Bbc documentary "the joy of disco"

[glencro]

Watch and enjoy


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmxc-rfy4-0&feature=channel_video_title

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vRLfyxSD18&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGCSYFL7P1M&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t52rxSYiShk&feature=related

[chidrummer]

What a cool documentary. Thanks for sharing it, glencro.

Now I know what Tom Moulton really looks like.

One question I've always wanted answered though, Michael Jackson was 19 in 1977; shouldn't he have been too young to get into Studio 54?

[soulster]

Interesting things in that documentary. They talked about women and gays, but they didn't delve too much into Blacks or Latinos, or even anything about the record industry, producers, or the DJs.

And, yeah, Tom Moulton looks like a sound engineer! :)

[smark21]

looks interesting.

[soulster]

I'm going to take some heat for this, but I gotta be honest: I think the documentary focused way too much on gays, and made it seem like gays, alone, started disco.

Disco music, and the movement, was much, much more than just about gays.

[roger]

I'm going to take some heat for this, but I gotta be honest: I think the documentary focused way too much on gays, and made it seem like gays, alone, started disco.

Disco music, and the movement, was much, much more than just about gays.

I'd agree with you Soulster .. in England there was a huge "white-working-class" following for the idea of going out to dance to records, stretching back way into the 1960s. The program did make some kind of acknowledgement of this with the section on the Manchester/Lancashire "Northern Soul" scene. My understanding is that it wasn't too different in parts of the U.S. which is why the makers of "Saturday Night Fever" felt able to set their film in a predominantly "white" environment in NYC without the general public thinking they had made it all up.

I also found it a bit strange that the program put quite a bit of emphasis on the androgenous appearance of SYLVESTER and the "campy" appearance of THE VILLAGE PEOPLE and seemed to make out it was something "totally new". The show was made by the BBC in Britain so I can't believe that the producers were unaware of the whole "Glitter-Rock" era in Britain [[1972-74) when the UK pop charts were dominated by pop/rock acts who appeared on stage and TV in full make-up and bizarre outfits.

Compared with what DAVID BOWIE looked like in 1973 THE VILLAGE PEOPLE in 1979 looked to be models of conservatism [[apart perhaps from the gentleman who dressed like an Indian :)). Compared with what MARC BOLAN and various members of THE SWEET and SLADE looked like in 1973, SYLVESTER in 1978 looked decidedly butch!! And I've not even mentioned GARY GLITTER or ELTON JOHN!!

However I did generally enjoy the show, especially the early part where the music was "Better" [[or at least as far as I was concerned). It did seem at the end to concentrate too much on the "Pop" end of the whole disco/dance spectrum of music, whereas a lot of the best records of that era IMHO were the Jazz-Fusion/Disco-Funk tunes which were just as popular.

Roger

[glencro]

I'm going to take some heat for this, but I gotta be honest: I think the documentary focused way too much on gays, and made it seem like gays, alone, started disco.
Disco music, and the movement, was much, much more than just about gays.

I totally agree with you soulster. Waaayy too much time was spent on the subject. Disco was universal.

[marv2]

What a cool documentary. Thanks for sharing it, glencro.

Now I know what Tom Moulton really looks like.

One question I've always wanted answered though, Michael Jackson was 19 in 1977; shouldn't he have been too young to get into Studio 54?

From my experience, it was possible. I use to get into discos at 18 when the required minimum age was 21. It depended on the group you were with and if the owner approved you. I remember Lyle Alzado scaring me at the door telling me I was too young to come into his place.....but he let me in each and everytime, hehehehehehe! I remember getting preferred entrance to the Palladium which was the successor to Studio 54 and it was all based on who your friends were and who you knew.....

[tamla617]

I'm going to take some heat for this, but I gotta be honest: I think the documentary focused way too much on gays, and made it seem like gays, alone, started disco.

Disco music, and the movement, was much, much more than just about gays.

yeah it was.you'de think there wasnt anybody else involved watching that.its the talking heads that get me.telling me what it was like when we were there and get it wrong,i was starting to 2nd guess myself.oh and one day that will be shown when we arent around,then it will be the gospel truth.

[soulster]

And, get this part: they made it seem like the only reason for the backlash was because they were against gays. What about women, Blacks, and Latinos? What about that they were a bunch of crybabies who were upset that white-boy guitar rock was no longer #1?

When the doc went back in time to discuss the origins of disco, all they talked about were gays. What about the fact that heterosexual Blacks created the music? What about Latinos who were looking for acceptance? What about all those baby-boomers who were just tired of rock, Viet Nam, Watergate, and the hippie thing, and wanted to dance and have fun again? How about the veteran soul artists who were coerced or contractually forced to make disco records to keep their record contracts? How about the rockers who made disco records? The doc didn't even mention Chic!

How about how the music was created beyond a drum beat?

[P-Shark: The Revenge]

I'm going to take some heat for this, but I gotta be honest: I think the documentary focused way too much on gays, and made it seem like gays, alone, started disco.

