The DISCO Era! Come On, You Know You Liked It!

[jillfoster]

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:

[juicefree20]

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!

[soulster]

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.

[juicefree20]

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.

[soulster]

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".

Just for fun, i'll try:

Disco Inferno - The Trammps

The Groove Line - Heatwave

Well I don't know how ballsy he sounds, but there's Ray Simpson of G.Q. singing Disco Nights.

Man, you will go hungry tonight. I just can't come up with more than one!

I'm gonna get into a LOT of trouble here, but I think maybe a reason most European disco producers concentrated on the beat instead of the rhythm is because they are..uh..Anglo European. One exception I can think of is Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and some of the early records they did for Donna Summer like "Love To Love You baby", and "Winter Melody". They had very strong bass lines.

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.

I've been sating this for decades, but you can't tell it to the rock snobs.

[juicefree20]

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!!!

[juicefree20]

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

[marv2]

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

[jillfoster]

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

Juice, You don't like Tragedy? I think it's one of their most interesting offerings. But lets keep this in perspective, I don't feel ANY of the Bee Gees disco songs are their best work, that opinion is reserved for "Words", "I Started A Joke", and "Run To Me". I do have to agree about "More than A woman".... and the song itself is fine, because Tavares' version KICKS ASS.

[soulster]

Juice, You don't like Tragedy? I think it's one of their most interesting offerings. But lets keep this in perspective, I don't feel ANY of the Bee Gees disco songs are their best work, that opinion is reserved for "Words", "I Started A Joke", and "Run To Me". I do have to agree about "More than A woman".... and the song itself is fine, because Tavares' version KICKS ASS.

The bee gees have repeatedly said that the music they did in the late 70s is not disco. It's R&B.

[marv2]

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

Juice! We are the same age! ssssshhhh....! LOL! I am finding all this incredible because you had the same mindset, experience and perspective on things that were going on at that time in music as we did over in Michigan and Ohio! When the film "Saturday Night Fever" came out [[ I think I first saw it in December 1977 or around there...) we were like cool, Vinny Barberino is in a new movie. Some of the clothes he wore, we were already wearing to high school so that was cool too. Now when it came to the club scenes, it was like we might as well be looking at the Cantina Scene from "Star Wars" LOL! We did not dance like that and no one we knew danced like that [[ the Russian Kosak moves, hehehehehe...) but still it was enjoyable. We could relate to the commaraderie and hanging with your buddies on the weekend. To us it was not an accurate portrayal of Urban music, dancing and club going.

[soulster]

Juice! We are the same age! ssssshhhh....! LOL! I am finding all this incredible because you had the same mindset, experience and perspective on things that were going on at that time in music as we did over in Michigan and Ohio! When the film "Saturday Night Fever" came out [[ I think I first saw it in December 1977 or around there...) we were like cool, Vinny Barberino is in a new movie. Some of the clothes he wore, we were already wearing to high school so that was cool too. Now when it came to the club scenes, it was like we might as well be looking at the Cantina Scene from "Star Wars" LOL! We did not dance like that and no one we knew danced like that [[ the Russian Kosak moves, hehehehehe...) but still it was enjoyable. We could relate to the commaraderie and hanging with your buddies on the weekend. To us it was not an accurate portrayal of Urban music, dancing and club going.

Well sheeeit! Both of you are the same age as me. When SNF came out, I didn't think much of the movie at all beyond the music. When I went to the theater to see it, I was not impressed at all. Actually, my father went with my sister and I to see it. Had we know all the stuff that was going to be in it, that never would have happened. Imagine having to sit with your sister and father and having all that sex stuff on the screen. I was fifteen years old and I couldn't have been more embarrassed...except for my sister! And, my father wasn't too crazy about white people at that point in time.

[juicefree20]

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!!

[marv2]

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

[jillfoster]

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*.

