Donna Lewis Makes Room for Hope, Love, and Joy After Breast Cancer Diagnosis
You may think you don’t know who Donna Lewis is, but you will recognize her breathy voice, and airy 90s pop hit, “I Love You, Always Forever!”
That song, which reached #5 on the Billboard charts 28 years ago, breathed new life into her career, highlighting her pretty, high-altitude vocals and songwriting chops.
Her music career ended up taking a backseat when she had her son in the early 2000s, and could no longer tour easily or record. But the challenges of parenthood seemed to pale in comparison to those she faced in 2021, when she started planning a tour around the 25th anniversary of her biggest hit — and then got diagnosed with breast cancer.
Yet that difficult experience has fueled a comeback even greater than she might have imagined. Harnessing the healing power of music, Lewis worked with acclaimed producer Holmes Ives to create an album centered on hope and resilience: Rooms With A View.
We recently caught up with Lewis, who is now an ambassador for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, the US’s largest and most impactful breast cancer movement.
Rockmommy: Hi Donna! In the 28 years since the release of “I Love You Always Forever,” the world’s shifted. Both the outer world and your inner world. Can you take us back to 1996, and what life was like for you when the song exploded in popularity?
Donna Lewis: 1996 was an exciting, amazing time in my life. After writing and recording my own songs for years, I finally had a record deal and my first release was a hit that resonated with so many people all over the world and it was wild!!! Life was traveling the world, doing TV and radio shows, performing my songs and working with some amazing people. It was everything I dreamed of.
Rockmommy: Your music evokes so many things — some of the whimsical joy of love and life I felt in my youth. Were you a different songwriter then?
Donna Lewis: I don’t think so. I’ve always been a very diverse writer but “I Love You Always Forever” was one of those joyful catchy songs. I write about what I’m going through in life at the time or books I’ve read, films that inspire me and so forth. The latest record, Rooms With A View is much darker because of my journey during that period of time. My next record will probably be full of joyful pop songs as I’m ready for one of those records again.
Rockmommy: Listening to the music you’ve released over the years, there’s a connective tissue — your airy, breathy vocals and synth-pop, atmospheric soundscapes. Who were your early influences when you were starting out?
Donna Lewis: I remember listening to Rickee Lee Jones record Pirates and loving her voice but it was The Blue Nile with their atmospheric sounds that were a massive influence on my atmospheric soundscapes.
Rockmommy: Can you take us back to the early days of the pandemic lockdowns, and why you originally wanted to re-release “I Love You Always Forever.” What were your release plans and how did they change with the pandemic and your discovery that you had breast cancer?
Donna Lewis: We wanted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of “I Love You Always Forever” and the debut album Now in a Minute. So, a tour was planned plus we recorded a live version of the album with a couple of the musicians that recorded the original with me but then the pandemic happened. We decided to release a new version of ILYAF with Digital farm animals in 2022 as there were so many covers out there and we wanted to do our own.
[Discovering I had breast cancer] changed everything as I couldn’t go out and play live. I had a whole year of cancer treatments, so I had to be home. However, music was healing for me and I documented the whole year and when Holmes Ives sent me some beautiful instrumentals to collaborate on, these lyrics from my journals flooded out and became this musical memoir.
Rockmommy: Can you tell me about working with your producer for Rooms With A View? How did they push you to create your best work?
Donna Lewis: It was very organic. Holmes did not know what I was going through at this time until the fourth song was finished and then I told him. We were first thinking we would release an EP but then I had the idea of each song being a chapter of my story so we decided an album would be the perfect thing to do. We are both perfectionists, so we pushed each other!
Rockmommy: There’s a heaviness to some of the tracks. I’m immediately reminded of Portishead. Do you feel this is weightier than your earlier recordings?
Donna Lewis: Yes definitely! I love Portishead. I felt the instrumental tracks inspired me to record my vocals in a certain way. I was describing a very emotional time in my life and I felt I just let it all out so it became a very personal record.
Rocmkommy: You are a mother. How has that influenced or informed your career trajectory?
Donna Lewis: When I became a mum, I really put my career on the back burner. I still wrote and recorded music but I didn’t want to leave my son at all and so I became a full time Mum doing projects that I could do at home. I think my son was 7years old before I went to Europe for 5 days to do some shows. Haha!!! I really wanted to be involved in everything he did at school etc…and I’m so glad I was able to. He’s now 21!!!!! It is difficult not being in the public eye as people do forget you but that’s life. I just keep working on producing beautiful art that makes me and others happy.
Rockmommy: What’s next for you and your music?
Donna Lewis: We have made a short 15-minute film drawing inspiration from my personal journey. It’s a musical memoir which explores themes of healing, loss and transformation. The director Maya Baran and I were both diagnosed with breast cancer at the same time and we share the raw vulnerable experience with music from this album ‘Rooms With. View’ It’s now being submitted to film festivals.
Rockmommy: How does motherhood continue to inspire you?
Donna Lewis: I’m so proud of my boy! He inspires me. He is doing what I would’ve loved to do and that’s write film music. I feel I’m still a source of support for him and I can be a role model in some areas of music. It’s amazing to see how our relationship has grown.
Marisa Torrieri Bloom is the editor and founder of Rockmommy.
