NEWS ARCHIVES

2023

[AUG 27] Happy Sunday all!  It's been a quiet week, but we still have Johnnyswim on tour. And keep an eye on the merch tables if you are going to one of the shows. You might find some exclusive items.

[AUG 27] And speaking of merch - Bruce Sudano has redone his website and with that comes a new t-shirt.  It's actually the first time he has offered t-shirts.  But don't worry - if shirts aren't your thing, you can still get the Super Bruce  bobblehead!   :-)

[AUG 27]  In the land of covers, Claire Richards and Delta Goodrem have covered No More Tears.  It's pretty faithful to the original.  Claire has also covered This Time I Know It's For Real.  Clearly she's a fan.  :-)

[AUG 27] That brings us to YouTube. Since we were just talking about covers, let's take a look at some of Donna's covers. In 2006 she was doing Sade's Pearls in concert and Aretha's Natural Woman.  She's also done Georgia On My Mind,  La Vie en Rose,  Nights In White Satin, Superstar, and in Divas 2000 she did a cover of Reflections. Donna is also known for her dance version of Barry Manilow's Could It Be Magic. (And yes, I will use any excuse to post this clip.  LOL)

[AUG 20] Greetings all! This week the main news is Brooklyn in Ambassador Digital Magazine. I showed you the Instagram post with the photo shoot, but now the interview and select photos are on the magazine's website.  One of the main takeaways from this article is that the documentary will NOT be the only film in Brooklyn's directorial career.  She would like to do more, and I can't wait to see what she sets her sights on next.  Hopefully the writers and actors strikes will end quickly (and fairly!) so creatives can get back to  creating.

[AUG 20] Johnnyswim fans - our favorite duo is officially back on the road again (living their nomadic life!)  Keep an eye on their Instagram for photos and videos from the tour.  If you are looking for dates and places, check their website. But be warned - Johnnyswim tickets always sell FAST!

[AUG 20] Last Dance fans, check out the Dodz 2k22 mix available on Soundcloud.  It's short but fun.

[AUG 20] And that brings us to YouTube.  First up, a 1990 interview about Donna's painting exhibition. Then we have a 1987 interview from the UK's Sky, and a 2004 interview from a UK radio show called From The Bottom To The Top (the clip is about an hour and 20 long and Donna is scattered throughout the show).  Then on the music side of things, we have Starting Over Again from the Eddie Rabbitt  special, and  Science of Love from XM Radio's Artist Confidential.

[AUG 13] Happy Sunday all!  Let's start with some time sensitive info for Johnnyswim fans. They will be performing in New York City at Rockwood Music Hall this Thursday August 17 at 7PM as part of the Preserve Rockwood Benefit Series.  Tickets are available here.  Then their official Stories tour starts on August 19 in Bethel, NY and continues through October 21 in Waco, TX.

[AUG 13] In Brooklyn Sudano news, Ambassador Digital Magazine has done an interview and photo shoot with Brooklyn. They posted  clips from the photo shoot on their Instagram, but nothing has appeared on their website just yet.  But check out the Instagram pics - it's a very glamorous  session.

[AUG 13] In documentary news, Love To Love You Donna Summer has hit New Zealand on Sky Arts as of today.  Because of that, Stuff.co.nz has posted a review of the film.

[AUG 13] in Giorgio Moroder news, he has sold his producer royalties to Iconoclast. They have "struck a deal to work on the development and marketing of 'The Father Of Disco's' name, image and likeness rights."  I'm no expert on music industry legal matters, but this sounds to me like an 83 year old man looking make sure his legacy will be secure after he passes (in what I hope is the FAR FAR FAR distant future.)

[AUG 13] I think that brings us to YouTube. First up, TopPop remastered their clip of Donna performing Love To Love You. (That's the clip where Donna is backed by the blond male dancer in the very 70s white outfit. lol)  Then we have a short interview clip  from Donna's appearance on a Disney special.  (Here is the full special. You can catch Donna at 4:03 and 23:23. See if you can spot Mimi in Unconditional Love. Oh and I should warn you that right before Unconditional Love, there is a clip of the It's A Small World ride. You might want to mute the sound on that part.  LOL) Next up is a recent clip from LPJ_IS_KOOL with a clip of On The Radio plus the audio of a 2003 interview where Donna talks about the song.  (You can even see a picture of the handwritten lyrics  that sold at the recent Christie's auction.) And finally, Donna performing a couple of songs at the London Palladium. This is the infamous performance with the mic problems.  I happen to like this clip because it shows what a professional Donna was. I have always believed that if you make your living performing live (in any capacity - music, acting, making speeches, dancing, etc) that eventually anything that can go wrong will. And to me the mark of a professional is in how they handle situations where things go wrong.  Donna just kept chugging through without missing a beat as the crew found a mic that worked.  Someone with less experience might have stopped the show, but not Donna.

[AUG 6]  Happy Sunday all!  This week is the first update for August so you know that means it's time for a new Summer Fever Pick. This month we will be rocking to The Wanderer.  :-)

[AUG 6] So let's start off with Donna. The Hard Rock Cafe in Sioux City has installed some new memorabilia and included is a dress Donna wore in 1980.  The Sioux City Journal has an article about the new memorabilia, but it is behind a pay wall.  I did a little digging and found out the dress at Sioux City used to be on display at the Hard Rock in Boston.

[AUG 6] American Songwriter posted their 15 favorite quotes from Donna recently. There are some good ones in there.

[AUG 6] BrooklynVegan.com posted an article on the album Prestige by Girl Ray. Specifically, the article discusses eight albums that were influences on that album. Yes, Donna is on that list with Bad Girls.  :-)

[AUG 6] Some of you (okay, all of you  LOL) probably remember that when Four Seasons Of Love came out back in the day, there was a fold out calendar for 1977 included.  Well, a fan going by the handle @workinghardforthemoney on tumblr made a really good clean scan of the calendar and posted it.  (If you are wondering, the next time that calendar will be accurate will be 2033, then 2039, and 2050. After than you can figure it out for yourselves you young whippersnappers!  LOL)

[AUG 6] Since the rest of the family seems to be on a well deserved vacation this week, I think that brings us to YouTube.  In honor of the new Summer Fever Pick, let's look at clips related The wanderer. First up, the title track (and On The Radio), from the  Tom Snyder Show 1980, Then we have a stampyurfeet video for Art On Ice/Cold Love, a Suecase Hall video for Looking Up,  and another Suecase Hall video for Grand Illusion. Finally there is the official video for The Wanderer.

[JUL 30] Greetings all and happy Sunday! First up this week - The Johnnyswim Stories Tour.  Our favorite dup will be hitting the road from August 19 to October 21.  The full list of dates/venues is on their website, and tickets are on sale NOW. Johnnyswim tickets usually sell out pretty fast so get yours as soon as possible.

[JUL 30] While I was away, Bruce Sudano's new single/video dropped. It's called Better Than This and you can catch it on YouTube and all the usual places. The video is packed with old photos and videos of Bruce from over the years.  It's fun to watch and the lyrics are very relatable.  On a side note, I was on vacation last week with an 11 month old who got very cranky one night - the animated video for Fatal Love bought us about 30 seconds of peace.  LOL (I know, that doesn't sound like much, but it was enough time to get the bottle ready for her. )

[JUL 30]  Bruce's new single got write-ups on Mescalina.it and JamTV.it.  Both articles are in Italian, so Google Translate is your friend if that is not your language.

[JUL 30] In the land of milestones, Donna has officially topped 1 BILLION streams on Spotify. That's not a typo!   :-) (I swear, it wasn't just me going nuts on vacation! I streamed off the SD card in my phone, not from the Spotify app!  LOL)

[JUL 30] I think that brings us to YouTube. First up a rather unusual clip of This Time I Know It's For Real.  Then we have a Suecase Hall video for Love Has A Mind Of It's Own done as a tribute to Donna's relationship with Bruce.  And finally a short CBS news clip featuring Donna at home with her granddaughters and a young pre-married Johnnyswim.

[JUL 15] Happy Saturday all! Before I get started, I just want to let you know that I will be away on vacation next weekend so there will be no update for the 23rd.  (Any burglars reading this - no, my house will NOT be unoccupied. There are other family members staying home to care for the cats - and guard my Donna collection.  LOL) The next update will be on or around July 30.  :-)

[JUL 15]  On to the news. Congrats to Brooklyn and team!  Love To Love You: Donna Summer has been nominated for the HCA 2023 TV Awards in the category of Best Broadcast Network or Cable Documentary. It's up against Last Flight Home, The US And The Holocaust, and White Coat Rebels. The awards are handed out on August 12... well... that's when it is scheduled. I have no idea if the writers' and actors' strikes will have an impact on that.  (On a side note -  stage actors are NOT on strike, so maybe use this time to see some live performances. You will be glad you did!)

[JUL 15] Speaking of Brooklyn, KCRW.com has a little piece about Brooklyn and her love of gardening. (I think that apple didn't fall too far from the tree... I seem to remember her mom was a gardening enthusiast too.  :-) )

[JUL 15] In Donna news, SingersRoom.com last a list of the Top 10 famous singers from Massachusetts. Yes, Donna is on the list but 2 of the other "singers" on the list are not known for singing.  Chick Corea and Leonard Bernstein are both insanely talented musicians and composers in their genres, but I don't think either springs to mind when someone talks about singers.  LOL

[JUL 15] TheGrio.com has an article about the story behind She Works Hard For The Money.  The article is a new one that goes with a podcast from last month that features Bruce talking about the song.

