Mumia Abu-Jamal on Donna Summer: disco queen

This column was written on May 24, following Donna Summer’s death on May 17.

It’s not cool to say it, but there was a time when disco was cool. One of the coolest disco-doers of ‘em all was Donna Summer, whose voice, brown beauty and power of performance made her a master of the game. Her clear, church-trained vocal instrument commanded many a song that didn’t belong in church: “Bad Girl,” “Love to Love You, Baby,” “Hot Stuff,” “Last Dance” and “Nite Life” — just to name a few.

In an era when Black pop music was almost as segregated as its people, disco — with its repetitive, synthesizer-driven, looped dance tracks — seemed to promise a larger payday and more commercial success for Black musicians and artists.

Instead, the opposite was true. Many Black radio stations, chasing the apparent promise of this new pop music, jettisoned their Black acts, refused to play Black funk — and before long — funk was gone, and disco was entering its death rattle. In the end, disco was like neon — warm and colorful — but neither hot nor funky.

The era seemed to shine brighter when Donna Summer graced the stage.

Donna Summer — Disco Queen — ends the Dance — at 63.

The writer cites “Funk: The Music, the People, and the Rhythm of The One,” by Frederick Rickey Vincent (St. Martin’s Press, 1996).