I’ve been working on this video for months and, unfortunately, in the past week, events in the U.S. have proved just why it’s so important to tell these stories. Every day, it’s becoming more dangerous to be a queer person in this world despite the fact that our modern culture is fundamentally shaped by the queer trailblazers in the past. If you want to help support LGBT youth, please consider donating to the Trevor Project: www.thetrevorproject.org/ Or, if you want to support the families and survivors of the Club Q shooting more directly, check out their GoFundMe: www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-the-club-q-families-and-survivors
Disco, you either love it or hate it . Having been subjected to this music while in its early stages wasn't all that hard to live with, the music for the most part wasn't so bad it brought The Bee Gee's , the Rolling stones,commadors , Tina Turner just to name a few music hits . And people during this period in time together in dancing. Personally for me it was to plastic and commercialized for me . The clubs all seemed to have a pick and choose attitude which I felt was very rude and unattractive . Studio 54 was all about promoting cocaine and other drugs plus what seemed like a free for all orgy to attract attention. Disco was designed with the formula of bringing people , dancing and music together . Not getting them addicted to cocaine and other drugs substances. This was in my opinion was the downfall of the Disco trend during the seventies ~ Love and Prayers ♡♡♡~jimi
The whole "disco sucks" thing and the hatred of disco was unique to the US. Disco was murdered and ridiculed here, but nowhere else! In Europe, disco evolved into Eurodance, High NRG, Italodisco and Synth Pop. New Wave was a clear evolution of disco as well. Blue Monday in 1983 is a perfect example. In the States, it evolved into House music, all because of one DJ in Chicago! And all these different genres that originated with Disco, all evolved into EDM! Disco Never Died!!!!!
I always make this point as well, that Disco didn't well and truly "die" after the '70s ended, it evolved into other musical movements. Like the plainly named Post-Disco (which is more of a retrospective term). "Let's Groove" by Earth, Wind & Fire or "Fresh" by Kool & the Gang are examples.
It's so weird that people hated disco. It's literally funk with just a little more extra rhythmic patterns. Heck, Disco is what pretty much inspired electronic dance/house music
People don't hate disco. They hate shit disco. Like every revolutionary musical movement whose bubble eventually burst from a glut of derivative shit. Eventually you look back with rose tinted glasses and only remember the good stuff.
In my small hick town, people hated disco because it was associated with drug use, homosexuality, and immoral behavior. You know, unlike good ol' American rock music.
I hear you, but imo I can see why funk may be liked more. Funk tends to have heavier baselines, and more trumpets; where disco adds in a bunch of orchestra and strings, while minimizing the bass to a degree. Also Funk tends to experiment with Jazz influences; where Disco has some Bossa Nova influences. Ngl personally I enjoy funk more. I like the baselines more; and in many cases Funk artist tend to tackle alot more overtly political subject matter as well imo. For example; I'd rather listen to Baby Huey's "The Baby Huey Story: Living Legend" album (1971) over Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" album (1979)
Sylvester's back-up singers recorded 'It's Raining Men' in 1981 as The Weather Girls, a decade later they topped the charts multiple times WORLDWIDE providing the lead vocals for Black Box and other dance tunes, the whole era of Diva Dance Music was lead by old disco girls.....Disco never died, it evolved, and grew like a butterfly.
And survived under different monikers such as free style and just 'dance music', etc.. STill seen in other cultures, and I found the very same disco beat in K pop many times over the years. Here: ua-cam.com/video/MR63CTfJocM/v-deo.html
I was a young gay man in the early 1970's, coming to terms with my sexuality and feeling so isolated. Then I discovered the gay clubs in 1972 and the disco music soon became the anthem of my personal expression. The songs were energizing and fun. And I still remember those days with such fondness. Unfortunately, the 'disco sucks' movement was an insult to all those wonderful, gifted artists whose music meant so much to me and my friends. I was furious about it. How dare they! No other genre of music was ever so wrongly maligned.
I was just about to lament on my personal reverie when I saw your response. Suffice to say you did our story proud! Thank you. Well put Sir! Fair thee well...
It was catching on and was a threat to” rock and/ or roll”So it wasn’t ‘ cool’. But yet everybody seemed to enjoy the hits. So much fun. And they hold up to this day. It never died, it just got rebranded and evolved into funk hybrids and EDM. I cover Funkytown, Car Wash, I Feel Love, Shake Your Booty,That’s the Way( uh huh uh huh) I Like It, I’m Your Boogie Man , Love Rollercoaster and still adding to playlist. But disco sucks. Hate it.
@@bensweiss Oddly enough, after a trip to Texas and the release of 'Urban Cowboy', I found a new passion for country music! I thought the male CW singers of that time were incredibly sexy (more so than pop or rock singers) and were also amazing vocalists. Many of the gals too. I also learned to two-step!
and the truth is it never died. it just went underground. the dance music that came out after the "death" and before the onset of house included loads of amazing music... D-train for example... and all the Larry Levan type electro and funk records he remixed including some amazing early hip-hop. the labels Prelude, West End and Salsoul ruled with lots of amazing boogie records.
In my personal experience of the period and the music, I think thats quite untrue. Disco was increasingly commercialised and became very boring while other music became fresh and interesting. It leaned heavily on high production values with excellent musicians, horn sections, multiple backing singers, etc. etc. and it was waning at the same time other similarly high-production value music was waning, allowing leaner styles like punk, heavy metal and ‘new wave’ to rise in their place.
it never died. yes the music left the mainstream but there are thousands of records by disco artists and others that were disco in nature that came out after the 1979 disco demolition and the end of disco formatted radio stations throughput the 80s. house music and techno didn't come about in a vacuum. it was an evolution of dance music from disco that led to those (and hip-hop) towards the end of the 80s. even the popularity of many of the biggest disco hits never died. proof is any wedding to this day that still plays "celebration", "good times" or even "another one bites the dust". I could easily name thousands of records that came out in the 80s that were disco or at least an evolution of disco by then, all that were hugely popular in dance clubs. it never died.
a good night in a good disco made you feel like you were floating on a cloud. I remember nights when people on a dance floor would turn away from their friends and start dancing with total strangers. And disco NEVER EVER died and is still not dead. People will always enjoy dancing and enjoy dance music. My out of print impossible to find disco records (Lime, Cerrone, Voyage, Change) are like solid gold to me now.
The comment reminded me that my first mind altering experience was a sober one! Triggered by the hit song 'Funky Town' in a club with a mirror ball, disco lights embedded in the wooden disco floor and a strobe light. One minute I was stomping to the thumping beat, the next I was looking down at the crowd on the floor, with myself still bopping like nobody's watching.
Well Said! Disco Hits & Songs! Love & Desire, Super Nature, Plug Me To Death, Romeo & Juliet, Santa Esmeralda: Another Cha Cha, Lime: Your Love, Dancing The Night Away:by Vogue, Savage Lover: The Ring, Love Disco Style, Cerrone: Love In C Minor, I Found Love:Love & 💋 Kisses, Hunchback Of Norte Dame side (A) Forbidden Love: Marleen Kane. Wow I Can Just Go On & On... I was a Hustle Dancer in New York🎵 🕺🏼🎚🎛🎚💃🏼 🎶 Caught Up In A One Night Love Affair ❤️ There For By The Grace Of God by: Maachine, Drums 🥁 Of Fire, I Am Your Automatic Lover, QUARTZ 1978 LATIN LOVER! WOW! LIME: Your Love, From East To West , Savage Love: The Ring 💍 🎶, Dancer: by Gino Scossio, Well, I could go no for Day's Peace Love God & Happyness Ricky Vega ⚘️
Well, thankfully, there are still, those who enjoy 70s Disco Music but we really, need to find a way to revive it so it becomes popular again, and played on mainstream radio and so forth, again. A true revival of the genera would see it turn back to its true, 70s, form with new songs and new artiest putting out those songs. This is what I'm longing for while I'm still, young enough to be able to enjoy it. LONG LIVE DISCO. My Best. Out.
True,I don't think the actual music got it sorta ridiculed after awhile...it was the cheesiness,the clothes and let's be honest the outlandish gay outlooks on it,I'm not anti gay but it did have a negative effect with the public after a couple of years
Thank you. This is such a wonderful historic review of the disco era. I loved disco. It didn't die, it was just hidden. The 80's dance songs were so disco but no one wanted to call it that. The resurgence in the '90's is proof it was not dead. Today most dance songs still use a disco beat. So how can anyone say it's dead? Not in my book.
My very thought right there: As someone who was born and raised in Latin America in the early 1980s, I heard disco music in my childhood. As the 1990s progressed, I always told myself the genre just took a break. Even today in mid-2023, it's still alive! Only a few weeks back, I found this Nu-Disco playlist on Spotify with brand new releases -- woohoo! Keep it groovy, baby!!
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor.. ..
The fact that you discussed not just the music but the social impact and cultural importance disco carried with it is what makes this video better than basically every music breakdown video. Can’t say how much value there is in the acknowledgment that music is often an expression of a people during a time. It’s rarely just a song. Music can often be the sonic torch carried by people with a message. Killer work man, this one’s up there with some of your best work.
As a 61 year old straight guy who lived through this era, growing up on classic rock, soul and disco, even spending quite a bit of time in NYC, I thought that there would be no way that you could sustain my interest in this topic for almost 35 minutes. Man, was I wrong. You are simply amazing! How do you completely understand this era and music? You are a genius who transcends time. Do you ever feel as thought you have lived through previous lives? Well done!
Yea but if disco didn’t exist, something else might have come about that we lost out for because of disco. I am eternally saddened that we never got that style of music.
it was a bit strange that house music wasn't mentioned, and a bit telling of the producer's background that the whiter more commercial "EDM" term was mentioned instead.
@@poofygoof Agreed. They skipped a whole chapter of House's birth, Frankie Knuckles, Larry Levan, Italo Disco, Chicago House, Detroit Techno, London, Acid House... all before the corporate types started trying to bundle it into "EDM".
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor.. ..
I’m obsessed with post disco and I’ve just started this video. I’m praying that gets spoken about. Disco did not completely die after 1979. There was a whole “post disco” club movement that caused house music to be created.
Sadly NO mention of pioneering GAY music producer Patrick Cowley, who was behind Sylvester's disco music and birthed the whole hi-NRG disco scene in San Francisco as a direct counterpart to the Italio Disco of equally important Giorgio Moroder and his like, as well as making explorations into early electronic and ambient music, which is only sadly now being recognized after his early death from AIDS in 1982. Also BRIEF mention of the importance of Latin music to the disco scene but NO mention of Salsoul recordings which fused both with fully orchestrated tracks! And yes, hip hop was important, but I would argue that it was in fact later black gay Chicago DJs and remixers like Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles birthing the House scene there from how they extended disco and hip hop records with soul and gospel inflections that lay the foundations for disco being part of the foundation of 'Electronic Dance Music' as you generically call the whole Dance genre in the US it seems, and recently contemporary r&b. Apart from that a very good video, especially the part about the pre-disco DJ which I didn't know about.
@@electricden Thanks for mentioning Patrick Cowley. I'll check him out. I lived (I should say survived) that era without knowing him. I listened to a lot of disco at gay bars but I really didn't pay attention to it other than who was singing and maybe a few musicians. So after I listen to Sylvester's Greatest Hits again I'll delve a little deeper.
@@KabobHope FYI - There is a subreddit dedicated to Patrick Cowley that's chronicling our "rediscovery" of his work. Check it out. (My personal Favorite was Cowley's remix of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love")
I was raised with parents who were 70's party goers. It baffles me that people don't understand or know the history of disco. They just think of the "disco sucks" movement. My parents were pretty accepting people and they know what the destruction of disco meant. So they raised me on disco and showed me to love and accept. I'm grateful to have parents who lived the 70's and were always fighting for the right things. My dad was a punk metal head who grew up in the hood so he had friends who were also into hip hop and dancing. My mom was a rollerblading disco queen who always accepted her LGBT+ friends. This was in the 70's and my parents are both Asian. So yeah, it was a crazy time. But they always showed me to love. And that's why we keep disco alive in my family. It's to show that we have a voice and we still exist. This video did so well explaining to people who never had the fortune of hearing the history from the ... "other" side of it. We only hear from the people who orchestrated its murder. They silence the people who were harmed from it. But it's 2022, we are progressing. I know a lot of people don't see it. But my parents tell me it's a lot better. And I have no reason to doubt them
The 70's was so laid back! Today we make videos as if the 'Disco Sucks' meme was a political regime like ANTIFA. It wasn't. We were not that deep into ideologies concerning the music we listened to. For a period in the '77-'80 era mainstream disco truly did suck. Of course not all disco sucked. We liked to rag on Saturday Night Fever because it was fun to, but we'd watch the Bee Gees on the Midnight Special and enjoy it. Things get exploited to make money. Disco was the perfect thing to exploit. A driving beat!