[JUL 15] We Are Cult has posted a review of the latest release of Another Place And Time.  The author is a big fan of the album, but he has to concede that maybe there have been too many reissues in too short a period of time.

[JUL 15] In Bruce news, we can look forward to a new single (and video!) called Better Than This on July 21.  (That would be 2023 or 2024 depending on which post you saw on social media!  LOL  But at least when Bruce gets a case of fat fingers, he only messes up by a year. When I do it, it's usually by a century. There is nothing like saying Bad Girls was released in 1879! Thank god I usually spot it before I publish. LOL)

[JUL 15] But while you are waiting for Bruce's new single,  you can check out MusicExistence's review of Two Bleeding Hearts.

[JUL 15] Johnnyswim fans - catch them at the Moon River Music Festival in Chattanooga with Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors on September 9.  FYI, the combination of Johnnyswim and Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors is billed as Goodbye Road.  So whenever you see a billing for Goodbye Road, know that it is the two acts working together. Now, the festival is sold out at the moment, but there is an option to get on a waiting list or to buy verified resale tickets.

[JUL 15] I think that brings us to YouTube.  In honor of the latest release of Another Place And Time, let's look at songs from that album.  First up the Pete Hammond remix of the title track.  Then we have This Time I Know It's For Real live on David Letterman,  Love's About To Change My Heart live on Arsenio Hall,  I Don't Wanna Get Hurt from TOTP, and the video for When Love Takes Over You. Finally, a segment about Donna from SAW: Legends Of Pop.

[JUL 9] Happy Sunday all!  It's a pretty quiet week, but we do have a new article about the Christie's auction from Salon Privé. This one breaks down some of the highlights - the items that did particularly well. Apparently there were bidders from 21 countries.  :-)

[JUL 9]  Bruce Sudano fans - look for his next single, Better Than This, in all the usual places on July 21.  In the meantime, check out his current single with Valerie Simpson, Two Bleeding Hearts, which is doing well on YouTube.  :-)

[JUL 9] In throwback cover news, back in 1982 Frida from ABBA released a solo album that included a cover of To Turn The Stone.  (That was before we got to officially hear Donna's original version since it came from the shelved I'm A Rainbow.)  Queerty recently posted an article about the cover. I have to say that  I have heard Frida's cover many times, but this is the first time I saw the music video that goes with it.  And, uh.... well, it's a good reminder that 80s videos were often just plain weird. LOL

[JUL 9] I think that brings us to YouTube. First up, I previously shared a video where Fil from Wings Of Pegasus analyzed Donna's 1999 vocal performance of Last Dance. Well, I recently ran into a previous video where he analyzed a 1983 performance.  I love his analysis videos - he doesn't just gush and say "wow that's so awesome." He will tell you exactly why a performance is good and give you some of the technical stuff that is going on.  It's definitely music nerd territory.  :-) (And I just love it when he starts smiling when Donna sings!) Next up is a band pit video from the NCL Prima cruiseship production of Summer: The Musical. It's broken into a 4 part split screen where you can see the guitar, the keyboard, the drum, and what's happening on stage. Next is a podcast discussing the documentary. They call it a review, but it's more of a discussion. In the category of WHY? somebody posted a video of Love To Love You sped up so that Donna sounds like one of the Chipmunks.  LOL (His whole channel is sped up songs. He's actually got 4 Donna songs there.) And because after listening to that, you need something to cleanse your ears, LOL,  here is the Live & More Encore concert. (I'm still trying to figure out that whole sped up songs channel - seriously, WHY?  LOL)

[JUL 2] Greetings all! Happy Canada Day to my Canadian friends and Happy Fourth to my American friends. (To my other friends - celebrate with us. Just tell your jobs that you are taking a day or two off. LOL)

[JUL 2] It's a new month, so that means it's time for the new Summer Fever Pick.  This month we can all celebrate our inner "bad girl" by dancing to Bad Girls.  Toot toot!

[JUL 2]  Let's start with the Christie's auction. That closed the other day and it looks like they  made some pretty decent money.  :-) You can check out the website for the final bids on everything.  It looks like the awards and paper ephemera (photos, lyrics, etc) did the best. There was hardly any action on the costumer last week when I looked, but as I suspected, bidders for those waited until near the end of the auction.  The paintings were a bit slow to attract bids too - probably because the minimum bids for those were pretty high to start with. But all but 2 of them eventually found a buyer.  :-) If you want to see what the items looked like on display at Christies, they have a virtual tour posted on their website.  Congrats to all the lucky winners on your new collectables!  :-)

[JUL 2] For more auction news, check out WABC New York's news report on the auction, and FineBooksMagazine.com has a short article on the auction results.

[JUL 2] We have a new official video out there. This one is an animated video for I Feel Love.  I kind of like the way they combined the computer generated faceless animated figures with footage of the real live Donna Summer - just like the record combines the synthesizer (computer)  generated music with vocals by the real live Donna Summer.  That was a really good idea.  :-)

[JUL 2] ARTnews.com has an article about celebrities who paint. They start right off with Donna.

[JUL 2] in documentary news, interviews with Brooklyn still keep turning up. :-) (Girl - go take a vacation already! You earned it!  LOL)  So we have a print interview with SRQ Magazine,  and then a video interview for Togethxr.

[JUL 2] IN the everyone is a Donna Summer fan category, Debbie Harry and Blondie played at Glastonbury recently and they threw in a bit of I Feel Love in the middle of Heart Of Glass. I couldn't find enough video of that particular performance, but I found a different recent performance where you can definitely hear the Heart Of Glass music change to I Feel Love music.  It's at about the 5 minute mark.

[JUL 2] In Bruce Sudano news, Chris Epting just posted an interview with Bruce that focuses on songwriting. It's a nice read particularly for anyone who wants to get into the mind of a songwriter.

[JUL 2] I think that brings us to YouTube.  First up, someone posted what they are billing as the original take of Love To Love You Baby. It is taken  from a 28 track stem. Then we have a playlist from Donna's 1992 Walk Of Fame ceremony. (I know some of my readers were there - see if you can spot your younger selves.  :-) ) And then just because I have been playing this lately, the ballad version of I Will Live For Love.  (I love that song!)

[JUN 25] Happy Sunday all!  This week brings more on the Christie's auction (which only has a few more days of bidding left!) Good Morning America had a piece about the auction with an interview with Brooklyn, Mimi and Amanda, and footage from inside the auction house.  The Cut also has an article about the auction.  And, of course, the auction is still available to look at (or even bid on) on the Christie's website.  I have noticed that as of this writing, the photographs, lyrics and awards are  (generally)  going higher than expected, the gowns are going lower, and some of the paintings have no bids yet - probably because they have high opening amounts.  But having said that,  smart bidders are probably waiting until the last minute so that they don't  drive the prices up too early.  (I used to see that on eBay all the time. In the final moments of an auction, the price would go up like crazy!) If you are in New York, you can still see the items on display until Tuesday.

[JUN 25] In documentary news, Spin.com has an interview with Brooklyn.  The documentary is still streaming on MAX, so go check it out if you haven't already.

[JUN 25]  As you know, on July 7 we are expecting a rerelease of Another Place And Time.  One of the ways it will be available is as a Zoetrope picture disk.  The official Facebook page posted a video of the Zoetrope in action and it's pretty cool!  It uses images from the This Time I Know It's For Real video that, when the record spins, becomes an animation. It's sort of like a flip book, the way it works.

[JUN 25] Johnnyswim fans - catch them in Waco, TX for SIlobration on October 20 and 21.  For tickets, click here.

[JUN 25] In musical news, Summer: The Musical is still playing at my local Gateway Playhouse for a couple more weeks. They have a promo video on YouTube if you want a little taste of what I saw.  They also posted several local reviews, and photos from the production. If you are in the area, there are still plenty of tickets left.  :-)

[JUN 25]  I think that brings us to YouTube.  First up, a medley from 1994 that I haven't seen in ages.  Then we have the perfect summer (Summer?  LOL) clip - Sand On My Feet. Then here's an unusual video from the musical. It's the Conductor Cam  from the cruise ship NCL Prima.  All you see is the man at the keyboard playing and conducting, but you can kind of hear what's going on on the stage. (The metronome is very distracting though.) And finally for something completely different...  someone on YouTube tried to fill in what she feels are the missing parts of the documentary by reading Tarot cards.  (Not sure she needed Tarot cards to come to the conclusions she did.  But the cards are pretty. And yes, this is proof that you can find ANYTHING on YouTube.  LOL)

[JUN 18] Greetings and Happy Father's Day all!  As you know, Friday was Donna Summer Day in Boston and it looks like a great time was had by all!  Mary was on hand to perform. She did Melody Of Love, On The Radio, and of course Last Dance.  Her niece, Taihisha posted a couple of clips on Instagram,  And if you are in Mary's Facebook group, a couple of people posted clips there too.  :-)

[JUN 18] In documentary news, Brooklyn was on CNN recently to promote Love To Love You Donna Summer. She also did an interview for Mark Tara's Rainbow Country podcast, and one for WCVB in Boston.   And there is an interview with Bruce about Donna and the documentary on UDiscoverMusic.com.

