A small gang was gestate at Chicago ’s Comiskey Park on July 12 , 1979 . The hometown White Sox had a dread record that season , and they were set for a double - header against the Detroit Tigers , a squad faring no well . The ballpark had 52,000 seats , but only 15,000 mass had present up the previous nighttime ; typical attendance that time of year was 6,000 the great unwashed [ sources : Behrens , Sclafani ] . In ordination to satisfy some hind end , the stadium owner relied on promotional night , such as the one dreamed up by local radio DJ Steve Dahl . On July 12 , Dahl narrate his listeners , they should issue forth to Comiskey with a disco record for Disco Demolition Night . The record would get them in the sports stadium for just 98 cents , and they ’d have the pleasure of catch dhal put down the records between the two games .
More than 90,000 the great unwashed showed up , record in hand .
Those that could n’t get into the ballpark scaled Comiskey ’s gates . A steady chant of " Disco sucks ! " ring throughout the first biz . When Dahl charter the theater of operations for his stunt , the ball players put on their batting helmet because the hearing was get so rowdy . About 10,000 disco records were set on fervidness , and the spectacle caused the crowd to storm the field . The 2d biz of the forked - header had to be cancelled because things got so out of paw .
Disco Demolition Night represented the epitome of the discotheque repercussion that gripped the United States in 1979 . The music was awful , claimed music fans – tiresome , gimmicky and vapid . And discotheque transportation no well today . It ’s often process as a punch tune in discussions about the 1970s , just another affair to be embarrassed about in a X known for questionable fads and trend . But while many the great unwashed claim that disco exit on July 12 , 1979 , it ’s still remarkably present today : people get up to dance when " Y.M.C.A. " by the Village People play at weddings , and rarified is the karaoke night when " I Will Survive " by Gloria Gaynor go unvalued . Music critics name a disco influence in many current musical creative person , and societal commentators note that disco does n’t get the course credit it merit for promoting egalitarianism for marginalise mathematical group of the 1970s , including the gay , bleak and Latino community .
So whether you ’re the kind of mortal who would have sported your fine jumpsuit at Studio 54 or the sort of person who would have showed up to look out Steve Dahl set fire to disco records , read on to learn the narrative behind disco . You just may be surprised at what you find .
Disco Music
The word " disco " is short for discotheque , a Gallic full term for night clubs where masses could dance to pre - recorded euphony ( as oppose to live bands ) . In the belated 1960s in New York City , discos were popular in the gay , black and Hispanic community of interests . Some trace the beginning of disco music euphony to 1970 , when a mankind named David Mancuso host the first of many legendary dance parties in his flat , get it on as " The Loft . " Mancuso enthrone in a state - of - the - art stereoscopic picture system of rules that allowed him to segue seamlessly from one song to the next without stopping to convert the book .
Though " disco " originally denoted the space where saltation music was toy , the full term morphed to describe the kind of euphony that was recreate . Disco music , above all , is music that you could dance to . It ’s represent by a steadfast rhythm , get it on as " four - on - the - floor , " and it usually features prominent orchestral or large - band arrangements . These features were borrowed from a type of soul medicine that was popular in Philadelphia at the ending of the 1960s , and it evolved to admit electronic elements and synthesizer , thanks to European saltation music .
euphony critic are divide on the first disco single ; some say that Barry White and Isaac Hayes were singing disco - sounding medicine in 1971 , while others say that 1974 marks an official beginning of the disco era , with Hues Corporation ’s " Rock the Boat " and George McCrae ’s " Rock Your Baby " appearing on the conniption [ root : Henderson ] . While no one single may be able-bodied to strike out disco ’s start , the melodious style had attain its stride by 1975 , and for the next four geezerhood disco music reigned supreme . Disco ’s biggest hit include songs like " I Will Survive " by Gloria Gaynor , " Funkytown " by Lipps Inc. , " Le Freak " by Chic , " Stayin ' Alive " by the Bee Gees , " Get Down Tonight " by KC and the Sunshine Band , " Last Dance " by Donna Summer and " Play that Funky Music " by Wild Cherry .
Since disco music was designed to get crowds dance , the lyrics of the songs often necessitate a backseat to the beat . It was also harder for musicians and set to hold up a farsighted career in disco music . the great unwashed did n’t deal who was sing or playing a song , as long as they could dance to it , which is why you ’ll see many one - collide with admiration among a lean of disco ’s greatest hits . Rather than forming allegiances to specific singers , disco - goer more often paid attention to a great DJ who could keep the party going or to producers ( such as the squad of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff ) who were known for turning out systematically great disc .
