Throwback: Black History Month: Donna Summer

Today is February 26, 2021. It’s the 26th day of Black History Month. And as I’ve mentioned throughout this series, I’ve been featuring Black artists across a wide and eclectic array of genres and styles — with the hopes that it’ll be a bit of a primer on the Black experience and on Black music. 

Of course, I hope that these posts will serve as a reminder of these very important facts:

  • Black culture is American culture — and Black music is American music. 
  • America’s greatest and beloved contributions to the world are Black music styles — the blues, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and hip-hop. 
  • Black art matters. 
  • Black lives matter — all of them, all of the time. 

As a small child, my dear mother played Donna Summer obsessively — to the point that I remember the songs forwards and backwards. But seriously, where would pop music and dance music be without the legendary Queen of Disco? Also, goodness that voice!