Early 1970s - Its RIse

1979 - Its Fall

or listen to our playlist while you immerse yourself in the history of Disco…

5 minutes on the history of disco

During the 60s in the United States, the hippie dream is dead. The oil crisis arrives. The youths were unemployed or returning from the Vietnam War in a coffin. In the outlying neighborhoods of New York, a fever arises among the Puerto Rican and Latino community, the boogaloo. Take the salsa rhythms and let yourself be carried away by the African-American soul.

Meanwhile, in the African-American community, soul music had given way to funk. After the Stone Wall riot, there was a rise in gay venues and demand for dance music. Somehow, combining one music genre with other elements, a culture emerges that dispenses with live music. Thanks to psychedelics and stimulant drugs, the music promotes hedonism and sexual liberation through dance.

Today we dive into the history of disco music, its influences, and origin, so grab a cup of coffee as this is going to be a good read.

Disco Music is a genre that puts stars in the eyes with joy and nostalgia, the music that dominated the dance clubs in the 70s and made way for several great artists of popular culture, among which we find actors, hit songs, and movies.

So, what exactly is disco music?

Disco is a dance music genre and a subculture that surfaced from the United States' urban nightlife scene in the late 60s. This genre combines different music genres such as soul, funk, Latin touches, rhythm & blues. Disco music is characterized by four on-the-floor beats, electric rhythm guitars, string sections, synthesizers, horns, electric piano, and syncopated basslines.

When did disco music start?

The disco music genre emerged in the late 1960s and early 70s with its origin from Philadelphia's rhythm and blues scene, evolving from different subcultures. This music was popular amongst the African Americans, Italian Americans, Latino and Hispanic Americans, and gay men in New York City and Philadelphia. At a time when Soul music dominated the entire music sphere, at this time, several artists emerged who helped in the formation that would eventually become disco music as we know it today.

Soul singer Barry White, nicknamed "The Walrus of Love" with his deep masculine and serious voice, was considered one of the musicians who played an important role and contributed to Disco music's early successes on the underground dance floors. There are shortcuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them.

Other famous disco artists include Gloria Gaynor, the Bee Gees, Boney M, Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Earth Wind & Fire, KC, and the Sunshine Band, Chaka Khan, Chic, Sister Sledge, the Village People, The Trammps, and Thelma Houston.

The DJs of Disco Music

Any article that talks about the history of Disco music without mentioning the Djs are incomplete. Disco gave birth to the modern DJ. These guys were innovating with technology and music in a way that hadn't been done before, and for the first time, they had devoted fans that would follow them from club to club.

The DJs that were playing what became known as a disco were adventurous. You could go to nightclubs and hear the music you wouldn't hear anywhere else, and hear it put together in a way that you wouldn't hear in any other format. Some of the notable DJs who pioneered disco include Walter Gibbons, Shep Pettibone, David Mancuso, Larry Levan, Nicky Siano, and Chicago-based Frankie Knuckles. Frankie was a crucial disco DJ that helped develop the house music genre in the 1980s.

The Golden age of Disco Music

The 1970s was a revolutionary time for music, gay nightlife exploded, psychedelia and fashion would emerge, and it was clear that people just wanted to dance. It was a time when only mirror balls were sold, self-control was a crime when days were taken over and turned into Saturday nights, and so began a time of pure polyester, where only the divas reigned, and boogie was the name of the game.

Disco music became the most prominent music genre, and just like in Europe, the use of synthesizers in North America was becoming popular. There was more use of electronic instruments over the standard guitars and drum kits of the sixties. Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire.

However, in 1977, the movie Saturday Night Fever featuring glamorous, dancing ladies man (Starring John Travolta) propelled disco music to the top chart and made the music genre a worldwide phenomenon.

Who could forget young John Travolta in his white three-piece suit and posing under the disco ball? He played Tony Manero, an electrician, who would go out on weekends to break the monotony of his life by dancing madly and showing everyone that he was the king of the dance floor. The songs, way of dancing, and clothing influenced the youth of that generation. These made Disco music, which many became adherents with, as it became more popular.

