Donna Summer - 'Ordinary Girl' Quiz

Answer: Boston, Massachussetts

'Ordinary Girl' Donna Summer was born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on December 31, 1948 in Boston, Massachussetts. Later in life, she would broaden her horizons, living in and performing in musical theater and doing modeling in Germany and Austria. At the time that her first hit, "Love to Love You Baby" was beginning to climb the charts in America, Donna was still living in Germany.

By the way, Donna's last name at that time (her married name) was 'Sommer'. According to Donna, the spelling was changed as part of her 'makeover' when she returned to America from Germany.

Answer: Mahalia Jackson

According to "Ordinary Girl: the Journey"'s book jacket, young Donna began singing in choirs at age ten, inspired by the late gospel legend, Mahalia Jackson. Donna recalls that her first public performance was at the Grant Avenue African Methodist Episcopal Church in her hometown of Boston. Volunteered by her mom to substitute for the church's ill soloist one Sunday morning, Donna sang several selections including, "I Found the Answer, I Learned to Pray".

Answer: 14

According to Donna, she was fourteen years old when she formed her first "real group." Though she doesn't mention the name of the group, she recalls that it was a trio with herself and twin brothers, John and Earl. Later, a girl was added, making the trio a quartet.

The group sang for neighborhood churches, and, at Donna's insistence, they sang only for the experience of singing and not for money.

Answer: The Crow

Donna auditioned for and became a member of The Crow, a formerly all-male, six member rock band. The group, which was modeled after the popular group, Blood, Sweat and Tears, was actually looking for a male lead singer. However, they were so impressed with Donna that they decided to offer her the part of lead vocalist. She happily accepted their offer!

Answer: RCA

RCA Records offered Donna her first recording contract. The offer was made following a performance of the group, The Crow. The offer was exclusively for Donna, though the label representative did agree to sign the band to a separate contract, if the band wanted. However, the timing was such that the band was about to split up anyway!

Answer: True

Interestingly, no reason was stated in the book for the use of this unusual mode of transportation. It would seem, however, that publicity was the likely reason. The book features two interesting photos of the cake. One photo shows Donna's parents sitting on a couch in an office, looking at the huge sheet cake on the table in front of them.

Another photo pictures Casablanca Records' employee, Buck Reingold, complete with stethoscope, looking on as an unnamed 'ambulance attendant' loads the cake into the back of an ambulance.

Answer: Sophia Loren

Donna warmly recounted the friendship that she and her family had with actress Sophia Loren and her family. Donna recalled how gracious and warm Loren was and how her daughters and visiting nieces and nephews loved to spend time with Loren and her family for days at a time. At the time, of course, the children had no idea how famous their beloved hostess was!

Answer: True

Though "Enough is Enough", which was written by the late Paul Jabara, was a huge hit, the timing of its release was bittersweet for Donna. She recalls that at the time the single was being prepared for release, she had the Top 2 songs on the Pop chart: "Bad Girls", which was #1, and "Dim All the Lights", which was # 2. Donna had asked her label head, the late Neil Bogart, to have Columbia Records 'hold' the release of "Enough is Enough" for a couple more weeks.

This would give her two songs, particularly "Dim All the Lights", time to 'peak'. "Dim All the Lights" was special to Donna: it was the first song that she had written all the music and lyrics to by herself.

Naturally, she'd wanted the song to have a chance to hit # 1. However, Columbia Records immediately released "Enough is Enough".

The song became a # 1 smash. As a result, both of Donna's songs were knocked out of their respective positions. Though the release of "Enough is Enough" gave Donna three songs in the Top 5 simultaneously, it meant, unfortunately, that she had no chance of having a # 1 hit with her song, "Dim All the Lights".

Answer: Mimi, Brooklyn and Amanda

A thankful and proud mom, Donna discusses how all three of her daughters are not only beautiful human beings but are also musically gifted. Oldest daughter Mimi, a wife and mom, is a singer, producer, songwriter, visual artist and piano player. Middle daughter Brooklyn, a fashion model, is also a singer, guitarist and visual artist. Youngest daughter Amanda is a singer and pianist who, according to her mom, "plays a little guitar."

Answer: Bobby Brown

In a section where Donna talks about being able to relate to certain aspects of the film, "The Bodyguard", she mentions that she is a distant relative of the husband of "Bodyguard" lead actress Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown.