Disco music

Ball of representative mirrors of the disc period, in the 1970s.

Disco music, also known simply as disco, is a genre of dance music derived from rhythm and blues that blended elements of earlier genres, such as soul and funk, with touches of symphonic music embodied in string arrangements (violins, for example) and Latin in many cases, and which became popular in nightclubs (discos) in the second half of the 1970s.

General characteristics of disco music

Musical structure of disco music

Music rhythm

Pop music dominated the music scene until the beginning of disco, in the first half of the 1970s. Disco songs were usually structured around a repeating 4/4 time signature, punctuated by a hi hat, figure eight or sixteen beats open on the free beats, and a predominant line of syncopated bass, with heavily reverberated vocals. They are easily recognizable by their repetitive rhythms (generally between 110 and 136 beats per minute) and catchy, often inspired by rhythms of Latin origin such as merengue, rumba or samba. The use of the open hi-hat in a 4/4 rhythm is a characteristic that is clearly perceived and established in the song "The Love I Lost", by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, in September 1973 (Philladelphia International Records), featuring session band MFSB drummer Earl Young.

Harmony and arrangements

The orchestral sound usually known as disco sound was based on the presence of string sections (violins, violas, cellos) and brass, which developed linear phrases in unison after an instrumental base formed by the electric piano and electric guitar (with syncopated touches clearly borrowed from funk). Unlike rock, lead guitar is unusual.^{[citation needed]}

The result was a kind of wall of sound, brilliant, where the orchestral groups took the solo roles and with a harmonic background, based on a well-balanced chord progression. definite (minor/seventh/minor), with a predominance of major seventh chords.^{[citation needed]}

Temporal scope

Disco music had its greatest projection in a period of eight years between 1974 and 1982, approximately, with a revival in the 1990s.^{[citation required]}

Precisely in the mid-1970s, disco's most iconic performers such as MFSB, Gloria Gaynor, The Trammps, Donna Summer, The Jackson 5, Chic, Barry White, Kool & the Gang, The Bee Gees, KC and the Sunshine Band, Village People, Boney M, Earth, Wind and Fire, Baccara or ABBA. Many other artists, who usually did not work in the genre, recorded disco songs at the height of their popularity, such as Leo Sayer (You Make me feel like dancing), Rod Stewart (Do you think i'm sexy?), Electric Light Orchestra (Last Train To London), Blondie (Heart Of Glass) and even Queen did a job with disco music influences (Hot Space).^{[citation needed]}

Several films, such as Saturday Night Fever and Thank God It's Friday, helped disco music take off among the public. Although the popularity of disco declined in the early 1980s, it remained an important influence on the development of electronic dance music of the 1980s and 1990s, as well as genres such as house and techno.

History

Origins

Late 1960s Soul

Disco music takes its roots from the soul of the late 1960s, and a significant number of artists of the genre take part in this process of evolution, gradually contributing the elements that will end up defining disco music. Barry White is one of these links and the first to highlight the role of an insistent rhythm accompanying melodies and orchestral arrangements. However, it may be Jerry Butler's theme, Only the Strong Survive (1969), the first example of combining the elements that would define disco music. This theme combined the sounds of Philadelphia and New York soul, along with the evolution of the Motown sound.

Philadelphia soul, precisely, was characterized by its mix of repetitively hypnotic percussion with string arrangements, and its imprint is clearly seen in songs like "K-Jee" (1971) by The Nite-Liters and "Love Is The Message" (1973) by MFSB. The production "Soul Makossa" (1972), by Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango, was one of the first disco hits. However, the term disco was not used until critic Vince Aletti included it in Rolling Stone magazine, in his article "Discotheque Rock '72: Paaaaarty! ", about the new trend of dance clubs that were beginning to emerge in New York.

Studio 54 and other rooms

The Jackson Five

If each piece of music had to be identified with a place, the fortress of disco music would undoubtedly be the famous New York nightclub "Studio 54" where the djs, in order to prolong the fun, and using two decks with the same song, managed to considerably extend the duration of the hit songs. That resulted in the 12-inch versions, where people were invited to dance and move while enjoying the music, according to the defining term of the moment: Boogie.

Some other nightclubs also gained prestige: The Limelight, Magique, L'amour, Sanctuary, Paradise Garage, etc.

First chart hits

The theme "Love's Theme", by Barry White & Love Unlimited Orchestra, was No. 1 on the singles charts in February 1974, thus becoming the pioneer of disco's greatest hits. "Rock The Boat" by the Californians Hues Corporation was also another notable single that reached No. 1 (in July 1974), also selling more than 2 million copies in the US. USA. Barry White himself also achieved this privileged status in September of that same year by imposing a new hit with "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe". In December 1974 Carl Douglas with his single & # 34;Kung Fu Fighting & # 34; managed to reach number 1 on the US charts and sell more than 11 million copies.. On the other hand, on October 27, 1974, Gloria Gaynor published her first single, which was a version of a song by The Jackson 5: & # 34; Never Can Say Goodbye & # 34; . The theme became a paradigm of the genre and was also the first single from her first vinyl album with a mix disc format: Never Can Say Goodbye released on January 23, 1975.

In 1975, hits like "The Hustle", by Van McCoy or "Love to Love You, Baby", by Donna Summer, ended up consolidating the primacy of disco music. There were many other huge hits, worldwide, between 1974 and 1975: The Jackson 5 with "Dancing Machine" (1974), George McCrae with the theme "Rock Your Baby" (1974), "Lady Marmalade" (1974) by trio LaBelle, The Four Seasons and their "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" (1975) or the German project Silver Convention with "Fly Robin Fly" (1975) and "Get Up and Boogie" (1976), first European examples of the genre or eurodisco.