The Bee Gees, one of the notable Musical groups remembered for the popularity of disco music with songs like "Stayin Alive" (which was and is still an anthem for all 70's music lovers), were in charge of the soundtrack for the movie Saturday Night Fever. Thanks to the popularity of the film, they were able to position five of their songs on Billboard's top 10, a feat that no other artist or musical group could achieve at the time.

Companies and record labels observing the success that the Disco music genre was achieving, did not hesitate to impose various songs on their most prominent musical groups and singers. Other artists followed suit and entered this new style of music of their own free will, increasing the vast repertoire of hits, and as a result, they helped expand the fun in nightclubs and underground dancefloors.

The fusion of disco music with various genres was soon accepted, including Latin rhythms such as merengue and salsa, giving room to melodies full of energy and flavor, which have given way to innumerable dance moves. The Rolling Stone, a famous rock group, had its slip when creating the song "Miss You," and the same happened with Kiss when creating the hit music "I was made for loving you."

Disco Nightclubs

Private nightclubs were popping up everywhere, known for late-night partying, drugs, sex (mostly gay sex), and fighting, the dance floors with so many lights on you could smell the bulbs burning. In 1975 over 2 thousand discos sprung up across the United States, and over 200 to 300 of these discos were in New York. A growing subculture of drug use in the disco scene, especially for drugs, would boost the sensation and feeling of dancing under the flashing lights and the loud disco music. Typical examples are Quaaludes and Cocaine, nicknamed "Disco Biscuits." As the saying goes, "No one dances sober, unless they are insane."

One of these nightclubs in New York City's Studio 54, a venue popular among celebrities and known for being the symbol of Disco debauchery.

The Death Of Disco and Disco Demolition Night

In the early '80s, Disco music received an immense backlash in the history of music from everyone, especially the rock music fan who deemed the music theme light and not very deep. African-Americans departed, and some hated disco music for not being a great representation of black culture and heritage like soul music, and R&B was. Due to the cultural phenomenon caused by discos, such as the massive use of drugs, rampant sex, promiscuity from orgies, and overall accepted public sex, the public hated disco music.

Gradually an anti-disco movement began to spread through the United States. It was becoming cool to hate disco. In 1979 disco demolition night happened in Chicago 60 thousand people came to the stadium. The night that disco died, disco records were destroyed using explosives in a large hole in the outfield grass.

Soon after, the disco demolition night event set a spark, and all over the country, people were destroying disco records, and radio stations stopped playing disco music. The world turned its back on disco, and soon the word disco became a curse in most music circles. The castle that disco built came crumbling violently down along with its music artists who fell from grace. Some of them switched to more contemporary pop music.

The Revival of Disco Music and Its Influence Today

For years people had forgotten about disco music's existence; however, In the 90s, it resurfaced with artists such as Pet Shop Boys, the Spice Girls, Jamiroquai. Later in the year 2000, disco slowly seeped into the crack of the music industry, and finally came back into the mainstream in 2013 with the release of Daft Punk's "Random Access Memories." The influence of disco music can be seen in songs by Mika, Bruno Mars, Scissor Sisters, and Madonna.

Some Notable Disco Hits

Donna Summer "Love to Love You Baby": Compiling a list of notable songs without one from the Queen of Disco is an effort in futility

The Village People "YMCA": YMCA by The Village People was one of the most famous disco songs in the 70s. It refers to a Christian association that provides aid to young people. Which is the only reason they sang about it, I'm sure.

The Bee Gees "Stayin Alive": A list of popular disco hits without a Bee Gees song on it is incomplete, and as stated earlier in this article, "Stayin Alive" is a song that stands out for its relaxed melody in which the use of percussion on strings is noted.

Gloria Gaynor "I will survive": This song was not only considered one of the most infamous disco songs but was also an anthem that most representative melodies of the gay community.

Rod "Da ya think I'm sexy": This is was another bit of disco music that got noticed in a big way and considered an example of the rhythms and essential characteristics that make up the disco music genre.

The Jackson 5 "Shake your body down (To the Ground)": Michael Jackson and his brothers formed the music group The Jackson 5, which was another significant influence on the disco music genre. "Shake your body down (To the ground), is a famous song from the '70s and considered one of their greatest hits.