Donna Garraffa

Born: January 19, 1949 in Amityville, New York, USA
Died: October 6, 2005 in Staten Island, New York, USA

Donna Garraffa came from a music loving family, which led to her starting piano lessons at age 5 and winning her first talent contest at age 12. She never really thought of a career in music until a professor at Ulster County Community College (where she was studying chemistry) suggested she sing the part of Buttercup in the school's production of H.M.S. Pinafore. After further studies at New York University, Donna spent some time in the Women's Army Corps in Washington, D.C. She spent a lot of her summers and winter weekends in the creative atmosphere of Woodstock, N.Y. in the shadow of Mt. Tremper, which led to the formation of her own record label called Tremper Records. She spent a lot of time in dance clubs which gave her a firsthand feel for what was happening musically.