Crayons is the seventeenth studio album by American singer Donna Summer released on May 20, 2008 in the United States. It is her first album of original material since 1991's Mistaken Identity.

Overview

Recorded over a period of two years since signing with the Sony Music label Burgundy Records label in 2006, Crayons marks Summer's first full-length studio album in fourteen years since 1994's Christmas Spirit, and her first album of originally material since 1991's Mistaken Identity. She worked on the album with a number of different producers and songwriters including Greg Kurstin, Danielle Brisebois, J. R. Rotem, Wayne Hector, Toby Gad, Lester Mendez and Evan Bogart, the son of Summer's former record label boss at Casablanca Records, Neil Bogart.

The album debuted at #17 on the US Billboard 200 Album Chart, which was also its peak. The title track is a duet with her and reggae artist Ziggy Marley. The album's first official single, "Stamp Your Feet", was released to radio on . A follow-up, "I'm a Fire", reached number-one on the Billboard dance/club chart, giving Summer her 13th number-one hit on that chart. Summer recorded four music videos: "Stamp Your Feet", "Mr. Music", "The Queen is Back", and "Fame (The Game)".

When commenting on the album, Summer explains, “I wanted this album to have a lot of different directions on it,” says Donna. “I did not want it to be any one baby. I just wanted it to be a sampler of flavors and influences from all over the world. There’s a touch of this, a little smidgeon of that, a dash of something else…like when you’re cooking.”

*The lead-in track “Stamp Your Feet,” written by Summer, Greg Kurstin, and Danielle Brisebois, was originally called, according to Summer, “The Player’s Anthem”. “It’s the whole concept of being a player in life, coupled with the idea of being a player on an actual field, the whole thing, dealing with the pain and doing things even though you are afraid. Even though you’re afraid of something and your knees are knocking, you get up and do it because a lot depends on it. Players get taken off to the sidelines and bandaged and thrown back in the game because it depends on them to win the game. We’re all ‘players.’ It goes back to Shakespeare: ‘All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.’”

*About the song “Crayons”, Summer says, “It encompasses a lot of what the album is about,” she says. “Every song is a different color. Since I’m also a visual artist, that title ties a lot of the loose ends of my life together. The song wrote itself pretty quickly. Taking it to the next level, we influence each other in life. You may have an Arab friend or an Israeli friend or an Indian friend and so you go and eat a little Indian food (or have a little pita bread), or something you’ve never experienced, and as we immerse ourselves in each other’s cultural experiences, it’s like taking a crayon and coloring over the lines and the lines become blurred between what’s that and what's the other. You take two colors and create other colors and you add a third color and there’s another color too. That’s how we are in life and that, to me, is a good indication for this album: feeling free to draw between the lines. Everybody gets crayons at some point in their lives, everybody can relate to the basics. It comes down to that child in us, I think there’s a commonality in the concept of crayons.”

*On “The Queen Is Back,” Summer reveals her wry and witty self-awareness of her musical legacy and her public persona. “I’m making fun of myself,” she admits. “There’s irony, it’s poking fun at the idea of being called a queen. That’s a title that has followed me, followed me, and followed me. We were sitting and writing and that title kept popping up in my mind and I’m thinking, ‘Am I supposed to write this? Is this too arrogant to write?’ But people call me ‘the queen,’ so I guess it's ok to refer to myself as what everybody else refers to me as. We started writing the song and thought it was kind of cute and funny.”

Summer wrote “The Queen Is Back” and “Mr. Music” with Jonathan “J.R.” Rotem and Evan Bogart, son of Neil Bogart, Casablanca Records founder. Neil Bogart passed away from cancer at the age of 39. He signed Summer to his Casblanca Records in 1975 and released some of her biggest albums and singles during the 1970s. “I adored him and would have given up everything for him to be alive,” says Summer, remembering a time in the 70s “when the nail person didn’t show up and Neil got on his knees and did my toenails. In many ways he was my mentor and I didn’t get to say goodbye to him”. When Summer met Evan Bogart, she was struck by his uncanny resemblance to his label executive father. “It’s almost like they chiseled him out of his father,” Summer observed. “I’m in the studio looking at him and I get tears in my eyes, he has no idea why. I just wanted to hug him because it’s like I’m seeing someone I haven’t seen since his father passed away. It’s almost like Neil is looking at me through him. Evan and I hit it off immediately; there was a synergy that happened really quickly.” "The Queen is Back" samples "Lose Control" by Kevin Federline. Both songs are produced by JR Rotem.