Disco music, and the movement, was much, much more than just about gays.You're right. I just watched a few seconds of that to see it was bs. Go Go Clubs was a big influence on disco. Sexy women was the subject in a lot of these disco or dance oriented songs. Movies like Saturday Night Fever, Thank God Is Friday, & Disco 9000 wasn't about gays. Here's a little history http://www.jahsonic.com/Discotheque.html

[marv2]

It did at first come off like it was a documentary on the gay rights movement. As far as the Disco Sucks movement and a backlash towards women, Blacks, and Latinos? I definitely felt that to be a large part of the motivation behind that Disco demolition event at Comminsky Park in Chicago back in 1979. What I find most interesting is that during the disco era, I clearly remember partying in clubs that had many white patrons that having a great time dancing to the music. By the time the Disco Sucks movement caught full steam, I think the majority of the public had already accepted disco music and were buying it. The crybabies as you called them were a minority that made a lot of noise causing the disco fever to finally die down.

[P-Shark: The Revenge]

Disco however did hurt a lot of musicians, Black & White. There were some black people also protesting disco. Toward the end of 70's disco was becoming monotonous.
One song that really bugged the hell out of me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rYYecQN3VM

[roger]

And, get this part: they made it seem like the only reason for the backlash was because they were against gays. What about women, Blacks, and Latinos? What about that they were a bunch of crybabies who were upset that white-boy guitar rock was no longer #1?


I saw a TV show about that U.S. "Disco Sucks" movement a few months back [[can't remember where), and one of the theories put forward about the motivation behind a lot of the people who joined in the nonsense was that they just couldn't dance!! The show I saw painted a picture of thousands of young white hetero males jumping on the bandwagon with "Saturday Night Fever" etc. then actually going to a "Disco" and feeling total fools when people realised they just couldn't move!!

Roger

[marv2]

Yeah that record and that one by Gary's Gang got on my nerves. Did anyone notice that they overdubbed George McCrae's vocals to "Rock Your Baby" with someone else's singing? I wonder why? I also wondered why they did not include more of the artists and their perspective on the era. There were so many that are still around.

[marv2]

I saw a TV show about that U.S. "Disco Sucks" movement a few months back [[can't remember where), and one of the theories put forward about the motivation behind a lot of the people who joined in the nonsense was that they just couldn't dance!! The show I saw painted a picture of thousands of young white hetero males jumping on the bandwagon with "Saturday Night Fever" etc. then actually going to a "Disco" and feeling total fools when people realised they just couldn't move!!

Roger

Roger, it's funny you mentioned that about those not knowing how to dance. That is what my first and most prominent thought was back at the time. Those that couldn't dance became anti-disco. But that was where all of the women were on the weekends.....at the DISCO! LOL!

[soulster]

Disco however did hurt a lot of musicians, Black & White. There were some black people also protesting disco. Toward the end of 70's disco was becoming monotonous.
One song that really bugged the hell out of me:


George Clinton made no bones about how much he hated disco. Rick James only teased you with disco to get you to listen to his punk-funk.

Other things that were inaccurate is that Giorgio Moroder was responsible for starting European disco. Truth be told, there were other people besides Moroder who were doing disco, like Michael Kunze, who presented us with Silver Convention. before those two, there was Jacques Morales, who had success with The Ritchie Family long before he had success with the Villiage People? And, back in the U.S., what about the other guys in Philly who used MFSB, like Thom Bell and Vince Montana? And, while they talked to Nile Rodgers, not once did they ever mention he, and Bernard Edwards.

Studio 54 stayed in business for at least another year or two after the so-called end of disco in 1979. And, we had many disco hits after that infamous night at the ballpark.

[soulster]

Yeah that record and that one by Gary's Gang got on my nerves. Did anyone notice that they overdubbed George McCrae's vocals to "Rock Your Baby" with someone else's singing? I wonder why? I also wondered why they did not include more of the artists and their perspective on the era. There were so many that are still around.

No, that really was George McCrae's singing.

About the discos. A LOT of people went to discos because it was just the thing to do in those days. You went to a club, you danced.

I must note that, and i'm sure err'body reading this forum knows, Black folk went to discos and listened to Slave, Evelyn "Champagne King", Parliament/Funkadelic, Rose Royce, Rick James, Heatwave, and Johnnie Taylor. You might hear something like "Push Push In The Bush", but the music didn't get too discoey. You just couldn't play Donna Summer or Village People shit and get away with it! And, you wouldn'd dare play Sylvester or Dan Hartman's "Instant Replay"! People would leave cursing you out!

[marv2]

No, that really was George McCrae's singing.

About the discos. A LOT of people went to discos because it was just the thing to do in those days. You went to a club, you danced.

I must note that, and i'm sure err'body reading this forum knows, Black folk went to discos and listened to Slave, Evelyn "Champagne King", Parliament/Funkadelic, Rose Royce, Rick James, Heatwave, and Johnnie Taylor. You might hear something like "Push Push In The Bush", but the music didn't get too discoey. You just couldn't play Donna Summer or Village People shit and get away with it! And, you wouldn'd dare play Sylvester or Dan Hartman's "Instant Replay"! People would leave cursing you out!

