Disco is a genre of dance-oriented pop music that was popularized in dance clubs (discothèques) in the mid-1970s, and which dominated mainstream pop until the late 1970s. The traditional form of Disco is the American, described in this article, but there was an off-shoot form (like rock and jazz) of European (see: Eurodisco). Disco songs usually have soaring, often reverberated vocals over a steady four-on-the-floor beat, an eighth note (quaver) or sixteenth note (semi-quaver) hi-hat pattern with an open hi-hat on the off-beat, and a prominent, syncopated electric bass line. Strings, horns, electric pianos, and electric guitars create a lush background sound. Orchestral instruments such as the flute are often used for solo melodies, and unlike in rock, lead guitar is rarely used.
While there were a number of well-known mid-1970s disco performers, such as the Bee Gees, Donna Summer, the Village People, Loleatta Holloway, Sylvester and KC and The Sunshine Band, Disco was primarily a producer's medium, since they created the tracks and wrote the songs."[1]Many non-disco artists recorded disco songs at the height of disco's popularity, and films such as Saturday Night Fever and Thank God It's Friday contributed to disco's rise in mainstream popularity and, ironically, it's eventual decline. While disco music declined in popularity in the early 1980s, it was an important influence on the development of the 1980s and 1990s electric dance music genres of house and techno. It also was an important influence in the 1990s and 2000s on the hip hop subgenres of crunk, hyphy, and snap.
Role of producers and DJs
Disco has its musical roots in late 1960s soul, especially the Philly and New York soul, both of which were evolutions of the Motown sound. The Philly Sound is typified by lavish percussion, which became a prominent part of mid-1970s disco songs. Music with proto-"disco" elements appeared in the late 1960s, with "Tighten Up" and "Mony, Mony," "Dance to the Music," "Love Child" . Two early songs with disco elements include Jerry Butler’s 1969 "Only the Strong Survive"[1] and Manu Dibango's 1972 "Soul Makossa" . The term disco was first used in print in an article by Vince Aletti in the September 13th 1973 edition of Rolling Stone Magazine titled "Discotheque Rock '72: Paaaaarty!"[2]
The early "disco" sound was largely an urban American phenomenon with such legendary producers and labels such as SalSoul Records (Ken, Joe and Stanley Cayre), Westend Records (Mel Cheren), Casablanca (Neil Bogart) and Prelude (Marvin Schlachter) to name a few, inspiring and influencing such prolific European dance track producers such as Giorgio Moroder and Jean-Marc Cerrone. Moroder, whom Allmusic.com calls "one of the principal architects of the disco sound". was the Italian producer, keyboardist, and composer who produced many songs by singer Donna Summer, included the 1975 hit "Love to Love You Baby", a 17 minute-long song with a "shimmering sound and sensual attitude"[2]
The disco sound was also shaped by the legendary Tom Moulton who wanted to extend the enjoyment of the music thus single-handedly creating the "Remix" which has influenced many other latter genres such as Rap, Hip-Hop and Pop. DJs and remixers would often remix (i.e., re-edit) existing songs using reel to reel tape machines. Their remixed versions would add in percussion breaks, new sections, and new sounds. Influential DJs and remixers who helped to establish what became known as the "disco sound" included David Mancuso, Tom Moulton, Nicky Siano, Shep Pettibone, the legendary and much sought after Larry Levan, Walter Gibbons, and later, New York Born Chicago "Godfather of House" Frankie Knuckles. disco was also shaped by nightclub DJ's such as Francis Grasso, who used multiple record players to seamlessly mix tracks from genres such as soul, funk and danceable Pop music at discoteques and was the forerunner to later styles such as Rap, Hip-Hop and Pop which followed Disco's lead and did the same. [3]
[edit] Chart topping songs
The Hues Corporation's 1974 "Rock The Boat," a U.S. #1 single and million-seller, was one of the early disco songs to hit #1. Other chart-topping songs included "Love's Theme" by Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra, a chart-topper from earlier in 1974, to be the first to have achieved that distinction. Also in 1974, Gloria Gaynor released the first side-long disco mix vinyl album, which included a remake of The Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye" and two other songs, "Honey Bee" and "Reach Out (I'll Be There)."