[JUN 18] In auction news, the Christie's auction for Donna's memorabilia is now accepting bids until June 29.  So if you have your eye on something, now is the time to make an account and place your bid.

[JUN 18] Bruce Sudano fans - catch him in the latest edition of The Beat (from the UK).

[JUN 18] Johnnyswim fans - catch Abner on Magnolia's  Silos Baking Competition tonight or streaming on Discovery+, Magnolia, or MAX.  He was a guest judge last week for episode 4 and he will be on again tonight for episode 5.

[JUN 18] Johnnyswim is also on Cameo now.  If you've never heard of Cameo, it is a service that allows you to purchase special messages or videos from participating celebrities. For instance, you could pay for a video where Johnnyswim sings Happy Birthday to your mom... or where they wish your best friend a happy anniversary... or whatever else you can think of.

[JUN 18] In musical news, as you know Summer is playing at my local theater The Gateway Playhouse until July 16. I got to see it last night and I have my report on the show here. And I will probably go see it again.  :-)  (Support your local arts people!)

[JUN 18] I think that brings us to YouTube.  First up, we have a new Suecase Hall video for Bad Girls (with an emphasis on the "new" demo version.) Then we have the Loverdose recording of Love To Love You Baby,  the Dick Clark Live Wednesday performances of MacArthur Park and Last Dance,  a performance of Friends Unknown,  and If There Is Music There from VH1 Live & More Encore.

[JUN 11] Happy Sunday all!  This week brings more on the documentary.  First up, Mary had a live chat on her Facebook group this past week and she wanted to make sure that we all know that Mimi's husband, Rick Dohler, was the guy who cataloged and digitized all those home movies, etc  that they found.  (And it was all stuff on 8mm, VHS, you name it - whatever the tech of the times were, and he was working on that for years.) So a huge shout out to Rick! Your efforts are truly appreciated!

[JUN 11] And speaking of Mary, she will be performing at Donna Summer Day in Boston on June 16.  She might even try to do some live Facebook streaming while she's there.

[JUN 11] In release news,  on July 7 look for a new release of Another Place and Time. There will be a 2 CD set, a half-speed black vinyl and a Zoetrope picture disk. The CDs have a couple of unreleased edits and a new remix of Another Place and Time. (The Zoetrope sounds interesting.  I haven't run into one before, but apparently if you view it with a stroboscope app in your phone, you see a continuous dancing effect. ) If you have Facebook, the official account posted a short video to promote the release.

[JUN 11] On to the never-ending documentary coverage.  :-)  So we have an excellent article in Harper's Bazaar, and a piece from Today.

[JUN 11] Cultured has an article about the Christie's auction of Donna's memorabilia.  I imagine we will see more articles about that as we get closer to the end of the month.

[JUN 11] MusicConnection.com has an interview with Bob Conti and in it he talks about Donna (among other things.)

[JUN 11] In musical news, the Gateway Playhouse production of Summer opens June 16.  Gateway has posted a video with a little bit of rehearsal footage.

[JUN 11] I think that brings us to YouTube. Since tonight is Tony night, let's do some clips from musicals - either covers, or stuff Donna wrote for musicals.  I made a whole playlist to make it easier.  And as a bonus, here is a clip of the Broadway cast  of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical performing at the Tonys.

[JUN 4] Greetings all and Happy Pride Month!  It's a new month so you know what that means - time for the new Summer Fever Pick. This month we are yelling "more more more" for the original Live & More.

[JUN 4] We are still in promotion mode for the documentary. So for that we have Brooklyn on ET the other night, we have an interview with her for QRO,  another interview for PopCulture.com, and one for San Diego Entertainer Magazine.  Then Brooklyn and Roger are interviewed together for Deadline.com, and the LA Times.

[JUN 4] Of course all the publicity for the documentary has people speculating about a biopic. Now, none is planned at this time, but the name that comes up all the time as potentially playing Donna is anyone does a biopic is Kelly Rowland.  ET asked Brookyn about that, and Tamron Hall talked to Kelly Rowland about it.

[JUN 4] Reminder for Boston - Donna Summer Day is June 16 this year. There will be music and roller skating from 6 to 9pm in City Hall Plaza.  Usually some of Donna's family is on hand for the party too.

[JUN 4] As you know Christie's is auctioning off some of Donna's stuff this month. All the items are now posted on the Christies site - costumes, shoes, sunglasses, awards, photos, handwritten lyrics, artwork...  so much to look at! There are 147 lots you can look at (or even bid on!)  I'm pretty sure that Donna owned more than 147 things  LOL so maybe if this auction does well, there will be another? Or maybe there are other plans in the works?

[JUN 4] Speaking of Christie's, they added an article about Donna to their website.  You can find that here.

[JUN 4] Gateway Playhouse here on Long Island is running Summer: The Donna Summer Musical later this month.  (I have tickets for the 17th!)  Casting has been announced finally.  The three Donnas will be Renee Marie Titus as Diva Donna, Afra Hines as Disco Donna and Grace Capeless as Duckling Donna.  Afra Hines was in the original Broadway cast and even went on as Disco Donna a number of times.

[JUN 4] Moving on to Johnnyswim news. The duo will be performing at  AmericanaFest in Nashville this September. The event goes from September 19 to 23 and you can check out the complete list of performers on the website.

[JUN 4] Also in Johnnyswim news,  it looks like they are filming more episodes of their cooking show for Magnolia.  Don't forget - if you signed up for HBOMax (now just MAX) to see Love To Love You Donna Summer, a quick search on the service for Johnnyswim will give you a list of all their Magnolia series and you can check them all out if you haven't had a chance before.  Oh and if you have seen their original series, The Johnnyswim Show, when it first came out, you might remember that episode 3 originally had the wrong closed captions.  It had the captions for some gardening show which was just weird and sometimes even funny.  That's been fixed now.  (And I never could find the cooking show to see if it had the Johnnyswim captions.  LOL)

[JUN 4] I think that brings us to YouTube. I think we'll have some fun with the auction items. So up first is lot #10 in action - Donna performing at Reagan's inauguration.  Up next is lot 22 - the Romeo dress,  lot 94 the dress from the  Lloret de Mar concert, lot 115 from Art On Ice, lot 132 seen on German TV (sorry the sound is rough on this clip),  lot 50 as seen on TOTP (well, one of the hats was anyway),  and lot 59 from Divas 2000. And of course, special mention goes to lot 60, the famous silver goblet that stars don't drink from...  LOL  (Actually, I don't think this is the same goblet from the clip but how could I resist?)  Now there are other costumes in the auction that I remember seeing on tour or whatever, I just didn't find the right clips on YouTube.

[MAY 27] Greetings all! It's Memorial Day weekend here in the US - the unofficial start of the summer (Summer? LOL) season.  To my American friends - have a great time this weekend, but take a moment to reflect on the reason for the holiday - all those we have lost in service to the country over the years.

[MAY 27] As I write this, Love To Love You Donna Summer should already be streaming in the UK on Sky.  So welcome to the party UK.  :-)  Here in the US it is streaming on HBO Max which JUST rebranded itself as MAX.  This transition has not been without a few hiccups, so if you previously has the HBOMax app on your phone, tablet, or smart TV, you may have to update the app. Some people even had to delete the app and reinstall the new version. I have a Roku TV and the app there updated itself seamlessly,  If you watch on the web, the website changed to Max.com. And here's the best part - Max has acquired the rights to stream the Discovery+ shows which of course includes the Magnolia Network. So if you signed up for MAX to see Donna, you can now also watch all of Johnnyswim's  shows. (That's Home From The Road, The Johnnyswim Show and In The Kitchen With Abner and Amanda.) If you never got to see any of those before, now if your chance to check those out.

[MAY 27] In honor of the documentary, there is a new playlist on Spotify which includes all the (released) songs used in the film. The very last track on the list is a newly released track - the "new" demo of Bad Girls that ran over the movie credits.  :-) And when I say  newly released, I mean it. You can buy that demo at all the usual places.  (And yes, the cover art is weird.  LOL)

[MAY 27] And speaking of music - I forgot to mention last week that we now have  a collection of mixes of Melody of Love available at Amazon and the usual places.  So you will want to check those out.

[MAY 27]  Back to the documentary. The publicity continues! Well, that and reviews. So here are some of the articles I have sun into this week.   There is a review on Yahoo News, People has an article about Mimi,  BET has an article with 5 things they learned about Donna (no surprises there for diehard fans),  The Grio has a review,  V Magazine has an article, The Wall Street Journal has an article (you need to make an account to see it),  The Independent has a nice long article, and then there is this one that I find entertaining for all the wrong reasons.  LeeDaily has an article about Donna's daughters that has a few editing errors that amused me.  According to that one, Donna has 3 daughters names Toby Dohler, Manhattan Sudano and Jessica Sudano. Who knew? LOL

[MAY 27] If video is more your thing, watch Brooklyn on Allison Interviews, watch Brooklyn and Roger Ross Williams on Black Film And TV,  and then watch uDiscover Music's piece for the LA Premiere of the documentary. On and a while ago I posted that Brooklyn was on the A Trip To The Movies podcast. The video for that is now available on YouTube.