Soulster, that was not George McCraes' voice at all! LOL! I thought that was why they started talking over his singing to camoflage [[sp?) the fact that they had overdubbed some other dude's voice singing "live" to that clip of George performing it lip-synched on the Tops of the Pops show.

Anyway, during the disco era, I lived in both parts of the country [[East and West). It did seem in the East we partied more to true R&B dance records, while out West they played the Donna Summer, Village People and Dan Hartman stuff more in all discos. I remember having an argument with a friend out in Colorado that Johnny Taylor's "Disco Lady" was disco/dance music as far as I was concerned coming from back East. The folks I met from LA and other places out West partied more to typical disco music. I think Chic's stuff was popular across the board.

[P-Shark: The Revenge]

George Clinton made no bones about how much he hated disco. Rick James only teased you with disco to get you to listen to his punk-funk.
True, he said disco is like making love with one stroke> Google Books [[http://books.google.com/books?id=Np3dpRhTsxQC&pg=PA166&lpg=PA166&dq=george+clinton+disco+one+stroke&source=bl&ots=ToGB4kCjxy&sig=PvuyJ60TYo6zdtU_xrwX8jO3IjI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BARYT-TGMeSSiQL71dXRCw&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=george clinton disco one stroke&f=false)

Other things that were inaccurate is that Giorgio Moroder was responsible for starting European disco. Truth be told, there were other people besides Moroder who were doing disco, like Michael Kunze, who presented us with Silver Convention. before those two, there was Jacques Morales, who had success with The Ritchie Family long before he had success with the Villiage People? And, back in the U.S., what about the other guys in Philly who used MFSB, like Thom Bell and Vince Montana? And, while they talked to Nile Rodgers, not once did they ever mention he, and Bernard Edwards.

Studio 54 stayed in business for at least another year or two after the so-called end of disco in 1979. And, we had many disco hits after that infamous night at the ballpark.Richie Family was an American group.

[soulster]

Soulster, that was not George McCraes' voice at all! LOL! I thought that was why they started talking over his singing to camoflage [[sp?) the fact that they had overdubbed some other dude's voice singing "live" to that clip of George performing it lip-synched on the Tops of the Pops show.


I listened to it again. You're right. That's not him. I guess they substituted something else because they couldn't get the clearance for the recording for the documentary.


Anyway, during the disco era, I lived in both parts of the country [[East and West). It did seem in the East we partied more to true R&B dance records, while out West they played the Donna Summer, Village People and Dan Hartman stuff more in all discos. I remember having an argument with a friend out in Colorado that Johnny Taylor's "Disco Lady" was disco/dance music as far as I was concerned coming from back East. The folks I met from LA and other places out West partied more to typical disco music. I think Chic's stuff was popular across the board.

That made Johnnie Taylor angry when people called his song disco. It was not disco, but an R&B song with a disco flavor. Towards the end they added a more funk flavor to it, much like what Rick James did with a few of his songs. he would start it out as disco and morph it into a funk jam.

[soulster]

Richie Family was an American group.

I know that. I was talking specifically of the producer, who was Italian. And, he used MFSB. Joe Tarsia recorded almost all the stuff in Philadelphia. He was a VERY busy guy in the 70s!

[marv2]

I listened to it again. You're right. That's not him. I guess they substituted something else because they couldn't get the clearance for the recording for the documentary.



That made Johnnie Taylor angry when people called his song disco. It was not disco, but an R&B song with a disco flavor. Towards the end they added a more funk flavor to it, much like what Rick James did with a few of his songs. he would start it out as disco and morph it into a funk jam.

That's what I was thinking about. Maybe they could not get a clearance.

Now regarding Johnny Taylor's record. True it was not "Disco" but it was a much better dance record than a lot of that crap that was out there labeled "Disco". Johnny tore it up! Which again brings me back to this documentary and the way was handled. Disco music was born out of soul, r&b, black dance music! We had been dancing to soul/funk records at house parties since the 50's and all through the 60's when I was a kid. Now along came "disco" and everyone discovered dance music.

A&E produced their own documentary on Disco some years back that was much, much better than this one by the BBC. Even the VH-1 history of Disco was more comprehensive. I am going to see if I can find them online.

[candykamaine]

I listened to it again. You're right. That's not him. I guess they substituted something else because they couldn't get the clearance for the recording for the documentary.



That made Johnnie Taylor angry when people called his song disco. It was not disco, but an R&B song with a disco flavor. Towards the end they added a more funk flavor to it, much like what Rick James did with a few of his songs. he would start it out as disco and morph it into a funk jam.

I don't blame johnnie, folks always confuse upbeat classic 70s soul with disco.

I actually do Like disco a bit. [[cause at least they are singing on the record)...

[P-Shark: The Revenge]

Speaking of Johnny Taylor he had a cameo in DISCO 9000. I thought it was a pretty good flick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVVMVAgSvNw&feature=related

[soulster]

I don't blame johnnie, folks always confuse upbeat classic 70s soul with disco.