Hey Polyphonic dude, I've always enjoyed your videos, but this is something else. This is honestly great documentary history of a subject that hasn't really been treated very seriously by the academic history community. I teach modern US history and I have great documentary videos that I share with my students for both the birth of psychedelic rock and the origins of hip hop, but I 've never found anything really good on disco. This really is good and my classes will watch this video from now on when we study the 1970s. You do a great job of making the connections between disco and the birth and growth of the gay rights movement. That's what makes this good cultural history, not just a cool music documentary. If I could offer one criticism, it would be that I think the argument that the disco sucks riot caused the downfall of disco is a bit too convenient and simple. But that's a pretty small criticism of an excellent historical narrative overall. So thanks for making this. I, and my students, really appreciate it!
I'd love to know, about that and the hip-hop one. I read a lot of sections from Dan Charnas The Big Payback, along similar lines. The complaint about the Disco Sucks thing is valid, it seems. It was just the sign of the times. What can be said to be for everyone?
Some 20 years ago I saw an exhibit in New York Public Library about the history of disco. They had matchbooks from The Loft. They had three outfits worn by LaBelle. They had a disco Winnie-the-Pooh record player and a listening station with Sinatra's disco-styled "Night and Day." I was in heaven. Their suggestion was that disco died because it was too popular: it was oversold; the imitators were making bad music and folks got tired.
Excellent commentary!! As a student of history, your following statement is absolutely 'on the mark.' "This is honestly great documentary history of a subject that hasn't really been treated very seriously by the academic history community."
Thank you for telling these important stories about the music that shaped us all. I'm a queer 50yo that grew up with that same Disco Sucks cloud hanging over my upbringing, despite loving it as a kid growing up in the Seventies. It wasn't until a BeeGees documentary recently that I had a clue about the anti-LGBTQ+ movement behind it all. Seeing it now for what it was then and how much it affected my identity growing up makes me furious. Thank you again for telling these stories.
As a 63 year old I was a teenager when Disco came out. I was into all types of music and Disco became a new addition to my taste which also was Funk, Rap Punk and extreme forms of metal.
@@shellygardner6410 Reporting what Science knew at the time? I was there. We had very rudimentary knowledge of T-cells, much less anything else at the time. What are you trying to say here? Are you a Trump-bot trying to bring an earnest scientist down? To what end? What secret knowledge do you have about retroviruses and what should be done to combat them?
I lived in WEHO in the mid late 70's. My stomping grounds were STUDIO ONE. OSKOS, THE PROBE and OIL CAN HARRY'S in the Valley. I had a ball. I worked 5 days a week and danced 2, or 3 nights a week. It was a different time. Being a guy from what they called "Boystown", I split my time from JIM MORRIS' GYM , the BLUE PARROT, REVOLVER, MOTHER LODE AND STUDIO ONE. I knew almost everyone at STUDIO from Don at the door to Scott and Jorge and David. THE DISCO ERA WAS THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE !
Agree with your thesis. Was a teen when the 'death to disco' thing happened, remember the wave of anti-disco fervor (read Rolling Stone religiously, newspapers etc). In the last few years I've come to believe that the joyousness that exists in a lot of disco was also part of what the White rock-n-roll crowd could not accept. Keep up the good work, I'd happily watch a 2 hour version of this.
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor.. ..
Wow, this is gold! I was born in England in 1965, and in the 1970s disco was such an integral part of chart music that as a kid I kind of assumed it was here to stay. I was too young to be aware of many of the issues you cover here, and as I approached the age of 14 and discovered Gary Numan and post-punk music I naturally drifted away from chart music and forgot about it to a large extent. Age has brought experience and maturity, not only in far wider musical tastes but also an awareness of social issues. This video fills a gap in my perception of music history that I didn't really know was there. Thank you for telling this important story.
Even as a metal head in high school (1988-1991, pre-grunge), I loved the disco vibe. Bee Gees were always a favorite with their unmistakable vocal harmonies. I remember my sister Diane (rest her soul) with her posters in her room and going out to the disco clubs. Saturday Night Fever was a great movie.
Dude disco is metal adjacent! Love both. If Pete Steele from Type O and Kirk from Crowbar are down with disco, then you know there’s no shame to love both genres!
My mom was a 70s and 80s gal who loved disco and played it for us growing up. At the same time, the town I lived in was almost unanimously "disco sucks." That created a real source of tension in my mind where I loved it, but being young and immature, wanting to "fit in" and be cool. Now I know that disco is awesome and always was, and remains one of my favorite types of music ❤🕺
Growing up in Detroit in the 60’s and 70’s, I was surrounded by music. Mowtown was king in the 60’s. When I was a small boy, we lived not far from the Michigan State Fair. When my bedroom window was open, you could hear in the distance Mowtown groups performing for a grateful hometown audience. Who didn’t like The Supremes? In the mid 70’s I was a closeted teen. I knew my interest in James Franciscus was more than admiring his acting, I tried to hide the fact I thought he was the most attractive man in Hollywood. Every New Year’s Eve my parents had a party, and I was the designated baby sitter for my younger cousins whose parents attended the party. I remember one New Years very well. All of the younger kids were asleep, and I turned on Dick Clark. Didn’t everyone? He had a new group he predicted would be a smash. I waited for the first t.v. appearance of The Village People. They caught my eye right away.......... especially the construction worker, David Hodo. I went to the record store and bought their album, and the other releases too. Who could resist “Live and Sleazy”? My senior year came and my class trip was on a cruise ship, several ports of call in the Caribbean. Every night in the disco I was mesmerized by “Rappers Delight”. When I got home I had to buy it as well. Finally out of high school, going to a local college, and working part time. I met my first boyfriend. He wanted to take me to a club since I seemed to like the music. It took a while before I said yes. When we finally walked through the doors of Backstreet, I thought “why did I wait so long?” “It’s Raining Men” blasted from the dance floor. I was hooked. I loved the club life. Back then you could hit the dance floor EVERY night. There were that many gay clubs in Detroit in the 80’s. AIDS did thin out the crowd, and kept me, for the most part, a good boy. My folks found out about a year later, and threw me out. I ended up working at a high end restaurant that celebrities frequented when in town. I knew a local concert promoter too. He was very generous and I was able to see many disco acts who were popular then. Sometimes I was able to meet them as well. One night my friends and I were looking forward to seeing a classic disco group. Village People were in town. We had the best time, then after the concert, my promoter friend asked us back to meet the guys. I couldn’t believe it, the closeted teen who saw them on New Year’s Eve was actually going to rub elbows with them. It turned out more than elbows were rubbed. David Hodo FINALLY took off his mirrored glasses as we shook hands. I melted as he hugged me. Then I met Glenn Hughes, I told him about the first time I saw them. He smiled the whole time. I reached out to shake his hand, very quickly he grabbed my shoulders and his tongue was in my mouth. Just as quickly he was done kissing me and had a wicked grin on his face. The 80’s were ending and I was ready to settle down. One night I went window shopping at Tiffany’s. I met a tall, dark, handsome guy. He called the next week asking me to dinner. 32 years later, we’re still together. I still love disco, and like my husband, it makes me smile.
Would you consider making Spotify playlists to go along with your videos? Would love to listen to the tracks mentioned and others you love from the genre!
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor. ...
Thank you Polyphonic for this deep dive into the history of Disco. Your documentary meant so very much to me since I was there from the beginning. I lived in San Francisco from 1975 to 2016 and in the 70's. 80's and 90's dance clubs were my home, from Buzby's, Oil Can Harry's, The End-Up,Trocadero Transfer to the I-Bean, Dreamland and Club Universe it was a life filled with the most incredible music, men and women and history. San Francisco was one of the national epicenters of the Gay movement, music and style. I was so lucky to be there in that time for the joy, and tragedy of those years. I remember when I saw Saturday Night Fever thinking. "Well, there it goes, the secret is out. Disco is not just ours anymore." I knew then that the first movement of the sound I loved was going to be attacked. Over the following years I was lucky enough to see and hear the evolution of disco into house music, techno and club music. It never died buy evolved as an ever-living vibrant form. Thanks again for your incredible work. Cheers!
Excellent video well put together. As a 14 year old living the UK I heared Le Freak by Chic for the first time at a local teen disco that was more Northern Soul biased and loved it. I was not aware of disco's roots till much later but was hooked on the melody, vocal harmonies and lush production. I'd happily dance along to disco songs then be hopping around to the Buzzcocks next minute. Why people have to pigeonhole music and refuse to listen to anything outside their perceived genre is a shame. There are nuggets of stellar music in all genres, if it sounds good then it is good whatever it's roots. I still listen to a fair bit of disco in phases as I do other genres and it's stood the test of time. The Disco Sucks movement can be seen as a first peep at cancel culture and it's been a slippery slope ever since.
I grew up in the 70's and Disco was part of the soundtrack of our lives back then. I bought as much Disco music as I did Rock and Pop music. When I was an exchange student in Europe in 1979,, I saw a whole new world in the club scene. I never hated Disco and it never really died -- listen to Cher's massive international hit "Believe" if you have any doubts. You did leave out the importance of the song "The Hustle" which I consider a breakthrough song as much as "Rock The Boat" and ""Rock Your Baby".
I hated disco as a kid but grew to like it as an adult when I discovered more of the underground dance music of the time. This went on to become house and has been the template for dance music ever since.
1) Lets be honest, there was a LOT, and I mean a LOT of bad disco about in the charts at the time. 2) With anything new, it can take a while to 'get it'. I subscribe to the idea that music, like language, has dialects, finding a new genre, it could sound alien to you, but that's OK. Then one day, you have heard enough, made some connections with dialects you know, and suddenly, you get it.
@@jon-paulfilkins7820 As someone who's been listening to dance music for decades I find Disco was really overshadowed by crap . It wasn't until I was an adult before I started discovering the early disco and underground music that later became House. Arthur Russell is a good example off the top of my head of that transitional period ua-cam.com/video/7ukGj5xQ54Q/v-deo.html A great documentary on the end of disco and the rise of house music. ua-cam.com/video/pRRg8M4fvUo/v-deo.html
I went out to the clubs in the mid 70s into the 80s. The underground mix of dance music was where the best music was found - not pop disco on the radio. The 12” extended dance mixes were terrific and glad I grew up at the time!
I was a teenager in the 80s and we all went to the school disco and then snuck into disco clubs because we were underage. Disco never really died it just evolved.
Let's not forget the bottom line that made disco so appealing to club owners. No band to pay. Buy the sound system and play records all night every night with no musicians to pay. DJs would later become their own artists.
My cousin and his partner went to Studio 54 frequently back in the day. He said the way you got in is if you knew someone. He saved a piece of memorabilia from a party and put it in a shadow box and gave it to me. It’s now hanging on the wall in my office. ❤
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor.. ..
Disco can also be called a form of symphonic pop because so much of it needed orchestration. And the beauty of the strings along with the rock guitars and the bass and drums made for a really atmospheric listening experience
Great observation. Disco had some of most incredible creative uses of symphonic instruments in dance music ever. The Bee Gees, Chic, MFSB (and the entire Sound of Philadelphia sub genre) and many many more.
Not mentioning the fact that KC wrote George McRae's only hit. KC was the original Miami Sound Machine. Symphonic pop, eh? ELO comes to mind immediately.
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor. ...
