It’s Friday and we need to “Get the Funk Out” of this horrible news cycle and go back in time a little to when the most important thing was what club you were going to go to on Friday night; Pastels in Brooklyn, Limelight or Studio 54.
Yes, I am talking about the most maligned era of music in history, Disco. That’s right! Tell me that you don’t bob your head or do some weird slide in your car when you hear Donna Summer’s all time classic “Bad Girls” or any number by Kool and the Gang. If you deny you lie.
I am anything if not eclectic and liking Disco in the late 70’s and early 80’s is proof. I may not have gone to many of those clubs but my friends and I would occasionally pop into 2001 in Levittown NY to check out the music and of course the girls.
Secretly though, I loved some disco songs as much as I loved any rock song of that era.
Give me the aforementioned “Bad Girls” or Chic’s “Good Times” and I would mentally dance myself silly.
This week, I have decided to go over some of the best songs of that period and once again, I am sure I will leave out dozens. The question is, will you, the reader, drop the veil, and email me songs I have missed. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery and that is what I am here for, to get people to admit they liked disco.
To start it off I have to give the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack it’s due. One of the best soundtracks of any movie, it brought disco to a much wider audience than even the NYPosts gossip page, Page Six. America saw what was happening in New York and they wanted that too. The Bee Gees were already a big group and this album launched them into the stratosphere. Hard to say which song from this album is the best since I could list 10 of the 18 songs from the album in my top 50 disco songs. Thats how good this album is.
As is my fashion, there is no order here, just random selections that would make a great playlist.
You have to start with Chic. This was a collaboration between Nile Rodgers on guitar and Bernie Edwards on bass. The lead vocalist varied but the beat was always heavy guitar licks with a steady bass. “Good Times” might be my favorite but during the Disco era they produced over a hundred danceable tracks from seven albums. The members changed a lot but the beat was always great.
Donna Summer is another artist that could fill a five hour mixtape and you would love every minute of it. From the whistle in “Bad Girls” to her moaning in any number of songs, Donna Summer used various beats and vocal tricks to get you on the dance floor. I still listen to “I Feel Love” with that annoying synthesizer on repeat and of course, “Hot Stuff”.
Come now, you know you love this. My next song is Lipps “Funkytown”. Apparently this song is one of the most sampled on Tik Tok and it’s no surprise. Great beat. Vocals are strong and the 12” version is 8 1/2 minutes of pure dancing madness.
How about Vickie Sue Robinson’s “Turn The Beat Around”? It has a feeling of some Latin Nightclub in Miami in 1976. Love to hear the percussion. Although, I don’t hear the percussion in the song but who cares, you hear it, you want to dance to it.
Then, of course, you have the greatest song ever written by anyone, “Car Wash” by miss Rose Royce. From the hand clapping till the very end, I am off my seat moving with the beat. Sadly, I found that most of her other stuff was not very good and this was her only hit, but that’s neither here nor there. It was from the soundtrack of the movie by the same name which had a lot of stars in and was actually very funny at the time. I watched it recently and “Car Wash” ended up being the only highlight as I don’t think the film aged well.
Dr Buzzard and his Original Savannah Band released “Cherchez le Femme” in 1976 and it has been in my disco rotation since. There is a story here, which is rare for disco, about life on the road and the music industry. This is another record if you can find the 12” vinyl is well worth it. The instrumentation and the vocals are great.
You want a song to get me on the dance floor no matter if I am sober or had a few drinks? Dee Lites’ “Groove is in the Heart” will do it. I am listening to it now and I want to get up and dance. It’s Astronomical!
Another song that is in the same vain is “Everybody Everybody” by Black Box. Just a simple song with a very simple beat that makes you want to get on the dance floor and have fun.
Another classic that has a 12” vinyl that at nine minutes isn’t long enough is Anita Ward’s “Ring my Bell”. Chimes, electric drum beat, who cares. The song is another fun one to dance to. I don’t think Anita Ward had another hit but this song sold millions and is still played in DJ mixes at clubs all over. I wonder if they get royalties for that?
I have dozens more but there is one song that while I am not totally sure it’s danceable I am going to include it here. Blondie’s “Rapture” was unique in that it came out prior to Rap and Hip Hop taking over the World and it bridged the end of disco and opened the door for a white audience to understand Rap and Urban Music. It did this while carrying a beat that you could dance to. On top of all of that it was a rock song at heart. Bridging genres is not easy normally and bridging at least three possibly four genres is monumental. I remember this song being played at The Oak Beach Inn on Long Island and everyone was dancing to it so thats why I include it here.
Another song that was both disco and Rap was “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang. It was another song that white kids could dance to and also get a taste for basic Rap. Released in 1980 it really was one of the first crossover hits that was accessable to White kids as well as Black kids.
One area of disco I am not going to spend much time is Rock and Roll’s attempt to make club music. The Grateful Dead? Frank Zappa? Rod Stewart? Ugh. I may be partial but the only song that even remotely hits the rock and dance chord to me is the extended version of “Miss You” by the Rolling Stones. Once you hear this version you will never listen to the original and I am not sure this song even qualifies as a dance song but again, I was at OBI and it came on and the dance floor was packed.
Elitists may chaff at my column today and it’s a shame because music is supposed to give you joy and to transport you to a hopefully better time and place and Disco certainly does that. The songs are joyous and rekindle great memories so what’s so wrong about that. Plus, some of the arrangements are as complex as any rock song and I love listening to the pieces of a song as well as the whole song.
One thing is for sure, You are "eclectic" but you sure entertain us with your music opinions, and I may not agree but I sure like it! Thank You!