Don't get me started about how some people label anything that was recorded by a Black person, or that can be danced to, as 'disco". It's just like how they label the same as hip-hop today. It's the same old attempt to compartmentalize and marginalize anything Black.


I actually do Like disco a bit. [[cause at least they are singing on the record)...

Some of my favorite disco music are instrumentals. Salsoul Orchestra, Barry White, MFSB, Van McCoy, David Shire...

[soulster]

Speaking of Johnny Taylor he had a cameo in DISCO 9000. I thought it was a pretty good flick


The song "Disco 9000" can't be too rare if it's on this almost 20-year-old comp on Columbia/Legacy:
4586

[P-Shark: The Revenge]

The song is not rare but the 45 is. But yeah I see your point. Ebay sellers love over using the word rare and often times adding "very" before it.
I'm talking about lps you can often find in used record stores.

[roger]

Its funny how "Disco Lady" by JOHNNIE TAYLOR always crops up in these discussions about "Disco" music.

When it came out I never really thought of it as a "Disco" record, to me its much too slow and "slinky", though musically I think it does owe a bit to "Rock Your Baby". I wonder if it would ever get mentioned in such a way if it had been called "Sexy Lady" or "Groovy Lady" or something similar, which I think were the original words when songwriter HARVEY SCALES first wrote the tune ... I've always liked the record by the way!!

I have a copy of "Disco 9000" on a U.S. Columbia 45 and I've got a copy of it on a C.D. issued in the U.K. by Westside back in 2001 ...

http://www.allmusic.com/album/rated-extraordinairedisco-9000-r550576

I'm open to offers for my 45 and looking forward to being able to book a world cruise on the proceeds!! :)

Roger

[soulster]

Well, I hardly think that there much of a demand for that "Disco 2000" 45, so don't go booking any cruises just yet!

Funny thing you mentioned the tempo of disco music. Before the biggest [[worst) part of the craze starting in 1978, at least in the U.S., the tempo of the average disco/dance song was slower in tempo. The ones that were more R&B were slower. That may be one of the objections to the European-style disco of the later 70s is that it was much faster.

[roger]

Well, I hardly think that there much of a demand for that "Disco 2000" 45, so don't go booking any cruises just yet!

Funny thing you mentioned the tempo of disco music. Before the biggest [[worst) part of the craze starting in 1978, at least in the U.S., the tempo of the average disco/dance song was slower in tempo. The ones that were more R&B were slower. That may be one of the objections to the European-style disco of the later 70s is that it was much faster.

What!! "Disco 9000" isn't worth 9000? I guess I can put away the suncream then!!

A lot of those Euro-Disco records in 1977/8/9 were very big on beat but very lacking in rhythm to my ears and I much preferred the funkier stuff from America .. MASS PRODUCTION, KLEEER, CHIC etc. etc. etc. Though I did like "I Feel Love" by DONNA SUMMER and a handful of others enough to spend cash on buying a copy.

One thing to take into account if comparing the U.K. "Disco" experience with the U.S. and [[possibly) Continental Europe is that in British discos in the late 1970s the D.Js still talked between records as if they were presenting a radio show and there wasn't the obsession with mixing/segueing the songs together to make it sound like a five hour continuous track that I understand was the norm in the U.S. As a result people in Britain were used to gaps in the music and dancing to a mix of tempos and musical styles.

Roger

[Hotspurman]

What!! "Disco 9000" isn't worth 9000? I guess I can put away the suncream then!!

A lot of those Euro-Disco records in 1977/8/9 were very big on beat but very lacking in rhythm to my ears and I much preferred the funkier stuff from America .. MASS PRODUCTION, KLEEER, CHIC etc. etc. etc. Though I did like "I Feel Love" by DONNA SUMMER and a handful of others enough to spend cash on buying a copy.

One thing to take into account if comparing the U.K. "Disco" experience with the U.S. and [[possibly) Continental Europe is that in British discos in the late 1970s the D.Js still talked between records as if they were presenting a radio show and there wasn't the obsession with mixing/segueing the songs together to make it sound like a five hour continuous track that I understand was the norm in the U.S. As a result people in Britain were used to gaps in the music and dancing to a mix of tempos and musical styles.

Roger

After thrashing about the dancefloor like a demented demon, you needed a cigarette break whilst the DJ was introducing the next track....

Ah, those far off days before Health & Safety, political correctness...what bliss!

[Hotspurman]

As far as the documentary was concerned, I found the narrator's voice extremely grating. And, as I tried to post yesterday, I was surprised at some of the omissions. To those listed above, can I add Dr Buzzard's Original Savanah Band, which whilst not a chart hit in the UK did, thanks to Chris Hill, spark a brief forties revival, with everyone turning up at discos looking like they'd stepped off Glenn Miller's missing flight. And A Taste of Honey, Eddie Henderson [[played at the wrong speed for maximum effect), Change, Patrick Juvet, Poussez, Black Ivory and even those traditional rock artists who recorded 'disco' tunes, such as Rod Stewart, Rolling Stones, Kiss. Disco was diverse; both the people who attended and those who performed it.

