On December 15, 2025, in West Hollywood’s The Butterfly Room at Cecconi’s, Donna Summer, the famous Queen of Disco, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame after her death. The event was to honor her songwriting skills, which led to hits like “Love to Love You Baby,” “I Feel Love,” “Bad Girls,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” and “Dim All the Lights.” Paul Williams, an Academy Award-winning songwriter and member of the SHOF since 2001, led the event. He praised Summer as one of the best songwriters of all time, saying that her songs “changed the course of music” and made people dance and fall in love.
Summer’s husband, Bruce Sudano, and daughters Brooklyn Sudano and Amanda Sudano Ramirez were there. This was a big deal for the late artist, who died of lung cancer in 2012 at the age of 63. Williams showed that she was more than just a disco singer by mixing R&B, soul, pop, funk, rock, and electronica into chart-topping hits. The induction highlights her work with producers like Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, whose work on songs like “Hot Stuff” still has an effect on artists today.
Summer’s catalog has 14 Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits, four of which were No. 1s. She was also the first artist to have three double albums top the Billboard 200 in a row. She was already in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2013, and this honor makes her a pioneer of electronic dance music. Stars like Beyoncé and LL Cool J still use her songs as samples, which shows how popular they are.