....it really is....but we live primarily in a Judeo Christian society that seriously frowns on most forms of sensuality and hedonism....and so a lot of people....especially MEN....are blocked up and stiff about moving their bodies to music....in my life i have seen many men during the disco era....smile....discover their bodies on the dance floor...it is still beautiful today to see them do it....and release themselves....
Technically disco never died it just renamed itself. It became dance music, house, music over the years and now it’s back as disco. Thanks to the likes of Kylie Minogue, Beyoncé, Miley, Cyrus…. Etc. etc..
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor. ...
Hey man! I'm a straight white man from Brazil. Even tough not targeted by these, at least, "conservative" legislation and backash, I really admire what you're doing here and how you can connect music and politics in a special, ludic way. Thanks for such an in depth video. Our countries have many problems and some similarites, I hope that, together and as a driving force of education and awareness, we can help crumble these "conservatives".
Since you are from Brazil I will relay actual history. The evil that still exists in the U.S is because we did not outlaw the Democrats after we took away their slaves. All the fuckery, in the last 160 years, ever since slavery was performed by Jim Crow, eugenic, lynching, anti miscegenation, segregationist Democrats. The conservative anti slavery party Republicans outlawed all their racist laws and brought in all 8 civil rights acts to protect the individual. Since then, Democrats have lied and tried to rewrite their racist past and project their crimes upon their opposition. They currently have segregated dorms and graduations in universities to PROVE their racist while claiming the opposite. These leftist are the same ones that just tried to steal the election in Brazil. The movement against such are the same people as the conservatives in America. Don't believe their hype and slander for it is to cover the fact that Democrats jailed gay people for decades...
I just watched this over on Nebula. Nicely done. As an elder goth, the bulk of my club nights as a youngster were in LGBTQ bars, because that is where the goth nights were. There is a huge intersection of goth, industrial, house, techno, and disco, and it has certainly informed my DJing style. When starting a disco night a few years back, I found a great book that is my disco bible, called the Disco Files by Vince Aletti. It has a lot of the history, but also, the weekly charts of what was being played in clubs. This is where I start my crate digging when I'm DJing a Disco party.
Speaking as a young straight white man, I’ve always enjoyed disco but it’s never been my genre per say, I’ve always been a big rock fan. Hearing about how rock rallied against disco in essentially an anti LGBT movement is quite striking. I knew nothing about this history personally and found it quite upsetting to think how easily I could have personally fallen into that anti disco group myself, purely by music taste, without knowing the connotations. This is why it’s so important stories like this are shared. Although I know a lot about the racist aspects of the history of rock I knew nothing of the social history of disco before this video. As a white straight man I am so happy I saw this video, and it has definitely shaped how I view this genre. Without being informed it is way too easy to be bigoted, and disco might be the best example. I had no idea about the problematic hatred of disco and especially considering my main introduction to disco was Queen, this video has really highlighted a huge part of my own ignorance that I wasn’t aware of, so thank you Polyphonic! Keep doing what you are doing
@@DeFiSiYT maybe some or very few were racist, more were probably homophobic but it can't really be proven that that's what their drive was. their drive was disco was in Everybody's face for 2 or 3 years before disco demolition night and that they were simply narrow headed boneheads that liked 1 genre
@@DeFiSiYT thousands got together because they wanted to take part in an anti-disco rally simple as that. Show me the evidence that the ten thousands that showed were an anti-LGBT movement or showed because they hated black people. I'll wait
“As a straight white man😔” if u don’t like the music u don’t like the music. It’s possible to dislike disco and still support lgbq rights or black people. Lol why are u so fast to apologize for your taste
Lucky! I was a little kid in 1978 and '79,but my older sister went to discos a lot,and I was fascinated by her stories. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be a young adult back then
there was more 'vitality' - which usually comes from younger folks - in the 50s and 60s. Back then, it was rock and Motown that was the musical soundtrack. Just like in the roaring 20s, it was jazz that everyone was listening to as they partied.
I was a pro DJ for 30 years. I began my DJ career as a Club DJ in the NYC area starting in 1984. I was I was there, I lived it. You nailed it. Great video! Your attention to cultural detail is commendable and appreciated.
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor. ...
Disco is awesome, and tbh a lot of the cream of the crop musicians in the genre (Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards, etc) could run circles around the rock musicians of the time. Incredible groove and depth, great funky chords and rhythmic patterns. Musically, disco is one of my favorite genres (may be biased bc I just love R&B and funk in general, both of which disco draws primarily from), and Chic is one of my favorite bands
Some of the reporting in this video is a bit skewed. Rodgers and Edwards were supposed to be working on Grace Jones next record and went to see her perform at Studio 54. So passed that they couldn't get in they went to their studio and recorded a track with the line, "Awww Fuck OFF!" Of, course those lyrics had to be modified when it came time to record their new song Freak Out.
Nile Rodgers wrote a bunch of songs for “rock” artist in the years after disco’s so called death. Nile Rodgers could be called a king of the disco era imo. Yea use a disco king to make music sure they hated disco, just did not want to admit they liked/loved it.
Edwards laid the foundation for so much of disco. What a fucking hero, dude. What an insane player, fantastic composer, and just an awesome guy. His chucking technique is legendary and really reinforced the 16th note syncopated vibe that was present in many studio 54 records.
Thank you for covering this important history in modern music. As a gay man who grew up in the late 70s and 80s, these stories of the trailblazers that preceded us are important. Sadly, many of them didn’t live to tell their own stories. Having you cover it with such thoughtfulness and grace is appreciated 👍🏻☮️❤️🌈
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor. ...
I was born in 81 and I’ve always connected with the music from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’ more than any other genres. I absolutely love disco. Who doesn’t love to just groove all day?
An understandably US-centric documentary, but disco was a worldwide phenomenon way before 1979, including the Communist block. "Eurodisco" had nothing to do with ABBA, it was a scene more sonically adventurous than US disco, as didn't pay as much lip service to funk and soul. European producers pioneered electronic sounds in disco. Giorgio Moroder was Italian, and introduced in the US the synthesizer sound that was already common in European disco.
The reason a lot of people hated disco is or was by time it got to people like me, it was corporate disco, commercialized. I was into rock and roll, even rock had a revolt causing new wave to start.
Rock has had loads of revolts, consider when rock fans killed off hair metal for grunge and then nu metal for metalcore. Disco could have got along fine without the mainstream jumping on and record companies over saturating the music space.
I was raised with house music in the 90s in Europe, so I've got a distinct feeling as to what's House and what's not. You hit the nail on the head that Disco was influenced by Soul (& Funk). House evolved from Disco (& Dub). As such to me House is pretty much Soulful House, Funky House, Disco House, Afro House & Electro House, which got us to Progressive House & Trance. Yet House is House, else it's Techno Don't let Tech House, the blend of both, fool you: Nu Disco is much closer to what really is House. Disco never died here! ♥
I also love the fact that the evolution of Italo Disco largely is called _Electro_ House. The electric synthesizers that made Italo Disco are now named Electro in House, the younger brother of Disco. I don't like having locations in a genere at all. As if Italo Disco only could come from Italy. I feel that's discrimination and that's why I am not a fan of that of all.
An important video that people must watch. Im a straight punk, metal, rap etc fan that grew up trained to believe 'disco' sucked. But the music and musicians behind it are eons above your fav rock artist. But music aside, thank you for educating the world on its history.
@ahogammer6895 ....it's true....ask any bass player to play the bassline to the CHIC disco song....EVERYBODY DANCE....most of the most evolutionary work in bass guitar is from BERNARD EDWARDS....from CHIC....and most musicians cannot play the basslines he laid down....iconic famous bass players worship BERNARD...
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor.. ..
I don't think it can be a coincidence that many of us born in the mid-70s went on to find a home in the acid house and underground rave parties and a dance music renaissance that carried a bit of punk energy. That groove subconsciously wormed its way into our child brains. Heck, i have fond memories of Sesame Street Fever teaching me how to use a record player
Just checked, Le Freak was originally Fuck Off because Nile Rogers was a guest of Grace Jones at Studio 54 but he was told to fuck off at the back door. Shit, that rhymes. Thank you so much for this video! I've always loved disco and remember all of this.
DJ Kool Herc was one of the first to loop the breaks of songs using multiple turn tables and it all started in 1973 in his famous Back to school jam block party his did for his sister. Many if not all DJs that emerged through the birth of Hip Hop were inspired by him and not so much Nicky Siano.
True, because Kool Herc and Nicky Siano didn't run in the same circles,but both really were pivotal in what modern music would become, and Kool Herc exploded onto the scene,while Siano was more underground,behind the scenes. I guess you could say Herc was the creator,while Siano was the influencer
Disco got people back to formal dancing. Dance studios and classes were popping up all over. In 1978-1979 there was an undeniable energy in the air, and a naïve optimism for the 1980s. Even with inflation, high unemployment and gas shortages, we still had a great time. I'd live that time again in a heartbeat.
Excellent piece of work! Disco is a very important part of not only american culture but popular culture worldwide. Disco music crossed borders and you can find excellent music from countries like the UK (The whole Funktronica genre from the 2010's), Mexico (The whole 80's High Energy genre), Italy (The Italo Disco genre) and even India! It´s great that this information comes out for the young ones nowadays.
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor. ...
The irony with the Bee Gees is that it was completely accidental. They'd been a band already for a long time, having been popular in the UK with a few US hits, but were in a rut and had moved to the US. Arif Martin suggested they add R&B to their sound when he became their producer (the album Mr. Natural), and then that eventually led to some disco being added to Main Course, which was a reasonable hit. They couldn't work with Arif Martin anymore but decided to just do one disco-heavy album (Children of the World), and a live album, and then move on to a new style. They did ok, but not amazingly so. Then they agreed to provide a few disco songs for a little film called Saturday Night Fever, that ended up being a box office smash. Suddenly they were the disco guys despite only releasing 8 disco songs over the space of three albums. Then, when they came to make their next album (Spirits Having Flown), Disco was starting to end/had been murdered, so it did ok but had a bit of a critical backlash. And then once they tried to move back into a modern version of their older sound (ballads, r and b and country) nobody wanted it, or them. They took the entire of the 80's off and just wrote songs and albums for other artists, since anything they'd release would get snubbed just for being 'the bee gees, those disco has beens'. Thankfully, the Bee Gees escaped that when disco regained its popularity (after Maurice had died, thus the band was already over) and the internet has also made people outside of the UK more aware of their non-disco work too.
Born in 71, disco music was all around as I grew up. I wore out my sisters copy of the SNF soundtrack. I like a lot of the music from back then. People that say any genre of music totally sucks are like aliens to me. I can listen to the Bee Gees one second, and Slayer or Waylon Jennings the next and be completely happy.
I think this is beautiful. I do not understand why OTHERS do not understand why we can not LOVE each other with an OPEN HEART. We only have one life to live.. Why not live in PEACE and LOVE. We all deserve it. I LOVE EVERYONE OF YOU....
"Disco deserved a better name, a beautiful name because it was a beautiful art form. It made the consumer beautiful. The consumer was the star." -Barry White
i remember in my childhood my older brother talking crap about disco (we always shared a love for classic rock), and in my head i was like "why, this music is excellent", nowadays he loves it as much as i loved it back then
loving this video. Just a note though - The Bee Gees had a number of international hits before Disco, being well known for their moody ballads. They just recognized their music abilities fit with disco, and skyrocketted. Stay safe, everyone.