[Hotspurman]

Anther thought - having watched the documentary I dug out a three CD disco set for the car. Driving home from football last night, The Fatback Band and 'Bus Stop' came on. Now I loved the Fatback Band, especially Yum Yum, Spanish Hustle, Keep On Steppin' and I Found Lovin', and Bus Stop has long been a favourite. I asked my daughter, who is 27 years of age, what she thought of the track and she replied that she couldn't understand why anyone would write a song about a bus stop! So I spent the next few miles telling her about some of the well known dance styles from the 60s and 70s....

[soulster]

After thrashing about the dancefloor like a demented demon, you needed a cigarette break whilst the DJ was introducing the next track....

Ah, those far off days before Health & Safety, political correctness...what bliss!

Well, here in America, the idea was escapism. What better way to do that than to have the atmosphere of extended tracks and non-stop music? I mean, we lost a useless war, the economy sucked, food and gas prices were soaring, our president resigned in disgrace, drugs were a big problem, we had school busing riots, union strikes...disco had to happen!

[marv2]

After thrashing about the dancefloor like a demented demon, you needed a cigarette break whilst the DJ was introducing the next track....

Ah, those far off days before Health & Safety, political correctness...what bliss!

Oh you mean when you could smoke inside and on airplanes? hehehehehehehe!

[Hotspurman]

Oh you mean when you could smoke inside and on airplanes? hehehehehehehe!

Yes - the day's when they ASKED you if you'd like a smoking seat on a plane! Or would you like to be seated in the smoking section of a restaurant. Apparently, yesterday was National No Smoking Day here in the UK - I had a cigarette to celebrate.

[marv2]

Anther thought - having watched the documentary I dug out a three CD disco set for the car. Driving home from football last night, The Fatback Band and 'Bus Stop' came on. Now I loved the Fatback Band, especially Yum Yum, Spanish Hustle, Keep On Steppin' and I Found Lovin', and Bus Stop has long been a favourite. I asked my daughter, who is 27 years of age, what she thought of the track and she replied that she couldn't understand why anyone would write a song about a bus stop! So I spent the next few miles telling her about some of the well known dance styles from the 60s and 70s....

You left out my favorite by the Fatback Band, "I Like the Girls"! That was huge dance/party record in 1978.

[Hotspurman]

You left out my favorite by the Fatback Band, "I Like the Girls"! That was huge dance/party record in 1978.


I left some of MY favourites off in reeling them off the top of my head - how about Wicky Wacky, Street Dance, King Tim, Backstrokin'...

[roger]

As far as the documentary was concerned, I found the narrator's voice extremely grating. And, as I tried to post yesterday, I was surprised at some of the omissions. To those listed above, can I add Dr Buzzard's Original Savanah Band, which whilst not a chart hit in the UK did, thanks to Chris Hill, spark a brief forties revival, with everyone turning up at discos looking like they'd stepped off Glenn Miller's missing flight. And A Taste of Honey, Eddie Henderson [[played at the wrong speed for maximum effect), Change, Patrick Juvet, Poussez, Black Ivory and even those traditional rock artists who recorded 'disco' tunes, such as Rod Stewart, Rolling Stones, Kiss. Disco was diverse; both the people who attended and those who performed it.

Which EDDIE HENDERSON tune was it that was played at high speed Hotspurman .. I'm guessing it was "Say You Will". I know "rise" by HERB ALPERT used to get played at 45 when the 12" was actually at 33 RPM.

Roger

[soulster]

You left out my favorite by the Fatback Band, "I Like the Girls"! That was huge dance/party record in 1978.

I honestly never heard that song until it came out on a Rhino CD comp back in the early 90s. Fatback wasn't big where I lived.

[soulster]

Oh you mean when you could smoke inside and on airplanes? hehehehehehehe!

Damn i'm glad people can't smoke where they want today. I have asthma and smoking bans make life much easier. I can go to night clubs now.

[soulster]

This thread, and perhaps that documentary, is yet again pointing out major cultural differences between the U.S. and the U.K..

[Hotspurman]

Which EDDIE HENDERSON tune was it that was played at high speed Hotspurman .. I'm guessing it was "Say You Will". I know "rise" by HERB ALPERT used to get played at 45 when the 12" was actually at 33 RPM.

Roger

I think it was Prance On...

[Hotspurman]

I think it was Prance On...

Tell a lie - it was probably Cyclops. But I seem to recall Prance On being bigger in the UK. It certainly appeared on the two volume Anthems compilations.