However, it was the Bee Gees who put the most visible face on disco music. The group had been popular in the previous decade for their ballads, and had even competed with the Beatles on the charts, although they had disappeared for some time. Barry Gibb's ability to sing falsetto and the group's immersion in disco, landed him his first #1 after many years with Jive Talkin' (1975) and, above all, with You Should be Dancing (1976). Both songs were later included in the soundtrack of the film Saturday night fever (1977) by John Badham and starring John Travolta.

1975-1979: the golden age

Starting in 1975, a large number of artists who had never touched the genre before, began to record disco songs, in many cases due to the imposition of the record companies, looking for a hit. Notable examples of this were songs like Silly love song (Wings, 1976); Got to give it up (Marvin Gaye, 1977); You Make Me Feel Like Dancing (Leo Sayer, 1977); Miss You (Rolling Stones, 1978); "I was made for lovin' you" (Kiss, 1979); Heart of glass (Blondie, 1979), Copacabana (Barry Manilow, 1978); I'm every woman (Chaka Khan, 1978); Boogie Nights (Heatwave 1978); Do You Think I'm Sexy? (Rod Stewart, 1978); Last train to London (Electric Light Orchestra, 1979); or Michael Jackson's hits, Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough and Off the Wall (1979).

Sylvester was also a clear representative of Disco music. Unforgettable tracks like You Make Me Fell (Mighty Real), Dance (Disco Heat) hit hard in 1978. His hits continued into the eighties with the albums Do Ya Wanna Funk and Call me.

The release of the soundtrack to the movie Saturday Night Fever (1977), one of the best-selling albums in the history of popular music, catapulted the Bee Gees, once again, to the number 1 on the success lists around the world, with eight different singles, including Stayin' alive, You Should Be Dancing, Night Fever, More than a Woman, Tragedy, Jive Talkin', and between others are also considered the kings of disco music.

Village People.

At the same time that the genre was consolidating, some groups from outside it delved into disco music, assimilating both elements of the New York sound and that of Philadelphia, and also adding Latin touches; for example, the Salsoul Orchestra, directed by Vincent Montana Jr. At the same time, the genre in Europe develops some successes in the Italo-disco mode with the group La Bionda. Even some front-line rock bands released songs with clear disco influences: Miss you by Rolling Stones, I was made for lovin' you > from Kiss, etc. Also large Hollywood factories, such as Disney, were influenced by the genre. Disney studios published, in 1979, an LP called Mickey Mouse Disco with some tracks that became very well known, such as Macho Duck (Pato Macho, in Spanish) and Mickey Mouse Album (with English and Spanish versions). The album was published in both languages and achieved acceptable success, constituting a child's approach to disco music. In the same way, Sesame Street Fever was published with the characters from Sesame Street, who also performed familiar disco music and where Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees also collaborated. Although all this could be seen at first as evidence of the strength of the disco phenomenon in the media, it became a self-parody and was certainly an incentive to its imminent discredit that would cause an anti-disco reaction in other.

The Bee Gees.

TV series and shows of the time generally adopt intro tracks and action backing tracks based on disco music. This is the case of CI5 The Professionals (1977), CHiPs (1977), or Wonder Woman (1977), or the more comedy- romance The Love Cruise (1978).

The decline of the genre

Spoofs

Various parodies of the disco lifestyle were created. Rick Dees, in his time as a radio DJ in Memphis, Tennessee, recorded "Disco Duck"; and "Dis-Gorilla" (1977); avant-garde rocker Frank Zappa parodied the lifestyle of weekend clubbers in his & # 34;Disco Boy & # 34; from their 1976 album Zoot Allures first, and on "Dancin' Fool" from his 1979 album Sheik Yerbouti; on his 1982 debut album comedian musician "Weird Al" Yankovic includes a disco song called "Gotta Boogie", an extended pun on the disco movement's similarity to the American slang word "booger" (mucus) and his British counterpart his 'bogey'.

Disk adaptations

Classical music was even adapted for clubbing, notably by Walter Murphy in his hit "A Fifth of Beethoven" (1976, based on the first theme of the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony) and "Flight 76" (1976, based on Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Flight of the Bumblebee' and Louis Clark's 'Hooked On Classics' series of albums and singles. Various artists who recorded and & They disco'd some big band arrangements including Perry Como, who re-recorded his 1939 hit 'Temptation' in 1975, as well as the very old singer Ethel Merman who released an album of songs from the disco. titled "The Ethel Merman Disco album" in 1979. For not a few it was a derisory case.

An example that enjoyed some success was the song "On the Air", by the French group Space. "On the Air" is an adaptation to the album by Johann Sebastian Bach.

The anti-discos

The popularity of Saturday Night Fever led the major record companies to flood the market with disco products made in a mechanical and homogenized way to cover the growing demand of the audience. The use of these products inevitably produced disco acts of dubious quality, which, together with radio and media saturation, created an increasingly perceptible anti-disco sentiment. Radio stations began to abandon disco music, especially from 1980. The emergence of alternative scenes, both in rock (Punk, New wave...), in R& B (Rap, Hip hop...) and for the same dance scene (Hi-NRG, Electro...) contributed to the decline of the genre.

