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  1. #101
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    If you're into disco & boogie tracks, check out the recent UK CD releases from Backbeats ......
    .... loads of great compilations at cheap prices .....
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/BoogieS-Gonn...8603629&sr=1-2
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philly-Disco...=pd_sim_m_h__4
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Soul-Steppin...=pd_sim_m_h__1

  2. #102
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  3. #103
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    Hi this is Kev-Lo

    Here's A Disco Masterpiece that they Still tear up parties
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnNYCV5gJbE

  4. #104
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    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5KodTR21OI Alright now--get down to one of the great ones-and move it! Ms Gerladine Hunt Cant Fake the Feeling on Solid Gold.

  5. #105
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    Here's one that many people think of when they here the word "Disco". It was on the radio all time in the Winter of 1977-78 and one of my favorites The Bee Gees and "Night Fever"! :

  6. #106
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    I preferred "Nights On Broadway " and "Nights On Broadway" to Night fever,But If Im in the dj Booth I'd go with Nightfever for the crowd,[[mainly 18 -25) would know it over my 2 favs...

  7. #107
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    I am here.Just reading about others thoughts on it and what it meant to them. I don't have to tell you what it meant to me. You can hear it in the Music.

  8. #108
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    Tom, we were wondering where you were! Your work and input is ESSENTIAL to this discussion. I personally am interested in knowing what your approach is when creating an extended mix of say a 3:00 minute single cut?
    Last edited by marv2; 11-02-2010 at 02:41 PM.

  9. #109
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    Quote Originally Posted by nomis View Post
    I preferred "Nights On Broadway " and "Nights On Broadway" to Night fever,But If Im in the dj Booth I'd go with Nightfever for the crowd,[[mainly 18 -25) would know it over my 2 favs...
    I prefer the original studio hit version of "You Should be Dancing".

  10. #110
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    you must be absolutely thrilled that your work on Gloria Gaynor has been issued on CD. The album "never can say goodbye" totally changed my life - as it did many others. To be so creative and talented and have a legacy that you were such an influential figure within the music world... I'm envious!

  11. #111
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    Not being insulting, but how can an album change a person's life? Just curious.

    I can't think of any one song or album that has ever made a huge impact in a life-changing way.
    Last edited by soulster; 11-02-2010 at 04:46 PM.

  12. #112
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    Quote Originally Posted by soulster View Post
    ...except that Johnnie Taylor himself had said that the song isn't disco. It's R&B.
    Considering that musical backing for Disco Lady came from various P-Funk alumni, that song could be labeled Funk.

  13. #113
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    Quote Originally Posted by timmyfunk View Post
    Considering that musical backing for Disco Lady came from various P-Funk alumni, that song could be labeled Funk.
    That's exactly what it is! Funk. call it funk, R&B, but it's not disco.

  14. #114
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    Quote Originally Posted by soulster View Post
    Not being insulting, but how can an album change a person's life? Just curious.

    I can't think of any one song or album that has ever made a huge impact in a life-changing way.

    I'll briefly explain. Until the disco era, and in particular the Gloria Gaynor album [[plus George McCrae's 'Rock your baby' and also Barry White's 'Can't get enough') I was a good student, and most of my time was spent studying, reading, and listening to music. That music was primarily Motown or classical. I was a solitary person, and had no idea what the inside of a nightclub was like, and probably only went into a pub about once or twice a year. Gloria's album came out, and when I played it, I just found it so very hard to keep still. I wanted to get up, to dance, to go out, studying suffered, music was played very loud, went out, slept with women. When I was getting ready to go out, I often would play this album very loud [[and I do mean loud) and I would become extremely excited about where I was going to go, where I would end up, who I would meet, and so on. For me, the first side of this album was about 19 minutes of sheer fantastic music, designed to stimulate, motivate and make me feel that the night was mine for the taking. That's enough for now ... :-)

  15. #115
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    Well, that interesting.

    I have never heard the entire album, so I looked to see if I could download it and found in on Amazon. I sampled it and it sounded bad. Then, I looked around and found out why:
    http://www.discomusic.com/forums/sho...636#post169636

    I'll just look for the vinyl LP.

  16. #116
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    [QUOTE=soulster;17074]Well, that interesting.

    I have never heard the entire album, so I looked to see if I could download it and found in on Amazon. I sampled it and it sounded bad. Then, I looked around and found out why:
    http://www.discomusic.com/forums/sho...636#post169636

    I'm sure you also read the reply from the label manager Wayne Dickson, which I am copying here. If Tom Moulton is happy with the finished product, then I most definitely am:

    "Gentlemen,
    Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wayne Dickson. I am label manager for Big Break Records here in the UK. Tom Moulton alerted me to this thread and I felt I should drop a note to you all here.

    First of all, the facts.

    We take the sound quality of all of our releases very seriously indeed. Personally, there is nothing that disappoints me more than bad sound quality on a CD so when we were fortunate enough to obtain the rights to release the first two Gloria Gaynor, we set about making sure that we did the best job possible. The original tapes were sourced from Universal in New York and were then restored and remastered by Kevin Reeves, who we requested personally. I supervised the mastering and made sure the end results were to my satisfaction. Tracks 9 & 10 [[The Columbia Singles) were only available from copy masters that were in bad condition. It was my decision to include them despite their limitations and I am very glad I did.

