Song of the Day - Heaven Knows - Donna Summer & The Brooklyn Dreams

Here's another classic tune from my work-in-progress playlist for this time we're living in.  Only Heaven Knows when it will end...

Song of the Day - Lucky - Donna Summer

I said the other day when I posted Donna Summer's Love to Love You Baby that I might just post another or two of her songs in the coming days.  Well, here's one I never thought I'd post, but I personally love it so much I just want to share it.  Lucky was a non-single included on Donna's monumental Bad Girls album of 1979 and it dispels any sort of claim that disco music was mindless.  This song combines a masterfully orchestrated dance track with some pretty sad lyrics...a lonely, yet naive girl who's looking for love, but only seems to find the wrong kinds of love.  Check out the lyrics below as you crank up the volume on this one, and if you don't like it then there's something seriously wrong with you!  (I'm just kidding, lol...but it is soooo good!).  Here's Lucky...  

Scared and lonely

Going out for the night

Shakin' all over

And wishing I'd never

Come here

He pulled up in a cloud of smoke

So much was said

But nobody spoke a word

So I took a chance

And he followed me home

I knew he wouldn't beg

So I gave in without fighting

Been so long since I've been this way

Since I loved this way

So I asked him if he would stay for a while

Lucky comes easy

Lucky's not shy

And if you're lucky

You'll go for a ride

For a ride

We talked a while

And he told me nice

We laughed and we cried and

I knew that I could love him

He got up to say goodbye

I said where you going,

He said that he must leave

Lucky comes easy

Lucky's not shy

And if you're lucky

You'll go for a ride

For a ride

Lucky comes easy

Lucky's not shy

And if you're lucky

You'll go for a ride

For a ride

Lucky takes you out for a ride

For a ride

Lucky takes you out for a ride

For a ride

Lucky comes easy

Lucky's not shy

And if you're lucky

You'll go for a ride

Lucky come easy

Lucky's not shy

And if you're lucky

You'll go for a ride

For a ride

Song of the Day - Love to Love You Baby - Donna Summer

Anyone who knows me personally from social media would most definitely have guessed that they'd be hearing a Donna Summer song in today's Song of the Day.  That's because my mom and I went into New York City yesterday to see Summer: The Musical.  Though the show itself left something to be desired, the music was what made it all worthwhile.  

I was always a big fan of Donna Summer and followed her throughout the years and I especially loved her music after her reluctant "Queen of Disco" period.  Alas, without the disco, though, she might never have made it as far as she did.  You may very well see more Donna Summer here this week, but for today here's the song that figured prominently in the musical and it was the one that got it all started for her.  Check out a vintage performance of the sexy Love to Love You Baby...  

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - She Works Hard For the Money - Donna Summer

In the first couple of hours after I posted yesterday's song of the day I learned that yesterday was International Women's Day, and of course with my musically-centered mind, I immediately thought of what song I would have posted in its honor.  Of course, Donna Summer's She Works Hard For the Money is the ultimate shout out to hard working women everywhere.  I remember the story behind it, how Donna was inspired by a real life waitress she's seen in a restaurant and how big of a hit it became at the time.  It's still a great song.  Enjoy a vintage performance of the tune...

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Try Me, I Know We Can Make It - Donna Summer

During the past week I've reconnected with the late, great Donna Summer.  The so-called 'Queen of Disco' was surely that, but even after the disco died she was still a whole lot more.  I joined Spotify as a premium member last week and I got to revisit some of the great tunes she created after the disco was gone, songs from her eponymous 1982 album, 1980's The Wanderer, and 1989's Another Place and Time.  Great songs, great memories, but today I'm in the mood for some disco Donna, and here's a classic from her 1976 A Love Trilogy.  Check out the sultry, sexy yet somewhat tender Try Me, I Know We Can Make It...

Song of the Day - I Will Go With You (Con Te Partido) - Donna Summer

I missed a terrible anniversary yesterday.  You see, four years ago, on May 17th, 2012, Donna Summer lost her life to lung cancer, which she claimed to have gotten from inhaling all of the toxic materials left in the air after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  The news was shocking to many, who'd had no idea that the 63 year-old icon had been stricken with the disease.  To me, Donna was one of those great voices that transcended more than five decades and touched millions in the process, and her death came with too little attention for the shining star she always was.

Most people think of Donna Summer as the Queen of Disco, and yes, in the late 70's she was, but this marvelous talent had staying power and persevered, creating hits in each decade right up until the current one, and one of my favorite songs of hers was a cover of Andrea Bocelli's beautiful Con Te Partido. Donna's rich voice lent itself perfectly as a dance mix to this operatic song and hit the #1 spot on Billboard's Dance Chart back in 1997.  Here she is performing the tune on a television show somewhere, sometime.  Hope you're resting in peace somewhere Donna...

Pride Song of the Day - Love Is the Healer - Donna Summer

It was four years ago that I attended only my second NYC Gay Pride Parade and it was a massive turnout.  That was because just two days prior, New York State passed the Marriage Equality Act, making it only the 6th state in the nation to have marriage equality for all,  It was a proud day to be a New Yorker and the celebration that Sunday in June of 2011 was amazing.

Yesterday, the final walls came crumbling down as the Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 decision making same sex marriage the law of the land in all 50 states.  The decision sent ripples of pride throughout the country as people everywhere celebrated a long, hard-fought victory.  The catch-phrase of the day was Love Wins, and it couldn't have been truer said.  Finally, love is love, no matter what, and I am as proud to be an American today as I was to be a New Yorker back in 2011...