Donna Summer posthumously inducted into Songwriters Hall Of Fame
Donna Summer has finally been afforded official recognition for her lyricism, after it was announced that the artist was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in a ceremony that took place last week.
Her husband, Bruce Sudano, made a heartfelt comment on the induction, sharing, “I know how important it was for Donna” to receive recognition via this channel.
Sudano went on to add, “With all the accolades that she received over her career, being respected as a songwriter was always the thing that she felt was overlooked. So for her to be accepted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, I know that she’s very happy somewhere.”
Other inductees included Taylor Swift, LL Cool J, and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. Donna Summer’s co-writer, Pete Bellotte, responsible for tracks like ‘I Feel Love’ and ‘Hot Stuff’ alongside the singer and Giorgio Moroder, was a non-performing nominee at the all-important induction.
Summer has been close to this kind of recognition before. She was previously amongst eight inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. At that time, she was nominated under the performer category just a year after her passing in May 2012.
A key figure in the disco era, Summer always remained humble about her work. She once said of her career, “I don’t really try to predict what can and will happen with things. Sometimes you think something’s gonna be a huge success, and it isn’t. And sometimes you pay no attention to something whatsoever, and God just makes it into everything.”
Notably, last year, her estate refused to clear a Kanye West sample on his release, Vultures 1. They took to Instagram to share their denial of West’s request to sample the singer’s 1977 disco classic, ‘I Feel Love’.
“Kanye West…asked permission to use Donna Summer’s song ‘I Feel Love,’ he was denied,” the estate wrote in their short statement. “He changed the words, had someone re-sing it or used AI but it’s I Feel Love… copyright infringement!!!”
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