    As some of you may know, music recorded during this period was often produced and mixed to fit the vinyl format. This means that the sound on the actual master tape does not always reflect the producer's aim for how the music would sound on vinyl. Further compression techniques would be implemented at the pressing stage. Our aim here was to provide a fitting representation of these classic albums in a digital format.

    Now, opinions.

    We are very happy with the finished results and are glad to report that almost all of the feedback we have received though our email address and Facebook site, as well as an email from Tom Moulton himself, backs our own opinions up. We do realise that everyone is entitled to their view and are very happy for them to express it. My only problem is when Audiophiles start to present their opinions as fact. I would invite anyone who is interested in this music to make up their own mind and not be influenced or dictated to by others.

    Please make sure when any of you send out a "warning" to other potential buyers that may lead to them avoiding a product that you include another "warning" about the demise of CD sales that makes it more likely that there will be less future releases for them to listen to and make up their own mind about. I would also like to add that suggesting that Tom Moulton's masterpieces be remixed would result in a remix album rather than the original. Surely this should not be our aim. I appreciate the positive comments made on the mastering of our other releases. These opinions are also noted and appreciated.

    I hope this clears up any questions anyone still may have on the product. Please be in no doubt that we always aim to deliver the best product.

    Thank you,
    Wayne A. Dickson,
    Label Manager, BBR [[Big Break Records)".

  17. #117
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    Very anti-audiophile.

    As an audiophile, I just want the music to represent more of what's on the tape. That's not usually a problem, as Kevin reeves is a terrific engineer, and I have corresponded with him. I like his work.

    The problem comes when the mastering engineer boosts the volume several decibels with limiting and/or compression just to make it louder. ANYONE who works with audio knows what this does to the sound. I little bit can sound tasty, but too much can make mush out of the sound. Unfortunately, that all too often happens with CD remasters. That is what audiophiles are against.

    I have another remaster from BBR, and, while s the sound is quite good, they compressed it to make it louder. In this day and age, with the Abbey Road Team redefining what good taste is in remastering by showing restraint with the limiting/compressing, there is no reason to boost the level 5-6 db. The recent Beatles and John Lennon remasters sets the new standard in remastering. There is no need to go crazy with the compressor. period.
    Last edited by soulster; 11-04-2010 at 02:56 AM.

  18. #118
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    Gwen Guthrie , another Diva's Diva. "Padlock" ,"7'th Heaven" ,"It Should've Been You" ,"Nothing Going On But The Rent", "Outside In The Rain" , on their own are classics , transformed by Re-mixes by Larry Levan ,and made into Mega Classics ,are undisputed classics. Larry and Joycelyn and Gwen ,were by destiny ,meant to work together. The stars were in the right place for all of the tracks made in this period to be together and it will be a long time before something like that will ever happen again. I mean that from the heart , If you don't know then you really need to research and listen and check it out. WORD.

  19. #119


    I'm not such a fan of disco, I much prefer funk, but I'll post some of my favourite disco tracks,

  20. #120


    Superb disco funk, from the amazing Norman Whitfield.

  21. #121

  22. #122
    Is Keep On Truckin' disco, funk, or disco funk? I'm not too good on categories. One thing I do know, it's a superb piece of music.


  23. #123

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  25. #125
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    Truckin ,is considered "pre-Disco" , mainly because it was out before the "Disco" commercial designation came into existence.
    Tracks like Truckin ,were played in urban clubs ,households and house parties/social events from the time when they came out. Disco ,being a multi cultural "genre" ,combined dancable Pop and thru the older DJ's ,dancable R&B. Later ,when the mixing of tracks allowed there to be extended versions ,the fact that it was a dancefloor hit ,made it a prime track for a remix or extended mix. It is in fact though ,Funk.

  26. #126
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    Quote Originally Posted by the_chicks_call_me__slick View Post
    Is Keep On Truckin' disco, funk, or disco funk? I'm not too good on categories. One thing I do know, it's a superb piece of music.

    Well, it depends on who you ask. It was classified as early disco as far as I know.

  27. #127
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    Quote Originally Posted by daddyacey View Post
    Truckin ,is considered "pre-Disco" , mainly because it was out before the "Disco" commercial designation came into existence.
    Tracks like Truckin ,were played in urban clubs ,households and house parties/social events from the time when they came out. Disco ,being a multi cultural "genre" ,combined dancable Pop and thru the older DJ's ,dancable R&B. Later ,when the mixing of tracks allowed there to be extended versions ,the fact that it was a dancefloor hit ,made it a prime track for a remix or extended mix. It is in fact though ,Funk.
    That's it Daddyacey, you got it! You see, Eddie Kendricks' "Girl You Need A Change of Mind" has been called the record that unofficially started the "Disco Age or Era". It became a very popular dance record in New York City in the early 70's.

  28. #128
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    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    Well, it depends on who you ask. It was classified as early disco as far as I know.
    I never heard it called disco. Maybe in NY...

  29. #129
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    certainly George McCrae's single 'Rock your baby' has always been known as the record that started the disco era.