[marv2]

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

[daddyacey]

Juice , allow me to take a few steps forward........................
some other scenes of the crimes in N.Y.C. ;
Alexanders ,Casablanca ,Better Days , Club My Way , The Loft ,Gatsbys ,Ipanema ,La Martinique ,Leviticus ,Nemos, Othellos ,Pippins ,Stardust Ballroom ,Jimmys ,the Gallery, 12 West ,Liquid Smoke ,Justines ,La Renaissance, The Headrest, Speakeasy..........,,,All were serious Dance Clubs/Discotheques before
"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." Well put homie .

Some more awesome Dance tracks,
Frontline --Eddie Grant
Funky Nassau--Beginning Of The End
Bad Conditions--Lloyd Price
Do It Fluid-- Blackbyrds
Who Is He.....--Creative Source
Oh Wah Oh Hey [[Funky Song) , -- Ripple
Waterbed---LTG Exchange
Express--B.T. Express

And one other thought ,.......With the introduction of the further refinement of R&B by the Philly crew of writers and musicians ,which had been started by the Motown crew and taken to the next level by Gamble and Huff ,B.H.Y and the Cayre Bros [[Salsoul) in the mid 70's ,by tastfully adding orchestral arrangements and instruments to the Funk base ,they broadend the audience. The Funk was still there ,but not as raw as before because the added instrumentation and arrangements brought a little more depth to the Funk/Dance element ,but made it not so ...direct. Funk IS a very sensual thing, and it does believe it or not ,makes some folks not used to it ,edgey. They made it .....paletable. Sort of like the difference between a straight up [[neat) liquor drink and a mixed drink/cocktail as an analogy for example. They took the edge off of it. That's why IMO ,classic P.I.R. tracks like ,for example "Love Train ","The Love I Lost" ,"Let's Groove" and Trammps tracks like "Promise Me" ,"Where Do We Go From Here" are called "Disco" , disregarding the quality musicianship and production of them. Take for a big example ,"Love Is The Message". A track played in and popular in the pre-"Disco" Clubs and parties.
The only airplay it had at that time was on urban F.M. radio and THAT was because of that exposure and the word of mouth in the community. In its original L.P. mix , it was a favorite dance track ,because it was so beautifully done. It struck me as a swinging big band type ,soulful track ,that echoed the feeling of the times, "Love is the message" ,and was danceable ,but too short and hard to extend ,in that mix. [[The way you really wanted it to). Then a year or so later ,this "Disco" thing starts to pop up all over and these new tracks have inst dubs and stuff you can mix with ,but that L.I.T.M. is a classic track that you always play and then ...BAM... T.M does this wicked "Disco" remix of the track. Tom's "Disco" mix of that track is better known than its original form ,which was a beautiful piece to begin with and conceptually not intended for a "Disco" market.
However, L.I.T.M. ,is considered one of the most popular "Disco" tracks. Toms remix gave the strings ,drums ,horns ,vocals [[and cheated on the keyboards), they own solos!!! You can dance to any of the mixes on the dance floor ,but to sit down and LISTEN to the original or the T.M. remix is an awesome thing. Something I don't associate with ,the white suit ,Boom Tsk,Boom ,Tsk ,Boom ,vision of "DISCO"
In the Clubs at the same time on the raw side , K.C.'s "I Get Lifted" is considered "Disco" ,but in fact it's just, just downright nasty ,FUNK.
Another standout is the first Dr Buzzard album. "They" call that "DISCO" ,but in fact ,it combines so many elements of American music culture ,that to me ,these 30 plus years later ,it defies categoration, other than being a mutant work of art.
It's that commercial "gimmick" association and point of view of the later 70's that bugs me about that word "Disco"

[marv2]

Juice , allow me to take a few steps forward........................
some other scenes of the crimes in N.Y.C. ;
Alexanders ,Casablanca ,Better Days , Club My Way , The Loft ,Gatsbys ,Ipanema ,La Martinique ,Leviticus ,Nemos, Othellos ,Pippins ,Stardust Ballroom ,Jimmys ,the Gallery, 12 West ,Liquid Smoke ,Justines ,La Renaissance, The Headrest, Speakeasy..........,,,All were serious Dance Clubs/Discotheques before
"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." Well put homie .