On July 12, 1979, a scandalous anti-disco action took place in Chicago, promoted by various DJs from hard rock stations, such as Steve Dahl, Gerry Meier or Michael Veeck, and which adopted the format of event, under the name of Disco Demolition Night. The affair included the burning of Disco music albums and ended with a strong confrontation with the police, and numerous arrests. This conflict seriously influenced the change of soundscape in the charts, where disco music had hegemony. However, there are still some disco hits in the early eighties, albeit with an evolved and simplified style: Lipps Inc. (Funkytown, 1980); Kool & The Gang (Celebration, 1980); Spargo (Baby You and me, 1980); KC and The Sunshine Band (Give it up, 1982), The Weather Girls (It's raining men, 1982); The Pointer Sisters (I'm so excited, 1982); Michael Jackson (Thriller and Billie Jean, 1982); Queen (Body Language, 1982); Imagination (Illusion, 1982); The Mary Jane Girls (In My House, 1983); Prince (1999, 1983); Irene Cara (Flashdance, 1983), Baltimora (Tarzan Boy, 1983), Gloria Estefan (Conga, 1985)

From the disco sound to the house sound

The transition between the disco music of the 70s and the Dance of the 80s basically occurs in recording studios. According to statements by Gloria Gaynor, the change originates from the fact that producers begin to have cost overruns in their editions. So the huge string and horn sections and the large roster of session musicians are replaced by sequencers and drum machines. In this way, new Dance styles such as Hi-NRG (Patrick Cowley, Lime, Trans X) and electro (D-Train, Afrika Bambaataa) are born.

At the same time, the already decadent genre assimilates various influences from jazz and the stylized funk of George Clinton, generating new paths of development (Acid Jazz, Groove) that flooded the clubs in the US and the UK.

Between 1980 and 1983 the first examples of Dance already recognizable, we find D.Train, Kashif or Patrice Rushen

The single Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa (1982), produced by Arthur Baker, marks the definitive turn of disco towards hip-hop > and electro, heavily influenced, among others, by the Germans Kraftwerk and their Trans Europa Express, as well as the Japanese Yellow Magic Orchestra. The name of the style was electro funk.

They would finally be producers, like Giorgio Moroder himself in Europe, and Larry Levan or Frankie Knuckles in the US, who, playing with loops and powerful basses, would promote house, linked to clubs like Paradise Garage (New York) or the Warehouse, in Chicago.

The resurgence of disco in the 1990s

The appearance of some records by renowned artists in the mid-1990s, which clearly incorporated disco elements, led to a brief resurgence of the genre in the 1990s. songs> were released. neo-disco as well as some mixes between Hip hop and Disco Music, with artists like Pet Shop Boys (New York City Boy,1999), U2 (Lemon,1993), Brand New Heavies (Spend Some Time, 1994), Spice Girls (Who Do You Think You Are, 1995), Jamiroquai (Cosmic Girl, 1996; Little L, Love Foolosophy, You Give Me Something, 2001), N-Trance (Stayin Alive , D.I.S.C.O., 1997), Ex-It (Night Fever, 1997), Will Smith (Gettin Jiggy With It, 1997), Kylie Minogue (Spinning Around, 2001), Sophie Ellis Bextor (Murder on The Dance Floor, 2002) or Justin Timberlake (Rock Your Body, 2004).

In this same decade, a series of video games included some disco songs, as is the case, among others, of Dance Dance Revolution 4th Mix (Shake Your Booty by KC and The Sunshine Band); Bust A Groove (The Natural Playboy) or 'Bust A Groove 2 (Lets the Music Take Control), etc For the Bust a Groove saga, the themes were specially composed to represent a character named Hiro, who is a fanatic dancer of this type of music.

Gender today

Influences of disco music still linger in recent tracks, for example, Mika's Big Girl (You Are Beautiful), Shut Up And Let Me Go by The Ting Tings, Itsi Bitsy Bikini by Gummy Bear) or something the Scissors Sisters do (2007 and songs like "Hung Up" from Madonnas album, 'Confessions on a Dance Floor' (2005) Likewise, J-Pop in Japan has had brief disco-influenced hits like Puffy AmiYumi, Cosmic Nefaretabi and Swimming Pool.

In recent years, Disco Music has returned to the top of the popularity charts in the world through songs that reflect its style, arrangements and main compositional elements, such is the case of the album Random Access Memories by the Daft Punk band, especially in songs like Get Lucky or Lose Yourself to Dance, as this same band had done in the past with the Discovery album and especially the song One More Time. Other hits that represent disco today are: Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke, Love Foolosophy and Little L by Jamiroquai, Sugar by Maroon 5, Birthday by Katy Perry, Can't Feel My Face and I Feel It Coming by The Weeknd, Jason Derulo's Want to Want Me, Coldplay's Adventure of a Lifetime, Can't Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake, Feels or Promises by Calvin Harris, Sing by Ed Sheeran.

Bruno Mars has released several hits inspired by Funk and Disco Music such as: That's What I Like, Versace on the Floor, 24K Magic (song), Uptown Funk and especially the song Treasure ("tesoro") as a tribute to the disco sound of the late 70's.