    I was too young to go to nightclubs when Eddie's 'keep on truckin' was released, but I've never known it to be a disco track - perhaps the older guys from London [[the velvelettes man for example) may know more than me about it.

  30. #130
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    Actually, Rock The Boat by Hues Corporation is the song that is acknowledged as the first disco record. The thing is, it's not even disco.

  31. #131
    pshark Guest
    Is there a real definition on how disco music is suppose to sound like? Some say that Soul Mokassa was the first.

    But it goes even further than that. In the 60's Go Go clubs were popular. Go Go was just another name for Discotheque.
    Smokey & The Miracles' "Going To A Go Go" can be classified as early disco.


    http://www.jahsonic.com/Discotheque.html
    http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/loun...eque-6702.html
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discoth%C3%A8que#History
    Last edited by pshark; 11-11-2010 at 02:18 AM.

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    For what it is worth ,from my opinion as a student of Social Science in college ,and an observer of and life expierienced person of world and American ,Pop culture, through the 50's ,60's ,70's and 80's and the term Disco is a no frills generalized term ,who's sole purpose was to make Danceable, Soul and R&B music and anything comparable, acceptable to a Mass audience, of a music of a specific group of people , so that people that were not of that core group that created it ,but liked it, would not feel alienated in doing so. It's the same thing basically that happened with R&B / Blues and the creation of "Rock and Roll. Truthfully , WTF is Rock & Roll ? The Blues with another name. They used to call it "race music". "Covers" made it Rock and Roll. It's the same game with another name. If "Disco" is dead , where the f... did it go????????? Is DISCO just the 118-120 to 130 beat that was prevalent to the70's -80's era. Is it just referring to music played in an era when you went out dancing ,and was provided by "RECORDED MEDIA" ,instead of a "LIVE BAND and VOCALIST"? "Disco" is derived from the French term ,"Discotheque" ,in which the music was provided from records mainly. Can you say that because of that , and technology ,that that is one of the reasons that Music Theory and the playing and teaching/instruction of the art of playing an instrument ,is not a major part of the education process in the school system today?
    It's now 2010 going on 2011 ,and there still exists "clubs" where people go to "Dance". What is that music played in those clubs called today???? Is that or can that be called Disco?????
    Or...............because I raise these questions , make me an old crazy ,lost in the past , azzhole ,that needs to shut up!
    I'm o.k with being an azzhole , I got 50 yrs worth of music to keep me warm.
    "A rose by any other name would still be a rose" But I digress , forgive me.......................

  33. #133
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    Quote Originally Posted by daddyacey View Post
    For what it is worth ,from my opinion as a student of Social Science in college ,and an observer of and life expierienced person of world and American ,Pop culture, through the 50's ,60's ,70's and 80's and the term Disco is a no frills generalized term ,who's sole purpose was to make Danceable, Soul and R&B music and anything comparable, acceptable to a Mass audience, of a music of a specific group of people , so that people that were not of that core group that created it ,but liked it, would not feel alienated in doing so. It's the same thing basically that happened with R&B / Blues and the creation of "Rock and Roll. Truthfully , WTF is Rock & Roll ? The Blues with another name. They used to call it "race music". "Covers" made it Rock and Roll. It's the same game with another name. If "Disco" is dead , where the f... did it go????????? Is DISCO just the 118-120 to 130 beat that was prevalent to the70's -80's era. Is it just referring to music played in an era when you went out dancing ,and was provided by "RECORDED MEDIA" ,instead of a "LIVE BAND and VOCALIST"? "Disco" is derived from the French term ,"Discotheque" ,in which the music was provided from records mainly. Can you say that because of that , and technology ,that that is one of the reasons that Music Theory and the playing and teaching/instruction of the art of playing an instrument ,is not a major part of the education process in the school system today?
    It's now 2010 going on 2011 ,and there still exists "clubs" where people go to "Dance". What is that music played in those clubs called today???? Is that or can that be called Disco?????
    Or...............because I raise these questions , make me an old crazy ,lost in the past , azzhole ,that needs to shut up!
    I'm o.k with being an azzhole , I got 50 yrs worth of music to keep me warm.
    "A rose by any other name would still be a rose" But I digress , forgive me.......................

    Great, wonderful post Daddy, I was having similar thoughts. What is it that defined "Disco".

  34. #134
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    I can't believe in 2010 that there are still people who don't know the difference between funk and disco, don't know that
    there were placed called discotheques before the emergence of the genre known as disco just as they were sometimes
    referred to as Go Gos long before there was a genre of that same name, let alone people who don't know that there was
    dance music, dance clubs and dance styles before disco came on the scene... Wow!...
    And Pshark, no offense, dude but Smokey Robinson's Going To A Go Go as early disco?!?!...I couldn't buy that for a penny...
    I actually was shocked to see the notion coming from a fan of the Funk...There are some very well written histories and
    definitions of the genre in print and on the web [[at wikipedia, fyi) and though I can see how arguments are formed some
    others make me laugh. Soul Makossa as the 1st disco record? Well, it was played in discothques and it was Manu Dibango's
    1st international hit so if I'm a hit and miss search engine like microsoft's Bing, I've got the tags 1ST in there and DISCO, so...Bam! Correct! It was!....But the reality is as much as folks liked it [[me included) and as big as a hit it became, it
    wasn't disco. Shit, it wasn't even Makossa. Manu himself admitted that...

