I get so tired of gay people, some of them close friends of mine, expressing shock, horror, dismay, scorn, and whatever other derisive opinion that they have about our Diva. Isn't that so 1983? Being gay myself, I get tired of educating them on the errors of their understanding and perpetuation of urban legend (twenty years later, no less...and I was there then) that says that Donna Summer is either a) a homophobe; b) a right wing religious zealot hell bent on condemning people living with HIV/AIDS; or c)untalented and unworthy of appreciation for no other reason other than their uninformed subscription to points a) and b) above. 

I'm on the T-Box in this issue to clear up the points made in a review of Ordinary Girl: The Journey by James Bohling published in the current issue of Frontiers Newsmagazine, a free rag that is widely read in LA and is available at just about every business in West Hollywood, as well as throughout California in various localized editions. 

Noted for its usually top notch content and treatment of controversial topics, it's disappointing to read this one by a contributor to the same magazine that did so much to help correct the misunderstandings surrounding Donna's troubles with PR in the late 80s. In fact, Donna was featured on the cover and interviewed in depth in the early 90s, and favorably so. The treatment of the book reminds me (almost amusingly, but somewhat infuriatingly so) of the bitchy gay plot to "steal" Donna's Another Place And Time album by bootlegging as many copies for gay people as possible, thereby undermining record sales and getting even for "the rumor." Odd how so many gay people wanted the album and used the plot as a means to get something they wanted for free...maybe it shows the hypocrisy in some?.

Britney Spears

So, let's start, shall we? Well, we don't have to look very far to see how this all came to be. "Donna Summer was--and probably still is--a great singer." This guy has obviously had his head in some places where the media and enlightenment don't touch very often. Not only is Donna Summer definitely still a great singer, but she has one of the most solid voices in the industry. After watching last night's AMA telecast, I found myself asking Joe, "what's up with these performers whose voices can't cut through the instrumentals?" That reference being to Hillary Duff, Britney Spears, and Kid Rock.

We discussed at length how our next door neighbor (a rock star and now producer) was telling us about how hard it is to get modern singers on pitch and that extensive electronic manipulation is required after the tracks are laid down. Enough that she went back and asked for more money to work on one of the AMA performers last recordings because it was so much extra work. This same rock star, in my car on the way to Huntington Dog Beach, heard Donna's "Could It Be Magic" on my Bose and stopped dead mid sentence on this same topic, saying "Wow, you just don't get perfect pitch like that anymore...she's awesome. And that was recorded before any of this electronic stuff was around. I never realized that before. Some of my artists aren't even allowed to sing live because they are so flat." Yet this is the media creation of today. Make the talent second to the package, rather than the other way around (which, you will remember, is what I got on the T-Box about last issue). And my neighbor is a BIG name and awesome person; a beautiful and genuine friend of our little gay family.

Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne

Joe, thinking I was about to go off on another "you ain't no Donna Summer" monologue (my favorite line from "What's Love Got To Do With It" starring Laurence Fishburne as an estranged Ike saying it to Angela Bassett as Tina), was surprised to hear me actually say, "You know, where are all the voices that can cut through a concrete orchestra...Cher, Stevie Nicks, Bette Midler, Elton John, Gordon Lightfoot, Whitney Houston, Madonna (post Evita), Norah Jones, Macy Gray, Gwen Stefani and Donna Summer. Hell, even Tata Vega, for cryin' out loud." Well, maybe Tata's career was too short, but that's a different TT-Box.

Doubt me? Just watch Donna sing live. Go to L'Univers de Donna Summer and watch the video of I Will Go With You. She has to park the mike at arm's length to not blow out the sound system. Now that's power. No lip-synching for our girl. No sir.

Now, let's move on since we're all of the mind that Ms. Summer is all that and more. Mr. Bohling goes on about the truth being altered...how does he know? Was he there? No, but Donna was. It makes me think that he really does believe everything he's heard and not what is true. Sort of like your mother used to say, "do you believe everything you see on TV?" The review even goes so far as to miss the point of the literary style used in the book's beginning. As the goal is to engage the reader in "The Journey," the style develops as our author grows and matures. In order to see things through the eyes of a child, the book is written at a simpler pace and style while Donna is a child. It's actually nice to see someone's inner child. I thought this was an intimate glimpse into Donna's past and psychological composition rather than a tedious distraction from the story. I will admit, however, that upon first reading it, I thought, "Oh brother, not another Candi Station autobiography." That one starts out juvenile and gets to psychosis pretty quickly. And stays there. (Nonetheless, I love Candi and her music for what she is and buy her recordings with fervor. I just wish she's stick to music instead of writing.) Nothing like missing the point.

