Deanna (Dea) Summers (May 30, 1940 in New Albany, MS – February 14, 2017 in

Garland, TX Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located within Dallas County with portions extending into Collin and Rockwall counties. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. In 2020, it had a popu ...

) was an American songwriter born in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. The family relocated to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

in 1952 where she attended Kingsbury Jr. High School. She also attended Humes High School before her family relocated to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. She had been an active member of BMI (

Broadcast Music Incorporated Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organisation, performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BM ...

) as both a songwriter and publisher affiliate since 1965. She was co-owner of Silicon Music Publishing and many of her compositions have been recorded by various artists. Her songs and published works have appeared on Capri Records, Tear Drop Records, Charay Records, Mister Rock Records, Enviken Records, Le Cam Records, Country Disco Records, Rollercoaster Records, Primo Records, Crystal Clear Sound Records, Collector Records, Collectable Records, Big Beat Records, Lake County Records, Domino Records, Front Row Records, Maridene Records, Helvis Records, W&G Records, Overtone Records. In 1977 she wrote " Goodbye Priscilla (Bye Bye Baby Blue)" as a tribute to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and

Priscilla Presley Priscilla Ann Presley (née Wagner, formerly Beaulieu; born May 24, 1945) is an American businesswoman and actress. She is the ex-wife of American singer Elvis Presley, as well as the cofounder and former chairperson of Elvis Presley Enterpris ...

. The song was issued by Tear Drop Records in 1977 and became one of her most popular compositions. The "Goodbye Priscilla" 45 is now a much sought-after collectible and has been issued on several

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's sexuall ...

"tribute" compilation albums and CDs. She later met with

and personally presented her with a copy of the original

45rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The gr ...

record. When "Goodbye Priscilla" was first released in 1977 there was some confusion about which Priscilla it was written for-

or Priscilla Davis who was a main character in the famous Cullen Davis Murder Trials. In his book "Blood Will Tell-The Murder Trials Of Cullen Davis" author Gary Cartwright credits the song (page 199) as referring to Priscilla Davis. However, this song was written solely for Priscilla Presley as a tribute to Elvis. Summers was profiled in the ''Dictionary of International Biography'' (1982 Edition published by IBC Cambridge). She was also profiled in ''Songwriter's Market (1979–Present)'' published by Writer's Digest Books. Deanna Summers was married to Rockabilly music star

Gene Summers David Eugene Summers (January 3, 1939 – February 17, 2021) was an American rockabilly singer, songwriter and guitarist. His most famous recordings include the late 50s " School of Rock 'n Roll", " Straight Skirt", " Nervous", " Gotta Lotta T ...

from 1961 until her death in 2017. They have three sons Dusty, Steve and Shawn.

Biography

She is a

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, and

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectu ...

. She is the co-founder of Silicon Music Publishers, 1965. Served as the secretary of Silicon Music/Domino Records. Her first published work was "My Yearbook, 1965". She co-Founded Domino Records, 1968; and was co-founder of Front Row Records, 1976. Her first commercial recordings as an artist were in 1976 including "Ballad Of Moon Dog Mayne", 1976;, and "Do You Think I'm Sexy", 1979. She is a member of Broadcast Music. Inc. (as a writer and publisher affiliate) 1965–Present. She participated in European promotional tours, 1980–Present. He recorded works distributed worldwide with compositions including: "Ballad Of Moondog Mayne"; "Baby Please Tell Me Why"; "Crazy Cat Corner"; ""Domino"; "Don't Let Me Down Baby"; " Goodbye Priscilla (Bye Bye Baby Blue)"; "Honey Your Mind's Working Overtime"; "Hot Pants"; "I Love A Mystery"; "Just Together"; "Long Story Song"; "My Yearbook"; "Rat Fink"; "Rockin' Fever"; "So"; "Still The

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

Queen"; "Who Stole The Marker (From The Grave Of

Bonnie Parker Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut "Champion" Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were American outlaws who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression, committing a ser ...

)". She was co-producer of Domino/Front Row recording sessions. Her honors include: Award, Silicon Music Publishers for Distribution and Outstanding Promotions Of "Grand Ole Opry Queen" from Pittman Publications, Alabama.

Sources

*BMI Repertoire Search (online) *Front-page article (published by ''The Garland Daily News''), June 1, 1965, Texas *"Nashville Report" by Paul Perry (published by ''Record World Magazine'', New York) July 6, 1968 *WYNK-AM Radio, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Jim Horn P.D.), August 31, 1968 *''Tuscaloosa News'', May 3, 1970, Alabama *WESO-AM Radio, Oxford, Massachusetts, May 19, 1970 *WNTC-AM Radio, Potsdam, New York, November 16, 1970 *KGCP-AM Radio, Grafton, North Dakota, December 1, 1970 *''Disc Collector Magazine'' issue #35, January 1971 USA *"Bill Gavin's Personal Picks" (published by ''The Gavin Report''), February 5, 1971 USA *"Newcomer Picks" (published by ''Cash Box Magazine'', New York), February 13, 1971 *"Nashville Scene" (published by ''Billboard Magazine'', New York), April 3, 1971 *"A Song On Hot Pants" (published by ''The Sun'' Newspaper, Melbourne, Australia), May 3, 1971 *"DJ's Corner" by Bill Jones (published by ''The Music City News'', Nashville), July 1971 *''Tuscaloosa News'', September 13, 1971, Alabama *"Variety Talk" by Glen Kelly (published by ''Brite-Star News''), May issue, 1971 USA *"Platta Chatta 'n Stuff" by H.V. Schreiner (published by ''Country Corner'', New York), July 1971, *"Signings" (published by ''Billboard Magazine'', N.Y.), April 7, 1979 *"Showcase" (published by ''The Garland Daily News''), August 28, 1980, Texas *''Dictionary of International Biography'' 1982 Edition (published by IBC Cambridge) USA

References

External links

Deanna Summers Obituary (1940 - 2017) - Garland, TX - Dallas Morning News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Deanna 1940 births 2017 deaths Deaths from respiratory failure Songwriters from Texas Songwriters from Mississippi Songwriters from Tennessee American female models Women in publishing People from New Albany, Mississippi Musicians from Dallas People from Garland, Texas Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Humes High School alumni Garland High School alumni 20th-century American composers 21st-century American composers 20th-century American women composers 21st-century American women composers