During 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an unusual resurgence of disco music, two songs of this genre reached the highest position on the Billboard Hot 100 list: Say So by Doja Cat and Dynamite (BTS song) by the band BTS. The singer Dua Lipa also presented her album Future Nostalgia full of elements of disco culture, style and sound, managing to position the song Don't Start Now (Dua Lipa song) in the first place of the Dance Club Songs of Billboard, as well as in the top two of the Billboard Hot 100, a position that the single Levitating also achieved in this same position during the year 2021. The singer Kylie Minogue also presented her album Disco (album by Kylie Minogue) that achieved the successes of disco music Magic (song by Kylie Minogue), Real Groove and Say Something (single by Kylie Minogue).

2020 also saw renewed interest in the work of legendary disco singer Donna Summer through singer Sam Smith's cover of the song I Feel Love and Norwegian DJ kygo's remix of the song Hot Stuff (song).

IN 2020, the band Foo Fighters, launches an alternative project called "Dee Gees" As a tribute to the legendary disco music band, original group with covers like You Should Be Dancing, Night Fever, among others.

At the same time, there is still a market of fans, which allows classic CDs to continue being released, remixes of some well-known songs, and large concerts to be held, with "familiar" calls, such as the one made by PBS in 2004, which brought together stars and artists of that time (such as A Taste Of Honey, Leo Sayer, Tavares, Frankie Valli, Yvonne Elliman, HeatWave, The Hues Corporation or Martha Wash, among others), which "revived" many of the songs that made time.

Subgenres

Regional Variants

At its heyday (mid-70s), a large number of regional variants of the genre appeared, in some cases as a result of the special characteristics of some artists, in others as a consequence of production concepts and/or arrangements musicals. Among these local subgenres, it is worth noting:

• The Philadelphia Sound, a creation of Humble and Huff producers and composers, which generated a long list of numbers one, with groups like MFSB, The O'Jays or The Three Degrees, and soloists like Patti Labelle or Billy Paul.
• The Sound New York, with themes of artists residents of Studio 54 as well as some of Latin origin, such as Van McCoy, Grace Jones, The Salsoul Orchestra, Amanda Lear or LaBelle, with its spectacular success Lady Marmalade.
• The Los Angeles Sound, which included groups such as Tavares, Love Unlimited Orchestra or Phyllis Hyman.
• The Miami Sound emerged from Criteria Studies and began with the 1974 hit "Rock your Baby" (TK Records) composed by Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band and among other Jimmy Bo' Horne.
• The Munich Sound, with artists like Donna Summer, Silver Convention, Boney M, Ginno Soccio or Giorgio Moroder.
• The French Disco Sound, from which interpreters such as Cerrone, Voyage or Patrick Hernández came out.

The DJs

The very concept of the genre, and its close connection with the dance floor, gave DJs a relevant role in the popularization of disco music. Over time, the most relevant ones incorporated creative elements into their work with vinyl, coming to generate their own rhythmic formulas that were assumed by the producers. One of these lines of development of disco music is directly linked to hip-hop (Afrika Bambaata).

Among the most important DJs, it is worth mentioning Nicky Siano (from The Gallery club in Soho), Walter Gibbons, David Mancuso, John Benítez and Richie Kaczor (both from Studio 54), Francis Grasso, Ian Levine, Mike Pace, Preston Powell, etc.

Disco music outside the United States

You cannot understand the evolution of disco music without the fundamental participation of Europe. Much of the success of the second half of the decade was forged, or produced directly, in the old continent. Although the artists on the other side of the pond drank from the direct influences of soul and black music, in Europe the influences are much more varied: jazz, pop, local styles... and there is a clear predilection and evolution in music European disco towards synthesized sounds, essential to understand the dance music of the 1980s (Euro/Italo disco, House, Industrial, Electro...). Producers such as the Italian Giorgio Moroder will be at the forefront of this evolution, within the so-called "Munich Sound", with productions for Donna Summer or their own such as "From Here To Eternity".

Most of the European productions have an international vocation, far from nationalisms and signs of national identity. The artists record in English and mix different styles, under the typical rhythm at an average speed of 120 bpm. This advantageous national lack of definition means that most of them are soon absorbed by the US market, which would mean that they would finally end up recording and producing there: Alec R. Costandinos, Jacques Morali, or Giorgio Moroder, would be the creators of disco hits on both sides of the Atlantic. His hits include Village People (Morali), Donna Summer (Moroder), D.C. The Rue (Costandinos).

The disco style was quickly adopted, as was the case in the United States by established European artists such as ABBA, clearly installed in the genre since their hit "Dancing Queen", dominating the charts during the late 70s and early 80s. Also, the Electric Light Orchestra, with clearly disco songs like Last Train To London, or their forays into the soundtrack of the movie Xanadu. Even traditional French singers like Dalida or Sheila, under the pseudonym Sheila B. Devotion, would gain great popularity on "sound disco".

As in the United States, in Europe the pull of disco music was taken advantage of, to dust off hits from past decades and obtain great success again. In this chapter it is worth noting, from France, Santa Esmeralda, with versions of "The House Of The Rising Sun" or "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", both hits by The Animals; Belle Epoque with "Black Is Black" by Los Bravos, the Gibson Brothers with "Que Será"; or from Germany, Boney M with Sunny by Bobby Hebb, and Eruption with "One Way Ticket" by Neil Sedaka.

Cerrone (France), Boney M (Germany), La Bionda (Italy), or Barrabas (Spain) can be highlighted as very influential European exponents of the golden decade.

Germany

Germany, hand in hand with producers of the stature of Giorgio Moroder, Frank Farian or Rolf Soja, from Munich or Hamburg, is with France, one of the countries that has provided the most successes to world Disco music. Styles like the Munich Sound are hallmarks of a style that draws on European pop, Afro-American roots music, jazz, and avant-garde electronics that emerged from Krautrock.