Wow, Daddy I remember a lot of those clubs. The twin brothers that started Leviticus lived right out here on Long Island.
Juice that was a very accurate way of describing what happened to the "phenomenon" commonly known as disco. You all remember how the "Michael Jackson" look was co-oped and commericalized in the early to mid -80's with the pleather red jackets and the one white glove? This is the exact same thing that happened to dance music in the late 70's. I remember when discos became "elite" and you had to wait in line and be chosen to be admitted [[I was lucky enough to have to go through that, I had the right connections LOL!) but it, like everything else made people "want it" or want to get in that much more. After awhile, the mystique wore off. That whole attitude also helped to kill off disco. People for a while no longer dressed up to go out and wait behind the "rope" to party. They would dress down and head to the neighborhood bar to party.

[jillfoster]

You know.. I agree about Eurodisco for the most part, but there were a few exceptions. This song is considered eurodisco by most, but it represents the BEST of that genre, IMO. And I can see the issue with disco going bad when it was stripped of it's soul.

[marv2]

I liked the Bee Gees. They started to really get my attention in 1975 with "Jive Talkin'" and they played a nice role in the soundtrack of my life between 1976-1979.

[soulster]

I liked the Bee Gees. They started to really get my attention in 1975 with "Jive Talkin'" and they played a nice role in the soundtrack of my life between 1976-1979.

same here! Started with "Jive Talkin'". Absolute fave is "You Should be Dancing" and "Fanny".

[marv2]

same here! Started with "Jive Talkin'". Absolute fave is "You Should be Dancing" and "Fanny".

Oh sure. The Bee Gee's were one of THE groups during that era. Off the top of my head [[and excuse for repeating some that have already been mentioned) here were some of theirs and Andy Gibb songs that made an impact on the charts and on radio during that time:

Jive Talkin
Nights On Broadway
Fanny
Stayin Alive
You Should Be Dancin'
I Just Want to Be Your Everything [[A. Gibb)
Night Fever
How Deep Is Your Love
Tragedy
Shadow Dancing [[A. Gibb)
Love Is [[Thicker than Water)[[A. Gibb)

Not to mention top songs they wrote and produced for others such as "Emotion" by Samantha Sang in '78.

[marv2]

Euro-Disco or "mindless Disco" was horrible in my opinion. That list I posted earlier in this thread of the Top 500 Disco Records included some of it and again I say it was obscure garbage. Thump, thump, thump with no reason or rhyme and definitely with no SOUL!

[marv2]

But good Dance/Disco Music I loved and is a part of my collection.

[marv2]

Btw, Tavares had the better version of "More Than A Woman" in my opinion.

[jillfoster]

What's your all opinions when people re-make a classic pop or soul song, or remix it into a disco/dance track?

[daddyacey]

By the time S.N.F. came out ,the "Pop -Disco" label phenom had already begin to grow. Urban F.M. stations had began to play records that were popular in the "Dance Clubs". Here in NYC ,it was WKTU followed by WBLS and KISS. If you went to Clubs ,you knew of tracks that were not played on radio. All of a sudden some of these tracks are on these "Disco Mix" radio shows.
The Bee-Gees had concieved and recorded in fact an R&B album , but R&B had been lumped into this general [[Fad image of white suits, lighted dance floors and other extras) sale friendly catagory ,by entrepruners. Using the previously prooven sales generating method of pairing a soundtrack album and feature film , targeting a specific audience ,[[like back in the day with Mohagany ,Super-Fly ,Car Wash ,Sparkle ,Claudine etc), the "suits" put a visual picture of what "Disco" was to look like, and hooked true Dance/R&B sound to that stupid image, cause that was the "Thing" , but it was R&B ,regardless of what they called it.
Take for example The B.G.'s "You Should Be Dancin". A nasty Dance tune. So Funky ,people would dance to it the same way be it at a fancy lighted "Disco" Club or at a candle lit warehouse loft ,with a kick ass sound system.
That was the start ,it went slowly down hill from there.

