
Donna Summer: She could sing anything, anywhere, with anyone, at any time.
[JUN 15] Greetings all and Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!
A special shout out to all my American friends who peacefully took to
the streets yesterday. You have restored my faith in humanity. :-)
[JUN 15] As you know, Toby Gad released the piano ballad of Run
last week. Now we have a
music video for it that uses Toby on piano, a dancer, and some
archival footage of Donna in the background. I saw clips from the videos
for The Wanderer, Love's About To Change My Heart, Dinner With Gershwin,
and The Woman In Me.
[JUN 15] Billboard has
an interview with Toby Gad where he talks about what it was like to
work with Donna.
[JUN 15] Bruce Sudano fans - look for his new song, Watching Darkness
Fall, to hit all the usual places tomorrow, June 16. Keep an eye on
Bruce's
Insta for the official announcement.
[JUN 15] In Johnnyswim news, they were on the
Pilot Flying J vlog recently. At the end they even perform Dopamine.
[JUN 15] That brings us to YouTube. Since last week was the Tony Awards,
I thought I'd share a little bit of Donna performing songs from
musicals. First up, a live cover of
Don't Rain On My Parade. Then we have live covers of
Send In The Clowns,
The Impossible Dream, and
Part Of Your World. From Donna's early days we have
Aquarius/ Let The Sunshine in from Haar,
Oh segne Gott mein Seel from Godspell, and
How I Feel from The Me Nobody Knows. Then in the land of what
never got to be, we have
I Will Live For Love (Dream-A-Lot's Theme) from Dreamway
Express, and
No Ordinary Love Song from Ordinary Girl. Finally as an extra
bonus, we have the Broadway cast of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
performing for the
Thanksgiving Day Parade.
[JUN 8] Greetings all! And Happy Tony Night for those who are into
musical theater. :-) We are going to jump right into the big
news for the week which is Toby Gad's release of Run (With It).
We've heard the leaked original version, but this one is reimagined as a
piano ballad and I love it. Bruce commented on Facebook that you
can really feel Donna's presence, and I can't think of a better way to
say it myself. You can stream it al all the usual places
(including
YouTube) and you can even buy a download if you want. This is
the Amazon US link
(I get a small commission off that) but you can get it on Apple Music
too.
[JUN 8]
Boston.com has a short article about the release of Run, and Toby
Gad has a
reel on Facebook about it.
[JUN 8] In AI news - no it's not another stupid article this time.
LOL Someone made a video of Donna "singing"
I See Clearly. Now the video itself (the visual part of it) is
legit footage. It's Donna performing Hot Stuff from the
1979 concert in Japan. The vocals are AI generated and they
sound close enough to Donna to scare me. I keep thinking what of
someone used this tech to make a deep fake of say a politician running
for election. They could manufacture a clip of the candidate s "saying"
things that are completely against what they really stand for. They
could deep fake any of us "saying" just about anything to show we've
"verbally agreed" to some scam thing. AI is fun to play with, but
it needs some serious oversight with some serious consequences for
misusing it.
[JUN 8] Speaking of AI , someone decided to make a
short with AI showing what Donna would look like if she was still
alive today. Since their 1977 AI version of Donna doesn't really
look like her, it's no surprise that their 2025 version doesn't hit the
mark either. LOL
[JUN 8] In the Donna is everywhere category - she got a mention in the
New York Times Game Connections on Thursday. For those who don't know
the game, you are given 16 words and you have to correctly sort
them into 4 different categories. One of the words given was SUMMER, and
the category ended up being Best Female Rock Performance Grammy Winners.
The other words in the category were APPLE, CROW and TURNER.
[JUN 8] Moving on to Johnnyswim, they have added a show in LA to their
tour list.
It will be September 25 at the Fonda and tickets are on sale now.
[JUN 8] Bruce fans - he has been on his couch on Facebook again. The
first clip is
The Mountain from Spirals Volume 1. Then he has a
new song he recorded at the same time about love and how you can be
loved in spite of your shortcomings. And coming soon, he will be
releasing his new song, Watching Darkness Fall. He previewed that
on Facebook a couple weeks ago and now he plans to release it because it
completely relevant for the times we are living in. Here's the
FB reel where is says he's releasing it.