Chart performance

Release history

References

Category:2008 albums

Category:Albums produced by J. R. Rotem

Category:Albums produced by Toby Gad

Category:Donna Summer albums

Category:Burgundy Records albums

es:Crayons

pl:Crayons

pt:Crayons

Artist/Band Information

LaDonna Adrian Gaines (born December 31, 1948), known by her stage name, Donna Summer, is an American singer/songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s, earning the title "The Queen of Disco". A majority of her work was produced by the team of Giorgio Moroder and Pete Belotte. Summer is a five time Grammy winner and has sold approximately 35 million albums and singles worldwide.. Abcnews.go.com (2008-06-13). Retrieved on 2011-02-22.. Articlesnatch.com (1948-12-31). Retrieved on 2011-02-22.

Summer was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach number one on the US Billboard chart, and she charted four number-one singles in the US within a thirteen-month period.. Discomusic.com (1948-12-31). Retrieved on 2011-02-22.

Early life and career

Born on New Year's Eve 1948 in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Summer was one of seven children raised by devout Christian parents. Influenced by Mahalia Jackson, Summer began singing in the church at a young age. In her teens, she formed several musical groups including one with her sister and a cousin, imitating Motown girl groups such as The Supremes and Martha and the Vandellas in Boston.

In the late 1960s, Summer was influenced by Janis Joplin after listening to her albums as member of Big Brother and the Holding Company, and joined the psychedelic rock group the Crow as lead singer. Beforehand, Summer dropped out of school convinced that music was her way out of Boston, where she had always felt herself to be an outsider, even among her own family who ridiculed her for her voice and her looks. The group was short-lived, as they split upon their arrival in New York. In 1968, Summer auditioned for a role in the Broadway musical, Hair. She lost the part of Sheila to Melba Moore. When the musical moved to Europe, Summer was offered the role. She took it and moved to Germany for several years. While in Germany, she participated in the musicals Godspell and Show Boat. After settling in Munich, she began performing in several ensembles including the Viennese Folk Opera and even sang as a member of the pop group FamilyTree – "invented" and created by the German music producer Guenter "Yogi" Lauke & the Munich Machine. She came to the group in 1973 and toured with the 11-people pop group throughout Europe. She also sang as a studio session singer and in theaters. In 1971, while still using her birth name Donna Gaines, she released her first single, a cover of "Sally Go 'Round the Roses", though it was not a hit. In 1972, she married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer and gave birth to their daughter Mimi Sommer in 1973. Citing marital problems caused by his frequent absences, she divorced him but kept his last name, changing the "o" to a "u".

Early success and notoriety

It was while singing background for the hit-making 1970s trio Three Dog Night that Summer met producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte. She eventually made a deal with the European label Groovy Records and issued her first album, Lady of the Night, in 1974. Though not a hit in America, the album found some European success on the strength of the song "The Hostage", which reached number one in France and Belgium and number two in the Netherlands. Summer's early material consisted of pop rock and folk rock material. She stated years later that had she not recorded disco, she would have been a black rock singer, but considering there was not a market for black rock singers, Summer thought it would be hard to get promoted as such.

In 1975, Summer approached Moroder with an idea for a song he and Bellotte were working on for another singer. She had come up with the lyrics "love to love you, baby". Moroder was interested in developing the new sound that was becoming popular and used Summer's lyric to develop the song. Moroder persuaded Summer to record what was to be a demo track for another performer. She later said that she had thought of how the song might sound if Marilyn Monroe had sung it and began cooing the lyrics. To get into the mood of recording the song, she requested the producers turn off the lights while she sat on a sofa inducing moans and groans. After hearing playback of the song, Moroder felt Summer's seductive version should actually be distributed. Released as "Love to Love You" in Europe, some radios stations refused to play it, but the song found modest chart success in several countries there.

