The Queen Of Disco
On May 17, 2012, I received a text that saddened me--"Donna Summer died." 
I immediately recalled how her music defined many of us from the 80s generation. We lived in Hudson County, and were proud to be from Union City, a multi-cultural area that taught you to be street-smart, fashionable, have good work ethic, and dance, dance, dance.
I immediately recalled how her music defined many of us from the 80s generation. We lived in Hudson County, and were proud to be from Union City, a multi-cultural area that taught you to be street-smart, fashionable, have good work ethic, and dance, dance, dance. From 1975 - 1985, Donna Summer, The Queen Of Disco, came into our lives using her mezzo-soprano voice to sing hits such as, I Feel Love, McArthur Park, On The Radio, and Bad Girls, to name a few. In 1977, when I was ten years old, I enjoyed, and envied, watching my older sister Marlene, and my older brother Frank, as they hustled to Fairy Tale High, and I Love You. I was too young to hustle and go dancing with them, but when I turned twelve, Frank's friends would practice their steps by carrying me up in the air, and it was then that I began to learn how to hustle, although not as well as Marlene. Mom would chaperone my siblings when they danced at the Liceo Cubano, a Union City dance hall, and I'd tag along, happy to be around teenagers, and shouting, "Ooh, Ooh," as I watched in delight.
At high school dances, where teens blew on the whistles wrapped around their neck, my friends and I danced to our hearts content, but knew the good times were coming to an end when the beat, and lyrics to Last Dance were heard. It was your last chance to dance, or for love, and if you had a crush on someone, you might have dared to tell him or her.
It was an era where double-belts, bolo ties, Fiorucci jeans, and satin pants were the craze, and long lines were the norm at clubs, like the legendary 
Studio 54. There, while some young kids entered with phony IDs, guys would offer to pay our cover charge--$20.00 at that time--in exchange for standing next to us, in order to appear as a couple. It was common knowledge that hosts would walk up and down the line, picking females to enter, as males remained hopeful. This agreement benefitted both parties--the guys would enter, and we wouldn't have to spend our money.
Studio 54. There, while some young kids entered with phony IDs, guys would offer to pay our cover charge--$20.00 at that time--in exchange for standing next to us, in order to appear as a couple. It was common knowledge that hosts would walk up and down the line, picking females to enter, as males remained hopeful. This agreement benefitted both parties--the guys would enter, and we wouldn't have to spend our money. Once inside, everyone went their merry way, and danced to the vinyl spinning sounds of one of the top disc jockeys in the nation, Robbie Leslie. Hearing Donna's moans in, Love To Love You Baby, meant that your trip to the bathroom could wait. The Queen was on, and as you danced with passion to her sensuous voice, stars like Rick James, David Bowie, or any other, were an arm's distance away. There was no difference between the famous and the not-so-famous; the main ingredient was that you were in a place many wanted to be, having a phenomenal time, and bumping into your high school friends.
I don't know if Donna knew the impact she made on such a diversified society, both in age and ethnicity, but one thing was certain--she was loved! However, it seems that Union City's history is dying; rivalry no longer exists between the two same district high schools; they are now middle schools, and the stadium we held our games at has become a high school, uniting both teams, and causing each mascot to become extinct. The death of Donna Summer was the straw that broke the camel's back; it became another woeful moment for our dying generation, driving a stake further into the ground. Blondie could not have coined a song's title any better for the sentiments that many past, and some present Union City residents feel today, when she sang Union City Blue.
Thank you, Donna Summer, for all the joy you have brought into so many lives, then, now, and in the future.
Heaven Knows what you will be singing for God in paradise.