Donna Summer.

The singer Donna Summer who landed in Europe as a member of the musical Hair in the early 70s, landed in Germany and at the hands of Girogio Moroder, beginning a career of fundamental hits for the massive success of disco music. The erotica "Love To Love You Baby" (1975), or the electronic "I Feel Love" (1977) are popular hits of the genre around the world.

Boney M, a group made up of singers and dancers from the West Indies and Jamaica launched by producer Frank Farian, can be considered exponents of popular disco music, designed for mass consumption, with easy pop choruses for the large audiences ("Brown Girl in The Ring", "Rivers of Babylon", "Gotta Go Home", "El Lute" or &# 34;Daddy Cool") that we could call Bubble Gum-Disco.

The name Munich Sound is the disco style recorded mainly at Musicland Studios or at Union Studio in Munich. A large number of international artists would pass through Musicland, of which Giorgio Moroder was the founder, but they will always be remembered for their disco productions, which included large parts of electronic music, and with a popular vocation. Exponents are Donna Summer, Roberta Flack, Boney M, Silver Convention, Giorgio Moroder himself, and his projects such as the Munich Machine.

This step from electronic Krautrock to disco music also had its reverse step. Germans Kraftwerk who started to move away from the cold sound of Krautrock since the hit Autobahn, naturally assimilate their minimalist electronic sound to disco music, especially since the unexpected club success of Trans Europe Express. The album The Man Machine (1978) and Computer World (1981) influence this disco electronic sound that would be the forerunner and inspiration of currents of the 1980s such as Electro Funk, Techno-pop oriented to the dance floor, or House

Spain

For its part, in Spain, in the second half of the decade and the beginning of the eighties, there were some incursions into disco music, highlighting, without a doubt, the group Barrabás, one of the most internationally successful bands (more famous in the United States than in Spain), which produced disco-style songs but fusing a multitude of styles such as jazz, rock or Afro-Latin sounds. Among his disco hits in the 1970s are "Hi-Jack", "Desperately", or "Check-Mate", being one of the precursors in the publication, in 1975, from one of the first maxi-singles (12-inch vinyl format designed for clubs) in history. The theme chosen was "Mellow Blow", on the Atlantic label in the United States

Another notable artist was the composer Juan Carlos Calderón, who made his foray into disco music with instrumental songs such as the hit "Bandolero" from 1974. In addition to his three albums by & # 34;Juan Carlos Calderon Y la Taller De Música by him & # 34; and "Disco".

The Argentine pianist and arranger Bebu Silvetti recorded his greatest hits for the Spanish label Hispavox, such as the instrumental "Lluvia de primavera" (Spring Rain) from his first album & # 34; The World Without Words & # 34; (1976), produced by Rafael Trabucchelli. It met with a modest reception upon its initial release, however in 1977 it achieved enormous success in clubs around the world with a new Disco version mixed by Tom Moulton on Salsoul Records. This version was used for Silvetti's new album "Lluvia de primavera (Spring Rain)" as well as for their respective short single version. Also noteworthy are other songs by Bebu Silvetti such as Contigo (song that would be covered in 1975 by Paloma San Basilio), Viaje No Retorno, Velvet Hands, Sun After The Rain, Love Is On Tonight and Piano, the latter being performed by other notable pianists such as Raúl Di Blasio and even Richard Clayderman.

Ramón Arcusa and Manuel de la Calva would also make an incursion into disco music under the name Sirarcusa, collaborating with Phil Trim on several albums, the most successful being "Give Me Your Love" from 1977. It was versioned into Spanish by Arcusa and De La Calva for Julio Iglesias as "Un día tú, un día yo" in 1978.

The Baccara duo are also worth mentioning. Although their hits have to be considered as German disco productions, their very Spanish way of pronouncing English, and their origins, make them a place in this section. Mayte Mateos and María Mendiola were launched from Hamburg by producer Rolf Soja, who named them Baccara (they had previously been called Venus) and was the creator of two fundamental pieces of 70s disco music, "Yes Sir I Can Boogie" and "Sorry I'm a Lady". Like so many other disco artists his popularity ended soon, being only remarkable apart from these mentioned hits, his minor hit "The Devil Sent You To Laredo", and his participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, representing Luxembourg. In that festival they were the introducers of the disco sound, since Eurovision until then was grass, with some honorable exceptions, of productions of easy bubble-gum, or romantic ballads.

Disco sound was installed in Spain mainly by the so-called "Fans" (commercial releases by teenage artists for adolescent girls, especially female ones) between 1979 and 1980. The result is a clearly "Disco" based pop sound, as can be heard on the releases of artists such as Pedro Marin and his success "Aire" (1979), Iván, with his hits & # 34; Sin Amor & # 34; (1979), (version of the song Dschinghis khan that the German group of the same name would perform at Eurovision in 1979), and & # 34; Fotonovela & # 3. 4; (1983), number 1 in countries like France or Germany; or Miguel Bosé, with his international hits, Super-Superman, and Anna. Other disco-Iberian representatives of the time are "Apache", or "Goma de Mascar".