[Hotspurman]

Looking at the track listings for the two Anthems compilations, it's amazing how many jazz funk musicians became big in the UK thanks to exposure in the clubs, or discos. Aside from Eddie Henderson, there was Roy Ayers [[Running Away), Lonnie Liston Smith [[Expansions), Rodney Franklin [[The Groove), Charles Earland [[Let The Music Play, although I prefer Intergalactic Love Song), Tom Browne [[Funkin' For Jamaica), Donald Byrd [[Fallin' Like Dominoes) and John Handy [[Hard Work). Others that don't appear on the albums but which I recall getting massive amounts of club play include Eddie Russ [[Zaius), Crusaders [[Street Life, obviously, but also Stomp & Buck Dance), Ronnie Laws [[Always there), Deodato [[Night Cruiser and Whistle Bump), Ramsey Lewis [[Sun Goddess), Hubert Laws [[Chicago Theme and Inflation Chaser), B Baker Chocolate Co [[Snow Blower), Blackbyrds [[multiple tracks), Bob James [[Westchester Lady), Bobbi Humphrey [[Home Made Jam), Brecker Brothers [[Sneakin' Up Behind You), Grover Washington [[Mister Magic), Herbie Hancock [[multiple tracks), Lalo Schifrin [[Jaws), Brothers Johnson [[Streetwave), Willie Bob [[Always There), Brecker Brothers [[Sneakin' Up Behind You), Weather Report [[Birdland), Arthur Adams [[You Got The Floor) - and not one of these artists got a mention on Joy Of Disco!

[roger]

This thread, and perhaps that documentary, is yet again pointing out major cultural differences between the U.S. and the U.K..

Another thing that struck me soulster is that the show dated the "birth" of "Disco" as the Stonewall Riots in NYC when the patrons of the Stonewall "dance bar" got fed up with being raided by the police as in 1969 it was illegal in NYC for members of the same sex to dance together. The convention being boy-girl couples.

Yet here in Britain for as long as I can recall it hasn't been thought in the slightest bit unusual for people to dance on their own, or in groups [[same sex or otherwise). Indeed, at "Northern Soul" events it is unusual for people to dance together at all, everyone claiming a little bit of dancefloor for themselves to show off their moves.

Didn't some wit once describe Britain and America as "two nations divided by a common language?"

Roger

[P-Shark: The Revenge]

Looking at the track listings for the two Anthems compilations, it's amazing how many jazz funk musicians became big in the UK thanks to exposure in the clubs, or discos. Aside from Eddie Henderson, there was Roy Ayers [[Running Away), Lonnie Liston Smith [[Expansions), Rodney Franklin [[The Groove), Charles Earland [[Let The Music Play, although I prefer Intergalactic Love Song), Tom Browne [[Funkin' For Jamaica), Donald Byrd [[Fallin' Like Dominoes) and John Handy [[Hard Work). Others that don't appear on the albums but which I recall getting massive amounts of club play include Eddie Russ [[Zaius), Crusaders [[Street Life, obviously, but also Stomp & Buck Dance), Ronnie Laws [[Always there), Deodato [[Night Cruiser and Whistle Bump), Ramsey Lewis [[Sun Goddess), Hubert Laws [[Chicago Theme and Inflation Chaser), B Baker Chocolate Co [[Snow Blower), Blackbyrds [[multiple tracks), Bob James [[Westchester Lady), Bobbi Humphrey [[Home Made Jam), Brecker Brothers [[Sneakin' Up Behind You), Grover Washington [[Mister Magic), Herbie Hancock [[multiple tracks), Lalo Schifrin [[Jaws), Brothers Johnson [[Streetwave), Willie Bob [[Always There), Brecker Brothers [[Sneakin' Up Behind You), Weather Report [[Birdland), Arthur Adams [[You Got The Floor) - and not one of these artists got a mention on Joy Of Disco!
You got good taste. A few of the artists/tracks I never heard of though. But I'll see what I can find on them.
We need to start a Fatback Band thread. And as for your daughter, this video will answer her question:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeeOPR8bxac

[marv2]

Yes - the day's when they ASKED you if you'd like a smoking seat on a plane! Or would you like to be seated in the smoking section of a restaurant. Apparently, yesterday was National No Smoking Day here in the UK - I had a cigarette to celebrate.

That was true freedom! LOL! We use to have great time flying in those days. The food was great , the drinks were plentiful and once that "no smoking " sign went off and the curtain was drawn, that's when party would start hehehehehehe! We even use to dress up when flying.

[marv2]

I left some of MY favourites off in reeling them off the top of my head - how about Wicky Wacky, Street Dance, King Tim, Backstrokin'...

" King Tim, Backstrokin'" were our fun time party records in the late 70's! This was before rap caught on.

[Hotspurman]

You got good taste. A few of the artists/tracks I never heard of though. But I'll see what I can find on them.
We need to start a Fatback Band thread. And as for your daughter, this video will answer her question:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeeOPR8bxac

Happy memories! I have this annoying habit [[at least my family tell me it's annoying!) of speaking parts in well known comedy programmes just before their actually said. You know the kind of thing, telling everyone 'It's your fault, you invaded Poland' just before Basil Fawlty tells the German guests just that in Fawlty Towers. I also do it from time to time with music, so I often drive along banging the steering wheel whilst bellowing out 'Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop - I'll tell you when' whenever this track is on!

Let me know which tracks/artists you don't know from my previous list - I can let you know which albums to try and locate.

