Donna Summer´s Once Upon a Time

Contradicting assumptions that disco albums are shallow and packed with filler, Donna Summer´s double album Once Upon A Time stands out as a piece that delivers on its promise of an immaculately crafted journey from start to finish. A new interpretation of the Cinderella story, it is set in the then contemporary world of New York disco and takes the listener on a journey from urban isolation and deep despair to joy and vindication, all filtered through the mind of its naive and fantasy-prone protagonist. As well as charting the production of the album within the legendary Munich Machine in Germany, this book digs deep into the album´s rich themes and subtexts. Approaching the book from inventive angles, the four essays within the book act as a prism connecting the reader to the classical aspirations of Eurodisco, the history of the black fairy tale and a queer knowledge that reads Summer´s Cinderella tale in some surprising ways.