[JUN 8] That brings us to YouTube. I have an eclectic mix of clips
this week. Let's start off with
Q's Running Mix of the Toby Gad release of Run (With It). Then
I might as well share the original leak of
Run With It again so you can compare it to the new version. Up
next is a radio edit of
Working The Midnight Shift,
Schwarz from The Me Nobody Knows (Ich bin ich), and finally the
Dario Caminita Revibe mix of
This Time I Know It's For Real.
[JUN 01] Happy Sunday all and Happy Pride Month to all who celebrate.
I feel like this should go without saying, but maybe not in this
political climate. As far as I'm concerned - everybody should just
be able to be who they are and love who they love. However you define
yourself, you are safe with me. Unless of course you hate Donna
Summer music and then it's off with your head! LOL
[JUN 01] A new month means a new Summer
Fever Pick and this month is just works out that we will be
celebrating I'm A Rainbow.
[JUN 01] In Donna news this week - it's official, Toby Gad is releasing
a Donna track and it will be coming June 6. He's putting out Run With
It. Now that did leak on
YouTube a number of years ago, but it sounds like Toby has
retooled it and made a video for it. Check out his
Instagram reel for a taste. And if you want to pre-save it on
your favorite streaming service, check
this
link.
[JUN 01] In fake Donna news, the AI click-baiters are at it again.
One of those sites announced a new HBO documentary. (We already have an
excellent one on HBO/MAX/whatever they want to call themselves now so
why would they make another?) And there is no statue being built in
Donna's honor - thank God because the photo that went with the article
looked nothing like Donna. I know these articles are tempting when
they show up in your feed, but they are always on some oddball site no
one ever heard of rather than a reputable one that we know about.
If you actually do click you will see that they have virtually identical
stories about other artists. But remember, every click just gives the
scammers a reason to make more fake stories. (And this applies to
more than just Donna stuff - there is a lot of AI nonsense on just about
any topic you can name, and that can have real world
consequences.)
[JUN 01] Moving on to Bruce. He and his wife Francesca were on Radio
Lombardia in Italy recently. You can see the
interview on YouTube. I believe this is the first time she has
done an interview like this - at least it's the first that I've seen.
It's nice to finally "meet" her. :-)
[JUN 01] That brings us to YouTube and of course we are going to
celebrate I'm A Rainbow this week. So we are going to start off
with 3 Suecase Hall videos in a row -
You To Me (Oliver Nelson Remix),
I Believe In You (Figo Sound Version) and
I'm A Rainbow (in memorium). Then we have an unplugged version
of
Don't Cry For Me Argentina from the Regis and Kathie Lee Show,
and the live version of
Romeo from the Hot Summer Night concert.
[MAY 25] Happy Sunday all! This weekend here in the US it's Memorial Day
weekend - the official start to the summer (Summer? ;-) )
season, and more importantly a time to remember all the service people
who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country.
I think sometimes that gets lost in all the barbeques, parties, etc of
the weekend.
[MAY 25] First up this week, Nathan DiGesare made a
new video this year to mark the anniversary of Donna's passing.
There is a lot of cool behind the scenes footage of Donna and the
touring team.
[MAY 25]
American Songwriter has an article about MacArthur Park - the song
itself, not Donna's recoding of it. It mentions that it was first
recorded by Richard Harris, and it talks about the inspiration behind
the lyrics.
[MAY 25] Speaking of
American Songwriter, they also have an interview with Johnnyswim
this week. Not surprisingly, they talk about the inspiration behind the
album When The War Is Over.
[MAY 25] Brooklyn Dreams fans - you will be happy to find out that One
And Only (from the Joyride album) is finally back on all the usual
streaming services in the US. So start streaming! :-)
(I'm not sure if it works outside the US, but if not a VPN can be your
friend.
[MAY 25] In related news, Bruce has a new song he's been working on
called Watching Darkness Fall. He played it on
Facebook and it really struck a chord with me.
[MAY 25] I think that brings us to YouTube. I'll pick a couple
that I think work for the holiday (sort of...) First up is a
liveandmore video for
Let There Be Peace. Then we have a live version of
Amazing
Grace, a live cover of
Celebrate Me Home, and a live version of
God Bless America. And finally the unreleased track,
Freedom.
[MAY 17] Greetings all! As you know, it's been 13 years since
Donna went on her final adventure. It was the kind of day to just
play Donna tunes and remember the happy times spent at concerts,
awaiting the latest new release, or chasing down the latest interviews
and TV appearances.
[MAY 17] Moving on to the news, Suecase Hall has made a
new video to honor Donna's memory. Check it out on YouTube.
[MAY 17] Pete Bellotte has a website and on it he has one section
dedicated to his
memories of Donna. It's worth a read when you have a minute.
:-)
[MAY 17] In Johnnyswim news, they have written the music for a show
called One Day based on the novel of the same name. They posted
about it on
Facebook, and the
Royal Lyceum
in Edinburgh, Scotland has tickets going on sale June 20 (or June 16 for
Lyceum patrons), but they haven't posted the actual show dates just yet.
Abner and Amanda are very excited about this project and I look forward
to hearing the music they have written. :-)
[MAY 17]
GardenAndGun.com has posted an article where musicians share their
first dance songs. Johnnyswim is included and their song was La Vie En
Rose.
[MAY 17] You can also catch Johnnyswim on the
That Sounds Fun podcast on YouTube. In it they talk about When The
War Is Over.
[MAY 17] Speaking of podcasts, Bruce has done
Now Here This. In it they talk Talkin' Ugly Truths Tellin'
Pretty Lies, songwriting, etc. Then head over to YouTube to listen to
his stripped down version of
When Cinderella Dies.
[MAY 17] That brings us to YouTube. Let's start off this week with
Donna's cover of
Netherlands. Then we have Omega Red's song
Angel that features some vocals by Donna,
If
There Is Music There from Live & More Encore, a live version of
Friends Unknown from the Walk Of Fame ceremony, and
Nobody from Live & More Encore. Finally, today of all days I
have to leave you with a smile. (I think Donna wouldn't want it any
other way.) So we have my favorite clip - Donna and Barry Manilow
having way too much fun on
Could It Be Magic, and the
funny outtakes from the 1980 TV Special.
[MAY 17] And finally - Walk MS was today. It was a good day for a walk -
the rain held off until we finished the walk. (Literally we felt the
first drops when we stepped back into the parking area!) And thanks to
your generosity, I more than reached my fundraising goal. I say it every
year because it's true - you guys are awesome! I couldn't ask to
know a better bunch!
[MAY 11] Greetings all and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and
mom-figures out there! Next week is my annual
MS Walk and thanks to you guys I have reached my goal of $517.
(You guys are AWESOME!) So of course I will be walking in a Donna shirt.
:-) Fingers crossed we have a nice day for the walk. It's always
rain or shine, but it's more fun when it's nice out! And as an added
bonus, we can always see the amphitheater while we walk and it bring
back happy memories of watching Donna perform there. :-)
[MAY 11] On to the news. There is a new video up on YouTube that
is described as a
story video for I Feel Love. In the description it says, "In a
world where AI and humanoid coexist, a humanoid robot names Lumis
discovers the iconic Donna Summer track I Feel Love. As he
immerses himself in the music, Lumis begins to experience emotions and
questions his existence." It's a pretty cool video but I do want
to warn you that there are lots of flashing lights which might be a
problem for those of you who suffer migraines or seizures.
[MAY 11] In old news,
MixMag.org posted a 1995 interview from their archives. It was done
about the time Donna was promoting Melody of Love, and it's not one I
ever remember reading before, so that was pretty cool.
[MAY 11] Bruce fans - catch him on the
Radio
Misfits podcast.
[MAY 11] I think that brings us to YouTube. This week we continue
our celebration of The Wanderer with some mixes. So we have The Figaro
Sound full mix of
The Wanderer, The LeFlex Sunset Remix radio edit of
Nightlife, the Figo Sound version of
Looking Up, and the LeFlex Poolside mix of
Grand Illusion. And finally, this isn't a remix, but
stampyourfeet made a video for
Cold Love comprised of clips from Art On Ice. (Seems
appropriate. :-) )
[MAY 4] Greetings all and May the Fourth be with you! LOL
It's a new month so you know what that means - time for the new
Summer Fever Pick. This month we
can rock out to The Wanderer.