[MAY 27] As you know, Donna's estate is auctioning off some of Donna's stuff. Salon Prive Magazine has an article about that with some interesting new details.  Prior to the auction, Christies will showcase the collection at their Rockefeller Center location in NY from June 23 to June 27. AND some highlights will be shown  at Christies Los Angeles location from May 31 to June 3.  (That's this week people - you Los Angelenos get on that!  LOL)

[MAY 27] In chart news, the documentary stirred up enough interest in Donna's music to put 6 of her albums in the R&B top 40 on iTunes and 2 albums in the top 10 Dance albums.  Unfortunately, then Tina Turner passed away (may she rest in a well earned peace) and naturally Tina's albums took over the charts for now.

[MAY 27] In Bruce Sudano news, (something else I forgot to post last week during documentary mania  LOL) - he did an interview with Vents Magazine about his latest single, Two Bleeding Hearts.  (The video, by the way, already has over 100,000 views on YouTube.   :-) )

[MAY 27] That brings us to YouTube.  If you search YouTube for Donna clips uploaded this week, you will find any number of clips taken from the documentary. If you haven't seen the documentary, I am not going to spoil things by posting any thing more than this one clip (because it cracks me up!  LOL) but if you don't mind spoilers, then go do some searching on YouTube.  In non-documentary clips, we have Donna's segment  from The John Walsh Show in 2003. (Fun fact - there were 3 guests on his show that day. But each guest was filmed on a different day, so each segment was packed with fans of the artist being filmed.) Then there is the classic club mix of Melody Of Love (in honor of the remixes coming out on Spotify, etc), and a just uploaded audio interview with Donna talking about working with SAW. (Thank you  LPJ_IS KOOL). Finally, If There Is Music There because I have been enjoying that clip lately.  :-)

[MAY 21] Ok I have seen the documentary... three times actually.  I guess I'm getting my  money's worth out of HBOMax this month!  LOL  I LOVED it! Brooklyn did a fabulous job! This is her first time directing and if this is the direction she wants to take with her career, I look forward to her future projects. She is an excellent story teller.  I have a lot to say about Love To Love You Donna Summer. And it is far too much to fit on the news page. So I have posted my comments here in the article archive for you to see.  I kept the beginning of my post pretty much spoiler free (which might make that part a bit boring - sorry) and the second half has all the spoilers including a list of all the music used, and a list of all the  people who spoke. If you don't want to be spoiled - stop reading were I tell you to stop! You have been warned!  LOL

[MAY 20] Greetings all and happy Saturday! Happy documentary day!  And today was also my MS Walk. Unfortunately due to a stomach bug, I had to bow out of the official walk, BUT I still appreciate all your support and when I am feeling better you will get a 3 mile walk out of me. So you are probably wondering why the update is now instead of after the documentary airs. Well, what else am I going to do on this rainy Saturday at home?  LOL Also, there is a ton of stuff that has come out in the lead up to the film that you guys are going to want to see.

[MAY 20] But first - the estate has decided after all these years to part with some of Donna's belongings. Costumes, photos, art pieces, awards - the family has gone through it all and decided what they want to part with.  So next month, the famous Christies auction house will have an online auction. Bidding runs from June 15 to June 29 and there will be viewings in New York from June 23 to June 27. The main page for the auction is here, and make sure you click through to the viewing room, and the related feature to both read more and to see more of the items.

[MAY 20] On to Love To Love You Donna Summer - the promo! Mimi, Brooklyn and Amanda were all in New York this week filming things, doing interviews, and attending a premiere party that looked fun.  :-)  So we have Brooklyn was on FOX5 Good Day NY - unfortunately, they have not posted that video on their website (yet).  The girls filmed something for Good Morning America that will not air until next month. And ABC News had an interview with Brooklyn that actually IS on YouTube.  The Associated Press has an interview with Brooklyn and Roger Ross Williams on YouTube, and Access Hollywood did a piece with all 3 daughters filmed on premiere night.  (FYI, the wig Brooklyn is wearing is her mom's. She had it on an Instagram story the other day.)  And NPR has a podcast with an interview with Brooklyn. That starts at 12:27. (Oh and while you are bopping around YouTube, be warned. I saw a few links purporting to be links to the full documentary. They are NOT. They are all scammers just trying to get you to click through to their scam websites. )

[MAY 20] Looking at print publicity, FOX news has this article (which may  have come from the Good Day NY show), Awards Daily has an interview,  Forbes has an article,  CNN has an article,  Billboard has an interview with Brooklyn, LA Times has an interview with Brooklyn, Jezebel.com has an article, and UDiscoverMusic has a list of 10 things they learned from the film. (Don't worry about spoilers in that one - some the things they learned are things we fans have knows for decades - like that Donna toured with family members, or that she started in Germany.  LOL)  I'm sure there are other articles out there that I missed on this list. All I can say is that if I got to ask Brooklyn a question it would be, "Which was more exhausting - making the movie, or doing all the stuff you need to do to promote it?"  LOL (Girl - go take a vacation now - you earned it!)

[MAY 20] Oh and one more print article courtesy of People is about Donna's daughters.  They just give a quick overview of all 3 girls. (And just a side note - remember that little girl from the Live & More album who came out to say goodnight? Yeah, she's 50 now. Show of hands - who feels old now???  LOL)

[MAY 20] In the land of photos - head over to Getty Images to see a bunch of photos from the premiere party for Love To Love You Donna Summer.  All 3 girls were there with their husbands and in Mimi's case with her kids as well, Bruce was there with his wife, Mary was there, and so was Taihisha.  Mary posted some video on her Facebook group and it looked like a great time was had by all. They closed the night with a disco dance party.

{MAY 20] Songwriter/Producer Bruce Roberts has said that this year, he would like to put together a bunch of stuff he and Donna were working on in her last years and release it as an album.  You can hear what he said here.  I would take it with a pinch of salt though. As much as he might like to do a project like that, there are bound to be legal hurdles and such that are out of his control.  So fingers crossed that it does happen, but I'm not going to work myself up into a frenzy for it yet.  :-)

[MAY 20] In the Donna is everywhere category, RuPaul recently gave Architectural Digest a tour of his home. In it he has a "disco room" that has (among other things) a photo of Donna on the wall.

[MAY 20] Moving on to YouTube.... the TV show, The Midnight Special has an official  channel and in honor of the documentary they created a playlist of Donna's appearances on the show.  (And here is Mary Hart's introduction to the playlist).  One special treat in the playlist is Donna and Lou Rawls duet of Swing Low Sweet Chariot. Also on YouTube, the full 1980 TV Special.

[MAY 14] Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! So this week we mark the 11th anniversary of Donna's passing. (Can you believe it?) and then this weekend we have the debut of Love To Love You Donna Summer on HBO on Saturday. (The same day as my MS Walk - it will be a full Donna Summer day for me!) A little birdie told me that Donna's girls will be in NYC this week doing press on May 17 and 18, with a possible appearance on Good Morning America on May 17. So keep your eyes and ears open this week.   :-)

[MAY 14] Speaking of publicity for the documentary, Brooklyn did an interview for People that you can read online. (It includes some pictures of her and Donna at various times - Brooklyn was a cute baby!  :-) ) She also did an episode of the A Trip To The Movies podcast.  (That link offers the option to either listen to or watch the podcast. As of right now, the watch link is not working for me.  But the listen link works just fine and gives you several options of where to listen (Spotify, Apple podcast, etc). An if you want a fun little clip, there is a YouTube short with Brooklyn singing a couple of lines from Bad Girls.

[MAY 14] We also have a couple of new articles about the documentary. The first is a short one on ThatEricAlper.com, and the other is a much longer ( and more intriguing) one on MovieWeb.com.  Then 48Hills.org posted an article that is partly about the film and partly a reprint of a 1999 interview.

[MAY 14] Oh, and I should break down where you can watch the documentary if you are outside the US. In the US as you know HBO/HBOMax (just recently rebranded as MAX) has the streaming rights.  In Canada it should debut May 20 on Crave, and in the UK it debuts May 27 on Sky Documentaries and NOW.  I don't have info for other countries - other than a handful of articles that are thinly disguised ads for a VPN company.  Having said that, if you have a VPN or access to a proxy server (Google is your friend), then you can watch things that are not from your home country.  Now here in the US, MAX is a paid service, but you can get a free trial, or you can pony up for a subscription and then cancel it if you have no further need for the service.  (I do stuff like that all the time!  Actually, I think it may be time for a purge of some of my recently unused subscriptions...)  After the film airs, I will try to keep this main news page mostly spoiler free.

[MAY 14] In Bruce news,  it's all about Two Bleeding Hearts.  IndieMusicReviews.net posted an article abut the single, and so did TopBuzzMagazine.com.

[MAY 14] I think that brings us to YouTube.  First up, a YouTube short of Nickelbag Annie.  Then we have a reconstructed video by LPJ_IS_KOOL for Love To Love You Baby, and a clip of Donna and the cast of the Mac Davis  1978 TV Special singing a cover of Stevie Wonder's Sir Duke.  (You may have noticed that al of these clips came from the same YouTube channel. :-) This is a channel you might want to subscribe to so you can keep an eye on new uploads. ) And in honor of May 17, I have to share these clips - Donna's cover of Nether Lands and Angel by Omega Red (featuring Donna).  I firmly believe that Donna recorded both of these as a way of saying goodbye.  And because that thought just brought me to tears... here's Could It Be Magic by Donna and Barry to bring back the smiles.  Love you Donna....