The song was then sent to America and arrived in the office of Casablanca Records president Neil Bogart in hopes of getting a US release. Casablanca was known around the industry for throwing lavish parties. At one of these parties, Bogart, still undecided about releasing the song, had the DJ play "Love To Love You" so he could gage the reaction of people on the dancefloor. The crowd took to the song (which was less than five minutes) so strongly that they kept asking for it to be played over and over consecutively so they could continue dancing in the same groove. Soon after that night, Bogart informed Summer and Moroder he would release the song but requested that Moroder produce a longer version, about 15 to 20 minutes in length. Moroder, Bellotte, and Summer returned with a 17 minute version that included a soulful chorus and an instrumental break where Summer invoked even more moans. Bogart stated the name would be slightly changed to "Love to Love You Baby" for the American release. Casablanca signed Summer and it released the single in November 1975. The shorter version of the single was promoted to radio stations while clubs received the 17 minute version (the 17 minute version would also appear on the album). When Casablanca released the 17 minute version as a single, it became one of the first record companies to help make popular a format that would later be known as the 12 inch. By early 1976, "Love To Love You Baby" had reached #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, while the parent album of the same name sold over a million copies. The song generated controversy for Summer's moans and groans and some US radio stations, like several in Europe, refused to play it. Time magazine would report that 22 orgasms were simulated in the making of the song. Other upcoming singles included "Try Me, I Know We can Make It", US #80; "Could It Be Magic", US #52; "Spring Affair", US #58; and "Winter Melody", US #43. The subsequent albums Love Trilogy and Four Seasons of Love both went gold in the US.

In 1977, Summer released the concept album I Remember Yesterday. This album included her second top ten single, "I Feel Love", which reached number six in America and number one in the UK. These Hot 100 entries on the singles chart would help get Summer deemed in the press as "The First Lady of Love", a title which she was not totally comfortable with.

Another concept album, also released in 1977, was the double album, Once Upon a Time, which told of a modern-day Cinderella "rags to riches" story through the elements of orchestral disco and ballads. This album would also attain gold status. In 1978, Summer released her version of the Richard Harris ballad, "MacArthur Park", which became her first number one US hit. The song was featured on Summer's first live album, Live and More, which also became her first album to hit number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, and went platinum selling over a million copies. Other studio tracks included the top ten hit, "Heaven Knows", which featured the group Brooklyn Dreams accompanying her on background and Joe "Bean" Esposito singing alongside her on the verses. Summer would later be involved romantically with Brooklyn Dreams singer Bruce Sudano and the couple married two years after the song's release. Also in 1978, Summer acted in the film, Thank God It's Friday, playing a singer determined to perform at a hot disco club. The song from the film, entitled "Last Dance", reached number three on the US Hot 100 and resulted in Summer winning her first Grammy Award. Its writer, Paul Jabara, won an Academy Award for the composition. Despite this success, Summer was struggling with anxiety and depression and fell into a prescription drug addiction for several years.

In 1979, Summer was a performer on the world-televised Music for UNICEF Concert. The United Nations organization Unicef had declared 1979 as the Year of the Child. Summer joined contemporaries like Abba, Olivia Newton-John, the Bee Gees, Andy Gibb, Rod Stewart, John Denver, Earth, Wind and Fire, Rita Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson for an hour's TV special that raised funds and awareness for the world's children. Artists donated royalties of certain songs, some in perpetuity, to benefit the cause.

Bad Girls and the break from disco

Following her recovery, Summer worked on her next album with Moroder and Bellotte. The result was Bad Girls, an album that had been in production for nearly two years. Summer based the concept of the album on a prostitute, as was made clear in the lyrics. The album became a success, spawning the number one hits "Hot Stuff" and Bad Girls, and the number two ballad "Dim All the Lights" With MacArthur Park, Hot Stuff, Bad Girls, and the Barbra Streisand duet "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)", which appeared on Streisand's album, Summer achieved four number-one hits within a thirteen month period. Those aforementioned songs, along with Last Dance, Heaven Knows, Dim All The Lights, and On the Radio (from her upcoming double-album) would give her eight US Top 5 singles within a two year period. "Hot Stuff" later won her a second Grammy in the Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, which was the first time that category was ever brought to the award's show. That year, Summer played eight sold-out nights at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.

