--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Donna Summer would be remembered as a…" description: "\"Donna Summer would be remembered as a ground-breaking artist today even if she'd retired the day after she recorded 'I Feel Love' in 1977.\" — Rob Sheff..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/rob-sheffield-1368_art_donna-summer-would-be-remembered-as-a-gr_1444954.png" --- # Donna Summer would be remembered as a ground-breaking… ![“Donna Summer would be remembered as a ground-breaking artist today even if she'd retired the day after she recorded 'I Feel Love' in 1977.” quote by Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/rob-sheffield-1368_art_donna-summer-would-be-remembered-as-a-gr_1444954.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/rob-sheffield-1368_art_donna-summer-would-be-remembered-as-a-gr_1444954.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/rob-sheffield-1368_art_donna-summer-would-be-remembered-as-a-gr_1444954.png) > “Donna Summer would be remembered as a ground-breaking artist today even if she'd retired the day after she recorded 'I Feel Love' in 1977.” [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights Donna Summer's lasting impact as a pioneering artist, even if she stopped after a landmark song. **In simple terms:** Summer's influence endures beyond her active career. Key Takeaway Recognize lasting artistic legacy. Themes music culture legacy innovation gender Mood reflective appreciative Type cultural historical When to use this quote - music education - cultural retrospectives - artist biographies Key Concepts pop history electronic music artist influence Questions to Reflect On - What defines a groundbreaking artist? - How does early retirement affect legacy? A Different Perspective May overstate impact without broader context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [“Today, retired but not defeated, I enjoy the sacred privilege of writing at home, with the phone off the hook so that no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/today-retired-but-not-defeated-i-enjoy-the-sacred-privilege-of/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“When she remembered a summer it would be this one. When she remembered love it would be his.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-carlyon/when-she-remembered-a-summer-it-would-be-this-one-when-she-remembered/) C.J. Carlyon > [At an incredibly divisive point in pop history, Donna Summer managed to create an undeniable across-the-board experience of mass pleasure - after 'Bad Girls,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/at-an-incredibly-divisive-point-in-pop-history-donna-summer-managed/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [I rode all around Hollywood listening to Donna Summer, looking out the window - all by myself - just going, 'I'm number one!' It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-webb/i-rode-all-around-hollywood-listening-to-donna-summer-looking-out-the/) [Jimmy Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-webb/) > [Dance music is no longer a simple Donna Summer beat. It's become a whole language that I find fascinating and exciting. Eventually, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/dance-music-is-no-longer-a-simple-donna-summer-beat-it-s-become-a/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [“Donna Summer... Is a singing sensation who brings joy to all music lovers, a gifted individual and major figure in the entertainment world whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nik-a-ramli/donna-summer-is-a-singing-sensation-who-brings-joy-to-all-music/) Nik A Ramli > [Sometimes I love the marriage of art and commerce; I love Donna Summer; I like the Rolling Stones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/sometimes-i-love-the-marriage-of-art-and-commerce-i-love-donna-summer/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [I really studied her singing, trying to see what it was about her that made her such a natural, incredible singer. Because sometimes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lachanze/i-really-studied-her-singing-trying-to-see-what-it-was-about-her-that/) [LaChanze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lachanze/) > [I work so hard, even Donna Summer would be jealous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aquaria/i-work-so-hard-even-donna-summer-would-be-jealous/) [Aquaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aquaria/) > [Suddenly, I was in a category with Barbara Striesand, Olivia Newton John, Donna Summer, Carley Simon - it was kind of neat for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-murray/suddenly-i-was-in-a-category-with-barbara-striesand-olivia-newton/) [Anne Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-murray/) > [A lot of Donna Summer and things that maybe weren't trendy anymore or weren't hip in gay clubs but you'd hear them at Taboo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/a-lot-of-donna-summer-and-things-that-maybe-weren-t-trendy-anymore-or/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [Donna Summer was one of the strongest female singers in pop music. She was very underrated as a vocalist and a writer, and her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annaleigh-ashford/donna-summer-was-one-of-the-strongest-female-singers-in-pop-music-she/) [Annaleigh Ashford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annaleigh-ashford/) > [As singers, we're always taught to sing forward and place everything in the front of our resonating chambers. Donna Summer always sang in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lachanze/as-singers-we-re-always-taught-to-sing-forward-and-place-everything/) [LaChanze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lachanze/) > [I love Donna Summer, and I love ABBA. I love late '70s disco. I love the Bee Gees. I just love that period of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hawkins/i-love-donna-summer-and-i-love-abba-i-love-late-70s-disco-i-love-the/) [Taylor Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hawkins/) > [There