[MAY 4] As you know, the 40th anniversary edition of Cats Without Claws
is out and it has hit the
UK charts. It debuts on the physical albums chart at #84 and on the
official albums sales list at #87. Not bad for a 40 year old album!
[MAY 4]
GoldRadio.com has ranked Donna's 15 greatest songs. There aren't
really any surprises on the list - I Feel Love comes in at #1 of course.
And all the big hits are on the list. :-)
[MAY 4] Johnnyswim fans - don't forget they
will be
performing in London and Amsterdam later this month - then they get
a break from the road until October.
[MAY 4] Bruce Sudano has been working on new music lately. He's shared a
couple of clips on Facebook -
On A Tuesday In Kinross, and
One Mistake.
[MAY 4] That brings us to YouTube. This week we'll celebrate the
new Summer Fever pick starting with the video for
The Wanderer. Then we have a liveandmore video for
Grand Illusion, the
LeFlex Poolside mix for Grand Illusion, a slideshow for
Breakdown, and
Cold Love and
The Wanderer live on the Tom Snyder show.
[MAY 4] And finally - I have just 2 weeks until my walk for MS.
Thanks to you, I am almost at my fundraising goal, and I am hoping for
nice weather for the walk. (We've walked in the rain several
times, but it's more fun when the sun is shining. :-) ) If anybody
still wants to donate, here is
my link. Thanks for all your support!
[APR 27] Happy Sunday all! Let's start with Bruce this week. Catch
him in an interview for Real Team TV on
YouTube and in the
A-Game podcast also on YouTube. And then catch him on
Facebook with a Tom Petty cover.
[APR 27] In Johnnyswim news, they did an
interview for the APA about mental health. It's interesting so check
that out.
[APR 27] Check out
ThirdCoastReview.com's review of Johnnyswim's Chicago concert.
[APR 27] That brings us to YouTube. First up a fan video for a
song that was originally found in a 1980s video about Pope John Paul
II's visit to the US,
The Planet Is Alive. Then we have the video for
State Of Independence, a video (in German) about the
making of State Of Independence, and another video about Donna
talking about the song. And then just for laughs, a short
video compilation of Donna being silly.
[APR 20] Greetings all! Last week I mentioned a story circulating about
Toby Gad and an unreleased track. Well, that story is hitting more
actual music news sites, so I am thinking that FINALLY it's not AI
nonsense! So (fingers crossed) Toby will be releasing a Donna
track in a few months.
[APR 20] Happy 40th anniversary to Cats Without Claws! The anniversary
release is available now from all
the usual
places with the original 10 tracks plus 9 remixes. Mark Tara
also did a
podcast celebrating the album and that is also worth a listen.
[APR 20] Johnnyswim fans - the first leg of their tour is over. They
next appear in
concert overseas on May 20 and 21 in London and Amsterdam, then they
get a break from the road until October when the fall leg of the tour
starts. But if you need a Johnnyswim fix before they get back out on the
road - check out the
Kelly
Clarkson Show tomorrow. They will be performing. :-) Here in
NY that show airs at 3pm on channel 4, but you can check the show's
website for info on when/where it airs in your area.
[APR 20] In Bruce news, catch him on YouTube's
Donna Drake Show. (This was from a couple of weeks ago, but I don't
think I posted it before.) Bruce also posted a
Facebook video to promote the new "A Teddy Bear's Dream" PSA for
Sandy Hook Promise. (And if that PSA doesn't make you want to hug
the kids in your life.... )
[APR 20] I think that brings us to YouTube. Let's just roll with the
anniversary and celebrate Cats Without Claws. So first up are the videos
for
There Goes My Baby and
Supernatural Love. Then we have a 1984 performance of
Forgive Me, Donna's appearance on
Bandstand doing Supernaturel Love and I'm Free, and an Italian
clip of
There Goes My Baby (featuring a bunch of sailors before Cher made
that popular. LOL)
[APR 13] Happy Sunday all! Would somebody please remind Mother Nature
that is it SPRING so it should be warm out now? LOL
[APR 13] Let's start with Donna. You mat have read on Facebook that she
was awarded something called the Golden Clef. Guess what? That is
AI nonsense again. The same site had the same story about at least 4
other celebrities. I am the first to admit that playing with AI is
fun, but it is getting really frustrating to sort the garbage from the
real news.
