In summer 1993 I was sitting in the back of Michael’s Toyota Tercel, stuck on the George Washington bridge, having to pee so bad I was considering getting out and pissing over the railing.
Absolutely spot-on about "Stayin' Alive." The beat in it was inspired by the overhead trains. Disco was glamorous. One of my earliest memories is my mom getting ready for a night out dancing. The "Star Wars" song still makes me want to cringe while enjoying the beat.
Reading this, listening to the songs as I avoided putting my very grouchy first grader to bed. “Stayin’ Alive” started and I started dancing around to it, and she nodded along in her bed, and cracked a smile for the first time in 2 hours. “Ok, I do like this one.” Bet you didn’t expect this article to save bedtime, but life is full of surprises, ha.
Disco is FUN! The composers and musicians are obviously having a blast, and the upbeat beat inspires dance without cynicism. It was a dirty shame that after Saturday Night Fever peaked, the Kewl Kids began to badmouth disco, besmirching its name for generations. The Bee Gees caught most of that scorn in the teeth, despite their being amazing songwriters and performers.
You can't really talk about disco without mentioning KC & the Sunshine Band.
Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” and Madonna’s entire “Ray of Light” album are both 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. Don’t forget about Evelyn “Champagne” King’s “To Be Real”.... #LETSDANCE #BOWIE
I wouldn’t have admitted to my rock-loving friends back in high school that I loved disco…and still do. So upbeat, so danceable! And I can’t dance very well. Parliament/Funkadelic were great too—thank you Creem magazine ( “America’s Only Rock-n-Roll Magazine”) for introducing me to George Clinton and his band!
So weird. I've been on a disco kick lately. I've been playing Disco Inferno (The Trammps) nearly every day for weeks now while cooking in the kitchen. You just can't be sad while listening to disco.
TMI, but Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" was on my labour playlist. I had quite a bit of disco on it, I remember having "You Make Me Feel" by Sylvester on it. It got the midwife's seal of approval. It's the sort of music that gives you a lift when you need it. Way better than most pop music now.
1. We all like the music of our youth best. 2. I am of the previous "death to disco" generation, but was very pleased to see these clips. All much better than I recalled. Always loved BeeGees however. 3. Hair before blow dryers. Oh my.
My ninth birthday party was a disco party! I made a mix tape of all the best disco songs (plus a couple of dance songs from the 90s - i.e. the Macarena) and told everyone to dress in 70s clothes. I wore bellbottoms. We had a disco ball (that was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, of course, but being the 90s, it was hard to find one!). My parents told me that when other parents dropped their kids off, they didn't want to leave because they loved the music so much! Disco is awesome.
Fun musical fact: Most of you probably remember the 90s one-hit-wonder called “Steal My Sunshine” by Len. It was damn near ubiquitous in 1999. That entire song, more than four minutes long, was sampled from just FOUR MEASURES of “More, More, More” by Andrea True Connection. Those four measures are actually musically distinct from the rest of the song, oddly enough.
They brought the key all the way down a major 6th (from Db to E), but you can definitely hear the “Steal My Sunshine” sample starting at 2:20 in the embedded ATC video above.
It had that sort of Smashmouth silly Cali alt kids vibe going on. The other ones in that bucket were Sugar Ray. (Just checked though and *of course* Len are Canadian).
Absolutely spot-on about "Stayin' Alive." The beat in it was inspired by the overhead trains. Disco was glamorous. One of my earliest memories is my mom getting ready for a night out dancing. The "Star Wars" song still makes me want to cringe while enjoying the beat.
Reading this, listening to the songs as I avoided putting my very grouchy first grader to bed. “Stayin’ Alive” started and I started dancing around to it, and she nodded along in her bed, and cracked a smile for the first time in 2 hours. “Ok, I do like this one.” Bet you didn’t expect this article to save bedtime, but life is full of surprises, ha.
Yes yes a thousand times yes. LOVE DISCO!