In the field of children's music, like his fellow teenagers from the "Fans" phenomenon, the disc sound is introduced. The Parchís group is introduced by some songs, such as Mortadelo y Filemón or En la Armada, among others. In addition, the children's duo Enrique y Ana also had their disco-kitsch foray into "Super Disco Chino"

Taking advantage of the pull, surrounded by a certain scandal (for those years) of transsexual artists, or presumably transsexuals, such as Amanda Lear, Bibiana Fernández, better known as Bibi Andersen, published a clearly inspired song in 1980 at the Munich Disco Sound, called "Call Me Lady Champagne", very successful in Spain, and some European countries such as Germany. The theme was the beginning of an ephemeral musical career.

Already in the 1980s some joined the Italo disco style, making electronic productions of similar bill and internationalist pretensions. Within this style we can frame the aforementioned Iván, David Lyme, Charlie Danone, Atlanta, the pseudonyms of the producer RT1 such as DJ Ventura - Mr Backer and Vicio Latino, Steve Clark (nothing to do with the homonymous member of the rock band Def Leppard), Xalan or Lenroy. The international success of "The Night" de Azul y Negro is also regularly included among the European Italo disco hits, despite the fact that his line was more along the path of techno pop. Alaska and Los Pegamoides achieve great success in Spain, at the beginning of the 80s, with the song "Bailando" (1981), clearly inspired by the sound of the French Gibson Brothers, and which later, taking advantage of the Acid House boom, they would record again, editing several different mixes, within the purely electronic styles of the end of that decade.

Barry White

Curiously, the Spanish group that best synthesized the disco sound, Fundación Tony Manero, appears with the revival of the 1990s. As for the sound recording, it distances them from their foreign contemporaries like Jamiroquai who adapted it to the post-House era. Its success was practically local and is mainly due to the inclusion of the song "Super Sexy Girl" as soundtrack of the advertisement, for televisions in Spain, of the car model "Space Star" from the Japanese brand Mitsubishi.

France

France is the other major producer of global disco hits, although it may not be fully known. A large number of international productions came from France, in English, such as the aforementioned Cerrone, Santa Esmeralda or Belle Epoque.

Patrick Hernández would be number 1 in half the world with "Born To Be Alive", adding the curiosity that Madonna came to be in the dance group that accompanied him in some performances of his 1980 tour. Patrick Juvet, with hits like "Lady Night", "I Love America", or "Got A Feeling". Space with the hit "Magic Fly" (representatives of Space Disco, another electronic variant of disco music, close to the Munich Sound, but with a more purely electronic flavor, close to artists like Jean Michel Jarre). Voyage and its hit "Souvenirs" (considered one of the greatest disco tracks of all time), the Gibson Brothers, Otawan and a long list of artists place France as one of the great powers of disco music.

Difference with "High Fly" They also had a certain international impact.

The singer Sheila, after being a successful singer in the 60s, would convert to disco music under the name Sheila B. Devotion, achieving international fame with hits such as Love me baby, Singing' in the Rain and Spacer. Also noteworthy is the hit disco by singer Dalida, another classic French pop singer, J'attendrai, which reached No. 1 on the charts , or "hit lists", in many countries, such as Canada or Japan. In addition to artists, France contributed a large number of international disco music producers, both its own and established, including Jacques Morali and Alec R. Costandinos.

The French contribution to euro disco/italo disco comes from Desireless and her hit "Voyage Voyage", Bandolero and her hit "Paris Latino", or Princess Estefanía from Monaco alias Stephanie with her hit "Irresistible".

Italy

In Italy, as in France or Germany, disco music developed with international pretensions. However, the genre ended up developing a special variant called italo disco which evolved in part thanks to electronic music that also gave the genre a unique touch. Italo-disco ended up being its own style, sung primarily in English, with the music produced entirely by electronic instruments and sequencers, identifying itself with Italy, having almost no connection to earlier Italian popular music. In the 70s, an example of this style was the group Easy Going, with hits like "Fear", Tulio De Piscopo with "Stop Bajon", La Bionda, with hits like &# 34;One for you, one for me" or the disco-electro-pop "Wanna Be Your Lover" which clearly shows the transition to italo-disco.

"Step By Step" de Koxo is another clear Italian exponent of the transition from the more orthodox seventies record to pure electronic eighties italo disco.

In the 1980s there were endless Italo disco artists, including Kano, Kasso, Silver Pozzoli, Spagna, P Lion, Miko Mission, Baltimora, Righiera, Camaro's Gang, Den Harrow, Gary Low, Gazebo, The Twins

Established artists such as Raffaella Carrà also ventured into disco music with casual songs also sung in Spanish: You have to come to the south, 0303456, Everything is starting in love, etc. Another singer The Italian who, by turning to disco music, achieved a unique and unexpected international success was Pino D'Angiò, who with "Ma Quale Idea", conquered the top positions of innumerable "charts" international.

Other European countries

The Greek musician Alexandre Garbis Sarkis Kouyoumdjian, better known as Alec R. Costandinos, as D.C. La Rue and many other pseudonyms, together with the Giorgio Moroder-Pete Bellotte tandem, the French producer Jacques Morali or the German Frank Farian, can be considered one of the kings of European disco music of the 1970s. France, he composed and produced for countless artists and projects of his own, including Love and Kisses, Don Ray, Tony Rallo, Cerrone, Paris Connection, Sphinx, Sumeria and Alan Hawkshaw.

