Donna Summer Posthumously Inducted Into Songwriters Hall of Fame: ‘I Know That She’s Very Happy … Somewhere’

Donna Summer is the latest songwriter to be inducted posthumously into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The unquestioned Queen of Disco, whose talent easily transcended that genre, was honored during an intimate ceremony held on Monday (Dec. 15) in The Butterfly Room at Cecconi’s in West Hollywood, Calif.

Summer’s widower, Bruce Sudano, attended, as did their daughters Brooklyn Sudano and Amanda Sudano Ramirez; Summer’s close friends and immediate family; and members of the SHOF West Coast Events Committee. The event was cohosted by Mary Jo Mennella, a SHOF board member and chairman of SHOF’s West Coast committee, and SHOF board member Donna Caseine.

In a statement, Bruce Sudano said, “It’s important to me because I know how important it was for Donna. The backstory is, 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.”

Paul Williams, a 2001 SHOF inductee, led the induction, which celebrated Summer’s songwriting contributions and enduring musical legacy.

“Donna Summer is not only one of the defining voices and performers of the 20th century, she is one of the great songwriters of all time who changed the course of music,” Williams said in a statement. “She wrote timeless and transcendent songs that continue to captivate our souls and imaginations, inspiring the world to dance and, above all, feel love.”

This is the fifth posthumous induction into the SHOF in less than two years, following Cindy Walker in May 2024, Prince in July 2024, Bert Berns in September 2025 and Hugo & Luigi on Dec. 9.

Summer wrote or cowrote nine of her 14 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. She was the sole writer on “Dim All the Lights” and cowrote eight others: “Love to Love You Baby,” “I Feel Love,” “Heaven Knows,” “Bad Girls,” “On the Radio,” “The Wanderer,” “She Works Hard for the Money” and “This Time I Know It’s for Real.”

Summer died in May 2012 at age 63, so didn’t live to get her flowers, but they have arrived posthumously. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2024.

Summer rocketed to global superstardom in 1975 when her groundbreaking fusion of R&B, soul, pop, funk, rock, disco and avant-garde electronica catapulted underground dance music from the clubs of Europe to the top of global sales and radio charts. “Love to Love You Baby,” a steamy song she cowrote with her legendary producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, soared to No. 2 on the Hot 100 in February 1976, paving the way for a string of hits throughout the ’70s and ’80s.

A five-time Grammy winner, Summer was the first female artist to receive Grammy Awards in four distinct genres: R&B (“Last Dance”), rock (“Hot Stuff”), inspirational (“He’s a Rebel” and “Forgive Me”) and dance (Carry On,” a collab with Moroder). She was the inaugural winner in two of those categories — best rock vocal performance, female and best dance recording.

Summer holds the record for the most consecutive double albums to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (three in a row) and was the first female artist to score four No.1 singles in a 12-month period: three solo and one duet with Barbra Streisand, the disco smash “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough).”

Billboard didn’t yet have its Pop Star of the Year franchise in place in 1979, but there’s little doubt that Summer would have won it that year. She virtually owned that year, with three No. 1 hits on the Hot 100 (“Hot Stuff,” “Bad Girls” and “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)”); a No. 1 album for six weeks on the Billboard 200 (Bad Girls); her first Grammy win (“Last Dance”); and a performance on the Oscar telecast of the best original song winner (also “Last Dance”).

Jimmy Webb, who wrote Summer’s first No. 1 Hot 100 hit, a remake of Richard Harris’ 1968 opus “MacArthur Park,” was inducted into the SHOF in 1986. But her collaborators on the eight top 10 hits that she cowrote have yet to receive the honor. They include Moroder and Bellotte on multiple hits; Michael Omartian on “She Works Hard for the Money” and Stock-Aitken-Waterman on “This Time I Know It’s for Real.”

While the annual SHOF gala in June rarely includes posthumous inductions, the organization has taken to hosting special posthumous inductions at unique venues and events. SHOF chairman Linda Moran likes to keep the mood at the main ceremony celebratory; these separate posthumous induction events help achieve that goal.

Another of the queens of disco, Gloria Gaynor, received the Kennedy Center Honors earlier this month. That ceremony will air on CBS on Dec. 23.