  35. #135
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    Quote Originally Posted by soulster View Post
    Actually, Rock The Boat by Hues Corporation is the song that is acknowledged as the first disco record. The thing is, it's not even disco.
    That's the first I've ever heard of that. And you're right, it's not disco, so whoever believes it's acknowledged as a disco record has fallen out of his tree and hit his head causing it to malfunction.

  36. #136
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    Quote Originally Posted by gordy_hunk View Post
    That's the first I've ever heard of that. And you're right, it's not disco, so whoever believes it's acknowledged as a disco record has fallen out of his tree and hit his head causing it to malfunction.
    I don't know about the U.K., but it has always been widely regarded in the states as the first bona-fide disco hit. While not disco, the song is famous for ushering in a dance called the Latin hustle, later popularized by Van McCoy's "The Hustle" one year later.

    There are a LOT of people who have no clue as to what a disco record really is, and they tend to label any Black artist from the 70s, and just anything dancable as disco. Rockers tend to be notorious about this.

  37. #137
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    Quote Originally Posted by soulster View Post
    I don't know about the U.K., but it has always been widely regarded in the states as the first bona-fide disco hit. While not disco, the song is famous for ushering in a dance called the Latin hustle, later popularized by Van McCoy's "The Hustle" one year later.

    There are a LOT of people who have no clue as to what a disco record really is, and they tend to label any Black artist from the 70s, and just anything dancable as disco. Rockers tend to be notorious about this.
    I agree with you about Van McCoy's record "The Hustle". The first time I heard it ,I had just woke up to get ready for school [[I was in High School). It came on CKLW and I didn't pay it much attention to it as I thought it was a commercial. Later on, I heard it again and again. Nice record. I am Black and I hate stereotypes.

    Still, can anyone explain what ingredients made a record "Disco"? Was it BPM[[ Beats Per Minute) or something else? I know it had nothing to do with the ethnicity of the artist because a wide variety of people and record companies released "Disco" records between 1974 and 1980. The Sugar Hill Gangs hit "Rappers Delight" was released nationally in 1979 using Chic's "Good Times" as it's backdrop, still that record was called a "Rap Record" but the music was classified as Disco.

  38. #138
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    Quote Originally Posted by the_chicks_call_me__slick View Post
    Now this was a jam and a definite floor filler!

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    Quote Originally Posted by marv2 View Post
    I agree with you about Van McCoy's record "The Hustle". The first time I heard it ,I had just woke up to get ready for school [[I was in High School). It came on CKLW and I didn't pay it much attention to it as I thought it was a commercial. Later on, I heard it again and again. Nice record. I am Black and I hate stereotypes.

    Still, can anyone explain what ingredients made a record "Disco"? Was it BPM[[ Beats Per Minute) or something else? I know it had nothing to do with the ethnicity of the artist because a wide variety of people and record companies released "Disco" records between 1974 and 1980. The Sugar Hill Gangs hit "Rappers Delight" was released nationally in 1979 using Chic's "Good Times" as it's backdrop, still that record was called a "Rap Record" but the music was classified as Disco.

    I'm Black and I hate stereotypes too...except there are certain cases where I think they apply, like with conservatives/republicans! Hahah!

    What constitutes a disco record is a question that will never be agreed on. All I know from experience is that those who hate it tend to lump all R&B/funk in as disco. And, i'm sorry if it offends anyone, but I often find that some people who do this are bigots and racists, and may not even realize it.

  40. #140
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    Quote Originally Posted by splanky View Post
    I can't believe in 2010 that there are still people who don't know the difference between funk and disco, don't know that
    there were placed called discotheques before the emergence of the genre known as disco
    How right you ARE. Exhibit A, Discoteque and disco dancing talked about in this show from 1970:


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    Hi Everyone.

    I'm finally getting a chance to stop through. Ironically enough, both Rock The Boat AND Rock Your Baby were commonly regarded as the "first" Disco records & let's not forget Love's Theme & The Hustle [[which I absolutely HATED!!!). But when you REALLY think about the sound of Disco, how can one ignore The Trammps Zing Went The Strings?

    When I think back on those days, there were several songs that were the precursors to Disco.

    One, which should be most obvious is "Date With The Rain" by Eddie Kendricks. The problem with that song was that is was so damn short. But if you listen to the rhythm & the arangement, you'll recognize that this song was perfect for hustling years before the hustle existed. I also believe that Keep On Trucking was a song the presaged the Disco era with it's seemingly endless percussion breakdowns, but for Disco purposes, was a bit too slow in tempo to be regarded as what became the "typical" Disco arrangement.

    I see several songs which were mentioned above which ARE NOT Disco & could in no way be classified as such. Many of them are nothing more than hard-nosed R&B that we danced to [[or in my case), played in clubs. As far as the question "What is Disco"?, I'll attempt to answer based on what I remember those days to have been like...

    To begin with, Disco was nothing more than DANCEABLE R&B. Nothing less & nothing more. And there was absolutely nothing wrong with that formula. Unfortunately, just as with the music of today, one of the things that changed it forever were those whom believed that all that they had to do was to follow a formula & they'd have hits.