In Belgium, the Two Man Sound group developed their work in various languages, of which their success Disco Samba stood out, which made them known with its mix of Brazilian rhythms and electronic disco-influenced environments. partly because of the italo-disco style. His song ¡Qué tal, América!, is considered one of the precursors of the house sound of the following decade. Likewise, from Belgium the Telex group would achieve popularity on international dance floors with their electro-disco song Moskow Disco (1978), clearly influenced by the more electronic Munich sound and especially in the theme We Are The Robots, by the German Kraftwerk. This theme is considered as a great influence for the house sound, too.

From Holland, the musician Harry Thumann would achieve great international success with Underwater, and from Austria the rock group Ganymed would obtain repercussions with songs like It Takes Me Higher, within Space Disco style.

Latin America

As for Latin America, at the end of the 70s, the DJ José Luis Cortés "El Maromero", promoted the genre in Mexico, giving it a very special touch. Likewise, M.T.M performs a Spanish version of the song Double Dutch Bus called El Peribus. For its part, Virgilio Canales' group Super Banda Macho made disco versions, integrated into medleys, of traditional Mexican songs such as corridos or some songs from Veracruz, among other Mexican musical material. Also the group Mi Banda El Mexicano, incorporates into the instrumentation of its technocumbias, components derived from this music. Even some local television stations from countries like Guatemala, Mexico, Argentina among others in this decade used disco songs for their programs. The Mexican arranger of Argentine origin: Bebu Silvetti also ventured into the genre, obtaining some successes and collaborating with bands such as the Salsoul Orchestra.

In Venezuela, singer José Luis Rodríguez "El Puma" peaked with a disco version of the Venezuelan corrido "Pavo Real" and the song "Love is something else", both from the album Atrévete in 1980. The singer Trino Mora also takes the song "Desesperanza" and, apart from that, he takes out other songs from the disco genre. The singers Rudy Márquez and Rudy la Scala released albums with pure disco themes in 1979 and that same year the group Ámbar released their LP Love Maniac, and other singers such as Pecos Kanvas, Nancy Ramos, Mirla Castellanos, Delia Dorta and among others entered the genre and even the Venezuelan telenovela of Venevisión La señorita Elena had as its main theme the song "Love Theme" instrumental version of the band Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1975.

In Mexico, artists like Juan Gabriel dabbled in this genre and, between 1978 and 1979, the album "Me gusta bailar contigo" was released, in which several songs have arrangements and rhythms alluding to music disk. Songs like "No one is like you", "Everybody dance in Acapulco", "Buenos dias, señor sol" and "Me gusta bailar contigo", among others, were resounding hits in the clubs of the time and served as the basis for his future musical productions. Between 1978 and 1980, the TV program "Fiebre del Dos" was broadcast, under the leadership of the entertainer Fito Girón, in which dance contests were held and disco music songs were played, most of them hits in English. and instrumentals; He was an icon on Mexican Television of the disco culture.

Additional information

Other disco artists

As a complement to the content of the article, a non-exhaustive list is included of other artists who are significant within the disco genre or who have made inroads into it, and who have not been mentioned in the article, indicating its most representative themes within the genre.

