Music legend Donna Summer passed away in 2012 after a battle with lung cancer. I remember hearing the news on the television and simply looking on in shock. While I hadn't seen her in many years, my mind instantly flashed back to that time in a small church in New England.
I was part of the worship band and our tradition after finishing the music set was to go to the back row of the church and sit together for the sermon. Shortly after the preacher started the sound man nudged me whispering, "Hey, isn't that lady over there Donna Summer?"
I looked and whispered that I couldn't see her face. I tapped the guitarist sitting on my other side and asked him, being sure to maintain my hushed tone while the pastor preached. He saw a resemblance, but wasn't sure. He gently nudged the drummer on his other side and asked if he could tell.
The dear, young percussionist took a look and forgetting himself exclaimed for all around to hear, "That ain't no Donna Summer!"
Much to our embarrassment, we watched as the woman turned her head toward us, looked straight at us, and smiled a big, unmistakable smile. She was, in fact, Donna Summer. Most of us tried to hide our faces discreetly, but were well aware of the fact that we'd all just moments earlier been playing at the front of the church for her to clearly see.
Donna never held the incident against us. In fact, she seemed slightly amused. While she and I never became what I'd call close friends, she was always gracious and encouraging to me as a musician. This was many years before I began my career as a Barbra Streisand tribute artist and I was young and green as a musician. Even so, I had the pleasure of being one of her backup singers a few times at Christian functions in the region.
One day she was looking for me and couldn't remember my name. As she fumbled to ask my whereabouts she came out with, "Where's that...that...little white girl?"
Barbra Streisand released a statement when Donna died saying, "I was shocked to hear about Donna. She was so vital the last time I saw her a few months ago. I loved doing the duet with her. She had an amazing voice and was so talented. It's so sad."
More recently in concert Streisand sang a short version of "Enough is Enough (No More Tears)", saying that she wished Donna was here to sing it with her. I now use that in my Streisand tribute show. For me, it's not just paying tribute to Barbra, but to our mutual friend, Donna.
For more information on Joni Lambert's Streisand tribute show, "My Name is Barbra" visit www.MyNameIsBarbra.com