Summer released her first greatest hits set in 1979, a double-album entitled On The Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2. The album reached number one in the US, becoming her third consecutive number one album. A new song from the compilation, "On the Radio", reached the US top five. After the release of the greatest hits album, Summer wanted to branch out and record other formats in addition to disco. This led to tensions between her and Casablanca Records. Sensing that they could no longer come to terms, Summer and the label parted ways in 1980, and she signed with Geffen Records, the label started by David Geffen. Summer's first release on Geffen Records was The Wanderer; it replaced the disco sound of Summer's previous releases with more of the burgeoning new wave sound and elements of rock, such as the material being recorded at this time by Pat Benatar. The first single, the title track, became a hit and peaked at #3 in the US, subsequent singles were moderate hits. The album achieved gold status in the US, but met limited success on the UK charts.

Summer's projected second Geffen release, entitled I'm a Rainbow, was shelved by Geffen Records (though two of the album's songs would surface in soundtracks of the 1980s films Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Flashdance). Summer reluctantly parted company with Moroder after seven years working together as Geffen had recruited Quincy Jones to produce her next album. The result was the 1982 album Donna Summer. The album had taken a lengthy six months to record as Summer and Jones had argued constantly during the recording process. After the release of the album, Summer would say she found Jones too controlling and boisterous in the studio and felt like she really had sang on a Quincy Jones album. The album's first single, the dance-funky "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)", became an American top ten hit on the Hot 100. The next singles, "State of Independence" and "The Woman In Me", were moderate hits. Problems then increased between Summer and Geffen Records after they were notified by Polygram Records, the parent company of Summer's former label Casablanca, that she needed to deliver them one more album to fulfill her agreement with them. Summer delivered the album "She Works Hard for the Money" and Polygram released it on its Mercury imprint in 1983. The title song became a hit reaching number three on the US Hot 100, and Summer would receive a Grammy nomination for this song. The album also featured the reggae-flavored top 20 UK hit "Unconditional Love", which featured the group Musical Youth who were riding high from the success of their single "Pass the Dutchie". The third US single, "Love Has A Mind of Its Own", reached the top forty of the Billboard R&B chart. With the album She Works Hard For the Money being certified gold, spawning a US and a European hit, and receiving a Grammy nomination for the title song, David Geffen was reportedly upset that the album was a success but had not been released by his label, with whom Summer was currently contracted.

In late 1984, with no more albums due to Polygram, Summer returned on Geffen Records with her next release. Geffen, wanting to keep the momentum going, enlisted She Works Hard For the Moneys producer Michael Omartian to produce Cats Without Claws. The album, however, was not as successful as She Works Hard For the Money or The Wanderer. It included a moderate hit in "There Goes My Baby", which just missed the US Top 20, peaking at #21. But the album failed to attain gold status of 500,000 copies sold in the US, becoming her first album since her 1974 debut not to do so.

Summer experienced success in the 1980s with several hit singles and gold albums, but she was mainly seen as a disco artist from the 70s, along with acts such as Gloria Gaynor, the Bee Gees, and KC and the Sunshine Band. In the 1980s, other acts began to make their impression on the music charts. The New Wave sounds of the Second British Invasion was very high profile, which included Culture Club, Wham, and the Eurythmics among others. Laura Branigan found success in a dance power-belt singing style reminiscent of Summer. Established American Soul singers like Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, and Chaka Kahn experienced pop chart success in this period, and new American singers such as Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, and Whitney Houston had redirected the tastes of the record-buying public in the 1980s.

Gay Controversy

In the mid 1980s, a controversy arose concerning Summer. She had allegedly made anti-gay remarks such as saying God made Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve, and that AIDS was a punishment from God for homosexuals immoral lifestyle. The fallout from this had a significantly negative impact on Summer's career, which saw thousands of her records being returned to her record company by angered fans.

The AIDS controversy apparently began after a 1983 concert in Atlantic City. After the concert ended, Summer was talking to some fans about being a born-again Christian. She allegedly said something along the lines that AIDS was a punishment from God for the immoral lifestyles of homosexuals. The situation reportedly turned heated with many outraged patrons shouting as they left the auditorium. During this time in Summer's life, she was no longer riding as high on the charts, and she had recently been addicted to anti-depressant medication. Summer, however, denied making any such comments. But her calls for innocence seemingly fell on deaf ears as she was regularly appearing on Christian TV shows (seen as the far right enemy in the 1980s).

In 1989, in response to the controversy, Summer told The Advocate magazine that "A couple of the people I write with are gay, and they have been ever since I met them. What people want to do with their bodies is their personal preference.