Ordinary Girl is legendary singer-songwriter Donna Summer's delightfully candid memoir about her journey from signing in a Boston church to her unexpected reign as the Queen of Disco, and the tragedy and spiritual rebirth that followed.
Donna Summer dominated the American and European pop charts in the 1970s with dance music classics such as "Last Dance," "Love To Love You Baby," "I Feel Love," "Hot Stuff," and "Bad Girls"-earning her the title "Queen of Disco." In a career which has now spanned four decades, she has sold over 100 million records worldwide, won five Grammy Awards, scored twenty Top 40 hits, and collaborated with musical giants such as Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, and Quincy Jones. Donna Summer: Her Life and Music is the first book in over twenty years to examine this extraordinary performer's life and career. Author Josiah Howard provides in-depth, insightful coverage. This chronicle and analysis of Donna Summer's triumphs and setbacks - both professional and private - paints the definitive picture of an artist who overcame adversity, pushed musical boundaries, and created a catalog of innovative recordings that helped define an era. Book jacket.
The publishing phenomenon of summer reading, often focused on novels set in vacation destinations, started in the nineteenth century, as both print culture and tourist culture expanded in the United States. As an emerging middle class increasingly embraced summer leisure as a marker of social status, book publishers sought new market opportunities, authors discovered a growing readership, and more readers indulged in lighter fare. Drawing on publishing records, book reviews, readers' diaries, and popular novels of the period, Donna Harrington-Lueker explores the beginning of summer reading and the backlash against it. Countering fears about the dangers of leisurely reading—especially for young women—publishers framed summer reading not as a disreputable habit but as a respectable pastime and welcome respite. Books for Idle Hours sheds new light on an ongoing seasonal publishing tradition.
The story of the legendary producer, Neil Bogart, founder of Casablanca Records, who made superstars of the 1970’s that have stood the test of time: KISS, Donna Summer, the Village People, and Parliament-Funkadelic. Bogart is the upcoming subject of the Justin Timberlake film Spinning Gold.
Contradicting assumptions that disco albums are shallow and packed with filler, Donna Summer's double album Once Upon A Time stands out as a piece that delivers on its promise of an immaculately crafted journey from start to finish. A new interpretation of the Cinderella story, it is set in the then contemporary world of New York disco and takes the listener on a journey from urban isolation and deep despair to joy and vindication, all filtered through the mind of its naïve and fantasy-prone protagonist. As well as charting the production of the album within the legendary Munich Machine in Germany, this book digs deep into the album's rich themes and subtexts. Approaching the book from inventive angles, the four essays within the book act as a prism connecting the reader to the classical aspirations of Eurodisco, the history of the black fairy tale and a queer knowledge that reads Summer's Cinderella tale in some surprising ways.
Where do you get SOUL? From watching your parents sell the house you grew up in? From discovering the family secret about your crazy cousin? Or from the childhood records found in your parents’ basement? From Stevie, Aretha, Marvin, Chaka, Barry, Gladys...and Colman. Propelled by the beat of classic soul, smooth R&B and disco, this is the soundtrack of a boy’s coming of age in 70s and 80s Philadelphia. A Boy and His Soul was the recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award Best Solo Show, GLAAD Media Award Best Play On or Off Broadway and the ITBA Best Solo Show awards.
Mid-town Buppies, big-time mobsters, fabulous dancing queens, and unscrupulous promoters all come together in After Dark, a first-hand account of the birth and growth of the disco movement in the 1970s. Disco music has earned an unflattering reputation for being garish and flashy; however, it was the voice of a generation that spoke using the power of dance to unite people. Now, for the first time you can hear the compelling, never-been-told story of the rise of the New York disco scene. In the late 1960s, a group of college students formed a social club called "The Best of Friends" (TBOF) and learned to monetize their love of dancing and music by building a multi-million-dollar network of discotheques. Their innovative DJing techniques transported dancers into a carefree state of euphoria that paved the way for "Saturday Night Fever," Studio 54, and the nationwide explosion of disco in the late '70s. TBOF discotheques attracted everyone from CEOs to mailroom clerks, from Rick James to Elizabeth Taylor, and from big-time mobsters to FBI agents. This unprecedented collection of humanity made it impossible to know what excitement would unfold each night. What the partners in TBOF did know is that After Dark, they had to be on their toes.