Disco is FUN! The composers and musicians are obviously having a blast, and the upbeat beat inspires dance without cynicism. It was a dirty shame that after Saturday Night Fever peaked, the Kewl Kids began to badmouth disco, besmirching its name for generations. The Bee Gees caught most of that scorn in the teeth, despite their being amazing songwriters and performers.
You can't really talk about disco without mentioning KC & the Sunshine Band.
- "I'm Your Boogie Man" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ee3C2m3OXE
- "That's the Way I Like It" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0_H3F84Yjk
- "Get Down Tonight" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXIBEW5MLuU
- "Keep It Comin', Love" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc_pjiCJl3s
- "Shake, Shake, Shake" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqoDrWXnld0
- "Boogie Shoes" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia0zeuZMJbo
Yes!! I was going to suggest Boogie Shoes. You beat me to it
Apropos: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AGaX9aZLjOs
While disco was a bit before my time (not by much) I will always remember 1999 Fire Island Pines Pavilion Disco night. Totally nuts. Miss those days.
Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” and Madonna’s entire “Ray of Light” album are both 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. Don’t forget about Evelyn “Champagne” King’s “To Be Real”.... #LETSDANCE #BOWIE
Awwwww real real real real!
My MAJOR faux pas! Cheryl Lynn sang “To Be Real” and the unforgettable Evelyn “Champagne” King sang the fabulous “Shame” 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Ha, I shoulda seen your second comment before posting
Isn't "To Be Real" by Cheryl Lynn? If we're thinking of the same song, it's a floor filler for sure!
I am a little sad you didn't include "Xanadu". Are the roller skates not glamorous enough for you?
Fly robin fly 👌
I wouldn’t have admitted to my rock-loving friends back in high school that I loved disco…and still do. So upbeat, so danceable! And I can’t dance very well. Parliament/Funkadelic were great too—thank you Creem magazine ( “America’s Only Rock-n-Roll Magazine”) for introducing me to George Clinton and his band!
So weird. I've been on a disco kick lately. I've been playing Disco Inferno (The Trammps) nearly every day for weeks now while cooking in the kitchen. You just can't be sad while listening to disco.
TMI, but Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" was on my labour playlist. I had quite a bit of disco on it, I remember having "You Make Me Feel" by Sylvester on it. It got the midwife's seal of approval. It's the sort of music that gives you a lift when you need it. Way better than most pop music now.
1. We all like the music of our youth best. 2. I am of the previous "death to disco" generation, but was very pleased to see these clips. All much better than I recalled. Always loved BeeGees however. 3. Hair before blow dryers. Oh my.
My ninth birthday party was a disco party! I made a mix tape of all the best disco songs (plus a couple of dance songs from the 90s - i.e. the Macarena) and told everyone to dress in 70s clothes. I wore bellbottoms. We had a disco ball (that was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, of course, but being the 90s, it was hard to find one!). My parents told me that when other parents dropped their kids off, they didn't want to leave because they loved the music so much! Disco is awesome.
Fun musical fact: Most of you probably remember the 90s one-hit-wonder called “Steal My Sunshine” by Len. It was damn near ubiquitous in 1999. That entire song, more than four minutes long, was sampled from just FOUR MEASURES of “More, More, More” by Andrea True Connection. Those four measures are actually musically distinct from the rest of the song, oddly enough.
They brought the key all the way down a major 6th (from Db to E), but you can definitely hear the “Steal My Sunshine” sample starting at 2:20 in the embedded ATC video above.
Yep. I hated that song. The perfect presentation of "I'm a cute alternative wu-wu girl lol" lazy "music."
Did you hate it because it sampled a beloved disco song, or just because it was irritating? Haha!
Because it was extraordinarily irritating in every way.
Can’t argue with that!
Also because I couldn't *stand* that no one my age knew where the sample came from and acted like this "band" had come up with something unique.
“How do you like it? (Repeat)” ugh
More, more, more!
It had that sort of Smashmouth silly Cali alt kids vibe going on. The other ones in that bucket were Sugar Ray. (Just checked though and *of course* Len are Canadian).
Don’t forget about the early days... “Flashlight” (banger song!) by GMF. “FIRE” (Ohio Players) as well as “Love Rollercoaster” 🔥