Disco
The so-called scourge of the 70's, Disco was the ultimate dance music of the time. With Latin, Pop, Psychedelic and Funk influences, Disco could be appreciated across classes and cultures, with great dance beats, layered musical production and the kind of powerful vocals that can still be heard from female pop singers to this day. It also influenced fashion and became a decadent lifestyle unto itself, which some say led to Disco's downfall.
You Should Be Dancin'
While Disco music can be fun to listen to or even sing along with, it's main appeal is that you can dance to it. New dances like the Hustle and the Bump sprung up from this era, while an overall Disco dance style aped Salsa and other Latin dances. Disco dance styles were often best done in pairs, with lots of hip and arm movement. The most popular showcase of Disco dancing is of course the 1977 film ''Saturday Night Fever''. There was also Roller Disco, or roller skating rinks that devoted some or all of their musical play to Disco.
Popular Disco Songs
A number of classic dance songs and karaoke classics come from the Disco era. Artists such as Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer and the Bee Gees ruled the charts, and musicians like David Bowie and Blondie also dabbled in the style. That said, Disco was less about musicians and bands and more about hitting a club and dancing all night. While Disco became popular thanks to radio DJs, dance hall DJs did the hard work, spinning and mixing to keep people on the dance floor. Despite it's "death" in the 70's, Disco continues to influence pop music. If it's the least bit danceable or has a musically layered structure, it owes a debt to Disco.
Some popular Disco hits include:
* "Bad Girls" Donna Summer
* "Boogie Oogie Oogie" A Taste of Honey
* "Disco Inferno" The Trammps
* "Heart of Glass" Blondie
* "The Hustle" Van McCoy
* "I Love the Nightlife" Alicia Bridges
* "I Will Survive" Gloria Gaynor
* "Last Dance" Donna Summer
* "Le Freak" Chic
* "Love to Love You Baby" Donna Summer
* "MacArthur Park" Donna Summer
* "More, More, More" The Andrea True Connection
* "Night Fever" The Bee Gees
* "That's the Way (I Like It)" KC and the Sunshine Band
* "Turn the Beat Around" Vicki Sue Robinson
* "Shake Your Booty" KC and the Sunshine Band
* "Stayin' Alive" The Bee Gees
* "We Are Family" Sister Sledge
* "YMCA" The Village People
The Disco Lifestyle
While Disco has its roots in what are often considered outsider communities, as it's popularity spread it acquired a certain high class sheen. There was a highly made-up nightclub scene, with men in silk shirts and polyester leisure suits and women in flowing dresses. Most styles associated with the 70's were popular in Discos, to the point that anyone wishing to dress as the decade can probably be found in bell bottoms and platform shoes. Similarly, dance clubs took on a high end style of their own. Nightclubs and private lofts pumped music in with expensive audio equipment and kept the dance frenzy up with complicated light systems. On the excess side, a new culture of casual cocaine use arose, in part to aid the high of dancing and keep dancers up all night.
The Death of Disco
With reasons ranging from mad, irrational jealousy to concerns about the popular dance music overwhelming other forms, a Disco backlash soon began. Despite it's outsider roots, Disco was perceived as an overwhelming high class attack on traditional Rock 'N Roll music, with many feeling threatened by their favorite artists crossing over to Disco. It reached fever pitch on July 12, 1979, when a Disco Demolition Night was held between a doubleheader at Chicago's Comiskey Park. DJ Steve Dahl blew up a crate full of Disco records on the field, sparking a riot that forced the second game of the evening to be canceled. With anti-Disco sentiment so high, Disco became a dirty word; to this day artists with Disco roots are more likely to discuss Funk or Dance as influences.
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