The music world is mourning the loss of one of the greatest stars of the disco era. Singer Donna Summer has died at the age of 63 following a battle with breast cancer.
The singer was best known for her mega-hits "Last Dance" and "Hot Stuff" and had a career that spanned four decades. The five-time Grammy winner was the first recording artist to have three consecutive double albums reach the number one spot on the Billboard Charts. Summer started her musical career singing backup for the group Three Dog Night in the late 1960s before being launched into super-fame with the hit disco song "Last Dance" in 1978. The disco period of the late 1970s and early 1980s was good to Summers earning her four number one hit singles in a thirteen month period.
Following the death of disco, she continued to return to the recording studio changing her sound to keep up with the times. Her last big hit was "She Works Hard for the Money" which peaked at number three on the Billboard Charts in 1983. Throughout the 1990s and the new millennium, the singer turned her sights to the international market and her greatest hits albums. She was reportedly working on a new album in the weeks leading up to her death.
Here are a few of the other stars we have lost in 2012:
Adam "MCA" Yauch: One of the founding members of the iconic 1980s hip hop group, The Beastie Boys, Yauch lost his three-year-long battle with throat cancer on May 4, 2012 at the age of 47.
Dick Clark: He may have been the eternal teenager, but the iconic television of "American Bandstand" and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" host died of a massive heart attack on April 18, 2012 at the age of 82.
Davy Jones: He was the breakout star of the 1960s pop-group and television series, The Monkees. The show may have been short-lived lasting only two seasons, but Jones became an icon of the decade with a musical career lasting five decades. He passed away on February 29, 2012 after suffering a heart attack.
Whitney Houston: She was one of the biggest stars of the 1980s and 1990s until drug abuse took their tole. The multi-Grammy winner passed away on the eve of the annual musical award show on February 11, 2012. The cause of death was ruled an accidental drowning.
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