Candi Station

"Unfortunately, it never truly gets interesting. If there are any sordid tales to tell about drugs, sex, and rock 'n' roll, Summer is keeping mum." Oh Mary, that is so tired. Like saying 'Oh Mary.' There is way more to life than all that. I truly hope that the majority of gay people are intelligent and sophisticated enough to realize that their own rather normal lives are not always filled with such drama. There are gay people who have regular careers, are sober, are in loving and committed relationships, and have talent and work their way to success. Oh wait, that's me and about EVERYONE I know, and Donna, too (except she's straight). If it's somebody else's downfall and demons that make you interested in them, isn't that a little perverse? And Donna does tell us about getting hooked on prescription medication and the impact it had on her personally and on her career.

"...and rumors that Summer was A) a transsexual..." OK, at this point I realized that our little reviewer was really over the top. Uh, I think the rumor in the book (and elsewhere) was that Donna was a transvestite. Heck, I remember that one from when I was 14. My mother told me that Donna was really a man. I remember thinking that rumor was ludicrous even back in 1976. And Donna does address how that one got started in several recent interviews if not directly in the book. Who wants to read old news?

On to the piece de resistance of self induced paranoid victimania. "...let alone talking about her gay audience." Why bother? Get out of the closet and enjoy life and everything in it. It's 2003 in California. You can be a registered domestic partner, have a commitment ceremony, have protection against discrimination at work, and on and on. We're not Village People any longer. Nobody is "special" just because he/she is gay/lesbian. Madonna doesn't talk about her gay audience (however she does kiss a chick every now and then to keep in the spotlight--oh, uh, and sell more CDs). Britney Spears doesn't talk about her gay audience (OK, if she has one that would be scary). Ricky Martin doesn't talk about his gay audience. Cher does but only because she has a lesbian daughter and it's usually in that context! Why should Donna Summer? I can tell you firsthand that Donna is not a homophobe and treats everyone with respect, love, and kindness. Period. You should have seen the queens (and I use the term fondly) at the art exhibition and how many photos and hugs they got with her. I was jealous! Maybe all gay people should take a lesson from Donna on how to respect each other and people in general?

"...and spends way too much time spewing claptrap about God--a topic with which her discourse is merrily peppered from the get-go." When you write your book, put what's important to you in it. Who said God and gay were diametrically opposed? I believe in God. A lot of gay people I know believe in God; in fact, my church is full of them. A lot of people could do a lot worse than to believe in God, in whatever way that path is cleared for them, and to embody the universal love that God represents. I just don't get that being of faith, religious, or born again has anything to do with being evil incarnate. I certainly don't condone the fire and brimstone and damnation of sodomite infidels that some people spew (I knew I'd use that word), but then again, I don't think those in that pulpit are being like Jesus would be, either. And isn't that what the whole thing is supposed to be about, anyway? I know plenty of gay people who could do what Jesus would have done rather than do what Bette Davis would have done in "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane." The world would be a much better place and maybe we (gay people) would not hurt each other so much, drink so much, partake in mind-numbing drugs so much, or be lonely as much. 

Donna Summer, "Queen Of Disco"

And lastly, I love this one, "self-proclaimed Queen of Disco." Huh? Self-proclaimed? If she's not the Queen of Disco, who is/was/should be? Ethel Merman? It appears the writer has missed the last 30 years. Take a trip to the EMP in Seattle and see the history of disco exhibit. Disco started in gay underground clubs in New York City. By the time The First Lady of Love (named by Casablanca head Neil Bogart's media machine) hit the US scene, disco was emerging from everywhere. At the EMP exhibit, there is an old newsletter from the San Francisco gay scene (maybe a predecessor of Frontiers?) that talks about Donna singing in a gay club in the Castro, and compares her to a "Mellifluous Queen" due to her beauty, voice, and music. Did we gay people maybe start that title off with a bang (or was that poppers)?

So, the review falls short of the mark and its integrity due to its foregone conclusions and malfeasance in attempting to spoil the book and expose it's secrets. Read the book and know that Neil put Donna on a rigorous tour schedule that include clubs of all sizes; none was too small. That's how it was done back in those days. And you know what, gay people, and straight people, at clubs of all sizes around the world, her Donna sing, bought her records, and propelled her to superstardom. And the rest is history...and in the book.

--David Thornton