The Bee Gees used Barry Gibb's falsetto to garner hits such as "You Should Be Dancing". In 1975, hits such as Van McCoy's "The Hustle" and Donna Summer's "Love to Love You, Baby" and "Could It Be Magic", brought disco further into the mainstream. Other notable early disco hits include The Jackson 5’s "Dancing Machine" (1974), Barry White’s "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" (1974), LaBelle’s "Lady Marmalade" (1974), The Four Seasons’ "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" (1975), Silver Convention’s "Fly Robin Fly" (1975), and The Bee Gees’ "Jive Talkin'" (1975).
Prominent European pop and disco groups were Luv' from the Netherlands and Boney M, a group of four West Indian singers and dancers masterminded by West German record producer Frank Farian. Boney M charted worldwide hits with such songs as "Daddy Cool", "Ma Baker" and "Rivers of Babylon." All three charted in the U.S.. In France, Dalida released "J'attendrai," which became a big hit in Canada and Japan.
[edit] 1975-1979: Mainstream popularity
The release of the film and soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever, which became the number one best-selling soundtrack of all time, turned Disco into a mainstream music genre. This in turn led many non-Disco artists to record disco songs at the height of its popularity, most often due to demand from record companies who needed a surefire hit. Many of these songs were not "pure" disco, but were instead rock or pop songs with disco overtones. Notable examples include Helen Reddy’s "I Can't Hear You No More" (1976); Marvin Gaye’s "Got to Give It Up" (1977); Barry Manilow’s "Copacabana (At The Copa)" (1978); Chaka Khan’s "I'm Every Woman" (1978); Wings’ "Silly Love Songs" (1976) and "Goodnight Tonight" (1979); Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer duet "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" (1979); Electric Light Orchestra’s "Last Train to London" and "Shine a Little Love" (1979); and Michael Jackson’s "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," "Rock With You," and "Off the Wall" (1979), from his Off The Wall album.
Disco hit the airwaves with Marty Angelo's "Disco Step-by-Step Television Show" in 1975, Steve Marcus' "Disco Magic/Disco 77", Eddie Rivera's "Soap Factory", and Merv Griffin's, "Dance Fever", hosted by Deney Terrio, who is credited with teaching actor John Travolta to dance for his upcoming role in the hit movie, "Saturday Night Fever". Several parodies of the disco style were created, most notably "Disco Duck" and "Dancin' Fool." Rick Dees, at the time a radio DJ in Memphis, Tennessee, recorded "Disco Duck", a popular parody. Frank Zappa famously parodied the lifestyles of disco dancers in "Dancin' Fool" on his Sheik Yerbouti album.
[edit] The "disco sound"
The "disco sound" layers soaring, often reverberated vocals, which are often doubled by horns, over a background "pad" of electric pianos and "chicken-scratch" guitars. Other backing keyboard instruments include the piano, string synth, and electroacoustic keyboards such as the Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, and Hohner Clavinet. The rhythm is laid down by prominent, syncopated basslines played on the bass guitar and by drummers using a drum kit, African/Latin percussion, and electronic drums such as Simmons and Roland drum modules). The sound was enriched with solo lines and harmony parts played by a variety of orchestral instruments, such as harp, violin, viola, cello, trumpet, saxophone, trombone, clarinet, flugelhorn, French horn, tuba, English horn, oboe, flute, and piccolo.
Most disco songs have a steady four-on-the-floor beat, a quaver or semi-quaver hi-hat pattern with an open hi-hat on the off-beat, and a heavy, syncopated bass line. This basic beat would appear to be related to the Dominican merengue rhythm. Other Latin rhythms such as the rhumba, the samba and the cha-cha-cha are also found in disco recordings, and Latin polyrhythms, such as a rhumba beat layered over a merengue, are commonplace. The quaver pattern is often supported by other instruments such as the rhythm guitar and may be implied rather than explicitly present. It often involves syncopation, rarely occurring on the beat unless a synthesizer is used to replace the bass guitar.
In 1977, Giorgio Moroder again became responsible for a development in disco. Alongside Donna Summer and Pete Bellotte he wrote the song I Feel Love for Summer to perform. It became the first well-known disco hit to have a completely synthesised backing track. The song is still considered to have been well ahead of its time.