People also became devoted to their favourite nightclubs , but no one would have headed out to dance without dress to the nine-spot . We ’ll research disco fashion on the next page .
Disco Fashion and Hairstyles
One of the most enduring image of the disco era is John Travolta in the 1977 film " Saturday Night Fever . " He wears a white case , his black shirt open to break his chest . His tomentum is cautiously styled , and he ’s surely not wearing sneakers , but rather luxuriously - heeled saltation shoe . A Nox of disco terpsichore was not to be undertaken in flip - flops or jean – both men and women spent a lot of time perfect their looks . Disco way was bright , tight and mean to enchant the eye .
mass went dancing in what was considered the elevation of fashion , even though 70s mode can look dated and tacky to a contemporary heart . Clothing was often made of polyester and spandex in hue such as silver and atomic number 79 . It was mean to show off a person ’s physical structure , so fabric was either skintight or scarcely there . Sequins and Panthera pardus prints were widespread , and a person could never wear too much jewelry . Shoes were high – platform shoes and sharp stilettos were abundant on the terpsichore trading floor . And big hair was in ; men styled their fuzz in large pompadours , while afros and teased styles were popular for both work force and women . You probably would have find drug in many citizenry ’s pockets , too , as Quaaludes and LSD were pop on the disco shot .
The amount of time that both men and women expend on their attire for a dark of dance lead some people to claim that disco culture and the people within it were just as insipid as the music . club such as Studio 54 in New York City only allowed the fine dressed celebrities in the door , which lead the masses to spend even more clock time on their looking at in the Bob Hope they ’d get past the velvet ropes . Disco euphony had earlier been novel because it got everyone , gay or straight , black or white , dancing together . The velvet ropes and frock code of the most popular nightclub , however , led to a agile segregation by class . For instance , tilt and curl fans , in their bluish jeans and T - shirt , claimed disco was too factious and exclusive .
Did those rock and paradiddle fans have a point ? Did discotheque die because it develop too big for its bell - bottomed britches , or did other factors cause its demise ? determine out on the next page .
Disco Fever
Disco fever spellbind the United States from about 1975 to 1979 . By 1979 , disco music was a $ 4 billion manufacture and there were about 15,000 disco Nox clubs in the U.S. [ beginning : Weinraub ] . With the 1977 film " Saturday Night Fever , " disco proved to be truly mainstream . The music , which had in the beginning been popular in gay , black and Hispanic club , was hug by an full commonwealth in turmoil over Vietnam and the end of thecivil rights move . Disco provided an escape from the existent world , with its racial and economic divides . For four years , multitude did n’t vex ; they just dance .
But not everyone embraced disco music . For one affair , disco music changed the economics of the music job . Disco listeners were only patriotic to birdcall that made them trip the light fantastic toe ; they were unlikely to buy an integral record album by an artist , or even the unmarried , for that issue – they ’d just listen to the music on the dance floor and keep their pocketbook in their pockets . That behaviour continued to influence consumer doings , and as a resultant role , record companies report sales of 575.6 million albums , ace and tapes in 1982 , compared to 726.2 million in 1978 [ germ : Pareles ] .
While these economic losses probably had some effect on record companies turning on disco , some ethnical critic arrogate that the disco music backlash was due to racism and homophobia [ sources : Gavin;Henderson ] . Though disco had brought many people together to dance , some people may have been uncomfortable that festal culture or pitch-black civilization was taking center stage in the United States . After disco , tilt and peal , with its many bloodless artists and groups , was predominant . There were also internal pressure in some of these subcultures – when AIDS began spreading in the gay community in the other 1980s , no one felt much like terpsichore .
Amidst the economic woes of the music industry and possible prejudices against some groups , disco music was deemed uncool , and it seemed to die at Comiskey Park in 1979 . Really , though , all that died was the name . There are still plenty of styles of medicine designed to get people to trip the light fantastic toe , and the discotheque esthetic can be glimpse in much of today ’s dancing euphony . Disco also played a theatrical role in the procession of coxa - hops . Disco dj would segue from one song to another without stopping , using foresighted instrumental sequence to produce an effortless rate of flow . This willingness to experiment with records , rather than playing them from beginning to terminate before depart a new song , would mold hip - record hop ’s earliest artists .
If you ’d like to show more about disco music , hip joint - hops or any sort of music , then see the links on the next page .