[APR 13] On that note, there is a
story circulating that Toby Gad has a song of Donna's that he wants
to release in a couple of months. That looks more credible than
most of the AI stuff I have seen, but that being said - I don't know if
it's true or not. I am hoping to find a video, or at least a full length
interview where he says that. This is the other annoying thing about
AI... the proliferation of garbage makes you doubt stuff that
could be true. Ugh.
[APR 13] On to Johnnyswim and stuff that definitely is true. They have
added Georgia
to the fall tour list. So snap up those tickets before they sell
out! In other tour news, you know I keep telling you to watch
Instagram for announcements and show recaps? Well, they posted a show
recap in which the audience (and then Johnnyswim joined in) sang Last
Dance (with Donna's recording playing in the theater as the catalyst.
:-) ) It's the second video clip in
this post. (I had ALL the feels in that clip.... )
[APR 13] There is also a new interview with Johnnyswim online in
Decatur Daily. In it they talk about using their life experiences to
write songs.
[APR 13] Bruce Sudano fans - look for him on the
Someone You Should Know podcast. In it he talks about everything
from being a kid in Brooklyn up to the new album. And yes, he
talks about Donna too.
[APR 13] Brooklyn Dreams fans - the Mini LP CD is available
at CD Japan for now. (It's cute - a CD packaged to look like a
little LP.) Currently it's about $19 USD, but I have no idea what
the on again off again tariffs will do to that. :-(
[APR 13] I think that brings us to YouTube. First up we have a
mini concert at the Diamond Awards from the early-mid 90s.
Then we have an
interview/concert from the Bad Girls tour that was played on the
radio back in the day, a clip of Donna singing
Hot Stuff on the American Music Awards in 1982, Bad Girls from the
Tonight Show in 1979 (with the funky glasses LOL), and
finally in honor of the song being played at the end of a Johnnyswim
concert, we have
Last Dance - this one is live from the VH1 concert. As a
special bonus clip, here is one of The Three Dog Night's
Mama Told Me Not To Come. This clip claims that Donna was a
vocalist on this track. Now I do remember reading that Donna did demos
for Three Dog Night back when she was still living in Germany. I
don't know if she made it to any of the final versions of the songs, and
if she is on this one, she is buried so far in the mix that I can't pick
her out. If she's there it might take headphones and younger ears
than mine to find her. LOL
[APR 13] And finally, just a reminder that I am walking to end MS again
this year. If you are into donating, here is
my link. And if money is tight - I accept thoughts and prayers
for those who have MS. I like to say that I walk for those who
can't. :-) Thanks to all who have already donated!
[APR 06] Greetings all! It's a new month so it's time for a new
Summer Fever Pick. This month we are
dancing to the one and only Bad Girls!
[APR 06] I Feel Love fans -
BBC
Radio 4 aired their special on the song, and you can catch it online
now.
[APR 06] I'm sure most of you remember that Andrea Bufalini and Giovanni
Savastano wrote a book about Donna called la Voce Arcobaleno. At first
it was available only in Italian, then they released a version in
French. Well, there is an English version coming. According to
Amazon [paid link], it will be available on December 31 - which
seems strangely appropriate. LOL It's a paperback edition with a
list price of $39.99 currently. Hopefully the tariff nonsense doesn't
cause that price to change.
[APR 06] Moving on to Bruce.... he's got a new song out now called No
Surprise. You can catch it in all the usual places, including a
lyric video on YouTube.
[APR 06] Johnnyswim fans - catch them
on tour
(still) and if you are going to a show don't forget to check out their
Merch To Go.
And keep an eye on their
Instagram for announcements and tour highlights.
