Missing Two Old School Divas- Donna and Whitney

Sure, both American Idol and The Voice provide viewers and listeners with some new and great talent- and actually, Idol is far more successful at this than The Voice. 

That said, after last week's shows, it's hard not to miss a couple of old school divas- Whitney Houston and Donna Summer. (Read my review about her landmark album by the same name here.) Contestants on the competitions tend to fail miserably when that choose to undertake songs from either ladies. That says a lot, doesn't it?

Donna Summer: No Ordinary Girl

Love to peruse the books found on the bargain table, and I ran across something I didn't expect: a Donna Summer autobiography entitled Ordinary Girl. All I really knew about her personal life amounted to not much more than her infamous beginnings as a moaning disco singer. Sure, I'd heard her on the radio in the seventies and early eighties- you couldn't turn the thing on without that happening. Since I had a soft spot for her out-of-the-box take on MacArthur Park and some time to spare, I picked it up and sat down. Wow. The things you never know about someone...

This gal has had quite the life, all the blessings and hardships anyone could expect- and more. Crisis after crisis brought her to a place of considering suicide. Donna eventually had what could only be called a powerful, life-changing experiencing with God. She decided that Jesus was in fact the Son of God who came to earth because of his great love for the people He created, giving up his life on the cross in payment for their sin- and then proving his divinity by being raised from the dead. This decision turned her life - and her earthly fortunes- around. An amazing story. Gotta read it to believe it.