Autumn Time In Nature

'Love To Love You Baby' singer dies on Thursday (May 17) after long battle with cancer.By Gil Kaufman Donna Summer Photo: Fotos International/Getty Images Donna Summer, the powerhouse singer known as the "Queen of Disco," died on Thursday (May 17) in Florida after a battle with cancer, according to TMZ. The five-time Grammy winner who set dance floors ablaze in the 1970s with such anthems as "Last Dance," Hot Stuff" and her most iconic hit, "I Feel Love," was 63-years-old. In a genre that was filled with many one-hit wonders and fly-by-night studio acts that were unable to keep the disco inferno stoked after scoring hits, Summer was a lifer, consistently charting even after the dance craze faded in the late 1970's. For photos of Donna Summer through the years, click here. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Summer set herself apart with strong vocals backed by her songwriting skills, as well as some creative luck in hooking up with producers/songwriters Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. The pair helped her pumped out hit-after-hit and provided her with a sensual, almost ethereal sound on tracks such as "I Feel Love," which seduced both on and off the dance floor. Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on December 31, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts to a butcher father and schoolteacher mother, Summer showed promise as a singer from an early age. She made her public debut at age 10 at her church when the scheduled singer didn't show up and she filled in. After appearing in a number of musicals and plays in high school and singing with the psychedelic rock band The Crow, she joined the cast of German production of the musical "Hair" in 1967 at age 18. She stayed in Munich after the show's run ended and recorded her debut solo album there in 1974, Lady of the Night. Though it spawned a hit overseas with "The Hostage," she didn't crack the U.S. market until a year later with the song that would make her an international superstar, the seductive disco anthem, "Love to Love You Baby." The tune she created with Moroder and Bellotte was a #2 hit in the U.S. and landed her an American record deal with the it label of the era, Casablanca Records. The 17-minute club remix of the single, which featured such real-sounding ecstatic moans that some radio stations refused to play it, became a huge hit and set a new standard for sophisticated arrangements in a genre often marked by cheesy sounding instrumentation and lazy songwriting. She released two albums in 1976, A Love Trilogy, which featured the nearly 18-minute epic "Try Me (I Know We Can Make It Work)," and the winter/spring/summer/autumn-themed Four Seasons of Love. In a singles genre where the song as the thing, Summer continued to put out consistently artistic albums, including 1977's I Remember Yesterday, which featured the song that would secure Summer's place at the top of the disco diva pecking order, "I Feel Love." That hypnotizing song was also the first one recorded with a backing track made up entirely of synthesized sounds. This being the era of excess, her second 1977 album, Once Upon A Time, was another concept disc, this one retelling the Cinderella story in the disco era on tracks like "Once Upon a Time," "Fairy Tale High," "Working the Midnight Shift" and "Queen for a Day." She transitioned into acting in 1978 in the disco comedy "Thank God It's Friday," which earned her a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal for the hit "Last Dance." By 1979's two-album Bad Girls she was indisputably a star, logging six weeks at #1 and scoring hits with the sexy "Bad Girls" and more rock-oriented "Hot Stuff." When Summer released a double-album greatest hits disc later that year she became the first artists to ever score three #1 albums in a row with double-disc releases. She went on to score hits with a Barbra Streisand duet and moved over to the then-new Geffen Records, where her success began to wane a bit. By 1983, she'd moved past the disco sound and into a synth-heavy R&B/new wave sound with the female empowerment anthem "She Works Hard For the Money." That song, though, would effectively mark the end of her hit-making days. Summer continued to release albums through the late 1980's, but was never again able to capture her disco peak. In fact, by the end of the decade she spoke out against the "sinful" nature of her disco hits and turned her back on her earlier material and focused on painting. After a 17-year break, she released her first studio album of original material, Crayons, in 2008. Related Photos Donna Summer: The Queen Of Disco Related Artists Donna Summer