[MAY 7] Greetings all and happy Sunday! It's a new month so it's time for the new Summer Fever Pick. This month we go on a Fairy Tale High with Once Upon A Time.  :-) Also, it's only 2 more weeks until the Donna documentary hits TV screens, and only 2 more weeks until my MS Walk.  (So I get to celebrate walking by watching the doc!  :-) ) Speaking of the documentary, now that the trailer is out and pretty much everybody is posting about it. This link is to the article on Playlist.com but pretty much all the recent articles are the same - the trailer ad a press release.  But there is a new interview with Brooklyn on SRQ Magazine.

[MAY 7] WhatRecords.com is listing a very limited Pride edition of Love To Love You. It's a 12" vinyl in rainbow colors that includes the full version of Love To Love you, the 12" version of I Feel Love and the 12" version of Hot Stuff. It gives a release date of June 2 but it also says it's out of stock with no link to pre-order. So the question is, was it originally up for preorder and it is sold out already? Or is there no preorder and it's just out of stock because their copies haven't arrived yet?

[MAY 7] Bruce Sudano fans - catch his interview on Celebmix.com to promote the new single Two Bleeding Hearts.  And if you haven't already, check out the video while you are there.

[MAY 7] Long Island area fans - the Gateway Playhouse in Bellport is running Summer: The Donna Summer Musical from June 16 to July 16. Tickets are onsale now, but there is no word yet on casting.  (They will probably announce that soon. Their first show of the season, Evita, just opened and plays until the end of the month. So I would say that as that production winds down, info on Summer will start turning up. ) If you are coming from off Long Island to see the show, I will warn you now that public transportation on Long Island is pathetic. Your own car is pretty much a requirement here. But if you are thinking of taking the LIRR from Manhattan, you want to take the Montauk line to Patchogue and NOT Bellport. (Bellport trains are few and far between and if you find one that works for you, it's still about a mile and a half walk to the theater through mostly residential streets.)  Then you would need to Uber  to Bellport.  There are plenty of places to eat in Patchogue and a few in Bellport as well, but you will need to plan your visit very carefully.

[MAY 7] That brings us to YouTube. Let's look at some clips to celebrate our new Summer Fever Pick.  First up, a rip of the promo, Selected Cuts From Once Upon A Time.  Then we have a video for the song  Once Upon A Time, a Suecase Hall video for Rumor Has It,  a video edit for Working The Midnight Shift, Fairy Tale High from the 1980 TV special (with Mimi),  a liveandmore video for Queen For A Day, and finally I Love You live on The Tonight Show.

[APR 29] Happy Saturday all! This is a very exciting week! The trailer for the Donna Summer documentary dropped FINALLY! If you haven't seen it yet (or even if you have  LOL) go watch it right now! Go ahead, I'll wait. In fact, I'm gonna go watch it again right now.  LOL We get to see the whole thing on HBO/HBOMax/Max/whatever they will be calling themselves on May 20th at 8PM Eastern. It the UK, Bruce said it would air on Skye.

[APR 29] Along with the trailer for the documentary... (must resist urge to stop and watch it again... LOL) we have a couple of new interviews with Brooklyn and Roger Ross Williams because the film was airing at IFF Boston last weekend.  The POV Magazine interview is a great one to explain the thought processes behind how they approached the documentary, and The Guardian interview has a couple of bombshells about events that are talked about in the film. I recommend both!

[APR 29] In other Donna news, I've talked before about the new book  called  Donna Summer La Voce Arcobaleno by Andrea Bufalini and Giovanni Savastano. Well, someone posted an unboxing video of the book on Instagram. Check that out to see how absolutely beautiful the book is. The book is in Italian only right now, so if that is not your language, find yourself a cute Italian guy or gal to help you out.  ;-)

[APR 29] In the Donna's music is everywhere (sort of), late night talk show host James Corden ended his show after an 8 year run just the other night. He opened his final show with his own version of Last Dance with modified lyrics.  It was fun.  :-)

[APR 29] Moving on to Bruce. We have two new interviews with him. The first is a video interview for On The Sofa With Esther where they talk about many things.  This is the interview in which Bruce says Skye will be airing the documentary in the UK. The other interview is a print one for American Highways and in it Bruce talks about  the new music.

[APR 29] I think that brings us to YouTube.  First up we have a new video for Love To Love You on Donna's official channel. This one is done with animation and it came out really well! Then we have the donna Summer Discography channel which acquired  the 10" acetate of Last Dance.  He posted the complete unedited transfer on his channel - complete with the usual vinyl hisses and clicks - and then he added a cleaned up recreation of the acetate. He's got one video with the fast parts of the song and one with the edits from side two.  And finally we have a German TV performance of Love To Love You. Check out her gold platform boots - that just screams the 70s!  LOL

[APR 23]  Greetings all! Let's start off with the documentary. It will play on the opening night of  IFFBoston on April 26.  And only a few more short weeks until we get to see it streaming on HBO! Speaking of the documentary, a clip has surfaced on YouTube that was shown on French TV.  It is a home video that was reportedly used in the documentary. Judging by the comments, the original audio that went with the clip was replaced by Can't Understand.

[APR 23] In other Donna news, look for Another Place And Time released as a picture disk on July 7.  I'm sure that will make the vinyl collectors out there happy.  :-)

[APR 23] Johnnyswim fans - episode 3 of their cooking show aired on Magnolia today. (All episodes are available to stream on the Magnolia or Discovery+ apps.) And if you are on their mailing list, the recipes should be sitting right there in your email box.

[APR 23] Bruce Sudano fans - Bruce is currently in the UK touring with The Zombies.  Of course tours usually mean promotion, so check out this interview Bruce gave to The Telegraph.  (The article is behind a paywall. You can sign up for a free trial to get around that, or use 12ft ladder, or check Bruce's Facebook post.) This is an unusual interview - it's under the category of  "fame and fortune" so it focuses  on the business side of Bruce's career.

[APR 23] I think that brings us to YouTube. This week I am looking at interviews where Donna's paintings are the focus.  First up an interview for channel 4 news, then we have Lifestyles Of The Rich and Famous,  an appearance on Regis and Kathie Lee, and a news report about one of Donna's exhibits. As a bonus clip, I have Giorgio talking about Donna with his own artistic vision of Donna on display.

[APR 16] Happy Sunday all! This week we start off with Bruce's new single,  Two Bleeding Hearts with Valerie Simpson. (You know - the surviving half of Ashford and Simpson.) You might remember that they performed the song at Sugar Bar in NY a few weeks ago.  Now the single is out along with the official video (which looks like it was shot on the Sugar Bar stage.)

[APR 16] Also in Bruce news, he hits the road with The Zombies this week in the UK. Check the dates on his site. If you are looking to attend one or more of these shows, get your tickets NOW. Some venues are sold out already and others are close to it.  StoakesMedia.co.uk has poste an interview with Bruce to promote the tour, the music, and the Donna documentary. (That's coming out the end of May.) The interview runs about 20 minutes, so leave yourself time to listen.

[APR 16] Johnnyswim fans - their cooking show is on Magnolia. Episode 2 ran today, and as they did last week, they sent out the recipes from the show in their newsletter. I will give you my standard warning - do not watch the show when you are hungry!   LOL

[APR 16] Looking at the movie, Spinning Gold, it's still in theaters with no streaming plans announced yet.  Having said that - going by some of the fan comments I have seen, the theaters have been pretty empty so it will probably stream sooner rather than later.  There is another interview with Tayla Parx ("Donna Summer") on YouTube talking about her role in the film.

[APR 16] I think that brings us to YouTube.  Let's do a few random clips this week.  First up, an acapella video of Donna singing La Dolce Vita while traveling, followed by the version that was ultimately released. Then we have I'm A Rainbow (because Bruce talked abut that in his interview), and Starting Over Again from The Tonight Show (also talked about by Bruce in his interview.) And for good measure, here is Bruce's version of Starting Over Again. And finally, Begin Again from Ordinary Girl. (I know the beginning is a bit long and dramatic because of its part in the musical, but once that one kicks in I love the energy!)

[APR 16] And finally, I know I haven't been as vocal about this as usual this year (lots of stuff going on in my personal life at the moment) but I am walking for MS again this year on May 20.  If you'd like to donate, my link is here.  And THANK YOU to those who have already donated!

[APR 9] Greetings and Happy Passover, Happy Easter, and Happy Sunday all! First up , Johnnyswim's In The Kitchen With Abner and Amanda has finally hit TV screens (although the series has been available to stream for awhile now.) And now that their cooking show is on TV, they have added the recipes to their website. (Pay close attention to Amanda's very precise measurements.  LOL)

[APR 9] In Bruce Sudano news (and Donna news) check out episode 49 of A Journey Through SAW where  they talk to Bruce about Donna's career in the 80s. (It starts about 44 minutes into the podcast.) People with paid subscriptions to the podcast have access to more exclusive content about Donna's singles with SAW.

[APR 9] Spinning Gold is still in theaters and ScreenRant.com has posted an interview with Tayla Park - the screen "Donna". I did pause a coupe of times where (when asked if she had been able to speak to the family about Donna) Tayla mentioned that Donna's daughter is still alive. I'm assuming she meant Mimi just based on the time frame the movie covers, and all I kept thinking was "Why would anyone think Donna's daughter WASN'T still alive? " I mean, it's not like the Casablanca story happened in the dark ages.  LOL Then later, she says something about Donna having a daughter and a son.  I feel like when I watch this movie, I'll need to have a notebook and pen in hand.... LOL (Hmmm.. I wonder if I have time to see it next weekend?)

