Donna Hightower

Donna Hightower, born in Missouri on December 28 1926, is an American r&b, soul, jazz, pop and disco singer.

Donna grew up in Los Angles and was influenced by gospel and jazz and by artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Kay Star and Ella Mae Morse. In 1952 Donna was discovered and was invited to sing in Horace Henderson's orchestra. A couple of years later Donna won a record deal at a talent show and she made a few successful singles.

In 1959 Donna moved to Europe were she performed in Sweden, Spain, Germany, Belgium and France where she lived a couple of years. In Spain Donna won several prizes on festivals and made many records with Danny Daniel as the duo Danny y Donna. In 1972 Donna had her biggest hit world wide with the song This World Today Is A Mess which sold more than a million copies. After a few pop and disco records Donna recorded in 1976 the album El Jazz Y Donna. In 1991 Donna stopped her singing career and moved to Austin, Texas. Donna performs very occasionally.

In 1970 Donna took part in the Spanish pre-selection for the ESC with the song Soy Feliz which came 7th.

In 1971 Donna represented Spain in the World Popular Song Festival with the song If You Hold My Hand which was selected for the Grand Final but was disqualified because the song didn't follow the W.P.S.F. rules. The song became a big hit in Europe, Canada, the USA and Japan.