"Disco is love. Disco is life. Disco is freedom. Because of that, Disco is forever..." Something my mom and her sisters told me at 5 years old when we visited their families in L.A. 22 years later and Disco has single handedly shaped my love and taste in music. And more. As a Hispanic man, I tend to tell people I naturally gravitate towards rhythm heavy music. This is why I have always had a strong emotional connection to Disco, Funk, and classic R&B. As I grew older, my interest in those genres faded as I moved on towards more popular Punk, Electronic, Rock, and Metal groups. Then it happened. l I began to question things about myself in my mid-teens. I began to ask "why I felt differently than before?" "Why a part of me felt confined or restrained?" "Why do I feel like I am lying to myself?" That was when I started returning to Disco and Funk at 18. The familiar beats and tones helped me feel more comfortable in my skin. More confident in myself. Made me want to be more open and expressive. It never occurred to me that I was gravitating towards these sounds because they felt so natural to me. Not long after I turned 19, I began to realize that I was, in fact, lying to myself. For most of my life, I assumed I was straight. But it was thanks to the years of self isolation after high school that I began to find the answers to questions I've been curious about. Feelings were being resolved. And on my 20th birthday, I was listening to a UA-cam playlist of popular Disco, Funk, and R&B songs when I finally realized and accepted the truth. I was bisexual. I broke down in tears as things began to make sense. I was not who I thought I was and it was thanks to the expressive rhythm and atmosphere of Disco, the friends I made within the music communities I joined that I was able to make sense of my sexuality. Disco helped my discover who I really am. So, to me, my aunts saying was and is true. "Disco is love. Disco is life. Disco is freedom. Because of that, Disco is forever..."🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
I listened to my dad’s 8-tracks as a kid in the late 70’s and loved it. I wonder if we will see a Disco renaissance later in the ‘mid-late 2020s or early 2030s. We sure could use some good happy dance music now!
In "Rock The Boat", you hear the "samba-disco" feel, and this definitely meant that disco came not just from African music, but also from Brazil. This set up the lead-in into so many "samba-disco" songs, up to Barry Manilow's "Copacabana" in 1978, which was nearly a samba-disco anthem.
Anyone who spent any time in the scene abhors the term EDM - it's what mainstream American media coined a bunch of genres that blew up in the early 2000s but really was just the continuation of Disco. There is a phenomenon that keeps happening over and over again - mainstream America ignores something amazing going on in the fringes until the rest of the world grabs it, eveolves it, and sells it back to them. Think the British Invaison with Blues, UK Punk, etc. "EDM" is known around the rest of the world and House and Techno, and it's been huge since the late 80s. House is named after the Warehouse gay club in Chicago from the early 80s, and House music is nothing more than stripped back Disco - a four on the floor beat with an open hihat. Disco never died - it got the 12 inch remix!
I LOVE DISCO, pumping 4 on the floor beats, groovy baselines, wah wah guitars, and angelic voices and strings on top. Heavenly music scoring the meeting point of marginalized communities. I think it is the most elegant, sophisticated genre of music ever created. Something you can dance to, but with enough ear-candy for you to listen while seating in your living room (tapping your feet).
Had to *learn* to like disco - not because it's an acquired taste, but because conditioning people to hate disco was part of that larger program of cultural hegemony & exclusion, and we were all subjected to it (not to say many of us also perpetuated it). Appreciating disco became part of a larger transformation that helped me accept aspects of myself that I had shut out my whole life. Maybe I'm imagining it, but it seems to me your essays have gotten bigger & more encompassing over the past year or so. And I'm here for it 😎
I was in high school at the tail end of the disco era. Can’t think of Donna Summer’s “On the Radio” without getting sentimental. Great time to be young.
Such an important message about the art and power marginalized communities. Polyphonic's essays clearly show a deep love and knowledge of music, history and culture. Invaluable work.
@@auldthymer Polyphonic is Canadian. Even in the 80s a lot of us realized that trickle down economics was a scam and the war on drugs was horribly misguided at best. Canada isn't as polarized as the US(yet). Hope one day, we'll all be able to debate, criticize or just be different without the fear of deadly violence.
@@auldthymer It's not brave at all to criticize Reagan. I hear critiques all the time. In fact growing up I always thought he was considered a bad president because of all the flak people gave him. I have learned something very interesting though. It seems both sides of the political spectrum believe they're overly hated and fear talking about their true opinions. Hopefully one day we'll all just realize we're people who just want whats best for the country. Until then, I'll have to deal with people constantly yelling at each other and bickering without understanding each other. I fear that it'll never end. I fear that it'll always be seen as "Republican vs Democrat, Red vs Blue Good vs Evil" when it isn't that at all. My generation desperately wants something to fight for, a cause. But they have no idea what the cause could be, so they'll fight for anything even if it hurts them and society in the long run. They'll start fights when there are no fights to be had and they'll blame the elite without realizing that they themselves are the elite.
Rapper's Delight not a sample of Chic (before sampling existed), but rather a borrowing or "interpolation" (a complete replaying and recrecording by studio musicians) of Good Times.
A bit of nit-picking especially when you point out that "sampling" did not exist at the time, but at the time that was the term generally used. Just as at the time "interpolation" was not regularly used in the way it is today. No matter how you slice it, this song originally gave no writing credit to Bernard Edwards or Nile Rodgers and would become one of the first copyright disputes over such use, eventually settled, granting both men writing credits.
@@ericsassaman3661 yea, except sampling goes back to the 1960's and the 'Mellotron' loop station used by The Beatles, The Beach Boys among many others....
Don’t ever stop making these videos. This is an incredible work. As someone who group up in the 90s. I remember hearing what a punchline disco had become. I was a daft punk fan from the first time I heard Around The World so I really dug the EDM style and had to secretly like it’s ancestors of Disco. I’m glad that EDM has brought Disco fully mainstream again.
This is incredibly well researched and created. I learned alot about an era that I grew up, and took part in. Discos were the most fun and free time in my life, and I had no idea that there was such a socio/political impetus for it. I appreciate this type of presentation so very much, well done!
Very few other musical genres got people out in the floor dancing more than disco did. Met some great ladies on those floors during that era! It was simply fun, sadly that vibe has been lost in most clubs these days.
As a teenager during the Disco Era I can say it was some of the best years of my life 😹 I still have all the promotional 12" singles I bought with McDonald's money 💰
Great video! I remember being a kid in the 80s and my dad, a big soul and disco fan, constantly lamented how people complained that "disco sucks" and all we ended up with was hair metal. He still to this day likes a good song with a catchy groove.
I'm baffled to why I was a 1970's metal and hard rock listener and also loved Disco. Never could figure out why nobody else was like me. I don't care but it's baffling. I am more diverse in music but still love disco and rock!
This was amazingly done. I always found it fascinating that Disco had a span of only 6 years, but it felt like double the time. Those of us who lived it watched the split between the emerging Hip Hop (still alive today), Punk Rock, and how Disco went Underground giving birth to House Music (also very much alive today...and untouched). I personally felt the Disco aesthetic died because of the dance element that certain rhythmically challenged folks couldn't subscribe to, because if you think about it, people haven't danced together since!...(besides the television spectacle of ballroom dance). Nonetheless it still was a foundational social element in music that rares it's head even today to gain recognition and validation for what initially was...a great time!
I’ve been working on this video for months and, unfortunately, in the past week, events in the U.S. have proved just why it’s so important to tell these stories. Every day, it’s becoming more dangerous to be a queer person in this world despite the fact that our modern culture is fundamentally shaped by the queer trailblazers in the past.
If you want to help support LGBT youth, please consider donating to the Trevor Project: www.thetrevorproject.org/
Or, if you want to support the families and survivors of the Club Q shooting more directly, check out their GoFundMe:
www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-the-club-q-families-and-survivors
As a trans woman, thank you so much, music is about inclusivity and togetherness
You never mentioned Chicago House of the 80s and just went to EDM and Daft Punk....
Kudos, this is a brilliant and important video essay!
Disco, you either love it or hate it . Having been subjected to this music while in its early stages wasn't all that hard to live with, the music for the most part wasn't so bad it brought The Bee Gee's , the Rolling stones,commadors , Tina Turner just to name a few music hits . And people during this period in time together in dancing. Personally for me it was to plastic and commercialized for me . The clubs all seemed to have a pick and choose attitude which I felt was very rude and unattractive . Studio 54 was all about promoting cocaine and other drugs plus what seemed like a free for all orgy to attract attention. Disco was designed with the formula of bringing people , dancing and music together . Not getting them addicted to cocaine and other drugs substances. This was in my opinion was the downfall of the Disco trend during the seventies ~ Love and Prayers ♡♡♡~jimi
Absolutely Terrific Work!!!!
The whole "disco sucks" thing and the hatred of disco was unique to the US. Disco was murdered and ridiculed here, but nowhere else! In Europe, disco evolved into Eurodance, High NRG, Italodisco and Synth Pop. New Wave was a clear evolution of disco as well. Blue Monday in 1983 is a perfect example. In the States, it evolved into House music, all because of one DJ in Chicago! And all these different genres that originated with Disco, all evolved into EDM! Disco Never Died!!!!!
Edm sucks
I always make this point as well, that Disco didn't well and truly "die" after the '70s ended, it evolved into other musical movements. Like the plainly named Post-Disco (which is more of a retrospective term). "Let's Groove" by Earth, Wind & Fire or "Fresh" by Kool & the Gang are examples.
@@zackmccrea4731 no
@@zackmccrea4731I’m 100% certain this guy thinks EDM is just skrillex, aviici and max martin
I honestly believe Dub/Reggae to be the Godfather of all electronic music. People like Lee Scratch Perry, King Tubby. Look into DUB music.
It's so weird that people hated disco. It's literally funk with just a little more extra rhythmic patterns. Heck, Disco is what pretty much inspired electronic dance/house music
People don't hate disco. They hate shit disco. Like every revolutionary musical movement whose bubble eventually burst from a glut of derivative shit. Eventually you look back with rose tinted glasses and only remember the good stuff.
In my small hick town, people hated disco because it was associated with drug use, homosexuality, and immoral behavior. You know, unlike good ol' American rock music.
Castrated funk.
I hear you, but imo I can see why funk may be liked more. Funk tends to have heavier baselines, and more trumpets; where disco adds in a bunch of orchestra and strings, while minimizing the bass to a degree. Also Funk tends to experiment with Jazz influences; where Disco has some Bossa Nova influences.
Ngl personally I enjoy funk more. I like the baselines more; and in many cases Funk artist tend to tackle alot more overtly political subject matter as well imo.
For example; I'd rather listen to Baby Huey's "The Baby Huey Story: Living Legend" album (1971) over Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" album (1979)
@@Mrballerize Great shout-out to Baby Huey. That's a killer LP.
Sylvester's back-up singers recorded 'It's Raining Men' in 1981 as The Weather Girls, a decade later they topped the charts multiple times WORLDWIDE providing the lead vocals for Black Box and other dance tunes, the whole era of Diva Dance Music was lead by old disco girls.....Disco never died, it evolved, and grew like a butterfly.
Facts on facts on facts.
And survived under different monikers such as free style and just 'dance music', etc.. STill seen in other cultures, and I found the very same disco beat in K pop many times over the years. Here: ua-cam.com/video/MR63CTfJocM/v-deo.html
That was Martha Walsh. She ended up suing Black Box and I believe she won.
@@beezlbubba Both members of The Weather Girls won their lawsuits against Black Box...
Never knew that about Black Box!!!
I was a young gay man in the early 1970's, coming to terms with my sexuality and feeling so isolated. Then I discovered the gay clubs in 1972 and the disco music soon became the anthem of my personal expression. The songs were energizing and fun. And I still remember those days with such fondness. Unfortunately, the 'disco sucks' movement was an insult to all those wonderful, gifted artists whose music meant so much to me and my friends. I was furious about it. How dare they! No other genre of music was ever so wrongly maligned.
*BINGO!* The 70s were something else!
I was just about to lament on my personal reverie when I saw your response. Suffice to say you did our story proud! Thank you.
Well put Sir!
Fair thee well...
It was catching on and was a threat to” rock and/ or roll”So it wasn’t ‘ cool’. But yet everybody seemed to enjoy the hits. So much fun. And they hold up to this day. It never died, it just got rebranded and evolved into funk hybrids and EDM. I cover Funkytown, Car Wash, I Feel Love, Shake Your Booty,That’s the Way( uh huh uh huh) I Like It, I’m Your Boogie Man , Love Rollercoaster and still adding to playlist. But disco sucks. Hate it.
What did you do after the Disco S)*ks movement? You mentioned going to clubs before the movement.
@@bensweiss Oddly enough, after a trip to Texas and the release of 'Urban Cowboy', I found a new passion for country music! I thought the male CW singers of that time were incredibly sexy (more so than pop or rock singers) and were also amazing vocalists. Many of the gals too.