    NOT!!!

    Anyway, their formula went something like this...

    1. Thou MUST have a "four-on-the-floor" beat!!! No syncopation which requires a little deftness of foot. Just a damn metronomic BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM, so that NO ONE could possibly miss the beat.

    2. Thou MUST clock in at 120 BPM, preferably higher

    3. Thou MUST reference sex, or shaking your booty at least 7 times in the first 2 verses!

    4. Thou MUST add strings...EVERYWHERE

    5. Thou needeth NOT worry about lyrical content, nor any pretense of making any grandiose social commentary, that is anything other than "Do a little dance...make a little love...get down tonight...baby...come with me I wish you would...baby it feels so good, a-ha, ha-ha-ha"!

    6. Thou MUST pose scantily scad MODELS on the cover so as to fool people into believing that those girls & not the session musicians are the actual group singing & playing on the record.

    7. Thou MUST make this music palatable for the mainstream, therefore...

    8. Thou MUST find voices which are stripped of anything resembling soulfulness & milquetoast doesn't hurt. After all, we're selling a lifestyle, the music & not necessarily great vocalists. Were there great vocalists? YES! But that wasn't the MAINSTREAM Disco formula, the one which would record frogs croaking to a 4/4 beat & some strings. Remember Sesame Street Disco???

    9. Thou MUST throw in some drum breaks & lots of "OOOHS" which leads to a musical "climax", or at least we HOPE so.

    10. Thou MUST promote the fairer sex over all of the great soulful MALE singers, whom will be left off of the Disco train. Ever notice that most of the individuals whom are most canonized in the Disco genre just happen to be female. Yes, some of the brothers get through, but while women such as Vickie Sue, etc. names roll easily off of the lips of most, how many even know the name Jimmy Ellis who had more Disco hits than most of the "One-Hit Wonders" whom are still remembered fondly?

    11. Thou may record ANYONE singing, even if they CANNOT sing a lick! Hell, you can even quack like a duck, say the word Disco & people will buy it. Hey, that's what the beat is for! Besides, everyone will be too high to know the difference, that is until they sober up & play back a $3.98 lp worth of pure dreck that only a high person could appreciate to begin with.

    For me, that was the beginning of the end, but what REALLY drove the final nails into the coffin was when Disco went mainstream & became commercial. That's when every Ethel, Ann & Pat Boone decided to hop on the Disco Train & not the one driven by Jerry Rix. The next thing you knew, Disco was everywhere...commercials, with Captain Stubing, Julie & Gopher on The Love Boat.

    As long as Disco remained "underground" as it were, all was copasetic. But once we got into all of that "life imitating art" crap, Disco as WE knew jumped the shark. I've met Denny Terrio & he seemed to be a very nice guy, but that show represented no slice of Disco life that I'd ever seen. Shows like "Dance Fever' made Disco look like a pathetic joke. I used to see that show & get totally pissed-off, wondering what Disco they were hanging out at, because it didn't represent even ONE club that I knew of. And seriously, when you have Greg Brady trying to shake his Disco groove thing on the tube, you've just gotta know that you're courting disaster & social irrelevance.

    I might add that the movie "Saturday Night Fever" did nothing to help, with it's unrealistic view of the lifestyle. I know of NO MAN who could've bogarted an entire dance floor with all of that Russian cossack bullshit & not gotten an immediate beat-down & don't get me started on "Looking For Mr. Goodbar".

    Disco was killed by a bunch of Johnny-Come-Latelys, who weren't really there at the beginning, they just latched onto the latest fad. That served to bring out the greed in the record companies & other corporations whom believed that they had found a golden goose whom would endlessly lay golden eggs.

    They laid plenty of eggs alright, unfortunately the only thing golden about them were the rotten yolks inside.

    Disco would've remained beter served had it remained undergound with the people who nurtured it, understood it & were faithful & true to it.

    Unfortunately, the corporates pimped Disco like she was a $2 crack ho & unfairly covered a lot of great artists & an entire movement with the stench of THEIR perversion of it.

    Wasn't a damn thing wrong with Disco until THEY gave it a label. WE didn't do that, no saw any need to do so. But then again, we weren't trying to market it, we were too busy living it & having one hell of a great time while doing so. Until they got their grubby hands on it.

    Just one man's backward glance into the Disco mirror ball!
    Last edited by juicefree20; 11-12-2010 at 08:59 PM. Reason: spelling error & additional thought

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    I have always said that what ruined disco was the introduction of Eurodisco, or the European-flavored dance music that is more closely associated with disco, and what is most often cited as the worst of disco.

    And as the early examples of disco is concerned, The O'Jay's "Love Train" fits the bill. That was 1972! You can make all the arguments about how it's straight up R&B, but strip away the vocal tracks and what do you have? No, Gamble & Huff didn't set out to make a disco record any more than the drummer on "The Love I Lost" [[Bernard Purdie?) invented the syncopotated drum pattern with the open/closed hi-hat.