• A Taste of Honey - Boogie Oogie Ooogie
• ABBA - Dancing Queen, Voulez-Vous, Gimme Gimme Gimme Gimme, Summer Night City, Take a Chance on me, The Name of game
• Ava Max... OMG What's Happening, Million Dollar, Weapons, Hold Up (Wait a Minute)
• Andy Gibb - I Just Want To Be Your Everything
• Enrique and Ana - Super Disco Chino
• Becky G - BAILI WITH MY EX
• Laura Branigan - Glory, Self control, Eddie, The Lucky One, Shattered Glass
• Alaska and Dinarama - A real man, how could you do this to me?
• Alaska and the Pegamoids - Dance
• Bette Midler - Married Men, My Knight in Black Leather, Big Noise From Winnetka
• Baccara - Yes Sir i can boogie, Sorry i'm a Lady, Parlez vous français?
• Anita Ward - Ring My Bell, Don't Drop My Love
• Amii Stewart - Knock on Wood
• Prince - 1999 Little Red Corvette, Let's Work, Uptown
• Rick James - Super Freak, Give It To Me Baby
• Dalida - Gigi in Paradisco, Generation 78, Monday tuesday... laissez-moi danser, J'attendrai
• Cheryl Lynn - Got To Be Real, Star Love, Encoré, Shake it up tonight
• Gloria Trevi - Everyone looks at me.
• Grace Jones - I Need a Man, Pull up to the Bumper, Do or Die
• Parchís - Mortadelo and Filemon
• Arpeggio - Saturday Night, Love And Desire
• Bebu Silvetti - Spring Rain, Velvet Hands, SkyLab, Voyage Of No Return
• Blondie - Heart Of Glass Call me Atomic Rapture
• Carl Douglas - Kung Fu Fighting
• Carol Williams - Love Is You
• Donna Summer - "Love To Love You Baby", "Could It Be Magic", "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It", "I Feel Love", "Loves Unkind", "Now I Need You", "Working The Midnight Shift", "Down Deep Inside", "I Love You", "Last Dance", "With Your Love", "MacArthur Park", "One Of A Kind"
• Dua Lipa - Don't Start Now, Break My Heart, Hallucinate, Levitating, Love Again
• José Luis Rodriguez - Pavo Real
• Juan Gabriel - Everybody Dance in acapulco, Good morning, Mr. Sun, I like to dance with you, The Noa Noa
• Kara... Mamma Mia
• Celi Bee - Superman
• Cerrone - Supernature, Love in C Minor, Cerrone's Paradise
• Charo - Dance A Little Bit Closer
• Cher - Take Me Home, Strong enough, The Music's No Good Without You, All or Nothing, Bad, Hell On Wheels
• Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive, Never can say Goodbye
• Frank Sinatra - Night And Day
• Foxy - Get off
• Chic - Le Freak, Good Times, Dance Dance, My Forbidden Lover
• City - Roller Disco
• Dan Hartman - Relight My Fire, Instant Replay
• Dazz Band - Let It Whip
• Delegation - You and I, Heartache No. 9
• Diana Ross - I'm Coming Out, Upside Down, The Boss
• Jessie Ware - Remember where you are, Spotlight, Save to Kiss, What's your pleasure, Ooh La, Free Yourself
• Scissor Sisters - Comfortably Numb Filthy/Georgeus I Dont feel like dancin
• Earth, Wind & Fire - Let's Groove, September, Boogie Wonderland
• Elvis Presley... Moody Blue
• Katy Perry - Birthday, California Gurls
• - "Down, Down, Down", "Over and Over", "Dance (Disco Heat", "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)", "Over Who Have Nothing", "Can't Stop Dancing", "Stars", "Sell My Soul", "I'll Dance To That", "I Need You", "Fever", "Can't You See", "Do Yanna Funk"
• Edwin Starr - Happy Radio, Contact, War
• Dschinghis Khan - Moskau
• Evelyn Thomas - High Energy
• Eruption - I Can't Stand The Rain, One Way Ticket
• France Joli - Eat To Me
• Gorillaz - Andromeda
• Gary's Gang - Keep On Dancing, Do It At The Disco
• Ginno Soccio - Dancer, It's All Right
• Beyoncé... Blow
• Gloria Estefan And The Miami Sound Machine - CongaDr. Beat
• Pearl... Eu Sei Tudo Professor
• Paul McCartney - Say Say Say Say Say
• Queen Samantha - Take A Chance
• González - Haven't Stopped Dancing
• GQ - Disco Night
• Sharon Redd - "Can You Handle It", "In the Name of Love", "Beat the Street", "Never give you up, You're a Winner
• Heatwave - Boogie Nights
• Hot Blood... Terror on a Dance Floor, Soul Dracula
• Indeep - Lasy Night a DJ Saved My Life
• Jimmy Bo Horne - Spank, It Is In
• Kano - Ready
• La Bionda - One For You, One For Me
• Leif Garret - I Was Made For Dancing
• Nancy Ramos - You and I,
• Roberto Jordan - The Sun is gone, Look that without you I die, True Love, I want to, Still
• Doja Cat - Say So
• Michael Jackson - Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough, Rock with you, Thriller, Billie Jean
• Michelle... Magic Love, Can't You Fell It, Disco Dance
• M - Pop Muzik
• Musique - Keep On Jumping, In The Bush
• Ottawan - Hands Up, D.I.S.C.O., Shalala Song
• Patrick Hernández - Born To Be Alive
• Patrick Juvet - I Love America, Got A Feeling, Lady Night
• Rudy La Scala - It's Time To Dance, The Nights
• Ray Dahrouge - Steppin Out
• Roberta Kelly - Trouble Maker, To My Father's House, Zodiacs
• Lionel Richie - Running With The Night
• Salsoul Orchestra - Tangerine
• Silver Convention - Get Up And Boogie, Fly Robin Fly, Save Me
• Janet Jackson - Young
• Sister Sledge - He's The Greatest Dancer, We Are Family, Lost in the music,Thinking of you
• Stellar All Stars - Let The Music Take Control
• Tangerue - Tangerue, Doin Your Own Thing, Dance with Me
• Teena Marie - I Need Your Lovin'
• The French Kiss - Panic
• Tina Charles - Dance Little Lady Dance, I Love To Love
• The Emotions - Best Of My Love
• Rose Royce - Car Wash, I Wanna Get Next To You, don't live here anymore
• Sade - Hang On To Your Love
• Santana - One Chain (Don't Make No Prison)
• The Trammps - Inferno Disc, Hold Back The Night
• The Carpenters - (Want You) Back in My Life Again
• Thelma Houston - Don't Leave Me This Way
• Tomoki Ishizuka - The Natural Playboy (with the voice of Kaleb James)
• Two Man Sound - Disco Samba, Que Tal America
• Tomoko Arán - Midnight Pretenders, I'm in Love
• Miley Cyrus - Midnight Sky, Prisoner, Flowers
• Vicki Sue Robinson - Turn The Beat Around
• Van McCoy... The Hustle
• Walter Murphy - A Fifth Of Beethoven, California Strut
• Yvonne Elliman - If I Can't Have You
• Yukiko Okada - Summer Beach
• Zoom - The Letter (The Letter), La Bruja de Salem (Salem's Witch)

Reference bibliography

• Michaels, Mark (1990). The Billboard Book of Rock Arranging. ISBN 0-8230-7537-0.
• Jones, Alan and Kantonen, Jussi (1999). Saturday Night Forever: The Story of Disco. Chicago, Illinois: A Cappella Books. ISBN 1-55652-411-0.
• Brewster, Bill and Broughton, Frank (1999) Last Night a DJ Saved my Life: the History of the Disc Jockey Headline Book Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7472-6230-6.
• Lawrence, Tim (2004). Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970-1979. Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-3198-5
• Shapiro, Peter (2005). The Secret History of DISCO. Sexuality and Racial Integration in the Dance Track. Black Box Synesthesia. ISBN 978-987-1622-15-3