I also learned to two-step!
Disco didn’t die, it was murdered. I think you did an excellent job telling this story, and it’s evidently poignant now.
And house music is its revenge.
and the truth is it never died. it just went underground. the dance music that came out after the "death" and before the onset of house included loads of amazing music... D-train for example... and all the Larry Levan type electro and funk records he remixed including some amazing early hip-hop. the labels Prelude, West End and Salsoul ruled with lots of amazing boogie records.
In my personal experience of the period and the music, I think thats quite untrue. Disco was increasingly commercialised and became very boring while other music became fresh and interesting. It leaned heavily on high production values with
excellent musicians, horn sections, multiple backing singers, etc. etc. and it was waning at the same time other similarly high-production value music was waning, allowing leaner styles like punk, heavy metal and ‘new wave’ to rise in their place.
it never died. yes the music left the mainstream but there are thousands of records by disco artists and others that were disco in nature that came out after the 1979 disco demolition and the end of disco formatted radio stations throughput the 80s. house music and techno didn't come about in a vacuum. it was an evolution of dance music from disco that led to those (and hip-hop) towards the end of the 80s. even the popularity of many of the biggest disco hits never died. proof is any wedding to this day that still plays "celebration", "good times" or even "another one bites the dust". I could easily name thousands of records that came out in the 80s that were disco or at least an evolution of disco by then, all that were hugely popular in dance clubs.
it never died.
It didn't die. It evolved into something else like all the music tends to do.
a good night in a good disco made you feel like you were floating on a cloud. I remember nights when people on a dance floor would turn away from their friends and start dancing with total strangers. And disco NEVER EVER died and is still not dead. People will always enjoy dancing and enjoy dance music. My out of print impossible to find disco records (Lime, Cerrone, Voyage, Change) are like solid gold to me now.
I would lose everyone and hit the floor with whoever to Voyage's Souvenirs !!
The comment reminded me that my first mind altering experience was a sober one! Triggered by the hit song 'Funky Town' in a club with a mirror ball, disco lights embedded in the wooden disco floor and a strobe light. One minute I was stomping to the thumping beat, the next I was looking down at the crowd on the floor, with myself still bopping like nobody's watching.
Well Said!
Disco Hits & Songs!
Love & Desire, Super Nature, Plug Me To Death, Romeo & Juliet, Santa Esmeralda: Another Cha Cha, Lime: Your Love, Dancing The Night Away:by Vogue, Savage Lover: The Ring, Love Disco Style, Cerrone: Love In C Minor, I Found Love:Love & 💋 Kisses, Hunchback Of Norte Dame side (A) Forbidden Love: Marleen Kane. Wow I Can Just Go On & On... I was a Hustle Dancer in New York🎵 🕺🏼🎚🎛🎚💃🏼 🎶
Caught Up In A One Night Love Affair ❤️ There For By The Grace Of God by: Maachine, Drums 🥁 Of Fire, I Am Your Automatic Lover, QUARTZ 1978 LATIN LOVER! WOW! LIME: Your Love, From East To West , Savage Love: The Ring 💍 🎶, Dancer: by Gino Scossio,
Well, I could go no for Day's
Peace Love God & Happyness
Ricky Vega ⚘️
Well, thankfully, there are still, those who enjoy 70s Disco Music but we really, need to find a way to revive it so it becomes popular again, and played on mainstream radio and so forth, again. A true revival of the genera would see it turn back to its true, 70s, form with new songs and new artiest putting out those songs. This is what I'm longing for while I'm still, young enough to be able to enjoy it. LONG LIVE DISCO. My Best. Out.
@@in_our_60s : You should consider making a video and uploading some of these songs. Are they Gay Disco Songs? They sound as if they might be.
I don't care what anybody thinks, I love disco.
Disco it's great
I'm with you! It's fantastic Sonic Indulgence.
@@EvilSouxie ) isn't it tve other way around.
@@steamboatwill3.367 there is room enough in life for punk and disco. Both were protests anyway, in their own ways.
Disco 🦆
Disco had a tremendous impact in music. No matter what haters say its power is undeniable.
- and continues to do so ...
Totally agree
I was into Rock music 70s & 80s ,But went to disco clubs to meet girls ..! Some clubs had rock bands one nite & next Disco music ! ...
Its hypnotic, I listen when working out at the gym.
True,I don't think the actual music got it sorta ridiculed after awhile...it was the cheesiness,the clothes and let's be honest the outlandish gay outlooks on it,I'm not anti gay but it did have a negative effect with the public after a couple of years
Thank you. This is such a wonderful historic review of the disco era. I loved disco. It didn't die, it was just hidden. The 80's dance songs were so disco but no one wanted to call it that. The resurgence in the '90's is proof it was not dead. Today most dance songs still use a disco beat. So how can anyone say it's dead? Not in my book.
My very thought right there: As someone who was born and raised in Latin America in the early 1980s, I heard disco music in my childhood. As the 1990s progressed, I always told myself the genre just took a break.
Even today in mid-2023, it's still alive! Only a few weeks back, I found this Nu-Disco playlist on Spotify with brand new releases -- woohoo!
Keep it groovy, baby!!
All of this is true...but there is something unique about the nascent disco era, '71-'75. 😀🪩💕
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor.. ..
The fact that you discussed not just the music but the social impact and cultural importance disco carried with it is what makes this video better than basically every music breakdown video. Can’t say how much value there is in the acknowledgment that music is often an expression of a people during a time. It’s rarely just a song. Music can often be the sonic torch carried by people with a message.
Killer work man, this one’s up there with some of your best work.
As a 61 year old straight guy who lived through this era, growing up on classic rock, soul and disco, even spending quite a bit of time in NYC, I thought that there would be no way that you could sustain my interest in this topic for almost 35 minutes. Man, was I wrong. You are simply amazing! How do you completely understand this era and music? You are a genius who transcends time. Do you ever feel as thought you have lived through previous lives? Well done!
If Disco didn’t exist, we wouldn’t have Daft Punk or Justice, so I’m eternally grateful for its existence
That was Italian Disco, not Disco.
@@RagHelen False. Daft Punk in particular cite 70s disco as a huge inspiration. Why do you think they worked with Nile Rodgers and Giorgio Moroder?
Yea but if disco didn’t exist, something else might have come about that we lost out for because of disco. I am eternally saddened that we never got that style of music.
Disco didn't die. It became House Music and is alive and well, today.
oh true, i guess it did survive through house
House music is often called "disco's revenge" 😊
It also became HiNrg Dance music.
it was a bit strange that house music wasn't mentioned, and a bit telling of the producer's background that the whiter more commercial "EDM" term was mentioned instead.
@@poofygoof Agreed. They skipped a whole chapter of House's birth, Frankie Knuckles, Larry Levan, Italo Disco, Chicago House, Detroit Techno, London, Acid House... all before the corporate types started trying to bundle it into "EDM".
The "death" of disco brought on that post disco, italo disco, groove, funk tunes of the 80s that I love so much.
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor.. ..
I’m obsessed with post disco and I’ve just started this video. I’m praying that gets spoken about. Disco did not completely die after 1979. There was a whole “post disco” club movement that caused house music to be created.
The admission of a mention for post-disco-boogie was without a doubt the biggest flaw with this otherwise reasonable round-up!
@@markeagling2897 definitely… but besides that this video was great
Yeah house and rave, techno etc
What are some examples?
@@powerpopaholic876 for post disco ?
Sylvester was truly an iconic musician, and I feel really sad that he died young. Mighty Real is still a banger, RIP Sylvester
We really did want to funk with Syl.
Sadly NO mention of pioneering GAY music producer Patrick Cowley, who was behind Sylvester's disco music and birthed the whole hi-NRG disco scene in San Francisco as a direct counterpart to the Italio Disco of equally important Giorgio Moroder and his like, as well as making explorations into early electronic and ambient music, which is only sadly now being recognized after his early death from AIDS in 1982. Also BRIEF mention of the importance of Latin music to the disco scene but NO mention of Salsoul recordings which fused both with fully orchestrated tracks! And yes, hip hop was important, but I would argue that it was in fact later black gay Chicago DJs and remixers like Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles birthing the House scene there from how they extended disco and hip hop records with soul and gospel inflections that lay the foundations for disco being part of the foundation of 'Electronic Dance Music' as you generically call the whole Dance genre in the US it seems, and recently contemporary r&b. Apart from that a very good video, especially the part about the pre-disco DJ which I didn't know about.
@@electricden Thanks for mentioning Patrick Cowley. I'll check him out. I lived (I should say survived) that era without knowing him. I listened to a lot of disco at gay bars but I really didn't pay attention to it other than who was singing and maybe a few musicians. So after I listen to Sylvester's Greatest Hits again I'll delve a little deeper.
👍🎶
@@KabobHope FYI - There is a subreddit dedicated to Patrick Cowley that's chronicling our "rediscovery" of his work. Check it out. (My personal Favorite was Cowley's remix of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love")
One of the golden ages of music that never died for its fans
I was raised with parents who were 70's party goers. It baffles me that people don't understand or know the history of disco. They just think of the "disco sucks" movement.
My parents were pretty accepting people and they know what the destruction of disco meant. So they raised me on disco and showed me to love and accept.
I'm grateful to have parents who lived the 70's and were always fighting for the right things. My dad was a punk metal head who grew up in the hood so he had friends who were also into hip hop and dancing.
My mom was a rollerblading disco queen who always accepted her LGBT+ friends.
This was in the 70's and my parents are both Asian. So yeah, it was a crazy time. But they always showed me to love. And that's why we keep disco alive in my family. It's to show that we have a voice and we still exist.
This video did so well explaining to people who never had the fortune of hearing the history from the ... "other" side of it.
We only hear from the people who orchestrated its murder. They silence the people who were harmed from it.
But it's 2022, we are progressing. I know a lot of people don't see it. But my parents tell me it's a lot better. And I have no reason to doubt them
I agree. Check out our video on Disco. ua-cam.com/video/vfsPp53m814/v-deo.html
Hope it stays that way. OMG how conservatives want to control everyone! 😫
there were no Rollerblades in the 70s it was roller skates!
But we all know by reading your comment that you have no kids and you are probably medicated.
The 70's was so laid back! Today we make videos as if the 'Disco Sucks' meme was a political regime like ANTIFA. It wasn't. We were not that deep into ideologies concerning the music we listened to. For a period in the '77-'80 era mainstream disco truly did suck. Of course not all disco sucked. We liked to rag on Saturday Night Fever because it was fun to, but we'd watch the Bee Gees on the Midnight Special and enjoy it. Things get exploited to make money. Disco was the perfect thing to exploit. A driving beat!
Hey Polyphonic dude, I've always enjoyed your videos, but this is something else. This is honestly great documentary history of a subject that hasn't really been treated very seriously by the academic history community. I teach modern US history and I have great documentary videos that I share with my students for both the birth of psychedelic rock and the origins of hip hop, but I 've never found anything really good on disco. This really is good and my classes will watch this video from now on when we study the 1970s. You do a great job of making the connections between disco and the birth and growth of the gay rights movement. That's what makes this good cultural history, not just a cool music documentary. If I could offer one criticism, it would be that I think the argument that the disco sucks riot caused the downfall of disco is a bit too convenient and simple. But that's a pretty small criticism of an excellent historical narrative overall. So thanks for making this. I, and my students, really appreciate it!
Or you could have simply started with Wikipedia
What's the psych rock video you're talking about? I'd love to know.
I'd love to know, about that and the hip-hop one. I read a lot of sections from Dan Charnas The Big Payback, along similar lines.
The complaint about the Disco Sucks thing is valid, it seems. It was just the sign of the times. What can be said to be for everyone?
Some 20 years ago I saw an exhibit in New York Public Library about the history of disco. They had matchbooks from The Loft. They had three outfits worn by LaBelle. They had a disco Winnie-the-Pooh record player and a listening station with Sinatra's disco-styled "Night and Day." I was in heaven.
Their suggestion was that disco died because it was too popular: it was oversold; the imitators were making bad music and folks got tired.