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    I would argue further that one of the primary things which killed AMERICAN Disco as we knew it were the electronic Dancemeisters who placed the emphasis on the metronomic beat, the overabundance of swirling strings & that confounded "four-on-the-floor" beat which helped to suck the life & soul out of the original Disco/Dance music flavor.

    They helped to oversimplify the music & if you listen to some of their music, some of it tended to damn-near snobbery & European classical themes. I can think of several songs & entire LPs which followed this theme, which could be one of the reasons why so many artists of the Soul era were dying on the vine.

    The most ironic thing is that 1979, the year of "Disco Sucks" which culminated in the disasterous protest at Cominsky Park, was a year that gave us some of the greatest Disco Music ever! Here's a list & while technically speaking, not all of it is "Disco", but these songs were played big-time in the clubs in my area. I'll begin with two of the biggest Dance classics not to chart & how they didn't, I'll never know...

    Black Ivory - Mainline [[I can't tell you just how huge this song was in the N.Y. area & these 31 years later [[wow, has it really been THAT LONG?!?!), it still gets a great response!

    First Choice - Love Thang & Double Crossed [[DJ Bobby Guttadaro Mix) - As I recall it, Love Thang was issued as a B-Side, but most of we brothers flipped it

    Here's another sleeper...Tyrone Davis - You Know What to Do

    Then there were...

    George Duke - I Want You For Myself [[Simply MARVELOUS!!!)
    Five Special - Why Leave Us Alone [[You MUST HAVE the LONG version of this one!!!)
    Chic - I Want Your Love [[from the end of 1978), My Forbidden Lover & Good Times
    Sister Sledge - We Are Family & He's The Greatest Dancer
    Positive Force - We Got The Funk [[End of 1979) Absolutely wonderful!!!
    Kleeer - Keeep Your Body Workin'
    Trussel - Love Injection [[End of '79)
    Diana Ross - The Boss & No One Gets The Prize [[There is absolutely NO FRONTIN' on No One Gets The Prize & that break..."Backoff"
    Narada Michael Walden - Tonight I'm Alright & I Shoulda Loved Ya
    Freedom - Get Up & Dance
    Inner Life - Caught Up [[In A One Night Love Affair) [[End of 1979)
    McFadden & Whitehead - Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
    GQ - Disco Nights & This Happy Feeling
    Bohannon - Me & The Gang [[end of '78)
    Slave - Just A Touch Of Love & Are You Ready For Love
    Cameo - I Just Want To Be
    Prince - Sexy Dancer & I Wanna Be Your Lover
    Michael Jackson - Don't Stop 'Til & Rock With You
    Jacksons - Shake Your Body Down [[end of '78)
    Stephanie Mills - What'cha Gonna Do & Put Your Body In It
    Kool & The Gang - Ladies Night & Hangin' Out [[end of '79)
    Cheryl Lynn - Got To Be Real [[from end of '78)
    Archie Bell & The Drells - Strategy & Show Me How To Dance
    The Jones Girls - You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else
    One Way - You Can Do It
    Instant Funk - I Got My Mind Made Up [[from the end of 1978) & Slap, Slap Lickedy Lap [[aka Mind Made Up Pt. 2)
    Roy Ayers - Don't Stop The Feeling
    Chuck Brown - Bustin Loose [[end of '78)
    Phreeek - Weekend [[from end of '78) The LP VERSION!
    Brass Construction - Music Makes You Feel Like Dancin'
    Candi Staton - Rock & When You Wake Up Tomorrow [[BADDD AZZZZ BREAKS!!)
    Stargard - Wear It Out
    Machine - There But For The Grace Of God Go I
    Dee Dee Bridgewater - Bad For Me
    Jackie Moore - This Time Baby
    Gino Soccio - Dancer
    Deniece Williams - I've Got The Next Dance
    Carrie Lucas - Dance With You
    Linda Clifford - Don't Give It Up
    The Gibson Brothers - Oooh, What A Life
    Gary's Gang - Keep On Dancing [[end of '78)
    T-Connection - A Midnight, Saturday Night & Groove To Get Down [[from end of '78)
    Herman Kelly & Life - Dance to The Drummers Beat [[from end of '78)
    Tasha Thomas - Shoot Me With Your Love [[from end of '78 - what an intro!)
    Grey & Hanks - Dancin' & You Fooled Me [[from end of '78)
    Phyllis Hyman - You Know How To Love Me
    Harvey Mason - Groovin' You
    Anita Ward - Ring My Bell
    Bill Summers - Straight To The Bank
    Norma Jean - High Society

    Gloria Gaynor - Anybody Wanna Party [[I LOVED this one as much as I HATED Survive) On the other hand, the "Survive" mix which mixed "Survive" with At Midnight by T-Connection was alright with me, as were all of the Disco Spectacular & Bits & Pieces mixes.