[APR 06] That brings us to YouTube. First up, a new mix of
Sunset People. Then we have the
Bad Girls demo that appeared in the documentary, and the demo that
was on the
Bad Girls Deluxe Edition. Then we have the 12" version of
Walk Away,
Dim All The Lights live from the 1980 TV special, and a longer
version of
Hot Stuff with extra adlibs in the outtro. As an extra bonus,
here is Bruce's performance of
Bad Girls.
[MAR 30] Happy Sunday all! Unfortunately I have to start off with
another warning about AI. Now there is a site soccer247.com that is
posting nonsense. If you are on the web and you see an interesting story
about an upcoming Donna release, or film, or what have you, be really
aware of the site posting it. A true story will come from a recognizable
entertainment website. But random stories on a site with a url that is
say, sports related (like the last 2 AI sites have been) should be
looked at with suspicion. Why would a soccer url be talking about music
news? Also, look at the other stories on the site - usually once an AI
story about Donna is posted, there are other VERY similar AI stories
about other artists on the same site.
[MAR 30] In better news,
Billboard has compiles a list of the 100 best dance songs of all
time. The MacArthur Park Suite came in at #73 and at #1 is
none other than I Feel Love. :-) And as long as we are counting
down songs,
Singersroom.com has its own list of the 15 best disco songs.
Donna has 3 songs on that list: Hot STuff at #8, Bad Girls at #12,
and Love To Love You at #14.
[MAR 30]
BBC Radio 4 has a series called Soul and on Saturday April 5 the
episode will be about I Feel Love. It repeats on the radio on Monday the
7th, and then at some point it will be available on demand.
[MAR 30] Boston's Donna Summer Day 2025 has been announced. It will be
Friday June 27 from 5 to 9 at City Hall Plaza. DJ Vince will be
playing the tunes and I am sure that as always, some members of Donna's
family will be there.
[MAR 30] In figure skating news, American Alysa Liu won with world
Championship using MacArthur Park and One Of A Kind as the music
for her free skate. Appropriately enough, the competition was held
in Boston. You can see her performance on
YouTube.
[MAR 30] Bruce fans - look for a new song from him called No Surprise on
April 4. Find it at all the
usual places.
[MAR 30] Bruce has also posted a couple of clips on Facebook from
his show the other night. He shared
Damn Lonely On The Road, and
Change.
[MAR 30] In Johnnyswim news they did an interview and performed a couple
of songs for WFPK. You can catch it
on demand here. Don't forget they are still on
tour and
still doing the whole
Merch To Go
thing. And keep an eye on their
Instagram for Run Club dates, updates, and photos from the road.
[MAR 30] That brings us to YouTube. This time I think we'll do
some European clips. So we'll start with
Melody Of Love from 1994,
Enough Is Enough performed with Westlife, a
medley of I Feel Love, Bad Girls, and Hot Stuff from 1994, The
Nobel Peace Prize concert from 2009,
Supernatural Love from German TV, and as a bonus, Donna with
Family Tree in 1974. (Yes that's her, but NOT her voice.
Weird.)
[MAR 23] Greetings all and Happy Spring! (Although Mother Nature pulled
a prank on us here where I am and made it cold again today. LOL)
Let's start off with a little music history this week. NPR posted
an article called 100 Years, 100 Moments: How Women Shaped A Century
Of Music. It is part of a series and this part covers 1975-1999. Hmmm...
do we know anyone who was active in that time frame? LOL It's a fairly
short article - it goes year by year and picks one artist/song for that
year - and no artist is repeated on the list. So they start with Donna
and Love To Love You in 1975 and then that's it for her.
[MAR 23] Moving on to Johnnyswim - their
tour is
officially on the road now. With that comes the inevitable publicity. So
with that in mind, check out the interview in
The Daily Bulletin for the Anaheim show, and the interview for
Arizona's Family.
[MAR 23] Just a reminder, Abner is busy making merch for the shows and
if you use their Merchandise To Go website, you can grab exclusive merch,
plus you can skip the lines at the venue. You can order before or during
the show online, then just grab your prepaid stuff. You can use the
link here,
or scan a QR code at the concert venue. I wish they would have had a
system like this when I was chasing Donna in concert.