Excellent commentary!! As a student of history, your following statement is absolutely 'on the mark.'
"This is honestly great documentary history of a subject that hasn't really been treated very seriously by the academic history community."
Disco and rollerblading were the very best part of my teens.
Thank you for telling these important stories about the music that shaped us all.
I'm a queer 50yo that grew up with that same Disco Sucks cloud hanging over my upbringing, despite loving it as a kid growing up in the Seventies. It wasn't until a BeeGees documentary recently that I had a clue about the anti-LGBTQ+ movement behind it all. Seeing it now for what it was then and how much it affected my identity growing up makes me furious.
Thank you again for telling these stories.
Of the same age, I'm about to make the same kind of comment. He does such a good job of tying together strings that I had no idea existed.
As a 63 year old I was a teenager when Disco came out. I was into all types of music and Disco became a new addition to my taste which also was Funk, Rap Punk and extreme forms of metal.
I was so f---n impressed that he name Ronald Reagan for his hatefully ignorant response to AIDS. I became angry all over again!
@@auldthymer how about Dr. Fouci's response to AIDS? How did you "feel" about that?
@@shellygardner6410 Reporting what Science knew at the time? I was there. We had very rudimentary knowledge of T-cells, much less anything else at the time. What are you trying to say here? Are you a Trump-bot trying to bring an earnest scientist down? To what end? What secret knowledge do you have about retroviruses and what should be done to combat them?
Artists like Donna Summer, Bee Gees, and Chic truly revolutionized the genre. Thanks for covering this!
Also K.C. and the Sunshine Band.
@@angelagoodwin5758 ....and SYLVESTER....
I lived in WEHO in the mid late 70's. My stomping grounds were STUDIO ONE. OSKOS, THE PROBE and OIL CAN HARRY'S in the Valley. I had a ball. I worked 5 days a week and danced 2, or 3 nights a week. It was a different time. Being a guy from what they called "Boystown", I split my time from JIM MORRIS' GYM , the BLUE PARROT, REVOLVER, MOTHER LODE AND STUDIO ONE. I knew almost everyone at STUDIO from Don at the door to Scott and Jorge and David.
THE DISCO ERA WAS THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE !
Still has some of the best basslines in American music and pop.
And drums,and guitars,and arrangements 😊
And electric piano acoustic piano clavinet
The story of that "Disco Sucks" leader sounds like the most stereotypical villain backstory ever
@aviation cat He's literally wearing military clothing (not just the combat hat, but the suit too). If that wasn't on the nose for then and now...
@@TygerTigerable He also looks like he'd fit in well with a bunch of Incels too...
White men suck. They hated that disco didn't center them.
Alice Cooper was one of them.
@TygerTigerable I know,right? He even kinda looks like Mark David Chapman,the guy who killed John Lennon
Agree with your thesis. Was a teen when the 'death to disco' thing happened, remember the wave of anti-disco fervor (read Rolling Stone religiously, newspapers etc). In the last few years I've come to believe that the joyousness that exists in a lot of disco was also part of what the White rock-n-roll crowd could not accept. Keep up the good work, I'd happily watch a 2 hour version of this.
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor.. ..
Wow, this is gold! I was born in England in 1965, and in the 1970s disco was such an integral part of chart music that as a kid I kind of assumed it was here to stay. I was too young to be aware of many of the issues you cover here, and as I approached the age of 14 and discovered Gary Numan and post-punk music I naturally drifted away from chart music and forgot about it to a large extent. Age has brought experience and maturity, not only in far wider musical tastes but also an awareness of social issues. This video fills a gap in my perception of music history that I didn't really know was there. Thank you for telling this important story.
Even as a metal head in high school (1988-1991, pre-grunge), I loved the disco vibe. Bee Gees were always a favorite with their unmistakable vocal harmonies. I remember my sister Diane (rest her soul) with her posters in her room and going out to the disco clubs. Saturday Night Fever was a great movie.
Still is!
Dude disco is metal adjacent! Love both. If Pete Steele from Type O and Kirk from Crowbar are down with disco, then you know there’s no shame to love both genres!
@@mraza9 Agreed! The two most underrated music forms: '70s disco and heavy metal.
The soundtrack was great.
@@mraza9 🤘🏾🖤🤘🏻 Facts!
My mom was a 70s and 80s gal who loved disco and played it for us growing up. At the same time, the town I lived in was almost unanimously "disco sucks." That created a real source of tension in my mind where I loved it, but being young and immature, wanting to "fit in" and be cool. Now I know that disco is awesome and always was, and remains one of my favorite types of music ❤🕺
Growing up in Detroit in the 60’s and 70’s, I was surrounded by music. Mowtown was king in the 60’s. When I was a small boy, we lived not far from the Michigan State Fair. When my bedroom window was open, you could hear in the distance Mowtown groups performing for a grateful hometown audience. Who didn’t like The Supremes? In the mid 70’s I was a closeted teen. I knew my interest in James Franciscus was more than admiring his acting, I tried to hide the fact I thought he was the most attractive man in Hollywood. Every New Year’s Eve my parents had a party, and I was the designated baby sitter for my younger cousins whose parents attended the party. I remember one New Years very well. All of the younger kids were asleep, and I turned on Dick Clark. Didn’t everyone? He had a new group he predicted would be a smash. I waited for the first t.v. appearance of The Village People. They caught my eye right away.......... especially the construction worker, David Hodo. I went to the record store and bought their album, and the other releases too. Who could resist “Live and Sleazy”? My senior year came and my class trip was on a cruise ship, several ports of call in the Caribbean. Every night in the disco I was mesmerized by “Rappers Delight”. When I got home I had to buy it as well. Finally out of high school, going to a local college, and working part time. I met my first boyfriend. He wanted to take me to a club since I seemed to like the music. It took a while before I said yes. When we finally walked through the doors of Backstreet, I thought “why did I wait so long?” “It’s Raining Men” blasted from the dance floor. I was hooked. I loved the club life. Back then you could hit the dance floor EVERY night. There were that many gay clubs in Detroit in the 80’s. AIDS did thin out the crowd, and kept me, for the most part, a good boy. My folks found out about a year later, and threw me out. I ended up working at a high end restaurant that celebrities frequented when in town. I knew a local concert promoter too. He was very generous and I was able to see many disco acts who were popular then. Sometimes I was able to meet them as well. One night my friends and I were looking forward to seeing a classic disco group. Village People were in town. We had the best time, then after the concert, my promoter friend asked us back to meet the guys. I couldn’t believe it, the closeted teen who saw them on New Year’s Eve was actually going to rub elbows with them. It turned out more than elbows were rubbed. David Hodo FINALLY took off his mirrored glasses as we shook hands. I melted as he hugged me. Then I met Glenn Hughes, I told him about the first time I saw them. He smiled the whole time. I reached out to shake his hand, very quickly he grabbed my shoulders and his tongue was in my mouth. Just as quickly he was done kissing me and had a wicked grin on his face. The 80’s were ending and I was ready to settle down. One night I went window shopping at Tiffany’s. I met a tall, dark, handsome guy. He called the next week asking me to dinner. 32 years later, we’re still together. I still love disco, and like my husband, it makes me smile.
Great story, I still go out with my partner of 21 years and do the Tea Dance and dance the Hustle every week...
.....beautiful....just beautiful.....bravo....
@@sluzardo5879 .....oh that's just beautiful....please....KEEP DANCING....
You need help, brother. Your sexual urges are not natural
LOL.
Would you consider making Spotify playlists to go along with your videos? Would love to listen to the tracks mentioned and others you love from the genre!
Yes please!!
This is such a good idea !!
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor. ...
Thank you Polyphonic for this deep dive into the history of Disco. Your documentary meant so very much to me since I was there from the beginning. I lived in San Francisco from 1975 to 2016 and in the 70's. 80's and 90's dance clubs were my home, from Buzby's, Oil Can Harry's, The End-Up,Trocadero Transfer to the I-Bean, Dreamland and Club Universe it was a life filled with the most incredible music, men and women and history. San Francisco was one of the national epicenters of the Gay movement, music and style. I was so lucky to be there in that time for the joy, and tragedy of those years. I remember when I saw Saturday Night Fever thinking. "Well, there it goes, the secret is out. Disco is not just ours anymore." I knew then that the first movement of the sound I loved was going to be attacked. Over the following years I was lucky enough to see and hear the evolution of disco into house music, techno and club music. It never died buy evolved as an ever-living vibrant form. Thanks again for your incredible work. Cheers!
Excellent video well put together.
As a 14 year old living the UK I heared Le Freak by Chic for the first time at a local teen disco that was more Northern Soul biased and loved it. I was not aware of disco's roots till much later but was hooked on the melody, vocal harmonies and lush production. I'd happily dance along to disco songs then be hopping around to the Buzzcocks next minute. Why people have to pigeonhole music and refuse to listen to anything outside their perceived genre is a shame. There are nuggets of stellar music in all genres, if it sounds good then it is good whatever it's roots. I still listen to a fair bit of disco in phases as I do other genres and it's stood the test of time. The Disco Sucks movement can be seen as a first peep at cancel culture and it's been a slippery slope ever since.
Exactly! The "DiScO sUcKs" crowd basically CREATED "Cancel Culture" in the late 70s,and now,they're the loudest voices crying against it
If you havn't listened i recommend john ronson's latest podcast series things fell apart. Also northern soul needs more people talking about it.
"Love To Love You Baby" was actually co-written by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.
I grew up in the 70's and Disco was part of the soundtrack of our lives back then. I bought as much Disco music as I did Rock and Pop music. When I was an exchange student in Europe in 1979,, I saw a whole new world in the club scene. I never hated Disco and it never really died -- listen to Cher's massive international hit "Believe" if you have any doubts. You did leave out the importance of the song "The Hustle" which I consider a breakthrough song as much as "Rock The Boat" and ""Rock Your Baby".
Soul Makossa in 1973 by Manu Dibango is the gateway..the rest is history.
I hated disco as a kid but grew to like it as an adult when I discovered more of the underground dance music of the time. This went on to become house and has been the template for dance music ever since.
1) Lets be honest, there was a LOT, and I mean a LOT of bad disco about in the charts at the time.
2) With anything new, it can take a while to 'get it'. I subscribe to the idea that music, like language, has dialects, finding a new genre, it could sound alien to you, but that's OK. Then one day, you have heard enough, made some connections with dialects you know, and suddenly, you get it.
@@jon-paulfilkins7820 As someone who's been listening to dance music for decades I find Disco was really overshadowed by crap . It wasn't until I was an adult before I started discovering the early disco and underground music that later became House. Arthur Russell is a good example off the top of my head of that transitional period ua-cam.com/video/7ukGj5xQ54Q/v-deo.html
A great documentary on the end of disco and the rise of house music. ua-cam.com/video/pRRg8M4fvUo/v-deo.html
I went out to the clubs in the mid 70s into the 80s. The underground mix of dance music was where the best music was found - not pop disco on the radio. The 12” extended dance mixes were terrific and glad I grew up at the time!
@@WndD_74dance music was all based on disco. Dance music … house music… DisCO!!!!!
@@WndD_74 This. Most people don;'t understand, which is great because they could keep all the surface musak.
Polyphonic just does not miss. I hope this doesn't put any pressure on him, but each video kept me hella engaged in the history of music!
I was a teenager in the 80s and we all went to the school disco and then snuck into disco clubs because we were underage. Disco never really died it just evolved.
Disco NEVER died for me! I love disco to this day!
Let's not forget the bottom line that made disco so appealing to club owners. No band to pay. Buy the sound system and play records all night every night with no musicians to pay. DJs would later become their own artists.
Very good point!
In the words of Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci's character in "Casino") , "It's the dollars. It's always about the dollars"
My cousin and his partner went to Studio 54 frequently back in the day. He said the way you got in is if you knew someone. He saved a piece of memorabilia from a party and put it in a shadow box and gave it to me. It’s now hanging on the wall in my office. ❤
@@Abcd-jz4gp NICE!!!!!!
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor.. ..