is absolutely no doubt that the extraordinary Donna Summer belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-landau/there-is-absolutely-no-doubt-that-the-extraordinary-donna-summer/) [Jon Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-landau/) ## More by Rob Sheffield > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I suck at fighting. I have never really learned how to talk and be mad at the same time. If I have angry words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-suck-at-fighting-i-have-never-really-learned-how-to-talk-and-be-mad/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [Morrissey was my Mrs. Garrett, the house mother from the Facts of Life, a soothing adult figure giving me words of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/morrissey-was-my-mrs-garrett-the-house-mother-from-the-facts-of-life/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I had never gotten the hang of dating — I was always going to be somebody who either had a girlfriend or didn't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-had-never-gotten-the-hang-of-dating-i-was-always-going-to-be/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [The hottest trash-disco star in the world: Ke$ha! She has a lot in common with Kiss, actually, even spelling her name with a dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/the-hottest-trash-disco-star-in-the-world-ke-ha-she-has-a-lot-in/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“on the 11th of every month my friend elizabeth would say, "well we made it through another month. so do we get her back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/on-the-11th-of-every-month-my-friend-elizabeth-would-say-well-we-made/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“What doesn't kill you maims you, cripples you, leaves you weak, makes you whiny and full of yourself at the same time. The more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/what-doesn-t-kill-you-maims-you-cripples-you-leaves-you-weak-makes/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“But when you're a teenage boy, you can be narrow-minded about things that are girlie, things that are frivolous, things that are pop. Boys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/but-when-you-re-a-teenage-boy-you-can-be-narrow-minded-about-things/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I've never heard of anybody getting rid of their prized Exile postcards, much less actually writing on them and sending them through the mail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-ve-never-heard-of-anybody-getting-rid-of-their-prized-exile/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's always that one song that gets to you. You can hide, but the song comes to find you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/it-s-always-that-one-song-that-gets-to-you-you-can-hide-but-the-song/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [There are all kinds of mix tapes. there is always a reason to make one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/there-are-all-kinds-of-mix-tapes-there-is-always-a-reason-to-make-one/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“By the time you're an adult, you're used to seeing your friends disappear into their five-year plans. They drop out to get married, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/by-the-time-you-re-an-adult-you-re-used-to-seeing-your-friends/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“Last fall, I was sitting at the kitchen table of two friends who have been together since 1972. They tell me a story about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/last-fall-i-was-sitting-at-the-kitchen-table-of-two-friends-who-have/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [Tonight, I feel like my whole body is made out of memories. I'm a mix-tape, a cassette that's been rewound so many times you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/tonight-i-feel-like-my-whole-body-is-made-out-of-memories-i-m-a-mix/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“You're in a physical landscape you share with this bizarre and fundamentally alien creature, not alien because she's female but alien because you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/you-re-in-a-physical-landscape-you-share-with-this-bizarre-and/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) [Explore all 249 Rob Sheffield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Donna Summer would be remembered as a ground-breaking artist today even if she'd retired the day after she recorded 'I Feel Love' in 1977.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rob Sheffield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/donna-summer-would-be-remembered-as-a-ground-breaking-artist-today/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/donna-summer-would-be-remembered-as-a-ground-breaking-artist-today/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/rob-sheffield-1368_art_donna-summer-would-be-remembered-as-a-gr_1444954.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/rob-sheffield-1368_art_donna-summer-would-be-remembered-as-a-gr_1444954.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/rob-sheffield-1368_art_donna-summer-would-be-remembered-as-a-gr_1444954.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Donna Summer would be remembered as a ground-breaking artist today even if she'd retired the day after she…” — Rob Sheffield", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rob Sheffield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Donna Summer would be remembered as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/donna-summer-would-be-remembered-as-a-ground-breaking-artist-today/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/donna-summer-would-be-remembered-as-a-ground-breaking-artist-today/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```