Date:May 21, 2012|Author:Erika Riggs
With a voice that defined a decade of popular music, Donna Summer’s lasting legacy was born in a time when radio was king.
That meant that the “Queen of Disco” could be heard blaring from every boombox and stereo in the 70s and 80s — making her a cultural force that no one could escape.
Love or hate disco, she commanded the airwaves and everyone’s attention, with sultry hits like ”Love to Love You Baby” to the women’s rights anthem “She Works Hard for the Money.”
With her death this month at the age of 63, Summer leaves behind a career that spanned four decades, five Grammy awards and numerous chart-topping albums.
But there’s more. Summer’s success allowed her to create a personal real estate empire.
The Boston-born singer preferred the South for real estate after her disco days, holding properties in both Florida and Tennessee.
In honor of the “Last Dance” singer’s career, we’re taking a aerial tour of those homes.
As Summer’s singing career cooled down in the 1990s, following controversial remarks she made about her many gay fans, the singer moved with her family to Nashville. Summer purchased a new home in 1994 situated on 25 acres in Brentwood. The rural home has 13,279 square feet of living space and 11.5 baths.
In 1996, Summer bought another Tennessee property, this time in College Grove for $370,000. The 3,179-square-foot home was built in 1920 and sits on over 104 acres.
While most stars prefer the Hamptons for their New York vacation homes, Summer chose the less glitzy lifestyle that Shelter Island offers, picking up a home there in 1997. Her Shelter Island house sits on a 2.20-acre bay-front lot.
In 2000, Summer made the move to sunny Florida, buying a condo in the gated community of Bolero. It’s here that she spent her last days battling cancer. It’s reported that Summer was a private person, and it wasn’t until she passed away that her neighbors were aware that they lived next to an icon.
Although Summer spent most of her time at her Naples home, she also owned a beachfront home in the Florida Keys that she purchased in 2007 for $3.6 million. Built in 1950, the 4-bedroom, 4-bath Englewood home has a private dock and boat slip.