[APR 9] Moving on to books...  as you know Andrea Bufalini and Giovanni Savastano (both long time Donna fans from Italy) have written a book about Donna's career, Donna Summer La Voce Arcobaleno.  It's been available from the Italian Amazon store, and now it is hitting other bookstores across Italy.  They had a book launch in Rome and Pete Bellotte himself sent the guys a video. (He also wrote the preface to the book.) If you are in Italy - keep an eye on your local media. You just might find the guys on the radio, on TV, or in the newspaper talking about Donna.  :-) If you are on Facebook, you can follow the page for the book and keep up with all the promotion. Now I will warn you, so far the book is only available in Italian (but if that's not your language, the awesome photos will still make it worthwhile.) And you can always write to the publisher to request that they publish in other languages as well. I'm sure if they get enough requests for English, French, German, etc to make it financially worth their while, they would do it.  Now on Facebook, the posts are in Italian but mostly Facebook has been automatically translating them to English for me.  I'm thinking if your default language is something else, Facebook would translate to that? Any outside links will be in Italian, so if that's not your language then find yourself a cute Italian boy (or girl) to help you out.  ;-)

[APR 9] I think that brings us to YouTube.  Since it's Easter Sunday, let's look at a few of Donna's religious songs. First up, Amazing Grace - 2 versions put together in 1 fan video.  Then we have Riding Through The Storm from VH1, When I Look Up (duet with Darwin Hobbs),  and finally we have a compilation video with Rejoice, Amazing Grace, and a medley from the Mac Davis Show.

[APR 2] Greetings all and Happy April! Spring is here which means we are a little bit closer to seeing the documentary on HBO.  :-) It also means that it's time for a new Summer Fever Pick. This month we remember, I Remember Yesterday.

[APR 2] While we are still (EAGERLY!) waiting for Brooklyn's documentary, we have another film to see in the meantime. Spinning Gold is out in theaters now.  But not for long. I read on the USA Today site that it will be in theaters for 45 days then it goes to video on demand and finally streaming.  Now reviews have been... well, not what many have hoped for. I personally haven't seen the film yet, but I have seen a couple of fan's posts about it and there are abundant factual errors with Donna's part of the story at least. (I'm sure that would carry over to other artists as well, but I don't really follow any die hard KISS or Parliament  fans.)  As far as professional reviews go, RogerEbert.com gives it 1 and 1/2 stars, the NY Times doesn't give stars but it does say the script is flawed, the LA Times  says the film hits more wrong notes than right ones,  and Rotten Tomatoes has an aggregated rating of 4.6 out of 10 from the critics (with 31 reviews in) and a verified audience score of 4.3 out of 5 with fewer than 50 ratings in.  USA Today actually did a "fact checking" article about the film, but their fact checking consisted of asking Tim Bogart about some of the stories portrayed. And then there is Victor Willis of the original  Village People (he was the cop) and he is NOT happy with the film at all. (Some of that MIGHT be sour grapes because Village People was not really included in the film. And Billboard Magazine has an article with Bogart's rebuttal. ) All that being said, I will probably go see the movie - if not in theaters, then when it hits  streaming. And for those who would like to check out the soundtrack, it's on Spotify (among other places.)

[APR 2] For those interested in the artist portraying Donna in Spinning Gold, DMagazine.com interview Tayla Parx on what it was like to portray Donna.

[APR 2] For those interested in the artist portraying Donna in Spinning Gold, DMagazine.com interview Tayla Parx on what it was like to portray Donna.

[APR 2] Johnnyswim fans - their show In The Kitchen With Abner And Amanda will hit TV screens on April 9 on the Magnolia Network.  It has been available via the Discovery + app for awhile now, but if you haven't been able to catch the show yet, not is your chance. (They make some really yummy looking stuff - I don't recommend watching it when you are hungry.  LOL)

[APR 2] I think that brings us to YouTube. Let's look at some clips related to our new Summer Fever Pick. First up, I Remember Yesterday live in 1977. Then we have a fan video for Back In Love Again, Love's Unkind live, Can't We Just Sit Down (And Talk It Over) from a TV appearance, and the alternate recording of Can't We Just Sit Down. And finally, I Feel Love live in 1977. [MAR 26] Greetings all! Let's start off with movie news - nope not the documentary (yet).  The Neil Bogart/ Casablanca Records pic Spinning Gold officially opens Friday (March 31).  Of course there is publicity in the run up to the release. Variety has an article, Yahoo has one, and of curse there is the Spinning Gold YouTube channel that has a spotlight on Donna clip.  Even Spotify has a couple of songs from the soundtrack already including Last Dance by Jeremy Jordan and Tayla Parx.

[MAR 26] Now in documentary news, the film played at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen this week. Out of that came an interview with Roger Ross Williams.  Then we have a Daily Beast review from the SXSW showings.

[MAR 26] Boston - save the date! The annual Donna Summer Disco Party will be Friday June 16 from 6 to 9 pm at City Hall Plaza. They will have the roller skating rink.  :-)

[MAR 26] In Brooklyn Sudano news (that isn't the documentary  LOL), she is in a Lifetime movie called Every Breath She Takes that aired today, and will re-air on April 1. (You can also see it on demand on Hulu, SlingTV, Philo and frndly.)

[MAR 26] In Bruce Sudano news, DailyPopNews.com posted a nice review of Make The World Go Away. HollywoodDigest.com also posted a nice review. Don't forget his UK tour with the Zombies starts in just a couple of weeks.

[MAR 26] I think that brings us to YouTube. First up is a new clip from Suecase Hall called A Donna Summer Sampler. It's a really nice compilation (almost 22 minutes!)  showing some of the many sides of Donna.  It's really well done, so check it out.  For other clips, let's look at Some Donna unplugged.  So there is On The Radio from 1994, the unreleased So This Is Lonely, an acoustic version of Bad Girl, Anyway At All, Worth The Wait, and of course the version of Dim All The Lights from Live & More Encore that starts off "unplucked". 

[MAR 19] Happy Sunday all!  As you know the documentary played last weekend at SXSW. That resulted in a couple more reviews - one from Variety, and one from Quelle Movies.  We also got some promotion from Brooklyn and Roger Ross Williams on Deadline.com and Hollywood Reporter.  Look for Love To Love You Donna Summer to also hit the Sarasota Film Festival on March 31 and the Hot Docs festival in Toronto which runs April 27 to May 7.

[MAR 19] In release news, The 40th anniversary edition of She Works Hard For The Money is officially available for buying or streaming at all the usual places.

[MAR 19] In Johnnyswim news - Abner is taking a short break from social media, so Amanda is using this opportunity to cook up a birthday surprise for him.  Check out her Instagram post and then contribute to her project.  She's got a really cool idea.

[MAR 19] I think that brings us to YouTube. First up - a fan made video celebrating the documentary. And in honor of the 40th anniversary release of She works Hard For The Money, let's look at Donna performing the title track (along with the interview) on Johnny Carson. Then we have Donna and Onetta talking about the creation of the song in the film Off The Menu, and She Works Hard For The Money from the Broadway musical. And finally a video that includes the Unconditional Love Love and an interview from UK Breakfast TV.

[MAR 12] Happy Sunday all!  And Happy Oscar night to the movie fans out there.  Let's start off with movie news this week. Love To Love You Donna Summer is playing the SXSW Festival as we speak.  So far I have seen 1 review come out of the event and that was from the Austin Chronicle.  Brooklyn is at the SXSW festival, of course, along with her sister Mimi. Getty Images has a bunch of photos from the event.

[MAR 12] Johnnyswim fans - they have added the Catbird Festival in Bethel NY to their list of concerts. That takes place August 19 to 20.

[MAR 12] That brings us to YouTube.  Since it's Oscar night - let's look at some movie related clips.  First up, Donna singing Last Dance at the Oscars, followed by Paul Jabara winning the trophy for Best Original Song. Then we have Donna singing Papa Can You Hear Me at the 1984 Oscars. Up next is a compilation of clips of Donna from the movie Thank God It's Friday, No Ordinary Miracle from the film Let It Be Me (audio only), and The Power Of One from Pokemon the Movie 2000. And here's a rare bonus from the Brooklyn Dreams. It's called You Got Me Believing (written by Donna and Bruce) and it can be heard over the end credits of the movie Foodfight. The link goes directly to the song, but you can watch the whole film on YouTube if you really want to..  I warn you though, the film is not well regarded. The featured review on IMds gives it only 1 star and I have a feeling that the reviewer would have given less if they could.  LOL

[MAR 4] Greetings all and Happy Saturday! It's a new month so it's time for a new Summer Fever Pick. This time we are looking at Four Seasons Of Love.  That seems pretty appropriate right now because I swear I have experienced all four seasons over the last couple  of weeks. I think Mother Nature is off her meds....  LOL

[MAR 4] Let's start with the documentary. That will be playing at SXSW on March 11, March 12 and March 15  in Austin.  So if you are in that area, check it out.  And I am sure that following those screenings, we will have more reviews.