The top seven sang for their lives on 'Now and Then' night; here's how they all fared.By James Montgomery Joshua Ledet performs on "American Idol" Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images "American Idol" gave us the best of both worlds on Wednesday night, as the top seven sang something old and something new. That meant dusting off some classic soul tunes and coupling them with the current crop of shiny pop hits, and though you might not believe it, the results were actually pretty good. Yes, no doubt due to last week's shocking near elimination of presumed front-runner Jessica Sanchez, the remaining "Idol" hopefuls were singing for their lives last night, and delivered a handful of genuinely great performances. Of course, a few tried to go outside the box, and the results... well, they were mixed. Still, a memorable show all around, and not just because of Colton Dixon's Lady Gaga get-up. So who earned the night's highest marks? Who should consider hiring a tutor? Read on for our "American Idol" report card! Joshua Ledet: Of course he did Fantasia. And, of course, his version of "I Believe" was amazing: lithe and limber, full of range and emotion, he's the best male singer by a mile. Ledet also delivered big time with Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," which got off to an unintentionally hilarious start — Seacrest introduced it as "an emotional civil-rights anthem, coming to you live, from Joshua," which was followed by a shot of Joshua holding a wind-up toy, grinning like a goofball — but no one was laughing by the end. He straight-up murdered it, with jaw-dropping power and prowess that earned him a standing ovation and some overtly sexual critique from Steven Tyler. Randy followed that up by taking shots at "The Voice," only not overtly at all. Settle down, dawg. A Phillip Phillips: Let's give a shoutout to Double P, who got out of the grouting business for one week only, first with a soft-core Skinemax take on Usher's "U Got It Bad" and then a smooth (for him at least) spin through Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour." Both were perfect choices, playing to his strengths — he is handsome — both left the ladies wanting more, and both had Steven Tyler talking like detective John Shaft ("No chump love, sucka.") Game on, Colton Dixon. B+ Jessica Sanchez: Her version of Alicia Keys' "Fallin'" was yet another powerhouse, as she set her intensity level on "simmer" and just let things cook. (Though for a minute, we were worried one of those umbrellas was going to fall on her.) We weren't as crazy about her take on Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness" — sure, it was big and brassy, but also kinda growly, and seemed like a cruise ship performance. And could there be trouble brewing on the high seas for the formerly indestructible Sanchez? She got the dreaded "you need to connect" advice from Randy et. al, and J.Lo almost forgot the name of her alter ego, which might not bode well for her down the stretch. B Skylar Laine: Wait, she did a Lady Gaga tune?!? Yep. Breaking free of her country container (it's like Tupperware), Laine took on "Born This Way," and we loved it. She's got spark and attitude for days, and when you get the feeling she's really pushing herself (like Wednesday or "Wind Beneath My Wings" a few weeks back) there might not be a better performer in the competition. On the flipside, her version of Marvin Gaye's "Heard It Through the Grapevine," wasn't exactly great, and perhaps Laine needs to learn that just because you're jumping around on the stage, it doesn't mean you're connecting with the song. Still, another strong week. She's the dark horse from here on out. B" Hollie Cavanagh: "No thinking, just singing" seemed to be her mantra this week, and it worked. She completed her manifest destiny by doing Adele's "Rolling in the Deep," which was not only perhaps the biggest moment of the night, but had Steven Tyler talking about her tail feathers. Her version of Dusty's "Son of a Preacher Man" was pretty much what you'd expect — faux swagger, some horns, a few nice notes — though the jury's still out on whether Cavanagh actually connects with any of the voters. B Colton Dixon: For the second week in a row, he surprised with a song choice, taking Gaga's "Bad Romance" down to the mall for a Hot Topic makeover. It didn't necessarily work, but the girls loved it, so who cares? Though he needs to stop crouching like Spider-Man when he's "rocking" out. Meanwhile, his version of Earth, Wind & Fire's "September" got lost in an autumnal haze (maybe it had something to do with all the fallen leaves strewn atop his piano?) Not the strongest night for C. Dix... though we suspect he thought it went great. C- Elise Testone: A tale of two Testones tonight. She did Alicia Keys' "No One" (we almost called it!) and blew it out the box, with a performance that was restrained in all the right ways, big and booming in the best spots. But her gruff, kinda-goofy version of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" just never got on track and seemed like the worst possible song for her to sing. We love her, but we suspect this might be the week that does her in. C- Do you agree with our "American Idol" report card? Leave your comment below! Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos 'American Idol' Season 11 Performances