[marv2]

I honestly never heard that song until it came out on a Rhino CD comp back in the early 90s. Fatback wasn't big where I lived.

They were very popular on the East Coast. I remember hearing them and Foxy at every party in the summer of '78 and we partied OFTEN in those days! LOL!

[marv2]

Damn i'm glad people can't smoke where they want today. I have asthma and smoking bans make life much easier. I can go to night clubs now.

I'm sorry to hear that but up until the mid 80's or so , you could even smoke at your desk at work. A lot of people smoked in those days. Some arena concerts were filled with smoke of varying kinds , hehehehehehe!

[Hotspurman]

" King Tim, Backstrokin'" were our fun time party records in the late 70's! This was before rap caught on.


Isn't King Tim now accepted as one of the first rap records? As I recall, it was the flip side to whatever single the Fatback Band had out at the time, thus allowing Sugarhill Gang to get there first as far as having a hit record is concerned.

[Hotspurman]

I'm sorry to hear that but up until the mid 80's or so , you could even smoke at your desk at work. A lot of people smoked in those days. Some arena concerts were filled with smoke of varying kinds , hehehehehehe!

Even as recently as a few years ago, we were allowed to smoke at our desks after normal work hours, if we were working late!

[P-Shark: The Revenge]

Thanks Hotspurman. I found them.
Vocally this one doesn't do much for me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOy1fYv4m-Q
OK you had a typo. You meant Willie Bobo, lol. Cool song but I prefer Rnnie Law's vers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFnCKm11ajI
And this one which I actually did here. Just didn't know the name. Really like this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGgKEBlobIw

[Hotspurman]

I like Ronnie Laws version too - I remember getting his album on import from a small record store by St Paul's Cathedral and playing it to death. The Willie Bobo version grew on me too, as had Side Effect and Incognito's respective versions. Ronnie Laws' is still the killer version.

[soulster]

Another thing that struck me soulster is that the show dated the "birth" of "Disco" as the Stonewall Riots in NYC when the patrons of the Stonewall "dance bar" got fed up with being raided by the police as in 1969 it was illegal in NYC for members of the same sex to dance together. The convention being boy-girl couples.

Yet here in Britain for as long as I can recall it hasn't been thought in the slightest bit unusual for people to dance on their own, or in groups [[same sex or otherwise). Indeed, at "Northern Soul" events it is unusual for people to dance together at all, everyone claiming a little bit of dancefloor for themselves to show off their moves.


Roger

This makes me believe that the maker of the doc had an agenda.

[soulster]

I'm sorry to hear that but up until the mid 80's or so , you could even smoke at your desk at work. A lot of people smoked in those days. Some arena concerts were filled with smoke of varying kinds , hehehehehehe!

I know. I had to work with smokers in the early 80s.

[Roberta75]

This makes me believe that the maker of the doc had an agenda.

You don't mean a Gay agenda do you? Surely not.

[soulster]

You don't mean a Gay agenda do you? Surely not.

Yes, I do mean that. Look at that documentary. Look what it keeps going back to.

[marv2]

Yes, I do mean that. Look at that documentary. Look what it keeps going back to.

Amazing huh? Because it was Black music that was created for the most part by Black artists and largely bought by the black community from the very beginning. Dancing? All through the years in the black community so how this guy who produced this documentary come up with his view on things is completely beyond me.

[soulster]

Amazing huh? Because it was Black music that was created for the most part by Black artists and largely bought by the black community from the very beginning. Dancing? All through the years in the black community so how this guy who produced this documentary come up with his view on things is completely beyond me.

The director might not be wrong about the gay aspect. I don't know about that experience because i'm not gay, nor did I grow up in New York. But, again, the director made it seem like disco was nothing but a gay movement, and that a few female singers benefited from it by being sexual. So, people who weren't alive during that era and look at the doc will think that's all disco was about. When the narrator says that we need to go back a few years to understand the beginnings of disco, you'd think he would talk about go-go clubs, and how Black dance music was adapted. But, no, he goes into some mess about how gays were repressed. Even in the opening scenes of the doc, you see mostly scenes gay guys and pride marches in clubs. There was very little discussion about how the women's liberation movement, the emergence of Black America, or how Latino exposure all played a role. What about all the factors that brought on the backlash? What about the music industry recession partly brought on by the wild excesses, releasing millions of anything that sounded remotely dancible, no matter how bad it sounded. What about the impact that disco had on Black music? How about salsa music down in Miami?

I'm not being anti-gay by mentioning any of this, just pointing out how flawed the doc is.

[marv2]

The director might not be wrong about the gay aspect. I don't know about that experience because i'm not gay, nor did I grow up in New York. But, again, the director made it seem like disco was nothing but a gay movement, and that a few female singers benefited from it by being sexual. So, people who weren't alive during that era and look at the doc will think that's all disco was about. When the narrator says that we need to go back a few years to understand the beginnings of disco, you think he would talk about go-go clubs, and how Black dance music was adapted. But, no, he goes into some mess about how gays were repressed. Even in the opening scenes of the doc, you see mostly scenes gay guys and pride marches in clubs. There was very little discussion about how the women's liberation movement, the emergence of Black America, or Latino exposure all played a role. What about all the factors that brought on the backlash? What about the music industry recession partly brought on by the wild excesses of budgets, releasing millions of anything that sounded remotely dancible, not matter how bad it sounded. What about the impact that disco had on Black music? How about salsa music down in Miami?

