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Ordinary
Girl: The Journey
By Donna Summer with Marc Eliot
Published by Villard Books
Review by David Chiu
The title of Donna Summer's autobiography
is somewhat misleadingwell at least the first 2/3 of the book.
The Queen of Disco has had a tumultuous but fascinating life.
Born in Massachusetts, Donna Gaines moved to Germany to join
the cast of Hair. It was there in Munich that Donna (now named
Summer) met producer Giorgio Moroder, and the two would go on
to make many disco hits in the mid to late '70s starting with
the orgasmic "Love to Love You Baby," then to "Bad
Girls," "MacArthur Park," "I Feel Love,"
"Hot Stuff," and "Dim All the Lights." Summer
at this point was a certifiable star and sex symbol.
But as all star autobiographies go, there
was pain along the way: a failed marriage to Helmut Sommer, an
abusive relationship with another man, an attempt at suicide
just as her career was about to blossom, and the legal and creative
control problems with Casablanca records honcho Neil Bogart.
And as disco faded, so did Summer's popularity although she still
had hits in "She Works Hard for the Money" and "This
Time I Know It's For Real." Despite having lived through
the decadent '70s and '80s, Summer led a spiritual life, finding
happiness and bliss with fellow musician and husband Bruce Sudano
and raising her children. To this day, Summer is still making
music recently reuniting with Giorgio Moroder for two new songs
on her latest greatest hits album.
Through her words, Summer reveals to be
a creative, engaging and caring person. She doesn't convey the
drama queen attitude that her successors seem to carry an air
of. The book also offers a glimpse behind the people behind her
hits as well as Summer the artist, who wasn't just a singer with
a pretty face but deeply involved in the music making process.
Not all of the book is tawdry tell-all--for example, in only
a few sentences Summer briefly skirted the issue surrounding
the rumors that she made a remark about AIDS that alienated her
gay following. That's just a minor omission to what is a pleasant
and sometimes uplifting story of one of pop music's legendary
superstars.
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