Donna Summer Loses Battle With Cancer

Donna Summer

DONNA SUMMER -- the Queen of Disco -- died this morning after a battle with cancer, reports TMZ.COM. SUMMER, born LADONNA ADRIAN GAINES on DECEMBER 31st, 1948, was 63 years old. Sources told TMZ, "the singer was trying to keep the extent of her illness under wraps, and was focused on trying to finish up an album she had been working on."

IMDB notes SUMMER maintained "an unbroken string of hits throughout the '70s and '80s, most of which she wrote. She holds the record for most consecutive double-albums to hit #1 on the BILLBOARD charts (3) and first female to have four #1 singles in a 12-month period; three as a solo artist and one as a duo with BARBRA STREISAND."

SUMMER was a "five-time GRAMMY winner," notes IMDB, and was the first artist to win the GRAMMY for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female (1979, "Hot Stuff") as well as the first-ever recipient of the Grammy for Best Dance Recording (1997, "Carry On"). In 2004, she became one of the first inductees, as both an Artist Inductee and a Record Inductee (for 1977's "I Feel Love") into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in NEW YORK CITY."

In a statement, MUSIC CHOICE VP/Programming & Content DAMON WILLIAMS noted: "DONNA SUMMER is big part of what MUSIC CHOICE’s programming on our '70s and '80s channels timeless. Her music made the disco era popular not just in the US but all over the world! She was an international pop sensation and her hits like 'Last Dance,' 'Hot Stuff,' 'Bad Girls,' 'On the Radio' and 'She Works Hard for the Money' will be woven into the fabric of our programming.  Her contribution to the growth of pop and dance music will be a lasting one.  She will never be forgotten."

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