[MAR 23] Also, Abner is resurrecting the run club where you can met up
(usually at the venue) at a particular time and you can go running with
him. The first one was today, March 22, at noon in Atlanta. But
keep an eye on
Instagram for info on future runs. (Especially watch the reels -
that's where the best announcements are - plus merch sneak peeks, and
photos/clips from the shows.)
[MAR 23] Moving on to Bruce. Back in the late 80s, he recorded an album
with Joe Esposito as Joe Bruce & 2nd Avenue. That album is FINALLY
available on
Spotify for your listening pleasure.
[MAR 23] Bruce fans near Brescia, Italy - catch him at
The Beatles Museum in Brescia on March 27. Or catch him walking
around Milan filming reels for Instagram. ;-)
[MAR 23] I think that brings us to YouTube. I think this week I'll share
a bunch of concerts with you. So we start in
1977 in Italy then move to
Japan in 1979,
Spain in 1990,
Japan in 1991,
Brazil in 1992,
Chile in 1994,
Belgium in 2005, and
Long Island in 2008. That's a lot of traveling without leaving
your chair! LOL
[MAR 16] Greetings all and Happy St Patrick's Day. We'll start off with
Donna this week. First up is a
video I found on MSN called How Donna Summer Changed Pop Music
Forever. It is about (as you probably guessed) I Feel Love. The video is
actually a couple of years old, but it was fun to see MSN pick it up.
[MAR 16] Next up is a
Yahoo article about b-sides that became hits. Yes, that includes I
Feel Love.
[MAR 16] Johnnyswim fans - as you know the
spring tour
starts on Thursday in Indianapolis. This first half of the tour features
special guest Micah Edwards. This tour will also offer the
Merchandise To
Go service they have used before. In other words, you order and pay
for your merch online on the day of the show (before the show, during
the show, whatever) then you go to a special line at the end of the show
and just grab your order. (Kind of like you can do with food or coffee
at a lot of places - you order and pay through the app then just grab it
when you get there.) They will have an exclusive Merch To Go t-shirt, as
well as other regular merch that Abner was working on in his backyard in
a recent Insta reel. (Hey, how many bands make their own merch?)
[MAR 16] Johnnyswim is also interviewed in the March/April issue of
American Songwriter. You can see a teaser of that interview on
Instagram. Unfortunately the interview isn't online (yet) so you
will have to find a copy of the magazine to see it.
[MAR 16] And don't forget to check out Johnnyswim's
YouTube channel for more clips of them performing the new songs
live.
[MAR 16] Bruce Sudano fans in Italy - Bruce will be at the Demetrio
Stratos Auditorium of Radio Popolare in Milan on Thursday March 20.
Admission if free, but you have to reserve tickets by email. Details are
in
this link.
[MAR 16] Bruce was also
live on his couch on Facebook again. This was a new song called A
Girl Forgotten inspired by a book Bruce read last fall.
[MAR 16] That brings us to YouTube. I felt like hanging out in 1999 this
week, so here are the clips I've been checking out. First up is the
whole
VH1 Live & More Encore show. Then we have the video for
I Will Go With You, and Donna on the
Rosie O'Donnell Show. And finally 3 clips from Donna's first
appearance on The View - the
interview,
I Will Go With You, and
On The Radio.
[MAR 09] Happy Sunday all! Let's start off with a warning this
week. There is more AI nonsense going around on social media. If you
read ANYTHING that came from halftimenews.uk - it's AI generated
garbage. Laugh at if it you wish, but don't expect any of the
reports to be true. And also know that the more you click on Donna
stories there, the more Donna stories they will create.
[MAR 09] If you are looking for something to listen to, there is a
show on Soundcloud called
In Focus and it has 2 house of Donna's music.
[MAR 09] Moving on, as you know the Oscars were on last weekend. (And
boy was it weird not having the nominated songs performed!) In honor of
Oscar night,
Queerty posted an article about the Oscar-winning song Last Dance.
The article also includes a few related YouTube videos including the
audio for Paul Jabara's version of Last Dance.
[MAR 09]
ThyBlackman.com posted an article listing 10 songs that prove Donna
i the Queen of Disco. It's a nice article, but there are no
surprises on the list.
