The 411 - posted on May 25, 2012 by DJ Vybe

Death of A Diva: Donna Summer

Summer was born Ladonna Adrian Gaines on December 31, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts to parents Andrew and Mary Gaines and was one of seven children. She and her family were raised in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester. Her father, Andrew Gaines, was a butcher, and her mother Mary, was a schoolteacher.  Summer’s mother later recalled that from the time she could talk, Summer would often sing: “She literally loved to sing. She used to go through the house singing, singing. She sang for breakfast and for lunch and for supper.”

Summer’s performance debut occurred at church when she was ten, when she replaced a vocalist who had failed to show up. Her priest invited Summer to perform, judging from her small frame and voice that she would be an “amusing spectacle”, but instead Summer’s voice recalled a voice older than her years and frame.  Summer herself recalled that as she sang, “I started crying, everybody else started crying. It was quite an amazing moment in my life and at some point after I heard my voice came out I felt like God was saying to me ‘Donna, you’re going to be very, very famous’ and I knew from that day on that I would be famous.”

Summer later attended Boston’s Jeremiah E. Burke High School, where she performed in school musicals and was considered popular. She was also something of a troublemaker, skipping home to attend parties, circumventing her parents’ strict curfew. In 1967, just weeks before graduation, Summer left for New York where she was a member of the blues-rock band, Crow. After they were passed by every record label, they agreed to break up. Summer stayed in New York and auditioned for a role in the counterculture musical, Hair. When Melba Moore was cast in the part, Summer agreed to take the role in the Munich production of the show. She moved to Munich after getting her parents’ reluctant approval.

Summer remained in Munich and later learned fluent German. She participated in the musicals Ich Bin Ich (the German version of The Me Nobody Knows), Godspell and Show Boat. Within three years, she moved to Vienna, Austria and joined the Vienna Volksoper. She briefly toured with an ensemble vocal group called FamilyTree, the creation of producer Guenter “Yogi” Lauke. In 1971, Summer released her first single, a cover of The Jaynetts’ “Sally Go ‘Round the Roses”, from a one-off European deal with Decca Records. In 1972, she issued the single, “If You Walkin’ Alone” on Philips. In 1974, she married Austrian actor Helmuth Sommer and had a daughter, Mimi, the following year. Citing marital problems caused by her affair with German artist (and future live-in boyfriend) Peter Mühldorfer, she divorced Helmuth. She kept his last name, but Anglicised it to “Summer”. She provided backing vocals on producer-keyboardist Veit Marvos on his 1972 Ariola records release, Nice To See You, credited as “Gayn Pierre”. Several subsequent singles included Summer performing with the group, but she often denied singing on any of the Marvos releases. The name “Gayn Pierre” was also used by Donna while performing in Godspell with Helmuth Sommer during 1972.

DJ Vybe salutes the memory and legacy of Donna Summer. R.I.P. Catch some of Donna’s timeless hits on DJ Vybe Live Broadcast. And for the best DJ of Disco music, book DJ Vybe.

The 411 - posted on May 2, 2012 by DJ Vybe

New Artist “Hot Vybe” List: Michelle Paulino

When you think of Brazil, you think of beauty, beaches and music. Add one more thing: love in a smile. Born in 1985 in one the most powerful cities in the world, Rio de Janeiro, Michelle Paulino is the oldest of two singing daughters. Coming from a military family, Michelle was raised all over Brazil, allowing her love for people to in-crease as she got in touch with new cultures within her own. Languages and cultures had always been part of her life and was by watching american sitcoms and translating songs that Michelle learned English.

Early in life Michelle felt that touching peoples’ lives through music was her true calling. Her career began at the young age of 12 years old, when she was cast as the lead singer of an Easter cantata for her home church in the capital of Brazil. Shortly thereafter, Michelle made her next move by joining a choir and becoming a worship team leader in one of the biggest churches in Brazil, bringing music to life in a christian community of approximately 7 thousand members. She had her sights set on a bigger picture. Willing to bring souls closer to Jesus Christ, exposure to the music world and the offering of her voice to worship God inspired Michelle to pursue music as a ministry. However, she had yet another dream to fulfill, the one of becoming a marketing professional. Attending one of the top 5 universities in her country, Michelle was set in the pursuit of Advertising as her bread and butter. Music had always meant passion more than business to her, but Michelle intended to use one skill to assist the other. She used her Marketing and Advertising skills toward the music ministry.

It was in school that she was able to take her next step by creating her first logo and press kit to promote her worship band Arca Para as Nações (The Ark to the Nations), founded by her and childhood friend Maxwell Martins. Practicing out of her garage on a military base, this humble beginning was a huge boost for Michelle in believing that her message could be received with open arms. She found herself submerged in the hardship of making it into the music industry, as the band suffered for not making a sound commercial enough. The big change was yet to come.

After moving to the United States to start a brand new beginning in the name of love, a career in music seemed to be a very difficult dream to reach. Guided by Douglas Rogers, a local producer that donated her a few tracks, Michelle found a different way to talk about Christianity. She added a tropical feel to contemporary Christian Pop/ R&B beats, posting her home recorded songs on her Myspace page. “My heart had always been in worship, but I felt the calling for something different, a style that would catch attention but pierce hearts with the same truth a worship song talks about. I just needed to find a way to do it”, said Michelle.

Growing up around sounds like the ones of Whitney Houston, Simply Red, Jon Secada, Hillsong, Mary Mary, Crystal Lewis, DC Talk and Nivea Soares, Michelle Paulino had found a voice tone and style that was quite unique. Being contacted on Myspace by Delbert Harris, CEO of Javo Records, Michelle faced the reality of a dream coming true. She would become the first Pop/R&B recording artist for the label. “You would be surprised with what a simple Myspace page can do.”, said the singer. Working with renowned Christian artists, Michelle made some prosperous connections in the music business. From that point on, everything has been nothing but progressive for Michelle.

With only an EP promoted locally, Michelle attracted audiences far and wide as her very first single Spring Time made it to over 20 national Christian and secular radio stations, to the biggest secular radio in Trinidad & Tobago and to radio stations in the UK in less than a month of its release with absolutely no Marketing campaigns to promote it as well as over 100,000 Myspace views. Recently signed to CHP Media Group out of Seattle, WA, Michelle Paulino hopes to reach the hearts of the people who need Jesus Christ and His healing with her debut album “In The Making” co-produced by Cross Movement artist K-Drama released late 2012. Bringing an outside view on life, Christianity, and people, Michelle Paulino is willing to say aloud what all of us scream inside, inspiring many to bring morals and godly principles back to our lives through music.

Follow DJ Vybe’s conversation with Michelle on Twitter @RealDJVybe and @MPaulinoMusic. You can also checkout Michelle’s YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OMyIqEFEfY