On the Radio 1973-1979

Paris was the center of European nightlife and music during the 1920’s and 30’s. The cabarets, nightclubs and bistros of that era played swing and American jazz. When the Germans occupied France in 1940, a lot of the nightlife went “underground” often as a place for the Nazi resistance to meet. This gave birth to the first discotheques as a place that was anti-establishment, hidden, exclusionary, and with restrictive admission policies. The first discotheque arrived in New York in 1960 – Le Club in the staid upscale neighborhood of Sutton Place. It was an elite place with a small and exclusive clientele –after all there was a stiff $200 initiation fee and dues.

The discotheques in New York and Los Angeles during the mid 1960’s soon got beyond their elite status and became centers of “dance crazes.” The first big one was the Twist, made popular by a 1962 Chubby Checker recording. Other major dance crazes that followed were the Jerk and the Watusi, which had in turn given way to numerous other short-lived dance crazes. If one went to a discotheque in the mid-60’s you would see teenagers, along with adults in their thirties and forties, doing such dances as the Woodpecker, the Hitchhiker, or the Bug. Go-Go dancers in cages became the next rage – as they were originally introduced as “dance demonstrators” at Los Angeles’ Whisky-a-Go-Go.

In many ways, discotheques were just “sock hops” with a DJ instead of a jukebox. Originally DJs spun random 45s from hidden places with little regard to order or mix of the music. Soon DJs realized they could direct the mood of the crowd and build momentum that would pack the floor with dancers.

In 1966, the Cheetah opened in New York, ushering a new era for the discotheque. It was an 8,000 sq ft dance floor with a powerful sound system, live bands and an amusement park feeling. Andy Warhol took it a few steps further with mind numbing sounds, dancers dressed in leather and strobe lights. It was a multimedia extravaganza – a total sensory experience. With so much stimulation, it was inevitable that the drug culture would seep its way into the discotheque scene.

By 1969, discotheques had degenerated into seedy joints, often mob run. But in the early 1970’s, discotheques saw a rebirth from groups that had been ignored during the late 1960’s pop counterculture - newly liberated gay men, blacks and Hispanics. Together these groups redesigned and broadened the phenomenon, rebaptized it disco, and relaunched it as the most visible symbol of the nightlife of the 1970s.

While there had been discotheques in the sixties, there had been no such style as disco music. Clubs played live or recorded rock music, which had set dances like the Twist. Most rock singles of the era lasted a mere three minutes, by the time dancers “found their groove” the song was over.

To extend the dance time – DJ’s began playing longer songs that had their roots in R&B. Music historians generally considered the first disco song to be 1973’s Soul Makossa by African singer Manu Dibango. Philadelphia International Records capitalized on this new trend and put out several records in what was called the “Philly Sound.” This included the Love Train by the O’Jays, If You Don’t Know Me by Now by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, and When Will I See You Again by the Three Degrees. Other recordings soon hit #1 - including Love’s Theme from Barry White and Rock Your Baby from George McRae. But the real turning point for disco was in 1974, when The Hustle by Van McCoy went to the top of the pop charts and set off a nationwide craze for “touch dancing.” With The Hustle, disco’s underground development period had come to an end. The disco was now mainstream.

Disco’s stature in American culture was defined by the phenomenal success of the twin pillars from this era – Studio 54 and Saturday Night Fever.

A thriving disco subculture arose in major cities of the US. In April 1977 – the crown palace of disco opened in Manhattan- Studio 54. It was an immediate success. It was famous for its crowd (Halston, Liza, Margaret Trudeau, Bianca Jagger, and Andy Warhol), its stringent door policy (allowing women in but not their dates, counting the number of “suits,” making sure there were enough few drag queens), bans on certain groups and drugs. Studio 54 epitomized disco as the uber-snob and name-dropping media.

In December 1977, the movie Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta, was released. The album because the biggest selling record all time (since passed) and established the stereotypes of what people today think of disco – dance floor moves, over-coiffed hair, gold chains and polyester clothing. Almost every song from the movie became a hit.

Disco definitely had a unique sound that defies a definitive description. Influences were funk, soul, R&B, latin, calypso, jazz. It was know for soaring sounds, a lot of percussion, rich orchestral accompaniment. There was rarely a lead guitar and most had a steady four-on-the-floor beat. Because disco music was designed to extend the dancing experience – record companies releasing disco music began to press long singles – 10” and 12” (which was the same as an LP). Longer songs meant longer dance time. Many songs were released in various lengths.

The biggest songs of the disco era include:

Donna Summer - Love to Love You Baby (which was like a 17 minute orgasm. Summer went to sell millions of records and then piss off the very group that made her famous – gay men), On The Radio, Last Dance
Hughes Corporation - Rock the Boat
Gloria Gaynor - Never Can Say Goodbye (a remix of the Jackson 5 hit), I Will Survive
Thelma Houston - Don't Leave Me This Way
KC and the Sunshine Band had 5 straight hits - Get Down Tonight, That’s the Way I Like It, Shake Your Bootie, I’m Your Boogie Man, Keep It Comin’ Love
Patti Labelle – Lady Marmalade
Jackson 5 - Dancing Machine
Sylvester - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)
Silver Convention – Fly, Robin Fly
Chic – Le Freak

The soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, released in December 1977, turned disco into mainstream movie music and become the best selling soundtrack of all time. Dance Fever, produced by as un-disco as you can get Merv Griffin, hit the airwaves in 1975

Some people and groups tried to capitalize on the disco craze and released “disco-esque” songs –

Barry Manilow - At the Copacabana (which may be the worst record of all time)
Rod Stewart - Do Ya Think I’m Sexy
Kiss - I Was Made for Loving You
Spinners - Working My Way Back to You
ELO - Shine A Little Love
There was disco-ized Beethoven, I Love Lucy, Tangerine, Star Wars
Perry Como and Ethel Merman released disco albums
In 1978, almost 50% of all songs on the billboard charts were disco.

By 1979, the disco craze was turning into an anti-disco movement. Disco became a victim of it s own success - over-saturation, mainstreaming, hard rock disapproval, the exclusivity of the clubs and a lot of crummy music. Frank Zappa put out a satirical song – Dancin’ Fool. But July 12, 1979 is often labeled the day disco died. At Chicago’s Comiskey Park it was billed as Disco Demolition Night – where exploding records and a lot of damage signaled the beginning of the end of an era. Studio 54 closed (for the first time) on February 4, 1980. With the election of conservative Ronald Reagan in November 1980 and the appearance of AIDS – the hedonistic lifestyle (and millions of dollars in record sales) that defined disco came to a screeching halt.

Disco evolved into dance sound, a watered-down version of the disco sound popularized by the Pointer Sisters, Michael Jackson and Madonna. It also evolved into house music and techno.

But no matter how you slice it - Disco sucked. Disco still sucks. So does Kiss.