Donna Summer was born as LaDonna Adrian Gaines on December 31, 1948. Prior to her introduction to the music industry, she was a gospel singer. Aged eighteen, Gaines left home and school to audition for a role in the cast of the Broadway musical 'Hair'. She didn't get the part, but was offered the European Tour when the show moved to Germany. She settled in Munich and also performed with the Viennese Folk Opera and the pop band Munich Machine. She released two singles, 'Sally go round the roses' (1971) and 'If you walkin' alone' (1972), before she met and married Austrian actor Helmut Sommer.She took on the stage name Donna Summer and signed a contract with the Dutch record company Groovy. Her debut album 'Lady of the night' spawned two singles: the title track and 'The hostage'. This single became a number 1 hit in Belgium and reached number 2 in the Netherlands. The song was performed on an absurdist television show in the Netherlands (see it here), which must have helped its popularity somewhat.
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My collection: 7" single no. 2623
Found: Den Haag, March 2, 1996
Cost: 1 guilder
Tracks: 'The hostage' / 'Let's work together now'
Actually Donna was offered the part she auditioned for in Hair, she auditioned to be Melba Moore's understudy. Donna changed her mind and decided she didn't want to be anyone's understudy, so they told her she could have her pick of any of the European road company productions. She chose Germany because her dad had been stationed there in the war and spoke fluent German. Donna decided to do musical theater in Europe because she felt there were too few roles for black women on Broadway, and in Europe she'd have less competition for them. The only reason it was Melba instead of Donna in the Broadway production is because Donna was still in high school when Melba took the part. Once the show was a hit, they looked for an understudy, and that's when 18 yr old Donna ventured to NYC to audition for it. Donna's exceptional talent was already apparent, but they had nowhere to cast her in the Broadway production except as Melba's understudy.
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