I'm not being anti-gay by mentioning any of this, just pointing out how flawed the doc is.

I really don't care about all the political stuff when it comes to music, but I can say from a person that was alive during that era and before; also one that did not grow up in New York, that his view on how and why disco emerged is bullshit!

We were dancing to people like James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Junior Walk & the Allstars to name a very, very few years before the "disco era". James Brown was the Godfather of Soul, but he could also legitimately claim the title of Godfather of Disco and Rap! When we were going to parties and they were playing records by these artists and people like Eddie Kendricks, George McCrae, B.T. Express, Brass Construction, Hues Corp. and on and one, we didn't know anything about gays liberation or even was even a thought in Detroit or Toledo where i was living. The artists we partied to just made good music and like the kids said on American Bandstand, it had a good beat and was easy to dance to. Dance music was nothing new to us and it did not have a specific "start date" to when we began to enjoy it. This documentary missed the boat if it's intent were to tell the history about the beginnings, the rise and the fall of Disco Music. When the public stopped using the term "disco", it didn't matter to anyone I knew at all because music we danced to continued on and on and on any way.

[Roberta75]

Yes, I do mean that. Look at that documentary. Look what it keeps going back to.

That's "The gays" for you. Shocking really.

Roberta

[P-Shark: The Revenge]

The director might not be wrong about the gay aspect. I don't know about that experience because i'm not gay, nor did I grow up in New York. But, again, the director made it seem like disco was nothing but a gay movement, and that a few female singers benefited from it by being sexual. So, people who weren't alive during that era and look at the doc will think that's all disco was about. When the narrator says that we need to go back a few years to understand the beginnings of disco, you think he would talk about go-go clubs, and how Black dance music was adapted. But, no, he goes into some mess about how gays were repressed. Even in the opening scenes of the doc, you see mostly scenes gay guys and pride marches in clubs. There was very little discussion about how the women's liberation movement, the emergence of Black America, or Latino exposure all played a role. What about all the factors that brought on the backlash? What about the music industry recession partly brought on by the wild excesses of budgets, releasing millions of anything that sounded remotely dancible, not matter how bad it sounded. What about the impact that disco had on Black music? How about salsa music down in Miami?

I'm not being anti-gay by mentioning any of this, just pointing out how flawed the doc is.Just setting the record straight, right? Pun intended, couldn't resist:p

[soulster]

I really don't care about all the political stuff when it comes to music, but I can say from a person that was alive during that era and before; also one that did not grow up in New York, that his view on how and why disco emerged is bullshit!

We were dancing to people like James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Junior Walk & the Allstars to name a very, very few years before the "disco era". James Brown was the Godfather of Soul, but he could also legitimately claim the title of Godfather of Disco and Rap! When we were going to parties and they were playing records by these artists and people like Eddie Kendricks, George McCrae, B.T. Express, Brass Construction, Hues Corp. and on and one, we didn't know anything about gays liberation or even was even a thought in Detroit or Toledo where i was living. The artists we partied to just made good music and like the kids said on American Bandstand, it had a good beat and was easy to dance to. Dance music was nothing new to us and it did not have a specific "start date" to when we began to enjoy it. This documentary missed the boat if it's intent were to tell the history about the beginnings, the rise and the fall of Disco Music. When the public stopped using the term "disco", it didn't matter to anyone I knew at all because music we danced to continued on and on and on any way.

If I could point to the single biggest factor in the development of disco music, it was Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and their brilliant house musicians. They had brilliant people working with them like Thom bell and Vince Montana. They had veteran jazz musicians like Earl Young playing with them. There were also people like Van McCoy and a whole lot of people at Motown who helped shape what it became, and drew the blueprint for all who followed. Georgio Moroder was also an early architect of the music. He did great songs like "Son Of My Father". One song I thought was a great disco prototype is Donnie Ebert's cover of the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go". Then, the music just started coming together from everywhere. Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch played a major role. There were forward-thinking engineers like Tom Moulton and Joe Tarsia to get the sounds. And, yes, you had the DJs who spun the records. All that, combined with the shifting social and political climate, created the perfect storm for disco to come alive. The rock world, for a while didn't stand a chance!

I know there was time constraints, but there was a whole lot that doc could have been. Perhaps it should have been a multi-part series. Then it could have indeed included the stuff it seemed to concentrate on.

[soulster]

That's "The gays" for you. Shocking really.

Roberta

I'm sorry i'm offending you, but that's just the way the documentary impressed me.

[Roberta75]

I'm sorry i'm offending you, but that's just the way the documentary impressed me.

Oh you are not offending me at all.

Roberta