[edit] Production and development
The "disco sound" was much more costly to produce than many of the other popular music genres from the 1970s. Unlike the simpler, four-piece band sound of the funk, soul of the late 1960s, or the small jazz organ trios, disco music often included a large pop band, with several chordal instruments (guitar, keyboards, synthesizer), several drum or percussion instruments (drumkit, Latin percussion, electronic drums), a horn section, a string orchestra, and a variety of "classical" solo instruments (e.g., flute, piccolo, etc.).
Disco songs were arranged and composed by experienced arrangers and orchestrators, and producers added their creative touches to the overall sound. Recording complex arrangements with such a large number of instruments and sections required a team that included a conductor, copyists, record producers, and mixing engineers. Mixing engineers had an important role in the disco production process, because disco songs used as many as 64 tracks of vocals and instruments. Mixing engineers compiled these tracks into a fluid composition of verses, bridges, and refrains, complete with orchestral builds and breaks. Mixing engineers helped to develop the "disco sound" by creating a distinctive-sounding disco mix.
Because record sales were often dependent on floor play in clubs, DJs were also important to the development and popularization of disco music. Notable DJs include, Rex Potts (Loft Lounge, Sarasota, FL) Jim Burgess, Walter Gibbons, John "Jellybean" Benitez, Richie Kaczar of Studio 54, Rick Gianatos, Francis Grasso of Sanctuary, Larry Levan, Ian Levine, Neil "Raz" Rasmussen, Mike Pace of L'amour, Preston Powell of Magique, Jennie Costa of Lemontrees, Tee Scott, John Luongo, Robert Ouimet of The Limelight, and David Mancuso.
Singles were initially released on 45s. However, this format was subsequently replaced by the better sound quality and longer length of 12-inch singles. 12-inch single "...offered better dynamics, deeper bass and extended play capabilities that simply weren’t available from the 7 inch 45 RPM record or the standard 33 1/3 album."[4]The 12-inch single format also allowed longer dance time and format possibilities. Motown Records’ "Eye-Cue" label was the first to market 12-inch singles; however, the play time remained the same length as the original 45s. In 1976, Scepter/Wand released the first 12-inch extended-version single, Jesse Green's "Nice and Slow." This single was packaged in a collectible picture sleeve, a relatively new concept at the time. Twelve-inch singles became commercially available after the first crossover, Tavares' "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel."
[edit] Disco club scene and dancing
By the late 1970s many major US cities had thriving disco club scenes which were centered around discotheques, nightclubs, and private loft parties where DJs would play disco hits through powerful PA systems for the dancers. The DJs played "...a smooth mix of long single records to keep people 'dancing all night long'".[5] Some of the most prestigious clubs had elaborate lighting systems that throbbed to the beat of the music.
Some cities had disco dance instructors or dance schools which taught people how to do popular disco dances such as "touch dancing", "the hustle" and "the cha cha." There were also disco fashions that discotheque-goers wore for nights out at their local disco, such as sheer, flowing Halston dresses for women and shiny polyester Qiana shirts for men with pointy collars, preferably open at the chest, often worn with double-knit suit jackets. Disco clubs and "...hedonistic loft parties" had a club culture which attracted many African American, gay [6] and hispanic people.
Disco dancing is now recognized worldwide as a dance form in its own right. It has since been refined and standardized and is now classified as Freestyle Dance. Freestyle is still recognizable as 70's disco dancing, with a strong emphasis on originality and the creation of new and exciting moves. Large scale competitions and championships are held all over the world in which disco and freestyle dancers compete for prizes. These competitions will typically include ballroom dance, latin american dance and other social dance forms. As a sport, a talented disco or freestyle dancer can compete professionally and have a career dancing worldwide.
Some notable professional dance troupes of the 70's include Pan's People and Hot Gossip. For many dancers, the primary influence of the 70's disco age is still predominantly the film Saturday Night Fever. In the 80's this developed into the music and dance style of such films as Fame, Flashdance, and the musical Chorus Line.