[MAR 09] Opera fans - Johnnyswim did a video for the LA Opera showing
some of the behind the scenes for Romeo & Juliette. Catch it on
YouTube as part of the LA Opera's 40th Anniversary season
announcement.
[MAR 09] And of course you can catch Johnnyswim
on tour
all spring and again in the fall.
[MAR 09] In Bruce news, he's been making making the rounds again. He was
in an
Italian article promoting the new single, How'd You Get Here (which
has a
video on YouTube.) He also did the
City Is Backyard podcast where they talk abut everything from Alive
N Kickin' til now.
[MAR 09] Johnnyswim fans - we are still celebrating the release of When
The War is Over. Our favorite duo has been posting reels of the various
tracks from the album on their
Instagram and
YouTube channels.
[MAR 09] That brings us to YouTube. In honor of Live & More, let's do
some interviews from about that time. So we have a 1978 interview with
Rona Barrett, Donna on
Merv Griffin in 1978, Donna on
The Tonight Show, and another appearance on
Merv Griffin.
[MAR 09] And finally this week - I am doing my annual
MS Walk. This year the walk actually falls on May 17, so I have
extra incentive to wear one of my Donna shirts. If you are interested in
donating, my link is here. But I also get that 2025 is turning into a
giant dumpster fire, so if you can't spare any cash I am more than happy
with your thoughts and prayers for those afflicted with MS.
[MAR 01] Happy Saturday all! Can you believe March is here already?
Spring is right around the corner with warmer weather and the start of
concert season. It is also time for a new
Summer Fever Pick. This month you will be shouting "More more more!"
for Live & More - the original 1978 album.
[MAR 01] Johnnyswim has been posting video clips of them performing
songs from the new album When The War Is Over. You can catch them on
YouTube and
Instagram - although at the moment, Insta has more of them. (If you
haven't listened to that album yet - do it! It is really good and I find
that for me it had a vibe that helps me feel better after all my
doom-scrolling of the latest national/world news.)
[MAR 01] Speaking of Johnnyswim, if you are interested in attending the
show in Louisville on March 21, WFPK 91.9 is offering you a chance
to win tickets to the show. Entry form and rules are
posted here.
[MAR 01] Bruce fans -he has a new video out for
How'd You Get Here. He says it's geared for Baby Boomers - but I'm
telling all you younger people out there - you will get there too. LOL
[MAR 01] Bruce was also on another podcast this week. This one is
Stories From The 78 and they talk about Bruce's career from the
beginning.
[MAR 01] This month we are celebrating the new Summer Fever Pick. So we
start off with an
ad
for Live & More with lots of vintage live clips, and a
cut down version that actually aired on TV. Then we have a
clip that shows the videos for MacArthur Park, I Feel Love, and Last
Dance together, and the 1/2 hour cut down version of the episode of
American Bandstand that Donna hosted (with a special intro by Dick
Clark and an appearance by the Brooklyn Dreams.) Finally in honor of
tomorrow being Oscar night, we have a
Suecase Hall video showcasing Donna on the Oscars.
[FEB 23] Happy Sunday all! I hope everybody is keeping their sanity in
these strange times we are living in.
[FEB 23] I guess we'll start with Bruce this week. He just did another
podcast. This one is the
Jim Master's Show and they talk about just about everything from
Alive & Kickin' to Talkin' Ugly Truths Tellin' Pretty Lies.
(And yes, Donna comes up.)
[FEB 23] Moving on to Johnnyswim. They did a rapid fire Q&A for American
Songwriter on
Instagram. They also did an interview for BBC Radio London in
which they also played Dopamine live in the studio. You can catch that
for a limited time on the
BBC
website. Johnnyswim doesn't appear until about the 3 hour and 10
minute mark.
[FEB 23] Don't forget Johnnyswim is
back out on
the road starting March 20. So if they are coming to your area - go
grab some tickets!
[FEB 23] That brings us to YouTube. I thought we'd have some funny
clips this week. So we have Donna on
Greg Kinnear in 1993, a
fun video Donna made in 2008,
outtakes from the 1980 TV special, a clip from Donna's appearance on
Family Matters, and finally a
silly experimental
video Donna made.
[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.
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