[nomis]

..you knew things had gone bad when Rick Dees did "Disco Duck" and Sarah Brightman had lost her heart to a starship trooper..lol at my gig at the local gay club last Thursday I threw in Stars On 45 - Abba Medley for a dare..and people liked it..!!!..an honorable mention in the cringe stakes to Ottowans "Hands Up" just spung to mind...

[jillfoster]

..you knew things had gone bad when Rick Dees did "Disco Duck" and Sarah Brightman had lost her heart to a starship trooper..lol at my gig at the local gay club last Thursday I threw in Stars On 45 - Abba Medley for a dare..and people liked it..!!!..an honorable mention in the cringe stakes to Ottowans "Hands Up" just spung to mind...

Stars on 45? Oh crap... is that one of those interminable medley mash-ups? There was an oldies DJ here who kept playing those a few years ago. But to be honest, Abba didn't really fit into disco, with the exception of "Gimme Gimme Gimme", and "Lay All Your Love On Me". I think "Dancing Queen" is too slow to be considered disco, and it's such a perfect song, anyway... how can you not like it. but you should be able to play Abba for these youngsters, Nomis... surely theyv'e at least seen advertizements for Mamma Mia. You want to see a reaction from a young crowd, I dare you to play Ian Dury's "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick". LOL

[soulster]

But to be honest, Abba didn't really fit into disco, with the exception of "Gimme Gimme Gimme", and "Lay All Your Love On Me". I think "Dancing Queen" is too slow to be considered disco, and it's such a perfect song, anyway...

Well, it was too lush for disco, but look at Chic's "I Want your Love", or many of Barry White's orchestral sides.

[soulster]

..you knew things had gone bad when Rick Dees did "Disco Duck" ....

Well, now wait..."Disco Duck" was on the charts at the same time "You Should be Dancing" by the Bee Gees was in 1976, so it wasn't bad yet. You know, people always cite songs like "Disco Duck" as the worst of disco, but forget that it was only a harmless little novelty song. And, as bad as some say disco got in the late 70s, they also forget that some of the best of it was also huge during that time. Chic dropped "Le Freak" in late 1978, and I consider that one record to be the best disco had to offer in the later period.

[nomis]

Hi Jill - Stars On 45 was a fast paced medley who sound alike singers -they scored big in the UK with The Beatles medley then the Abba medley hit the charts...Dont get me wrong I love Abba but its kitsch to hear all those songs glued together by one chorus of each..the other Abba disco hit that springs to mind is Voulez Vous [[a track I love _ i can see Soulster shaking his head in disaproval! he he)..I thought "Lay All Your Love On Me" was a first rate production but they definetley dabbled in disco to some extent...

[jillfoster]

Hi Jill - Stars On 45 was a fast paced medley who sound alike singers -they scored big in the UK with The Beatles medley then the Abba medley hit the charts...Dont get me wrong I love Abba but its kitsch to hear all those songs glued together by one chorus of each..the other Abba disco hit that springs to mind is Voulez Vous [[a track I love _ i can see Soulster shaking his head in disaproval! he he)..I thought "Lay All Your Love On Me" was a first rate production but they definetley dabbled in disco to some extent...

Yes... that's the one i'm thinking of, it's not actual Abba... but these sound alikes that remind one of "Up with People". I hated those with the heat of a thousand suns.

[marv2]

Yes... that's the one i'm thinking of, it's not actual Abba... but these sound alikes that remind one of "Up with People". I hated those with the heat of a thousand suns.

Jill, get outta here! "Up With the People", you remember them too? LOL! They use to come to perform at my school at least once a year even then we thought they were so corny and square!

