luisam Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 The 35 Best Disco Songs Ever Disco is a music genre and subculture that emerged in the mid 1960s and early 1970s from America's urban nightlife scene. It reached peak popularity between the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Disco started as a mélange of music from venues popular with African Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Italian Americans, LGBT people (especially African-American and white gay men), and psychedelic hippies in Philadelphia and New York City during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Disco can be seen as a reaction to both the dominance of rock music and the stigmatization of dance music by the counterculture during this period. Several dance styles were also developed during this time, including the Bump and the Hustle. The disco sound is typified by "four-on-the-floor" beats, syncopated basslines, and string sections, horns, electric piano, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars. Lead guitar features less frequently in disco than in rock. Well-known disco artists include Donna Summer, the Bee Gees, Gloria Gaynor, KC and the Sunshine Band, the Village People, Thelma Houston, and Chic, and many at the height of the genre's popularity, many non-disco artists recorded disco songs. While performers and singers garnered public attention, record producers working behind the scenes played an important role in developing the genre. Films such as Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Thank God It's Friday (1978) contributed to disco's mainstream popularity. By the late 1970s, most major U.S. cities had thriving disco club scenes, and DJs would mix dance records at clubs such as Studio 54 in New York City, a venue popular among celebrities. Discothèque-goers often wore expensive, extravagant and sexy fashions. There was also a thriving drug subculture in the disco scene, particularly for drugs that would enhance the experience of dancing to the loud music and the flashing lights. Disco clubs were also associated with promiscuity. Disco was the last popular music movement driven by the baby boom generation. It drastically declined in the United States in 1980, and by 1982 it had lost most of its popularity there The best disco songs ever were largely produced by Giorgio Moroder, so it's only fitting for the Italian legend to be the one to pick them. Billboard Dance reached out to disco's greatest producer to list his top 35 disco tracks of all-time and he didn't disappoint. “It is impossible for me to rank these, as they all hold a special place in my heart and the world of disco," says Moroder. "Here are my 35 favorite disco songs, of all time (put on shuffle and enjoy a night of dancing)." If you would ask me, probably my personal selection would be somewhat different. Certainly, I would include Eruption's "I Can't Stand the Rain", Paul Jabara's "Honeymoon in Puerto Rico" and Love and Kisses' - "Thank God It's Friday" but well, Moroder is better known and more respected in Disco circles as NSANE forum poster liusam... It's just funny that Moroder selected as the six best disco songs his own productions with Donna Summer! Of course, you are welcome to point out some "disco" hit(s) of your own pick in a "Best of..." listing. You can enjoy a demo of the best 35 of the reference in this site (some seconds in each case) but most of the full versions of these songs can be found in YouTube.. https://www.billboard.com/photos/7445749/best-disco-tracks-of-all-time-dance-music #35 : Rick James - Super Freak #34 : Rose Royce - Car Wash #33 : Prince - 1999 #32 : Blondie - Heart of Glass #31 : Michael Jackson - Billie Jean #30 : Diana Ross - Love Hangover #29 : Thelma Houston - Don't Leave Me This Way #28 : Amii Stewart - Knock on Wood #27 : KC & The Sunshine Band - That's The Way I Like It #26 Pointer Sisters - I'm So Excited #25 : Bee Gees - Night Fever #24 : Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive #23 : Lipps Inc. - Funky Town #22 : The Trampps - Disco Inferno #21 : Tavares - Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel #20 : Gloria Gaynor - Never Can Say Goodbye #19 : Barry White - Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe #18 : Sister Sledge - We Are Family #17 : The O'Jays - Love Train #16 : Andrea True Connection - More, More, More #15 : Chic - Le Freak #14 : Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive #13 : Silver Convention - Get Up and Boogie - That's Right #12 : Boney M. - Daddy Cool #11 : Van McCoy - The Hustle #10 : Supermax - Love Machine #9 : Chic - Dance, Dance, Dance #8 : Silver Convention - Fly Robin Fly #7 : Earth, Wind & Fire ft. The Emotions - Boogie Wonderland #6 : Donna Summer - On the Radio #5 : Donna Summer - Bad Girls #4 : Donna Summer - Hot Stuff #3 : Donna Summer - Last Dance #2 : Donna Summer - Love to Love You Baby #1 : Donna Summer - I Feel Love Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spudboy Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 They forgot Kiss "I Was Made for Lovin You". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debebee Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 ^ It's disco inspired not actually disco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ballistic Gelatin Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 "Paradise" by Change; "Vertigo/Relight My Fire" by Dan Hartman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luisam Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 9 hours ago, spudboy said: They forgot Kiss "I Was Made for Lovin You". I never listened this song analitically, trying to get from it some disco influence, but certainly, even if it's a classic hard rock theme, it draws heavily from the disco style. 4 hours ago, Ballistic Gelatin said: "Paradise" by Change; "Vertigo/Relight My Fire" by Dan Hartman. Definitively Dan Hartman should have been included in this "best disco" list. Respecting your preference, I would rather select "Instant Replay" and place it in the Top 10 disco hits. As for "Change" definitively it's one of the great disco bands. An interesting detail I found about it that original lineup included a then still unknown Luther Vandross as vocalist. After it disbanded in 1990, it returned recetly in 2018. Probably the most significative detail about "Change" is that it's between the the precursors of the so called "Ital Disco" style. Should we talk about the 30 best disco artists, I would place them in that listing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debebee Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spudboy Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 12 hours ago, teodz1984 said: ^ It's disco inspired not actually disco Then I guess you can say the same for others on the list like 1999, Heart of Glass, and Billie Jean. At it's core, the Kiss track is a disco song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkyy Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 What, no George Macrae "Rock Your Baby"??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luisam Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 20 hours ago, spudboy said: Then I guess you can say the same for others on the list like 1999, Heart of Glass, and Billie Jean. At it's core, the Kiss track is a disco song. 16 hours ago, funkyy said: What, no George Macrae "Rock Your Baby"??? First of all. please, remember that this list wasn't made by me; not even by popular vote, but by Giorgio Moroder. On his favor, we should recognize that it's not easy to select a list of "35 best". Actually, I'm not even more a "disco music expert" than any average music fan so anything I might write is just a personal opinion as valid as of anyone. So, I still insist that "I Was Made for Lovin You" is hard rock. As for Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", it's one of the greatest hits by him but according to my very personal appreciation, I wouldn't have included it in a list of Disco hits. Of course, I agree that "Rock Your Baby" is one of the great disco hits of the 70s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ballistic Gelatin Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 @luisam: I lived in NYC from 1978-1979. Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" was huge at the time. It. Was. Crazy. (And, no, I never got into Studio 54.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazycanuk Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 No way what about the village people ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luisam Posted August 7, 2018 Author Share Posted August 7, 2018 7 hours ago, Ballistic Gelatin said: @luisam: I lived in NYC from 1978-1979. Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" was huge at the time. It. Was. Crazy. (And, no, I never got into Studio 54.) 7 hours ago, Crazycanuk said: No way what about the village people ? Probably the conclusion is that a list of "35 best" is too short to include all the REALLY BEST disco songs to please most of the interested in this theme. So, How about a list of "100 Greatest disco songs"? I found two webpages about this, http://www.djkendrew.com/100_Greatest_Disco_Songs.html https://www.soultracks.com/best-disco Or an even more ambitious listing with the 700 best disco titles: https://www.discomusic.com/best-disco-songs-lists/700-top-disco-songs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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