Disco

Love it or hate it, the disco craze dominated the latter half of the 70s and New York was unquestionably the epicenter. The driving beat echoed through discotheques across the island, as well as every local pop radio station, as the nation caught it’s latest case of dance fever.

The style that would come to be known as disco began to evolve in the early 70s. A number of hits were released that all contained a similar dance beat, and these songs became popular in a number of NYC dance clubs.

Some of the earlier offerings were songs like “Rock the Boat” from the Hues Corporation, “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas, and “Love Theme” by Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra. By 1975, three artists would help solidify the style enormously – K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Donna Summer and Van McCoy (The Hustle). Television shows like Don Cornelius’ Soul Train brought the craze into living rooms across the country.

 

But the breakthrough year for disco came when Hollywood decided to get in on the action in 1977.

Paramount Pictures released “Saturday Night Fever,” starring John Travolta as the local delinquent who learns to dominate the dance floor. The film and it’s accompanying soundtrack broke all kinds of records, and artists such as The Bee Gees seemingly graced every minute of radio airplay.

 

Of course, by the time us 70s kids were old enough to actually go to a disco, the craze was over. Dance music went a different direction, primarily employing drum machines and synthesizers.

Gone were the lush string sections, the incendiary horns, and the mirrored light balls, replaced by a new wave edge and perhaps even a cynicism that resulted from the overexposure of disco in the 70s. But love it or hate it, at least disco was fun, employed real musical instruments, and gave many a talented artist the exposure they deserved. In hindsite, it wasn’t all that bad.

What do you remember most about the disco era? I hope you’ll share your thoughts on the topic in our comments section below.

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10 Responses

  1. Bruce Malesk says:

    “Dressing Down” was OUT! The guys that danced were the guys that got the girls, it was a great “time and place”

  2. Len Scaparro says:

    It was so much fun going to discos like Uncle Sam’s, Metro 700, 231, etc. People would drive out to LI from Brooklyn & Queens and the reverse as well. Fun days!

  3. Alan Bleiweiss says:

    I graduated high school in 77. By 78 I was the manager of Apple & Eve’s, a disco in Huntington. We used to do the club circuit around the island and into the city as well. Truly lived it, breathed it.

  4. Randy Hieronymus says:

    looking to connect with 231 disco carle place manager-Dennis. I have a wonderful photo of him dressed as Elvis during the Halloween party. Anyone have info-please forward.

  5. Alice says:

    Does anyone remember the teen disco called Guys and Dolls? Can’t remember where it was, buy my best friend had her grammer school graduation party held there back in 79. Way too much satin everywhere. Wasn’t a disco fan myself. Did end up at 2001 Odyssey in the early 80s though when it was an all male review. Got dragged along by that same best friend for a bachelorette party. Same colorful dance floor. It was a lot smaller than I expected though. Must have used a lot of mirrors in the movie to make the dance floor look bigger. The whole club was small. An embarrassing memory for sure.

  6. Anonymous says:

    Do you remember Leones on Long Beach Rd in the 1970’s

  7. John L says:

    I remember the OBI’s, Cheery’s, Rum Bottoms, Speak Easy which became Speaks later on, The Rusty Nail in Flushing, Elaphas in Bayside Queens. That was a long time ago. 🙂

  8. Ronnie says:

    Does anyone remember Lakeville Manor Long Island NY? I was a regular and when it wasn’t crowed enough my friends would migrate to Strawberry’s. Great memories

  9. Guess who says:

    I was the DJ at many of these clubs as well as the brooklyn clubs. Also did private parties. Alot of them were mob run but the boys were gracious and paid well. Never a problem and always respectful. They were interesting and fun times. Met the love of my life at a place called Jasmines in bay ridge brooklyn. Those who grew up in that era truly enjoyed the energy and music. I miss those days but have fond memories. I still have my old vinyl records and play them daily. Still sound great.

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