[nomis]

...I didnt realise Disco Duck was 76..I always thought it was later..sometimes its hard to say if something is disco or not..sometimes Blondie Heart Of Glass is considered disco to others its new wave..I heard taste Of Honeys Boogie Ooogie in a bar last friday and I had a good dance to that...

[daddyacey]

Well lets not leave out some other "Disco" tunes like "Miss You" by the Stones ,"When Love Is New" by Arthur Prysock ,"Disco Lucy" ,"Get Dancin" by Disco Tex and his Sex o Letts and "I Love N.Y." among others that were introduced into the existing "Dance/R&B" playlist ,and IMO created that start of the "Disco" influence in the dance music culture. The introduction of Popular and Rock and Roll artists into the predominately R&B /Dance genre is what created the craze component of Disco. The Pop artists like Cher ,Debbie Harry ,The Stones ,Frankie Valli ,Yes [[!!!) David Bowie, Elton Johns Philly sessions etc ,that were not in the R&B Dance music field originally ,were mixed with the R&B formula, and created a wider audience ,that may not have been in tune to the predominent R&B/Funk sound of "Party" music but now had names to identify with. Following S.N.F was T.G.I.F. ,[[oy vay!!).
I was into Yes ,as a Rock group ,but when "Owner Of A Lonley Heart" was released ,I was flabbergasted ,I mean you've got to be kidding me. Some novelty productions are fine ,but then IMO they have they place in the genre ,but true R&B/ Funk/Dance was still being made at that time such as ,Instant Funks "Got My Mind Made Up" ,Rhyze "Just How Sweet Is Your Love", Leroy Burgess "Lets Do It" and others that were played in the same clubs with those other "Disco" tracks and yet they were lumped into that "Disco" mindset ,although they were still truthfully straight up Dance oriented Funk/R&B tracks. Bunny Sigler's Instant Funk and Leroy Burgess ,just ain't "Disco". Funky is Funky ,Funky "like" is just what it is ,something that has Funk/Dance/R&B elements. Even lush productions like CHIC and Barry Whites , had specific parts that were lush and full in instrumentation ,but were written with parts that were intended to be stripped down to the basic Funky core.

[soulster]

Well lets not leave out some other "Disco" tunes like "Miss You" by the Stones ,"When Love Is New" by Arthur Prysock ,"Disco Lucy" ,"Get Dancin" by Disco Tex and his Sex o Letts and "I Love N.Y." among others that were introduced into the existing "Dance/R&B" playlist ,and IMO created that start of the "Disco" influence in the dance music culture. The introduction of Popular and Rock and Roll artists into the predominately R&B /Dance genre is what created the craze component of Disco. The Pop artists like Cher ,Debbie Harry ,The Stones ,Frankie Valli ,Yes [[!!!) David Bowie, Elton Johns Philly sessions etc ,that were not in the R&B Dance music field originally ,were mixed with the R&B formula, and created a wider audience ,that may not have been in tune to the predominent R&B/Funk sound of "Party" music but now had names to identify with. Following S.N.F was T.G.I.F. ,[[oy vay!!).
I was into Yes ,as a Rock group ,but when "Owner Of A Lonley Heart" was released ,I was flabbergasted ,I mean you've got to be kidding me. Some novelty productions are fine ,but then IMO they have they place in the genre ,but true R&B/ Funk/Dance was still being made at that time such as ,Instant Funks "Got My Mind Made Up" ,Rhyze "Just How Sweet Is Your Love", Leroy Burgess "Lets Do It" and others that were played in the same clubs with those other "Disco" tracks and yet they were lumped into that "Disco" mindset ,although they were still truthfully straight up Dance oriented Funk/R&B tracks. Bunny Sigler's Instant Funk and Leroy Burgess ,just ain't "Disco". Funky is Funky ,Funky "like" is just what it is ,something that has Funk/Dance/R&B elements. Even lush productions like CHIC and Barry Whites , had specific parts that were lush and full in instrumentation ,but were written with parts that were intended to be stripped down to the basic Funky core.

