary, some Johnnyswim, and a lot of Donna.  :-)

[DEC 15] Happy Sunday all!  Just 10 days to Christmas and Hanukah!  So if you haven't grabbed a copy of Christmas Spirit (for yourself or to give as a gift), you better do it soon!  LOL

[DEC 15] Ok - now for the sad news I didn't report last week.  On December 7, Donna's older brother Ric sadly passed away.  Donna fans have probably seen him in the A&E Biography about Donna, and you have heard his voice in the documentary. Some of you may have even met him at one of the Donna Summer days in Boston.  If anyone wants to see his obituary, it is posted here and it includes a nice video with photos from Ric's life - and it looks like a life well-lived.  My deepest condolences to the entire Gaines clan.

[DEC 15] On to Donna.  Super Deluxe Editions have posted  an article about the Cats Without Claws upcoming release.  The article has the complete track list and a little history of the album.

[DEC 15] Hypebeast.com has posted an article about the collaboration between  Noah and Donna's estate.  There's nothing there we haven't seen on the Noah website, but it's nice to see a little publicity.   :-)

[DEC 15]  The UK's Guardian has an article in the magazine about late-era releases in an artists career. They features a number of what they feel are the best ones, and Another Place And Time made the list.

[DEC 15] IN Johnnyswim news, their Christmas tour is over now but they still have Christmas merch available for sale on their site.  You can read a review of their recent show in Santa Barbara on edhat.com.  If you are kicking yourself because you missed the Christmas concerts, then head to Johnnyswim.com and look the Spring tour list and grab some tickets to a venue near you.  They put on a really good show - so don't miss out!

[DEC 15] Bruce fans - he wrote a song with Kenny Vance and Johnny Gale called Doo Wop Christmas. It was recorded by Kenny Vance and The Planotones and it is being used in the  Netflix holiday thriller called Carry On. You can also listen to the song on Spotify if that's more your style.  :-)

[DEC 15] I think that brings us to YouTube.  First up, a new fan mix by Q of The Christmas  Song (Q's Eskimo Mix Parts 1 and 2).  Then we have the newly remastered video for There Goes My Baby on Donna's official YouTube channel.  Also in the land of remixes, we have the 2024 New Club Mix of Lucky, and  the Horse Meat Disco Edit of the same song. (Seems like a Lucky sort of week!) Then as a bonus, we have an orchestral celebration of Giorgio Moroder's music from Britain's Heritage Orchestra. The concert runs over an hour and a half and yes, they use some of the songs he did with Donna.

[DEC 08] Happy Sunday all! So let's jump right in with Donna. As I mentioned last week, Cats Without Claws is coming out in a 40th anniversary edition in April. If you want a peek at what it will look like, here's the link for photos. The CDs will be pink and blue, while the vinyl will be pink and white.  As usual, they look beautiful.  And, you don't have to wait until April to get a taste of the album. The Steve Anderson remix for Forgive Me was already released on Friday. You can catch it on YouTube or any of the other usual places.  Now I know that Forgive Me might seem like a strange song to remix. But definitely check it out. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but the people who like it really love it.  I'm sort of on the fence with it because as you may recall I am a ballad freak.  So it's hard to get me behind making the ballads danceable.  LOL

[DEC 08] In other Donna news... well actually this covers more than just Donna.  There is a clothing company called Noah NY (also listed as Noah x)  and they will have a line of Donna shirts out  tomorrow December 9.  You can see Brooklyn and Amanda (and some of their kids) modeling the clothes on Facebook.  And you can read an interview with the ladies on Noah's blog. (It's all about Brooklyn and Amanda remembering their mom, so it's a really sweet read.)

[DEC 08] Well, since we're talking abut Amanda, let's look at some Johnnyswim news. First up - the latest Magnolia Journal (Winter 2024) has one of Amanda's recipes and quotes from Johnnyswim.  You can also catch them in a Facebook video posted by the Recording Academy about Johnnyswim's favorite microphone. The video also features an appearance by cartoon Abner and cartoon Amanda.  And don't forget they are currently on their Christmas tour for a few more dates.

[DEC 08] In Bruce news... he's got a concert coming up in West Hollywood on Tuesday. Ticket info is on his site.  You can also hear Bruce on The Great American Folk Show episode 126 from November 30.

[DEC 08] I think that brings us to YouTube. In honor of the new remix, let's start with a live version of Forgive Me from 1984. Then I have a small collection of clips that I would like to dedicate to the people who need to hear these songs right now. (If you know who I'm talking about, then you know - but I am not going to elaborate further on that at this time.) So that list starts with Donna's cover of Celebrate Me Home (live), her cover of Smile (live), and one of her many live versions of Amazing Grace.  And finally, a stampyurfeet video for Take Heart.

[DEC 02] The new Summer Fever Pick is up! To the surprise of absolutely no one - it is Christmas Spirit! (Now available in vinyl for you vinyl hounds.  :-) (And that's an affiliate link - I am required to let you know that.)

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