[MAR 4] In other movie news, Spinning Gold - the story of Neil Bogart and Casablanca hits theaters on March 31. In preparation, they have released a second trailer for the film which you can watch on YouTube.

[MAR 4] And finally in movie news, the film Magic Mike's Last Dance, which used Last Dance so prominently in the trailer, actually does NOT use the song at all in the film.  The fan who reported that also was not overly fond of the film itself but, of course, everyone's taste in movies is different.

[MAR 4] On to the music now - in the category of "how did I get so old?" LOL She Works Hard For The Money  was released 40 years ago.  And like the other albums that have hit the big 4-0 already, there is a digital deluxe release. You can read the press release here,  but I will tell you  now that the release is the original 9 tracks plus a remix and an instrumental each for the title track and for Unconditional Love.  Along with the digital deluxe release, Donna's YouTube channel posted a remastered version of the She Works Hard For The Money video.  The video is much cleaner and more vibrant and has none of the issues we had with the state Of Independence remastered video. The news show Nightline even had a little piece announcing the digital release for the 40th anniversary.  Pretty cool!

[MAR 4] Bruce Sudano fans... or perhaps I should say UK Bruce fans... he will be performing with The Zombies in various locations in the UK from April 18 to May 5. The dates and venues are listed on Bruce's website and if you want to go grab your tickets now because some venues have sold out already.  I saw him open for the Zombies here some time before COVID and it was a good time!

[MAR 4] That brings us to YouTube. Well, why not celebrate She Works Hard For The Money? First up the title track performed at the 1984 Grammys. Then we have Unconditional Love at Disney,  audio only clips for Do Believe ( I Fell In Love) and Love Has A Mind Of Its Own. And finally a video slideshow for He's a Rebel - one I included because this is the most bizarre slideshow I have run into.  I don't think there is one Donna-related photo in the whole thing! LOL

[FEB 26] Greetings all! Well, the Berlin Film Festival went well and we got a bunch of reviews for the documentary out there.  Before I get to what the pros have to say, there were some fans at various screenings and they said that the theater was packed, that the film was very moving, and that Brooklyn and team should be very proud.  From all accounts, the documentary is about the woman behind the music as opposed to being about the music itself. So now in no particular order, here are some of the reviews that have surfaced already:  Hollywood Reporter, POV, Little White Lies, In Review Online, Eye For Film, and Deadline.com.

[FEB 26] I forgot to mention above that  one person who saw the documentary revealed that it used a previously unheard demo of Bad Girls. Just to clarify - it was not the one that came out on the Deluxe edition of Bad Girls. There are a couple of photos online from the Berlin Film Festival - you can access them here.  (And yes, that is Mimi with Brooklyn in one of the pictures.) Next stop for the documentary is the SXSW festival - screening times are listed here. And of course it will start streaming on HBO/HBOMax in May. (If you don't have a subscription to those services, you can usually grab a free trial. Or you can subscribe for a month and then turn it off.)

[FEB 26] There is a new YouTube channel out there called Donna Summer Discography. It is a fan created channel focusing on rare and out of print singles and compilations.

[FEB 26] In the everybody is a fan category, I just found out about this song by Collaborati called When Donna Sang Last Dance. The song is about a relationship that started when the couple danced to Last Dance. There are also some sly references to other Donna songs sprinkled in the lyrics.

[FEB 26] Johnnyswim fans - the duo is reuniting with Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors (under the name Goodbye Road) for the Moon River Music Festival on September 9 in Chattanooga, TN. The festival is already sold out (That was QUICK!) but you can sign up for the waitlist.

[FEB 26] I think that brings us to YouTube.  First up, a video called How Donna Summer Changed Pop Music Forever. It's about I Feel Love - of course.  :-) Then we have a video of the released demo for Bad Girls set to a slideshow of photos. And here's one for all you wig fans - someone on YouTube recreates the On The Radio wig all while talking about Donna's career.  And if you want to hear something really weird, a guy who claims to communicate spirits in the afterlife posted a video where he says that Donna says her name in her own voice. If you can hear it, you have better ears than I do!  LOL After that, I have to leave you with something good - how about Donna at the Royal Albert Hall in 1987 as broadcast on Capital Radio?

[FEB 19]  Happy Sunday all! As you know, the Berlin Film Festival is happening now with the  Love To Love You Donna Summer documentary due to be shown on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.  Brooklyn is there - she posted a photo of herself on Instagram enroute.  There are a few German fans going as well, so hopefully we'll get some fan reports soon.  I imagine we will get to see a trailer sometime too, but I don't know if they will hold back a public release of the trailer until closer to the HBO air date.

[FEB 19] Record Store Day hits the UK Saturday April 22. They usually have some sort of Donna something available, and this year it will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Hard For The Money tour with a 2 lp clear vinyl release of A Hot Summer Night.

[FEB 19] GoldDerby.com has picked its top 20 songs of the 70s. Bad Girls is Donna's contribution to the list.

[FEB 19] Bruce Sudano fans - check out his interview with NeuFutur.com. In it, he mentions that he is finishing up his new album called, Talking Ugly Truth, Telling Pretty Lies.  (Now that is an intriguing title.  :-) )

[FEB 19] Also in Bruce news, he recently made an appearance at open mic night at The Sugar Bar in New York City. The whole show was streamed on Facebook. Lots of very talented people performed, but if you don't have  over 3 hours to watch the whole thing, then you can find Bruce at the 33:50 mark with Two Bleeding Hearts - a duet with Valerie Simpson (of Ashford and Simpson fame!) It's a beautiful song - make sure you check it out.  And then look for a special sneak appearance by Mary Gaines Bernard at the 2:24:15 mark with a little bit of On The Radio.

[FEB 19]  I think that brings us to YouTube.  Let's take a look at some duets today. First up is Enough Is Enough.  I could have picked the version with Barbra. I could have picked the one with Tina Arena. I could have even found one of the live versions with Mary. But this time I am sharing the version with Westlife. Then we have the suet with Liza Minelli, Does He Love You, Donna with Seal on Crazy and On The Radio, and Donna with Joss Stone on Try A Little Tenderness.  And finally Donna's duet with Dave Koz on A Whole New World. I know some people might not see that as a duet since Donna is the only vocalist, but I have always felt that Dave's sax IS his voice on that song.  So I count it as a duet.

[FEB 19] And finally, I am walking for MS again this year.  I'll be walking at Jones Beach on May 20 with as many of my teammates as I can gather. My link is here, and if you happen to notice  I'm not the captain this time, it's only because my friend was more organized than I was and signed up right before I did - so she became captain. (It doesn't matter - we have always been a rabble! LOL But we get the job done!) Thank you all for your support - be it financial or just good wishes. You guys have always been amazing all these years.

[FEB 12] Greetings all and Happy Valentine's Day (a little early).  As you know  the documentary about Donna premiere's very soon in Berlin at the film festival. So I hope that means a trailer for the fill will turn up very soon.  In the meantime, a couple more news outlets have posted about the documentary. There is no new info, but you can read the articles at MixMag.net,  NME.com, and AmericanSongwriter.com. Also, the documentary was previewed at Sir Lucian Grainge's pre-Grammy showcase. HitsDailyDouble.com has a photo with Bruce and Brooklyn at the event.

[FEB 12] In other news, long time fans Andrea Angeli Bufalini and Giovanni Savastano have written a book about Donna called Donna Summer: La Voce Arcobaleno. Da Disco Queen A Icona Pop.  As an extra bonus, there is a preface by Pete Bellotte. It is currently available for pre-order on the Italian Amazon website. It is currently ONLY available in Italian, but I am sure if the publisher has enough demand, it will eventually be translated into other languages. (And even if it's not - the photos alone may make it a worthwhile purchase for fans.  ;-)  )

[FEB 12] Yardbarker.com has posted its list of the best double albums of all time.  The first one on the list is Bad Girls.  :-)

[FEB 12] Bruce Sudano fans - Bruce has posted another live song on Facebook. This one is about getting lonely on the road.

[FEB 12] As you know Bruce just performed for the On The Blue Cruise, and Goldmine has posted  their report about the line up of performers.

[FEB 12] Johnnyswim fans - they put a bunch of merch on sale last week for Valentines Day.  There is still some stuff left, but it's going fast.

[FEB 12] I think that brings us to YouTube. Since it's Valentine's Day this week, I guess our theme should be love.  So let's start with Whenever There Is Love, followed by Love Is The Healer. Then we have Love On And On, and I Got Your Love.  And of course we can't forget Love To Love You, and I Feel Love.  Since today is Superbowl Sunday here, let's throw in Stamp Your Feet as a bonus.  For those of you enjoying the game today - I hope it's a good one!

[FEB 4] Greetings all and happy Saturday! I hope my east coast friends are all staying warm! This sudden blast of cold is quite the shocker after being so  unseasonably warm most of January. So first up - it's a new month so that means it's time for a new Summer Fever Pick. This month we are doing A Love Trilogy - not a bad choice for Valentine's Day.  :-)

[FEB 4] Now for the BIG news of the week. Love To Love You  Donna Summer is the name of the bio Brooklyn (and company) has been working on for....? It feels like forever.  LOL It is making its debut at the Berlinale film festival in Berlin this month. (It runs February 16 to 26.) Then it comes to SXSW in Austin next month. (That runs March 10 to March 19.) And then.... look for it to hit HBO and HBOMax in May!  Now I know not everybody has HBO. But the cool thing is that you can usually get a free 7 day trial. HBOMax is also currently one of the channels that is available if you have Amazon Prime.  I also assume that at some point the bio will be available for sale. Tina Turner has a bio on HBO Max a couple of years ago, and I see that available for sale or rent now on Amazon. Looks like we will have a great summer... I mean Summer ;-)  to look forward to!