[edit] Drug subculture
In addition to the dance and fashion aspects of the disco club scene, there was also a thriving drug subculture, particularly for drugs that would enhance the experience of dancing to the loud music and the flashing lights, such as cocaine [7](nicknamed "blow"), amyl nitrite "poppers" [8], and the "...other quintessential 1970s club drug Quaalude, which suspended motor coordination and turned one’s arms and legs to Jell-O."[9] According to Peter Braunstein, the "[m]assive quantities of drugs ingested in discotheques produced the next cultural phenomenon of the disco era: rampant promiscuity and public sex. While the dance floor was the central arena of seduction, actual sex usually took place in the nether regions of the disco: bathroom stalls, exit stairwells, and so on. In other cases the disco became a kind of “main course” in a hedonist’s menu for a night out."[10]
Famous disco bars included "...cocaine-filled celeb hangouts such as Manhattan's Studio 54 ", which was operated by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager. Studio 54 was notorious for the hedonism that went on within; the balconies were known for sexual encounters, and drug use was rampant. Its dance floor was decorated with an image of the "Man in the Moon" that included an animated cocaine spoon. Other famous discotheques included the Loft, the Paradise Garage, and Aux Puces, one of the first gay disco bars.
[edit] Decline in popularity
The popularity of the film Saturday Night Fever prompted major record labels to mass-produce hits, a move which some perceived as turning the genre from something vital and edgy into a safe "product" homogenized for mainstream audiences. Though disco music had enjoyed several years of popularity, an anti-disco sentiment manifested in America. This sentiment proliferated at the time because of oversaturation and the big business mainstreaming of disco. Worried about declining profits, rock radio stations and record producers encouraged this trend. According to Gloria Gaynor, the music industry supported the destruction of disco because rock music producers were losing money and rock musicians were losing the spotlight.[3] Many hard rock fans expressed strong disapproval of disco throughout the height of its popularity. Among these fans, the slogan "Disco Sucks" was common by the late-1970s.
Disco music and dancing fads began to be depicted by rock music fans as silly and effeminate, such as in Frank Zappa's satirical song "Dancin' Fool". Some listeners objected to the perceived sexual promiscuity and illegal drug use (e.g., cocaine and Quaaludes) that had become associated with disco music. Others were put off by the exclusivity of the disco scene, especially in major clubs in large cities such as Studio 54, where bouncers only let in fashionably dressed club-goers, celebrities, and their hangers-on. Rock fans objected to the idea of centering music around an electronic drum beat and synthesizers instead of live performers. To further complicate matters, several prominent hard rock bands recorded songs with disco influences, such as Kiss's "I Was Made For Lovin' You" (1979) Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (1978) and The Rolling Stones’ "Miss You" (1978). Though these fusions of hard rock and disco were initially met with critical and commercial acclaim, many of the bands were subsequently viewed as "sell-outs". Since the advent of disco and dance music, rock music has absorbed many of the rhythmic sensibilities of funk-influenced dance music, while nevertheless retaining a distinct sound and audience culture. The emergence of the punk and New Wave scenes contributed to disco's decline. However, unlike in the U.S., there was never a focused backlash against disco in the UK or Europe, and discotheques and club culture continued longer in Europe than in the US.
[edit] Anti-disco backlash
Main article: Disco Demolition Night
Music historians generally refer to July 12, 1979, as the "day disco died"[citation needed], because of an anti-disco demonstration that was held in Chicago. Rock station DJs Steve Dahl and Garry Meier, along with Michael Veeck, son of Bill Veeck, who was the owner of the Chicago White Sox, staged Disco Demolition Night, a promotional event with an anti-disco theme, between games at a White Sox doubleheader for disgruntled Rock fans. During this event, which involved exploding disco records, the participants tore out seats and the turf in the field and performed other damage to the stadium. It ended in a riot in which police made numerous arrests. The damage done to the field forced the Sox to forfeit the second game. The stadium suffered thousands of dollars in damage.[4]
The television industry taking a cue from the music industry, responded with an anti-Disco agenda as well. A recurring theme on the television show, "WKRP in Cincinnati" contained a hateful attitude towards Disco music. The anti-disco backlash may have helped to cause changes to the landscape of Top 40 radio. Negative responses from the predominantly white listenerships of many Top 40 stations encouraged these stations to drop all disco songs from rotation, filling the holes in their playlists with New Wave, punk rock, and album-oriented rock cuts.[11]
During the first years of the 1980s, the "disco sound" began to be phased out, and faster tempos and synthesized effects, accompanied by guitar and simplified backgrounds, moved dance music toward the funk and pop genres. This trend can be seen in singer Billy Ocean's recordings between 1979 and 1981. Whereas Ocean's 1979 song American Hearts was backed with an orchestral arrangement played by the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra, his 1981 song One of Those Nights (Feel Like Gettin' Down) had a more bare, stripped-down sound, with no orchestration or symphonic arrangements.