Disco can also be called a form of symphonic pop because so much of it needed orchestration. And the beauty of the strings along with the rock guitars and the bass and drums made for a really atmospheric listening experience
Great observation. Disco had some of most incredible creative uses of symphonic instruments in dance music ever. The Bee Gees, Chic, MFSB (and the entire Sound of Philadelphia sub genre) and many many more.
Not mentioning the fact that KC wrote George McRae's only hit. KC was the original Miami Sound Machine. Symphonic pop, eh? ELO comes to mind immediately.
@@beezlbubba ELO was fantastic, with a couple interesting disco style tracks as well.
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor. ...
For a brief, brilliant moment we had the disco era. The birth of a new genre of music.
Never forgotten. Dancing is the ultimate expression of freedom.
....it really is....but we live primarily in a Judeo Christian society that seriously frowns on most forms of sensuality and hedonism....and so a lot of people....especially MEN....are blocked up and stiff about moving their bodies to music....in my life i have seen many men during the disco era....smile....discover their bodies on the dance floor...it is still beautiful today to see them do it....and release themselves....
@@CuirPhotodotNet word.
Technically disco never died it just renamed itself. It became dance music, house, music over the years and now it’s back as disco. Thanks to the likes of Kylie Minogue, Beyoncé, Miley, Cyrus…. Etc. etc..
Late disco records like Chic’s “Good Times” paved the way for hip-hop as well.
The instrumental of “Rappers Delight” heavily sampled Good Times.
You are so correct. That 120 beat per minute format still stands
Quoting DONNA SUMMER, “people will always want to dance.” Thanks for this enlightening documentary.
@@liveandmore great absolutely agreeeeeee
You must be from Australia. Hello Australia
Wow!...I mean, this was, by far, the best introduction and historical contextualization of 'disco' ever!! Congrats man! This is a HUGE achievement!!
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor. ...
Hey man! I'm a straight white man from Brazil. Even tough not targeted by these, at least, "conservative" legislation and backash, I really admire what you're doing here and how you can connect music and politics in a special, ludic way. Thanks for such an in depth video. Our countries have many problems and some similarites, I hope that, together and as a driving force of education and awareness, we can help crumble these "conservatives".
If a cow moos all alone, with no herd to hear- does he really moo?
Since you are from Brazil I will relay actual history. The evil that still exists in the U.S is because we did not outlaw the Democrats after we took away their slaves. All the fuckery, in the last 160 years, ever since slavery was performed by Jim Crow, eugenic, lynching, anti miscegenation, segregationist Democrats. The conservative anti slavery party Republicans outlawed all their racist laws and brought in all 8 civil rights acts to protect the individual. Since then, Democrats have lied and tried to rewrite their racist past and project their crimes upon their opposition. They currently have segregated dorms and graduations in universities to PROVE their racist while claiming the opposite. These leftist are the same ones that just tried to steal the election in Brazil. The movement against such are the same people as the conservatives in America. Don't believe their hype and slander for it is to cover the fact that Democrats jailed gay people for decades...
I just watched this over on Nebula. Nicely done. As an elder goth, the bulk of my club nights as a youngster were in LGBTQ bars, because that is where the goth nights were. There is a huge intersection of goth, industrial, house, techno, and disco, and it has certainly informed my DJing style. When starting a disco night a few years back, I found a great book that is my disco bible, called the Disco Files by Vince Aletti. It has a lot of the history, but also, the weekly charts of what was being played in clubs. This is where I start my crate digging when I'm DJing a Disco party.
In 2002 I played Ministry music from Twitch for a young new female DJ in Florida at a strip club. She went BONKERS.
@@TypeOneg That is such a great EP.
Speaking as a young straight white man, I’ve always enjoyed disco but it’s never been my genre per say, I’ve always been a big rock fan. Hearing about how rock rallied against disco in essentially an anti LGBT movement is quite striking. I knew nothing about this history personally and found it quite upsetting to think how easily I could have personally fallen into that anti disco group myself, purely by music taste, without knowing the connotations. This is why it’s so important stories like this are shared. Although I know a lot about the racist aspects of the history of rock I knew nothing of the social history of disco before this video. As a white straight man I am so happy I saw this video, and it has definitely shaped how I view this genre. Without being informed it is way too easy to be bigoted, and disco might be the best example. I had no idea about the problematic hatred of disco and especially considering my main introduction to disco was Queen, this video has really highlighted a huge part of my own ignorance that I wasn’t aware of, so thank you Polyphonic! Keep doing what you are doing
What racist aspects? The genre got the races together first
@@rocknroll_jezus9233 I think @Reevo meant the racist aspects of the anti-Disco movement. Or that's how I read it at least.
@@DeFiSiYT maybe some or very few were racist, more were probably homophobic but it can't really be proven that that's what their drive was. their drive was disco was in Everybody's face for 2 or 3 years before disco demolition night and that they were simply narrow headed boneheads that liked 1 genre
@@DeFiSiYT thousands got together because they wanted to take part in an anti-disco rally simple as that. Show me the evidence that the ten thousands that showed were an anti-LGBT movement or showed because they hated black people. I'll wait
“As a straight white man😔” if u don’t like the music u don’t like the music. It’s possible to dislike disco and still support lgbq rights or black people. Lol why are u so fast to apologize for your taste
I spent my teenage years listening and going to discotheques in the 1970s. I loved it. I still love disco 💃
Lucky! I was a little kid in 1978 and '79,but my older sister went to discos a lot,and I was fascinated by her stories. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be a young adult back then
Lucky you. I was age 15. Too young to go to a disco.
@@discofoeva5495 me too but I got myself in anyway 🤭
In which city ? the reason I ask is how creative the decor was in many clubs .
Jimmy Nolan, guitar sound with the fender, Earl Young from MFSB and the sound of Philadelphia, known for the disco four on the floor drum sound.
Disco was still very popular in Europe throughout the early 1980s
And from there we got Italian producers like Moroder and lesser known projecrs in the Italo disco scene, which became foundations of Detroit techno.
For those people not around in that late 1970’s, this time period was a most exuberant era full of vitality, and disco was that vitality.
there was more 'vitality' - which usually comes from younger folks - in the 50s and 60s. Back then, it was rock and Motown that was the musical soundtrack. Just like in the roaring 20s, it was jazz that everyone was listening to as they partied.
I was a pro DJ for 30 years. I began my DJ career as a Club DJ in the NYC area starting in 1984. I was I was there, I lived it. You nailed it. Great video! Your attention to cultural detail is commendable and appreciated.
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor. ...
Disco is awesome, and tbh a lot of the cream of the crop musicians in the genre (Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards, etc) could run circles around the rock musicians of the time. Incredible groove and depth, great funky chords and rhythmic patterns. Musically, disco is one of my favorite genres (may be biased bc I just love R&B and funk in general, both of which disco draws primarily from), and Chic is one of my favorite bands
Some of the reporting in this video is a bit skewed. Rodgers and Edwards were supposed to be working on Grace Jones next record and went to see her perform at Studio 54. So passed that they couldn't get in they went to their studio and recorded a track with the line, "Awww Fuck OFF!" Of, course those lyrics had to be modified when it came time to record their new song Freak Out.
Nile Rodgers wrote a bunch of songs for “rock” artist in the years after disco’s so called death. Nile Rodgers could be called a king of the disco era imo. Yea use a disco king to make music sure they hated disco, just did not want to admit they liked/loved it.
Nile and 'Nard are all time. The first time I heard 'Dance, Dance, Dance' I was in. (To them, I was already into disco)
Edwards laid the foundation for so much of disco. What a fucking hero, dude. What an insane player, fantastic composer, and just an awesome guy. His chucking technique is legendary and really reinforced the 16th note syncopated vibe that was present in many studio 54 records.
Thank you for covering this important history in modern music. As a gay man who grew up in the late 70s and 80s, these stories of the trailblazers that preceded us are important. Sadly, many of them didn’t live to tell their own stories. Having you cover it with such thoughtfulness and grace is appreciated 👍🏻☮️❤️🌈
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor. ...
I was born in 81 and I’ve always connected with the music from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’ more than any other genres. I absolutely love disco. Who doesn’t love to just groove all day?
An understandably US-centric documentary, but disco was a worldwide phenomenon way before 1979, including the Communist block. "Eurodisco" had nothing to do with ABBA, it was a scene more sonically adventurous than US disco, as didn't pay as much lip service to funk and soul. European producers pioneered electronic sounds in disco. Giorgio Moroder was Italian, and introduced in the US the synthesizer sound that was already common in European disco.
The reason a lot of people hated disco is or was by time it got to people like me, it was corporate disco, commercialized. I was into rock and roll, even rock had a revolt causing new wave to start.
Rock has had loads of revolts, consider when rock fans killed off hair metal for grunge and then nu metal for metalcore. Disco could have got along fine without the mainstream jumping on and record companies over saturating the music space.
I was raised with house music in the 90s in Europe, so I've got a distinct feeling as to what's House and what's not. You hit the nail on the head that Disco was influenced by Soul (& Funk). House evolved from Disco (& Dub). As such to me House is pretty much Soulful House, Funky House, Disco House, Afro House & Electro House, which got us to Progressive House & Trance. Yet House is House, else it's Techno Don't let Tech House, the blend of both, fool you: Nu Disco is much closer to what really is House. Disco never died here! ♥
I also love the fact that the evolution of Italo Disco largely is called _Electro_ House. The electric synthesizers that made Italo Disco are now named Electro in House, the younger brother of Disco. I don't like having locations in a genere at all. As if Italo Disco only could come from Italy. I feel that's discrimination and that's why I am not a fan of that of all.
An important video that people must watch.
Im a straight punk, metal, rap etc fan that grew up trained to believe 'disco' sucked. But the music and musicians behind it are eons above your fav rock artist. But music aside, thank you for educating the world on its history.
That's a joke, right?
@@ignatiusjackson235 It's a joke written by a very clever ga. y man.
@ahogammer6895 ....it's true....ask any bass player to play the bassline to the CHIC disco song....EVERYBODY DANCE....most of the most evolutionary work in bass guitar is from BERNARD EDWARDS....from CHIC....and most musicians cannot play the basslines he laid down....iconic famous bass players worship BERNARD...
As an older gay man I teared up more than once in this wonderful document. Thank you very much for doing this work for all of us
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor.. ..
I don't think it can be a coincidence that many of us born in the mid-70s went on to find a home in the acid house and underground rave parties and a dance music renaissance that carried a bit of punk energy. That groove subconsciously wormed its way into our child brains. Heck, i have fond memories of Sesame Street Fever teaching me how to use a record player
Just checked, Le Freak was originally Fuck Off because Nile Rogers was a guest of Grace Jones at Studio 54 but he was told to fuck off at the back door. Shit, that rhymes.
Thank you so much for this video! I've always loved disco and remember all of this.
DJ Kool Herc was one of the first to loop the breaks of songs using multiple turn tables and it all started in 1973 in his famous Back to school jam block party his did for his sister. Many if not all DJs that emerged through the birth of Hip Hop were inspired by him and not so much Nicky Siano.
True, because Kool Herc and Nicky Siano didn't run in the same circles,but both really were pivotal in what modern music would become, and Kool Herc exploded onto the scene,while Siano was more underground,behind the scenes. I guess you could say Herc was the creator,while Siano was the influencer
And don't forget Jamaica for the original birth of sound systems and DJ culture 🎧🎤❤🧡💚
@@hanselmansell7555 Amen
Disco got people back to formal dancing. Dance studios and classes were popping up all over. In 1978-1979 there was an undeniable energy in the air, and a naïve optimism for the 1980s. Even with inflation, high unemployment and gas shortages, we still had a great time. I'd live that time again in a heartbeat.
Disco isn’t just awesome, it is the sound of the space opera.
Space Dandy comes to mind
@@pcm1011 I was thinking the Star Wars Disco Theme, myself...
Merci
It seems like a logical progression- a merging of rock and roll,R&B and classical music coming together. Disco was the glorious result
@@IggyStardust1967 LOL! Oh yes. And what was the other one that was out by the same group?