[FEB 4] Also in documentary news, look at the writeups in Vibe and RollingStone.  May can't come soon enough!

[FEB 4]  In other news, Newsbreak.com has an article about No More Tears (Enough Is Enough).

[FEB 4] I think that brings us to YouTube.  Let's celebrate the new Summer Fever Pick.  First up, a video for Try Me I Know We Can Make It.  Then we have Wasted  (with lots of bubbles  that just gave me an idea for my own photography  LOL) from a TV appearance, a live performance of Come With Me, and Could It Be Magic from TopPop. And finally Donna & Barry on Could It Be Magic just because I will use any excuse to play this!  LOL

[JAN 29] Happy Sunday all! Let's start off with Stock Aitken and Waterman this week.  They have been the subject f a UK Legends Of Pop documentary. Part one is here and part two is here.  Donna's work with them is covered in part two, but I recommend watching both while you can. There is a good chance they could get region locked or out right removed for copyright. In other SAW content, a viewer poll selected the top SAW tracks - This Time I Know It's For Real took the top spot.  But more importantly when the TV show ran the clip, they included some extras - like extra demo vocals that were not used in the finished track. (You can see the extra vocals in the SAW documentary too.) AND there is a podcast on Spotify talking about This Time I Know It's For Real. So lots of good stuff this week for SAW fans.

[JAN 29] Musical fans - Summer: The Donna Summer Musical is coming to my home theater - The Gateway in Bellport NY. (I have been going there since I was a kid, and I have been a season ticket holder for  I can't even guess how many years now.) Tickets are on sale now for the June 16 to July 16 run.  Casting is something we won't know until much closer to show time. But keep an eye on their Facebook page -  sometimes in the run up to a show they thrown in some behind the scenes video of rehearsal or whatever.  I will say that the Gateway theater is pretty small so there really isn't a terrible seat in the house.  Middle is always better than the sides - but that's true most places.  (I already know I'm there June 17 with my mom, so if you see me feel free to say hi. I might even sneak in some other nights as well. I'm on the verge of early retirement so I might have some extra time on my hands around then.  :-) )

[JAN 29] Bruce Sudano fans - Vents Magazine gave his latest single, Make The works Go Away, a really nice write up.

[JAN 29] I think that brings us to YouTube.  Let's celebrate Donna's work with SAW this week. First up is This Time I Know Its For Real live on Live & More Encore. Then we have Love's About To Change My Heart from Club MTV,  the video for When Love Takes Over You, I Don't Wanna Get Hurt from TOTP, and Breakaway live in Brazil.

[JAN 22] Greetings al!  The big news this week is Bruce's new single/video.  It's called Make The World Go Away. You can check it out on YouTube and all the usual places. And I highly recommend that you do.  It's got a nice grove to it that just sucks you in. I could definitely see some radio play in this song's future.

[JAN 22] Also in Bruce news,  he will be performing on the  On The Blue Reunion Cruise (sailing out of Miami) this coming Saturday January 28.

[JAN 22] In other news, Collider.com listed  7 musical movies debuting this year.  They included Spinning Gold even though that's not technically a musical. But it should include a bunch of music from the various artists on the Casablanca roster.

[JAN 22] In Brooklyn Sudano news... sort of... finally info about season 2 of Cruel Summer is available.  As you know Brooklyn was  in the original 2021 season, and although it was decided almost immediately that there would be another season, no actual details have surfaced until now. Unfortunately, they have decided that the series will be an anthology so that means new cast, new location and new plot for season 2.

[JAN 22] I think that brings us to YouTube.  Let's do some interviews for a change.  First up  - a 20 minute segment from 1987 courtesy of the UK's Sky TV.  Then we have the 1978 interview with Rona Barrett, a Signed Media interview from Donna's later years, Part 1 of a 1994 VH1 interview followed by Part 2, a 2008 interview for On Time TV, and finally a 2003 unedited interview with ET.

[JAN 15] Happy Sunday all! Let's start off with an announcement from Bruce.  He has a new single/video coming out Friday January 20 called Make The World Go Away.  (It will be available at all the usual places.)  If you are on Facebook, you can see the single's cover art on Bruce's page.  Go look at it because the cover art all by itself is powerful. Can't wait to hear the song!

[JAN 15] In the everyone loves Donna category, Barry Manilow had been touring and one fan who caught the show in Fort Lauderdale reported that Barry paid tribute to Donna during the show.  He started playing Could It Be Magic and then noted that Donna covered it as a dance song.  (For those who don't know, Barry's original version if a ballad.)  Barry joked that when he first heard Donna's version he wasn't sure he liked it.  But then it went to number 1 and he loved it.  LOL  He followed that with his own dance version of Could It Be Magic.  I imagine it sounded like this - only without a duet partner.  (I could play that clip forever!  I'm not even exaggerating. LOL)

[JAN 15] Speaking of people who love Donna - Lisa Marie Presley was a big fan. She unfortunately passed away this week and I would like to extend my condolences to her family, friends and fans.  Another one lost too soon.  Stampyourfeet put together a video tribute to Lisa Marie that starts with her comments about Donna.

[JAN 15] I think that brings us to  YouTube.  First up, a  roughly 30 minute piece called The Untold History of Disco.  Yes, it has Donna in it - how could it now?  LOL But more interestingly, it traces the rise and fall of the genre and the legacy it left behind.  Then we have Donna's live version of Could It Be Magic from 1994.  After that is Donna's complete 2005  performance at Night of The Proms in Belgium and clips from Donna performing with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, (Gotta love donna with an orchestra!) And then just for fun, we have the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra taking a stab at Hot Stuff. (The conductor seems to be having a blast!)

[JAN 08] Greetings all and happy Sunday.  SO the beginning of the year means it's time for websites to start ranking ... well just about everything.  LOL  Let's start off with Rolling Stones' highest rated disco albums of all time.  They put Bad Girls at #3.  Let the debating begin.  LOL

[JAN 08]  Then Smooth Radio ranked the top 30 female singers of all time ranked in order of pure vocal ability. (So they say.... get ready for the debate.  LOL)  They put Donna at #21  - right between Diana Ross (#22) and Stevie Nicks (#20). While I disagree (in some cases pretty strongly LOL) with the order they places these artists, I do have to  give Smooth Radio credit for covering a pretty decent range of time with artists like Billie Holiday on one end and  Beyoncé  on the other end.

[JAN 08] Back to Rolling Stone - they have ranked the 200 greatest singers of all time (male and female).  And here's an interesting point the article makes - they are ranking singers and not voices.  So it's less about the voice the artist has/had and more about what they do/did with it.  That would explain (sort of) how Axl Rose could rank higher than Barbra Streisand. LOL  Donna came in at #122. You notice I keep joking about people debating these lists, in the case of this article, the debate went further than the comments section and social media.  My local paper posted an article about reactions to the Rolling Stone article.  Mostly it is complaints about artists who were omitted from the list - with a very Long Island perspective. (Hey, they left Billy Joel off the list. Billy Joel is to Long Island is what Springsteen is to New Jersey. LOL) The article is here, but it is behind a pay wall. I have to admit that I have a hard time taking most of these lists seriously - so much is subjective especially when you are trying to compare acts from multiple eras and from multiple genres.  I mean, how can you really compare Axl Rose to Barbra? Or Loretta Lynn to Ozzie Osbourne? They are SO different that comparison is pretty much meaningless.  But the debates can be fun.

[JAN 08] I think that brings us to YouTube.  In honor of the Summer Fever  Pick, let's take a look at the Love To Love You album.  First up, Donna talking about Love To Love You.  Then we have a performance of the title track from The Midnight Special, a Suecase Hall video for Whispering Waves, a lyric video for Pandora's Box, and a lyric video for Virgin Mary (which was included on some European versions of the album.) Finally, here's a bonus version of Pandora's Box from Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (sung by Storm "Duckling Donna" Lever).

[JAN 01] Happy New Year all! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. There is really nothing going on this week except for an article posted on Yahoo looking at Donna's best songs - with the emphasis on her disco classics.

[JAN 01] Moving on to YouTube, we have  a sort of random selection this week.  First up is a video look at Donna's Billboard Top 200 Albums chart history.  Each album is presented as a graph and it's pretty cool to see  "the Bad Girls era" when Live & More was still on the top 200, Bad Girls joined it, and then On The Radio joined both - so we had 3 albums going at once.  :-) It was also pretty cool to see a bunch of albums pop back up on the chart in 2012 - a couple of weeks after Donna went home.  Also on YouTube is the latest from Q - it's the final offering of his Other Side Of The Rainbow project and it's his Forever Donna mix of I Need Time.  We also have a 1978 appearance on the Merv Griffin Show promoting Once Upon A Time.  And finally we have a clip I don't remember from Top Of The Pops with Donna performing State Of Independence.

[JAN 01] Oh, I almost forgot - the new Summer Fever Pick is up. This month we celebrate Love To Love You.

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