Memories of the disco era...

[Rick Henry]

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I was one of those "down with disco" people. I did not like disco at all in the 70's. There were a few songs I liked such as "Rock The Boat", "Walking In Rhythm", "Macho Man", "Shake Your Body Down to The Ground", a few by Tavares and several by donna summer. Other than that I was "anti-disco".

It wasn't until sometime around 1992 that I really came to love disco. all of a sudden I bought about 4 or 5 disco compilations and every studio album Donna summer ever released (all on CD). Now I have probably around 200 hundred different disco CD's. Mostly specific artist greatest hits discs - like BeeGees, Linda Clifford, KC And The Sunshine Band, and so forth.

[beaner]

Wow Rick, that's interesting. I always thought Disco was a "love it" or "hate it" thing but for you to turn around and end up liking it is pretty neat.

I wasn't a big fan of the movie Saturday Night Fever but I did enjoy the dancing in there. I did buy the soundtrack also because of the music. I guess for the age I was at the time, some of the things and words in the movie were not appropriate so I never really got interested in the movie itself.

Just memories of the music that I loved back then is all that comes to mind and the dance step "The Hustle".

[GoodOldDreams]

I was never one to wear platform shoes or boogie down on the dance floor during the disco era, but I actually liked the melodic construction of many songs and the graceful accent of strings. In addition to some of Rick's favorites (Hues Corporation's "Rock The Boat"and Blackbyrds' "Walking In Rhythm"), some standouts for me include Tavares' "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel," Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You" and "Hello Stranger," Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," Vickie Sue Robinson's "Turn the Beat Around" and Love Unlimited Orchestra's "Love's Theme." Despite the often mechanical thump of the disco beat, disco music has an energizing, upbeat quality about it even when the lyrics may be fraught with sadness or regret.

[Dave]

Every time I watch "Saturday Night Fever" with my wife, I always comment that I'd like to be able to say that I used to be able to dance like that, but I just can't lie!
I never could dance like that, even though I was only 22 when that movie came out. LOL!
From my point of view, the disco beat was in time with the 55 mph speed limit on the nations highways at that time, and I loved to drive.
What I didn't like was how disco, with help from Blondie and the Sugar Hill Gang, morphed into primitive rap. A lot of America turned away from what it saw as the Studio 54 drug culture, and embraced the "Urban Cowboy" ideal. Country crossovers became de rigeur, with artists like Mickey Gilley and Ronnie Milsap doing well on the Top 40, much as John Denver, Donna Fargo, and Charlie Rich had done a decade earlier.
I once read that according to most musical historians the disco era did not begin with Van McCoy's "Hustle", but began a year earlier with the Commodores instrumental "Machine Gun", a huge hit in the summer on 1974.

[Rick Henry]

dave said:

I once read that according to most musical historians the disco era did not begin with Van McCoy's "Hustle", but began a year earlier with the Commodores instrumental "Machine Gun", a huge hit in the summer on 1974.

I've read that the first disco song was a remake of Elton John's "Your Song" recorded by Billy Paul in 1971. Another source claims Mano Dibango's "Soul Makoosa" from 1972 is the first disco song. And yet another source says it's Eddie Kendricks' 1972 "A Date With The Rain". I have heard the Billy Paul song mentioned the most as being the first disco song to be released.