    Honorable Mentions - Jungle & Erucu plates by Sunshine Distributors

    Shalamar - The Second Time Around
    Brainstorm - Hot For You
    7th Wonder - Do It With Your Body
    Skyy - First Time Around
    Atlantic Starr - Let's Rock & Roll
    Sergio Mendez & Brazil '88 - I'll Tell You
    Bunny Sigler - [[I Knew It Was You) By The Way You Dance
    Rufus Fea. Chaka Khan - Do You Love What You Feel
    Donna Summer - Bad Girls [[Frankie Crocker used to rock this one to death!)
    Splendor - Take Me To Your Disco
    Wardell Piper - Super Sweet
    Billy Nichols - Give Your Body Up
    Don Armando - Deputy Of Love
    Alma Faye - It's Over [[a.k.a. Victim Pt. 2) & Don't Fall In Love
    Taana Gardner - Work Your Body
    Debbie Jacobs - Don't You Want My Love
    Cognac - How High
    FLB - Boogie Town
    Dynasty - I Don't Want To Be A Freak
    The Spinners - Body Language
    Cher - Take Me Home
    Queen Samantha - Take A Chance
    The Bombers - Let's Dance
    THP Orchestra - Weekend Two-Step
    War - Good, Good Feelin'
    Marsha Hunt - The Other Side Of Midnight [[depending on where you were, you got this one in late '78 or '79)
    Celi Bee - Fly Me On The Wings Of Love
    Paul Lewis - Girl You Need A Change Of Mind
    Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Reasons To Be Cheerful, Pt. 3
    Ren Woods - Everybody Get Up
    Chantal Curtis - Get Another Love
    EW&F - September [[From the end of 1978) with The Emotions - Boogie Wonderland [[Yes, I know...not exactly a shining moment, but hey...that's the way it was!)
    Rod Stewart - Do Ya Think I'm Sexy [[yeah, yeah...I know. It's popular to mock it today, but back then even my Brooklyn brothers were on this one!)
    Wings - Goodnight Tonight [[Yeah, we used to jam this one too, especially the break)
    Edwin Starr - Contact
    LAX - Dancin' At The Disco
    Ashford & Simpson - Stay Free
    Herb Alpert - Rise
    Bill Withers - You Got The Stuff [[THE 12", not the LP version. That LONNNNNNG break was special back then, but best suited for skating.)
    Jean Carn - My Love Don't Come Easy & Was That All It Was
    Tamiko Jones - Tamiko Letting It Flow [[A bit of a cheat as Let It Flow originally came out in 1976)
    Evelyn "Champagne" King - Out There [[12'' version only - some sweet keys on the intro break)
    Esther Williams - Last Night Changed It All
    Double Exposure - I Got The Hots For Ya
    Candido - Dancin' & Prancin'
    Melba Moore - Miss Thing & Pick Me Up I'll Dance
    Patti LaBelle - It's Alright With Me
    Keith Barrow - Turn Me Up
    Blondie - Heart Of Glass [[yeah, yeah...I know, but a lot of us played it!)

    And the Ian Levine produced Eastbound Expressway - Never Let Go [[Part of the appeal was likely due to it's similarity to Roy Ayers Running Away)

    In the interest of full disclosure, I have to tell you that my cut-off point was usually in the mid 120's, with VERY few exceptions along the way. 130 & all of that was just a little too hyped for me & my crowd who leaned more toward R&B or Disco Funk. While we could swing with a little Love Symphony Orchestra, THP Orchestra [[Two Hot For Love) or even Perfect Love Affair & Come On, Dance Dance, that was the upper limit for us & our music didn't tend to reside in that frenzied stratosphere.

    This is just some of what was being played around these parts back in 1979 & there's some damn fine music on this list. And as noted, this represents the final year of what most consider to be the classic Disco era. By definition, following 1979, "Disco" as we knew it was rarely made. The electronic era which was embraced & pushed by Belotte, Midney, etc. turned Disco into something entirely different.

    Dance music? Yes. Disco? HELL NO!!

  44. #144
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    Juice, I have the long version of Five Special - Why Leave Us Alone! Bought it the week it came out ! LOL!

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    Soulster:

    I'd agree with that. There are other songs which fit the bill before the word "Disco" was used. As noted earlier, Date With The Rain & Zing Went The Strings were also from 1972 & if that's not the sound of Disco as we knew it, then I don't know what is. I'd also add "I'll Be Around" to that list, being more of a laid-back Disco sound.

    The way that I see it, it was precisely those producers who took the emphasis off of the great vocals that we used to hear, ESPECIALLY the male Soul singers. They "Elvisized" the vocals [[sing-songy & soul-less, cloying unison vocals) & began to push their vision through various females, relegating many of the great male voices to the background, or out of the picture altogether.

    A quick litmus test...name for me at least 20 songs that these folks produced between 1977 - 1979 that featured a ballsy, strong male lead vocal & I'll eat my copy of Munich Machine's "Whiter Shade Of Pale". The way that I see it is that they took our Dance music [[conveniently labelled "Disco") & through their particular point of view placed the emphasis on the female. As I said earlier, we can come up with a laundry list of great female Disco Divas, but how many great soulful Disco MALE voices can the majority of people name?

    I find it funny that there are people who consider a group such a Lime to be a "great" Disco group & that cracks me up. I liked some of their music [[maybe 1 or 2 songs), but for anyone to attempt to put them up there with folks like The Trammps, First Choice, Tavares & the like is laughable & tantamount to cultural theft. They may have made Dance music, but with no disrespect intended I would never classify them as a "Great" Disco group, much less a Disco group...PERIOD.

