Bruce Sudano

Since her '70s heyday as disco's reigning diva (and one of its most adventurous artists), Donna Summer has scored the odd hit: "She Works Hard for the Money," "This Time I Know It's for Real." She's still best remembered for the likes of "Last Dance," "Dim All the Lights," and "I Feel Love," though, and this VH1-tie-in comeback bid concentrates on full-bodied if somewhat murkily mixed versions of those classics and their kin. The two new studio cuts that round out the disc are OK at best, although they do display Summer's ability to adapt to changes in pop-dance sounds.

The extraordinary story of disco queen Donna Summer through a rich archive of unpublished film excerpts, home video, photographs, artwork, writings, personal audio and other recordings that span the life of one of the most iconic performers ever to shake a room to its timbers. From her early career with Giorgio Moroder in Germany, to later years more focused on spirituality and family life as a shelter from troubles associated with both notoriety and intimate wounds, her story is all the more special for being told in the first person – both singular and plural.

This is the story loosely based on Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed, who introduced rock'n'roll to teenage American radio audiences in the 1950s. Freed was a source of great controversy: criticized by conservatives for corrupting youth with the "devil's music"; hated by racists for promoting African American music for white consumption; persecuted by law enforcement officials and finally brought down by the "payola" scandals.