Excellent piece of work! Disco is a very important part of not only american culture but popular culture worldwide. Disco music crossed borders and you can find excellent music from countries like the UK (The whole Funktronica genre from the 2010's), Mexico (The whole 80's High Energy genre), Italy (The Italo Disco genre) and even India! It´s great that this information comes out for the young ones nowadays.
I have never stopped listening to disco and all it has influenced, and never will. The music will live on and on.
Silent Circle- I'm your believer, Malcolm J. Hill-come back and do it, Sir J- sunny(sunset vintage version), Sandy Marton- exotic and erotic, Waterfront Home- take a chance, Joe Yellow- easy lover, Scotch-loving is easy, Mike Mareen-Here I am(megatrain mix), Rocky M- look in my heart, Modern Talking-do you wanna, Blue System-Better than the rest, Fancy- bolero, Radiorama- fire, 2 man-who knows what evil, Danny Keith-i feel right, Mike Rogers- just a story, Mirko Hirsch- shanghai, Mozzart- jasmin china girl, K.B. Caps- catch me now i'm falling, Cristal- fire lady, Bad Boys Blue- I wanna hear your heartbeat sunday girl. Latin Lover- laser light, Thai Break-flowers in the rain, Primadonna- flashing on the floor. ...
The irony with the Bee Gees is that it was completely accidental. They'd been a band already for a long time, having been popular in the UK with a few US hits, but were in a rut and had moved to the US. Arif Martin suggested they add R&B to their sound when he became their producer (the album Mr. Natural), and then that eventually led to some disco being added to Main Course, which was a reasonable hit. They couldn't work with Arif Martin anymore but decided to just do one disco-heavy album (Children of the World), and a live album, and then move on to a new style. They did ok, but not amazingly so.
Then they agreed to provide a few disco songs for a little film called Saturday Night Fever, that ended up being a box office smash. Suddenly they were the disco guys despite only releasing 8 disco songs over the space of three albums.
Then, when they came to make their next album (Spirits Having Flown), Disco was starting to end/had been murdered, so it did ok but had a bit of a critical backlash. And then once they tried to move back into a modern version of their older sound (ballads, r and b and country) nobody wanted it, or them. They took the entire of the 80's off and just wrote songs and albums for other artists, since anything they'd release would get snubbed just for being 'the bee gees, those disco has beens'.
Thankfully, the Bee Gees escaped that when disco regained its popularity (after Maurice had died, thus the band was already over) and the internet has also made people outside of the UK more aware of their non-disco work too.
Hi Gerkuman,
I enjoyed reading your comment. Thank you
Born in 71, disco music was all around as I grew up. I wore out my sisters copy of the SNF soundtrack. I like a lot of the music from back then. People that say any genre of music totally sucks are like aliens to me. I can listen to the Bee Gees one second, and Slayer or Waylon Jennings the next and be completely happy.
Too bad UA-cam doesn't recognize that some of us love variety.
I think this is beautiful. I do not understand why OTHERS do not understand why we can not LOVE each other with an OPEN HEART. We only have one life to live.. Why not live in PEACE and LOVE. We all deserve it. I LOVE EVERYONE OF YOU....
"Disco deserved a better name, a beautiful name because it was a beautiful art form. It made the consumer beautiful. The consumer was the star."
-Barry White
"The consumer became the star" One of the greatest quotes I've ever heard
"disco" sounds nice
i remember in my childhood my older brother talking crap about disco (we always shared a love for classic rock), and in my head i was like "why, this music is excellent", nowadays he loves it as much as i loved it back then
I lived through it, the most fantastic time of my young life. Did me no harm, still straight, married with kids. Forever thankful for the good times.
loving this video.
Just a note though - The Bee Gees had a number of international hits before Disco, being well known for their moody ballads. They just recognized their music abilities fit with disco, and skyrocketted.
Stay safe, everyone.
Hi always_b_natural
Well said, bravo
I hope you're proud of this video because this is already one of my favourite videos on the entire platform. Thank you and long live disco!
"Disco is love. Disco is life. Disco is freedom. Because of that, Disco is forever..." Something my mom and her sisters told me at 5 years old when we visited their families in L.A.
22 years later and Disco has single handedly shaped my love and taste in music. And more. As a Hispanic man, I tend to tell people I naturally gravitate towards rhythm heavy music. This is why I have always had a strong emotional connection to Disco, Funk, and classic R&B. As I grew older, my interest in those genres faded as I moved on towards more popular Punk, Electronic, Rock, and Metal groups. Then it happened. l I began to question things about myself in my mid-teens. I began to ask "why I felt differently than before?" "Why a part of me felt confined or restrained?" "Why do I feel like I am lying to myself?"
That was when I started returning to Disco and Funk at 18. The familiar beats and tones helped me feel more comfortable in my skin. More confident in myself. Made me want to be more open and expressive. It never occurred to me that I was gravitating towards these sounds because they felt so natural to me.
Not long after I turned 19, I began to realize that I was, in fact, lying to myself. For most of my life, I assumed I was straight. But it was thanks to the years of self isolation after high school that I began to find the answers to questions I've been curious about. Feelings were being resolved. And on my 20th birthday, I was listening to a UA-cam playlist of popular Disco, Funk, and R&B songs when I finally realized and accepted the truth.
I was bisexual.
I broke down in tears as things began to make sense. I was not who I thought I was and it was thanks to the expressive rhythm and atmosphere of Disco, the friends I made within the music communities I joined that I was able to make sense of my sexuality.
Disco helped my discover who I really am. So, to me, my aunts saying was and is true.
"Disco is love. Disco is life. Disco is freedom. Because of that, Disco is forever..."🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
This is the best history of disco I’ve seen. Goes deeper on alot of the social aspects than other histories of the genre. Good job! A true treasure!
I listened to my dad’s 8-tracks as a kid in the late 70’s and loved it. I wonder if we will see a Disco renaissance later in the ‘mid-late 2020s or early 2030s. We sure could use some good happy dance music now!
House music and many genres of electronic dance music are evolutions of disco
In "Rock The Boat", you hear the "samba-disco" feel, and this definitely meant that disco came not just from African music, but also from Brazil. This set up the lead-in into so many "samba-disco" songs, up to Barry Manilow's "Copacabana" in 1978, which was nearly a samba-disco anthem.
Anyone who spent any time in the scene abhors the term EDM - it's what mainstream American media coined a bunch of genres that blew up in the early 2000s but really was just the continuation of Disco. There is a phenomenon that keeps happening over and over again - mainstream America ignores something amazing going on in the fringes until the rest of the world grabs it, eveolves it, and sells it back to them. Think the British Invaison with Blues, UK Punk, etc. "EDM" is known around the rest of the world and House and Techno, and it's been huge since the late 80s. House is named after the Warehouse gay club in Chicago from the early 80s, and House music is nothing more than stripped back Disco - a four on the floor beat with an open hihat. Disco never died - it got the 12 inch remix!
TOTALLY!
It's amazing to me how influential funk music has been.
I'm glad I was alive during the disco years to enjoy it. It seems different races and cultures bridged gaps with disco music.
I LOVE DISCO, pumping 4 on the floor beats, groovy baselines, wah wah guitars, and angelic voices and strings on top. Heavenly music scoring the meeting point of marginalized communities. I think it is the most elegant, sophisticated genre of music ever created. Something you can dance to, but with enough ear-candy for you to listen while seating in your living room (tapping your feet).
Had to *learn* to like disco - not because it's an acquired taste, but because conditioning people to hate disco was part of that larger program of cultural hegemony & exclusion, and we were all subjected to it (not to say many of us also perpetuated it). Appreciating disco became part of a larger transformation that helped me accept aspects of myself that I had shut out my whole life.
Maybe I'm imagining it, but it seems to me your essays have gotten bigger & more encompassing over the past year or so. And I'm here for it 😎
I was in high school at the tail end of the disco era. Can’t think of Donna Summer’s “On the Radio” without getting sentimental. Great time to be young.
Such an important message about the art and power marginalized communities. Polyphonic's essays clearly show a deep love and knowledge of music, history and culture. Invaluable work.
I was in awe of his blunt political summaries.
I think it's rather brave -- even in this day -- to criticize Ronald Reagan.
@@auldthymer You don't get out much, do you?
@@auldthymer Polyphonic is Canadian. Even in the 80s a lot of us realized that trickle down economics was a scam and the war on drugs was horribly misguided at best. Canada isn't as polarized as the US(yet). Hope one day, we'll all be able to debate, criticize or just be different without the fear of deadly violence.
@@auldthymer It's not brave at all to criticize Reagan. I hear critiques all the time. In fact growing up I always thought he was considered a bad president because of all the flak people gave him.
I have learned something very interesting though. It seems both sides of the political spectrum believe they're overly hated and fear talking about their true opinions. Hopefully one day we'll all just realize we're people who just want whats best for the country.
Until then, I'll have to deal with people constantly yelling at each other and bickering without understanding each other.
I fear that it'll never end. I fear that it'll always be seen as "Republican vs Democrat, Red vs Blue Good vs Evil" when it isn't that at all.
My generation desperately wants something to fight for, a cause. But they have no idea what the cause could be, so they'll fight for anything even if it hurts them and society in the long run.
They'll start fights when there are no fights to be had and they'll blame the elite without realizing that they themselves are the elite.
Imagine if disco had stuck around as long as hip hop for example. Disco had so much more to give.
It never went away - it mutated into what is under the umbrella of 'Dance'.
This is a fantastic account of the origins and the importance of the disco art form. Thank you!
Rapper's Delight not a sample of Chic (before sampling existed), but rather a borrowing or "interpolation" (a complete replaying and recrecording by studio musicians) of Good Times.
A bit of nit-picking especially when you point out that "sampling" did not exist at the time, but at the time that was the term generally used. Just as at the time "interpolation" was not regularly used in the way it is today. No matter how you slice it, this song originally gave no writing credit to Bernard Edwards or Nile Rodgers and would become one of the first copyright disputes over such use, eventually settled, granting both men writing credits.
While digital sampling did not exist at the time, tape looping and multiple turntable mixing were used to make sampling like effects.
@@ericsassaman3661 yea, except sampling goes back to the 1960's and the 'Mellotron' loop station used by The Beatles, The Beach Boys among many others....
I WILL ALWAYS LUV❤️ DISCO ( old school, real disco ) ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🌈
Don’t ever stop making these videos. This is an incredible work. As someone who group up in the 90s. I remember hearing what a punchline disco had become. I was a daft punk fan from the first time I heard Around The World so I really dug the EDM style and had to secretly like it’s ancestors of Disco. I’m glad that EDM has brought Disco fully mainstream again.
This is incredibly well researched and created. I learned alot about an era that I grew up, and took part in. Discos were the most fun and free time in my life, and I had no idea that there was such a socio/political impetus for it. I appreciate this type of presentation so very much, well done!
Many congrats. As someone who lived all the disco experience, you captured everything without any mistake. Great job
Very few other musical genres got people out in the floor dancing more than disco did. Met some great ladies on those floors during that era! It was simply fun, sadly that vibe has been lost in most clubs these days.
As a teenager during the Disco Era I can say it was some of the best years of my life 😹 I still have all the promotional 12" singles I bought with McDonald's money 💰
well, I hope you thanked Mr. McDonald for giving you all that money! lol
Great video! I remember being a kid in the 80s and my dad, a big soul and disco fan, constantly lamented how people complained that "disco sucks" and all we ended up with was hair metal. He still to this day likes a good song with a catchy groove.
I'm baffled to why I was a 1970's metal and hard rock listener and also loved Disco. Never could figure out why nobody else was like me. I don't care but it's baffling. I am more diverse in music but still love disco and rock!
This was amazingly done. I always found it fascinating that Disco had a span of only 6 years, but it felt like double the time.
Those of us who lived it watched the split between the emerging Hip Hop (still alive today), Punk Rock, and how Disco went Underground giving birth to House Music (also very much alive today...and untouched).
I personally felt the Disco aesthetic died because of the dance element that certain rhythmically challenged folks couldn't subscribe to, because if you think about it, people haven't danced together since!...(besides the television spectacle of ballroom dance).
Nonetheless it still was a foundational social element in music that rares it's head even today to gain recognition and validation for what initially was...a great time!