    Again, Disco was noting more than uptempo Soul music until it was co-opted & changed by others to fit into the neat little box that they created for it.

    Ask Tom Moulton what TRUE Disco music was & I have a hunch that he won't think it was music with vocals that had no heart or soul, with a beat that sounded like a grandfather clock on steroids.

    True Dance music a.k.a. "DISCO" music lived & breathed & damn near took on a life of its own. To be certain it had specific ingredients, but I believe that the musicians who created in were a little more spontaneous than some guy forcing his OWN vision of what that music should be on folks. For example, most of the musicians whom I've met from Philly International have always told me that while a Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff gave them a sketch or guideline, they were allowed, even encouraged to add their own thing to it.

    Which is why trying to mix songs like Let No Man Put Asunder, My Love Is Free, Love Is the Message or Doctor Love requires a precise knowledge as to where to mix in, as well as when to mix out. Many of those songs, as well as many made by The Trammps went through so many tempo changes that your head could spin. Ain't no constant "four-on-the-floor" beats happening there.

    In the final analysis, I've always noticed that the Eurodisco producers put a premium on TEMPO over RHYTHM.

    And needless-to-say, there's a hell of a difference between the two!

    Perhaps what's necessary is a differentiation between Disco & Eurodisco. As the various world wide opinions indicate, all "Disco" music IS NOT created equally, nor do they seem to consist of the same components or sensibilities.

  46. #146
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    Geez, Juice.... I agree with you after a fashion. I do think that all the people who jumped on the bandwagon killed it, as opposed to those who started it. And the big problem was the Bee Gees got caught in that backlash which was totally undeserved, because their music was NEVER bad. Their songs were never that monotanous, 4 on the floor type songs, even releasing ballads such as "Too Much Heaven", and "How Deep Is Your Love" in the middle of all that. The only thing I tired of was Barry's falsetto, I always preferred him singing in his regular voice, and the absence of Robin doing any leads during that period hurt the eccelecticism of their sound. But as far as disco goes... songs don't get much better than this, it's not this boring, methodical thump thump thump and limited lyrics *cough* silver convention *cough*.


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    Marv:

    Being a DJ, I bought 2 of them & those brothers sure were breaking it down on that break. And that's what I meant in my last few posts. Those brothers weren't joking around, they were blowing some serious Soul, which is something that I don't recall hearing on the majority of Eurodisco songs of that era.

    I would imagine that it was easier for some producers to get voices that were indistinct so that they could pretty much plug in various singers as though they were tv tubes or sound modules. It also meant that should any paricular singer get a bit too haughty, they'd be much easier to replace for a younger & cheaper model.

    But that Five Special joint was truly special.

    But TRUE Disco died when they tried to strip it of its Soul, demonizing those who loved & created the culture.

    Remember the beginnings of Rock & Roll [[i.e. uptempo R&B) when many bastardized an entire genre of music, all so that we could find out how much some damn doggy in a window cost.

    SHEESH!!!

  48. #148
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    Jill:

    If many of us are being honest, a WHOLE lot of us liked The Bee Gees back then.

    While I liked Nights On Broadway, a whole lot of people in my neighborhood were feeling Jive Talking, You Should Be Dancing, Night Fever & Stayin' Alive. I'm telling you, I played in a club that was in the heart of East New York, bordered by Bed-Stuy & Brownsville & I can truthfully say that damn near EVERYONE was either listening to or dancing to J.T., Y.S.B.D., N.F. & S.A.

    The backlash against The Bee Gees was somewhat belated & Y.S.B.D came out during 1976, more than a year before that movie came out. I can tell you that the folks in my neighborhood & school spent 1976 hustling to Y.S.B.D. Likely because of when the movie was actually filmed, most of the songs in that soundtrack were already old by the time the movie was released.

    As for The Bee Gees, I liked some of their music since the days of I Started A Joke, How Can You Mend A Broken Heart & I've Gotta Get A Message To You. I also loved the other songs that I mentioned above. I think what made me absolutely sick & tired of them was that insipid More Than A Woman & Tragedy. I must admit that the movie did absolutely nothing to help.

    What truly pissed me off about the movie was that even though the origins of Disco were well-known, they chose to anglocize it, stripping away several layers, very important layers of its origins & the whole experience. Admittedly, at the age of 16 or 17 [[1977), I had no idea about much of the lifestyle. I had no idea about the meaning of songs such as Fire Island or YMCA. To me, the YMCA was somewhere where we kids used to go after school to play ball. Most of us had no idea that those songs had a special meaning to anyone.

    I learned pretty quickly though when I started out as a DJ & decided to go to see my cousin Winye' play. I went with my sister & his brother [[who already knew the deal) but when we stepped through those doors at The Continental Baths, it blew my mind. I thought that I was pretty much up on things, but in no way was my nearly 18 year-old mind prepared for anything that I saw that night.

    I think that I'll leave it at that
    Last edited by juicefree20; 11-13-2010 at 01:51 AM.

  49. #149
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    Then of course there was my girl, Mary Wilson with the epic "Red Hot" aka Mary does James Brown!

  50. #150
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    Now if you want to see some real dancing, the way we got down Detroit style... forget "Saturday Night Fever" and check this out!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brW7Wmxetgc

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