Steve Walsh, correct ??
I had to check my musical journeys. Ironically it was exactly 45 years TO THE DAY that I was front row for Kansas on their Monolith tour at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo. One of my 'lifetime' concerts---one that you remember as it was so good.Steve Walsh, correct ??
Yeah, man!Steve Walsh, correct ??
I had to check my musical journeys. Ironically it was exactly 45 years TO THE DAY that I was front row for Kansas on their Monolith tour at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo. One of my 'lifetime' concerts---one that you remember as it was so good.
I loved disco...BUT...all my friends were hard core Rockers...which I was too...but i loved the female voices in that genre...they were blowing away female vocalist in other genres...the music was upbeat...it was just "fun"....after 2 decades of turmoil and being stoned everyday...Disco represented a different message....get out there and dance...instead of the songs of protests and insurrection...just enjoy life...I was in Acapulco and went to my first "real" disco...I was blown away...it was elaborate and the women were dressed to the "9's...more like 10's...I wasn't a dancer...but to sit at the bar and watch these beautiful women dance and hearing those impressive vocals and that driving beat...it was awesome..Not sure if this was mentioned anywhere else, but have you seen the PBS documentary on disco? I'm watching it now. (My DVR recorded it a few weeks ago on my local PBS station.) Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution
It was released in 2023, but I never saw anything about it until now.
I had no idea about a lot of the stuff they talked about in it.
- the elevation of the black woman as a diva
- the beginnings of it all in private spaces, not actual clubs
- the connection to the gay and black communities and how all cultures, even suburban white folks, came together to dance and party.
- the HUGE impact it had on the music industry and radio. Club DJs were making the hits, not the radio station programmers or music executives.
(I knew groups changed and exploited disco, like The Bee gees and Rod Stewart, but Frank Sinatra?)
- how oversaturation killed it. (I don't remember the woman they interviewed, I think maybe Candi Staton, said that there were so many discos in NYC that she could make three 30 minute appearances in one night and walk away with $30k.)
- the impact the obscure song, Soul Makossa by Manu Dibango, had on everything.
It was fun to see clips of people like Sylvester on The Dinah Shore Show.Wow. Did Shore look uncomfortable!
...and wow. The famous people who were at Studio 54! Everyone who was anyone was there.
I'm only halfway through it, too. Definitely worth a watch, even if this kind of music isn't your thing. Three episodes.
https://www.pbs.org/show/disco-soundtrack-of-a-revolution/
In general, I would say I didn't like Disco as a total genre. But, within the genre, there were many artists, many songs I truly loved. I couldn't get enough of Donna Summer. So much talent. Bee Gees? Come one......simply the best. KC & The Sunshine Band? Awesome....I loved disco...BUT...all my friends were hard core Rockers...which I was too...but i loved the female voices in that genre...they were blowing away female vocalist in other genres...the music was upbeat...it was just "fun"....after 2 decades of turmoil and being stoned everyday...Disco represented a different message....get out there and dance...instead of the songs of protests and insurrection...just enjoy life...I was in Acapulco and went to my first "real" disco...I was blown away...it was elaborate and the women were dressed to the "9's...more like 10's...I wasn't a dancer...but to sit at the bar and watch these beautiful women dance and hearing those impressive vocals and that driving beat...it was awesome..
But it wasn't "cool" to like disco in most circles...and I don't know if it is true about it being a "gay" genre or not...numbers wise...but even the suggestion that it was true....was just another reason for people 40 years ago to dislike it...given the intolerance and outright racist attitude that existed...and the stark contrast in musical styles...rock with these guitar dominated songs and disco with electronic emphasis...
I still like DISCO...along with ROCK...in my heterosexual world![]()
A very cool thing in this documentary was also about the sound system in the first "disco" ((which was actually some guy's loft in NYC.) it's something common that we see today but was unheard of back in 1970ish. Separate, suspended tweeters for those brilliant highs. Not just big box speakers that were all contained.I loved disco...BUT...all my friends were hard core Rockers...which I was too...but i loved the female voices in that genre...they were blowing away female vocalist in other genres...the music was upbeat...it was just "fun"....after 2 decades of turmoil and being stoned everyday...Disco represented a different message....get out there and dance...instead of the songs of protests and insurrection...just enjoy life...I was in Acapulco and went to my first "real" disco...I was blown away...it was elaborate and the women were dressed to the "9's...more like 10's...I wasn't a dancer...but to sit at the bar and watch these beautiful women dance and hearing those impressive vocals and that driving beat...it was awesome..
But it wasn't "cool" to like disco in most circles...and I don't know if it is true about it being a "gay" genre or not...numbers wise...but even the suggestion that it was true....was just another reason for people 40 years ago to dislike it...given the intolerance and outright racist attitude that existed...and the stark contrast in musical styles...rock with these guitar dominated songs and disco with electronic emphasis...
I still like DISCO...along with ROCK...in my heterosexual world![]()
Just speaking for myself, I (generally) like disco, although the worst album in history was an excruciating attempt at fusing the genre with classical. “Hooked on Classics” was unlistenable. Just a kick drum added to an orchestra. Bump, bump, bump, bump, bump ad infinitum. Shit like that ruined the genre, and may well have turned a lot of people off.Not sure if this was mentioned anywhere else, but have you seen the PBS documentary on disco? I'm watching it now. (My DVR recorded it a few weeks ago on my local PBS station.) Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution
It was released in 2023, but I never saw anything about it until now.
I had no idea about a lot of the stuff they talked about in it.
- the elevation of the black woman as a diva
- the beginnings of it all in private spaces, not actual clubs
- the connection to the gay and black communities and how all cultures, even suburban white folks, came together to dance and party.
- the HUGE impact it had on the music industry and radio. Club DJs were making the hits, not the radio station programmers or music executives.
(I knew groups changed and exploited disco, like The Bee gees and Rod Stewart, but Frank Sinatra?)
- how oversaturation killed it. (I don't remember the woman they interviewed, I think maybe Candi Staton, said that there were so many discos in NYC that she could make three 30 minute appearances in one night and walk away with $30k.)
- the impact the obscure song, Soul Makossa by Manu Dibango, had on everything.
It was fun to see clips of people like Sylvester on The Dinah Shore Show.Wow. Did Shore look uncomfortable!
...and wow. The famous people who were at Studio 54! Everyone who was anyone was there.
I'm only halfway through it, too. Definitely worth a watch, even if this kind of music isn't your thing. Three episodes.
https://www.pbs.org/show/disco-soundtrack-of-a-revolution/
I suppose it DID open some people up to the classics, although not what purists would believe.Just speaking for myself, I (generally) like disco, although the worst album in history was an excruciating attempt at fusing the genre with classical. “Hooked on Classics” was unlistenable. Just a kick drum added to an orchestra. Bump, bump, bump, bump, bump ad infinitum. Shit like that ruined the genre, and may well have turned a lot of people off.
Played once, frisbeed once into the donation pile.
There were plenty of good disco songs, though. Donna Summer, Alicia Bridges, even Blondie made some great music, and in a dance hall with a good light show, it was groovy as you can imagine.
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