Daddyacey, the infusion of rock acts didn't start tghe craze. Bands like the Rolling Stones, Kiss, and Rod Stewart didn't create their hits until 1979, around disco's peak.

[marv2]

Daddyacey, the infusion of rock acts didn't start tghe craze. Bands like the Rolling Stones, Kiss, and Rod Stewart didn't create their hits until 1979, around disco's peak.

Well close. The Rolling Stones were pretty much a part of the mix at the right time, Summer of 1978 with "Miss You". The others, you're right got into the mix a little later in '79 and you can add Marvin Gaye, Cher, Mary Wilson etc, although not Rock Acts, but established acts that got in late in the "disco" craze.

[soulster]

Gotta remember, though, that many artists were forced by the record companies to do a disco song. It was even put into their contract to have at least one disco tune on an album. Few artists did it willingly. Many times, A&R people were around to make sure it happened. It hurt a lot of R&B artists.

[marv2]

Gotta remember, though, that many artists were forced by the record companies to do a disco song. It was even put into their contract to have at least one disco tune on an album. Few artists did it willingly. Many times, A&R people were around to make sure it happened. It hurt a lot of R&B artists.

That is exactly what happened. Some even bitched about it in public and in the media.

[jillfoster]

That is exactly what happened. Some even bitched about in public and in media.

So true, and Mary wilson had no business recording a primarily disco album. Red Hot is really BAD, IMO. If she would have been produced properly and positioned right in the the industry, she should have been a feamle Barry White, but alas, Motown was dumb, and Roberta Flack got her spot.

[soulster]

So true, and Mary wilson had no business recording a primarily disco album. Red Hot is really BAD, IMO. If she would have been produced properly and positioned right in the the industry, she should have been a feamle Barry White, but alas, Motown was dumb, and Roberta Flack got her spot.

I figured someone would eventually try to work mary Wilson into this thread. I wonder how long it will be before someone turns it into a Diana Ross thread.

[glencro]

if that one doesn't work...try this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m04-4...eature=related

[marv2]

This jam here by Third World could be classified as Reggae. I bought the album and then the 12". It may or may not have been classified as "Disco" but I dare anyone to sit completely still when this one is on the wheels of steel! 32 years later and it still is awesome....."Now That We Found Love " everybody!

[Jerry Oz]

This jam here by Third World could be classified as Reggae. I bought the album and then the 12". It may or may not have been classified as "Disco" but I dare anyone to sit completely still when this one is on the wheels of steel! 32 years later and it still is awesome....."Now That We Found Love " everybody!

I agree, Marv. In the same vein, I'd suggest that this Bob Marley classic can also be classified as disco and reggae.

[marv2]

I agree, Marv. In the same vein, I'd suggest that this Bob Marley classic can also be classified as disco and reggae.

This one I love but has some sad memories for me attached to it. I bought and it seemed that right after that he died. Great record though.

[marv2]

Very nice Glencro. I love the Clark Sisters!

[REDHOT]

But THE SUPREMES, MARY CINDY SCHERRIE and SUSAYE had disco hits too, He's my man, Let my hart do the walking, Moving on,You're what's missing[[in my life)High energy,You are the heart of me, FREDA PAYNE, I'll do anything[[for you)THE ORIGINALS,Down to lovetown DAVID RUFFIN'S Walk away from love, SISTERS LOVE,Give me your love,THE JACKSON 5,Forever came today,THE TEMPTATIONS, HAPPY PEOPLE, I still love DISCO today.
Please stay positive

[waldo]

THE JACKSON 5,Forever came today

i've never liked this. Body Language [[Do The Love Dance) and Honey Love are much BETTER disco records from the J5. IMO.

[marv2]

i've never liked this. Body Language [[Do The Love Dance) and Honey Love are much BETTER disco records from the J5. IMO.

Interesting Waldo as I remember hearing Forever and Body Language, but not Honey Love. Was it an album cut?