During the early 1980s, dance music dropped the complicated melodic structure and orchestration which typified the "disco sound." Examples of well-known songs which illustrate this difference include Kool & the Gang’s "Celebration" (1980), Rick James’ "Super Freak" (1981), The Weather Girls’ "It's Raining Men" (1982), The Pointer Sisters’ "I'm So Excited" (1982), Prince’s "1999" (1983), Madonna’s "Lucky Star" (1983), Irene Cara’s "Flashdance (What A Feeling)" (1983), Angela Bofill's "Too Tough" (1983), Michael Jackson’s "Thriller" (1983), and the Village People’s "Sex Over The Phone" (1985).
[edit] Influence
[edit] Early 1980s hip-hop and dance music
The disco sound had a major influence on early 1980s hip-hop. In 1982, Afrika Bambataa released the single "Planet Rock," which incorporated electronica elements from Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express" and "Numbers." The "Planet Rock" sound also spawned a hip-hop electronic dance trend, which included such songs as Planet Patrol's "Play At Your Own Risk" (1982), C Bank’s "One More Shot" (1982), Shannon's "Let the Music Play" (1983), Freeez's "I.O.U." (1983), Midnight Star's "Freak-A-Zoid" (1983), and Chaka Khan's "I Feel For You" (1984).
[edit] House music
A German (despite his Italian sounding name) record producer and synthesizer pioneer, Giorgio Moroder, had a number of hit disco singles such as "From Here to Eternity" (1977) which influenced the development of the later electric dance music genres such as house and techno. Both house music and techno rely on the repetitive bass drum rhythm and hi-hat rhythm patterns introduced by disco.
Early house music, which was developed by innovative DJs such as Larry Levan in New York and Frankie Knuckles in Chicago, consisted of various disco loops overlapped by strong bass beats. House music was usually computer-driven, and longer segments were used for mixing. Clubs associated with the birth of house music include New York's Paradise Garage and Chicago's Warehouse and The Music Box.
[edit] 1990s and 2000s "disco revival"
In the 1990s, a revival of the original disco style began to emerge. The disco influence can be heard in songs as Gloria Estefan's "Get On Your Feet" (1991), Paula Abdul's "Vibeology" (1992), Whitney Houston's "I'm Every Woman" (1993), U2’s "Lemon" (1993), Diana Ross's "Take Me Higher" (1995), The Spice Girls’ "Who Do You Think You Are" (1997) and "Never Give up on the Good Times" (1997), Gloria Estefan's "Heaven's What I Feel" (1998), Cher’s "Strong Enough" (1998), and Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat" (1999).
The trend continued in the 2000s with hit songs such as Kylie Minogue’s "Spinning Around" (2000) and "Love at First Sight" (2002), Sheena Easton's "Givin' Up, Givin' In" (2001), La Toya Jackson's "Just Wanna Dance" (2004), and Madonna’s 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor echoes traditional disco themes, particularly in the single "Hung Up," which samples ABBA's "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)."
In the mid-late 2000s, many disco-influenced songs have been released, becoming hits, including Ultra Nate's "Love's The Only Drug" (2006), Gina G’s "Tonight's The Night" (2006), Irene Cara's "Forever My Love" (2006), Bananarama's "Look on the Floor (Hynotic Tango)" (2006), Dannii Minogue's "Perfection" (2006), Akcent's "Kings of Disco" (2007), the Freemasons "Rain Down Love" (2007), Claudja Barry's "I Will Stand" (2006), Suzanne Palmer's "Free My Love" (2007), Pepper Mashay's "Lost Yo Mind" (2007) and Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s "Me and My Imagination" (2007).
