Greatest Disco Hits

[Fe Kittner]

Theworld lost two of the great icons of Seventies disco, Donna Summer and Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb, last week. We asked you to name your favorite disco song of all time, and unsurprisingly, Summer and the Bee Gees dominated your picks. Given the enduring popularity of their biggest hits and their close association with the genre, the results for this poll probably would have turned out about the same even if they hadn't just passed away. Click through to see your selections.

"Night Fever," the third of the Bee Gees' five hit singles from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, emphasizes the luxurious textures of classic era disco, with the lush arrangement and harmonies contrasting sharply with its lean rhythm.

Thelma Houston's rendition of "Don't Leave Me This Way" was a massive international hit. It broke big as a single in its own right, but became even bigger when it was included on the soundtrack of Looking for Mr. Goodbar.

The Bee Gees' first major disco tune, "You Should Be Dancing," marks the first time Barry Gibb showed off his famous falsetto. It was an inspired move, and managed to push a funky, fun tune way over the top into greatness.

The Bee Gees weren't the only act to get a huge boost from Saturday Night Fever. The Trammps released "Disco Inferno" to only modest success in 1976, but it became a smash after appearing on the film's soundtrack a year later.

The Rolling Stones embraced disco on Some Girls in 1978. "Miss You," the album's biggest hit, ranks among the band's greatest works, seamlessly blending the elegant groove of the disco movement with elements of raw blues and rock that have always been the group's stock in trade.

Donna Summer's most famous songs with producer Giorgio Moroder veered off course from typical disco sounds and textures, but their 1978 hit "Last Dance" is pure disco bliss, with glorious high-hats and orchestration that took the sound of the day and pushed it further toward perfection.

Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder's breakthrough hit "I Feel Love" is one of the most visionary pop hits of all. Its minimal electronic sound presaged all manner of electronic pop and laid the groundwork for house music.

Gloria Gaynor's 1979 smash is one of pop's most enduring tunes. The sound may be very much rooted in peak-era disco, but its sentiment about self-belief and triumph over adversity is evergreen. Seriously, just try to imagine how many times this song gets sung at a karaoke bar in any given week. The mind boggles!

Saturday Night Fever is the high-water mark of the disco movement, and the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" is the high-water mark of Saturday Night Fever. The band's most iconic hit is forever associated with disco's biggest cultural moment, and it's probably one of the first songs that comes to mind when anyone thinks of disco in general.

From its underground roots in the nightclubs of 1970s New York, disco music had strong connections to the city's Latino community. They provided many musicians, producers and labels making the music, as well as a large section of the audience dancing to it. Latin percussion instruments were at the heart of the disco sound and the strong influence of salsa can be heard in many tracks.

One Latin music record company, Salsoul Records, would go on to be described as the greatest disco label of all time and, as disco conquered the world, Latino musicians in the Caribbean, South and Central America were swept along by it and began producing their own variations on the Latin disco theme.

Disco music boomed for less than a decade and by the early 1980s it faded as newer musical styles came along such as new wave, rap, hiphop and electronic music. However, disco would not be forgotten and it was the inspiration and foundation for the next great global dance movement to emerge in the late 1980s, namely house music. By 2000, with a growing interest in the 1970s underground disco roots of house, a new generation of musicians and bands began to release music heavily influenced by those early Salsoul Records releases.

The Rough Guide To Latin Disco features some of the legendary artists, musicians and tracks from the golden era of disco music, the 1970s, alongside some of today's new Latin disco inspired bands, musicians and producers.

From the 1970s, we feature five tracks from the legendary Salsoul Records. These include two from Latin soul singer and disco pioneer Joe Bataan ('La Botella' and 'Latin Lover'), plus two from the Salsoul Orchestra ('Salsoul Hustle' and 'Ritzy Mambo'), the label's in-house band and huge disco stars in their own right. The final Salsoul track is 'Dancin &;amp Prancin'' from master Cuban percussionist Candido, released in 1979 at the peak of disco's popularity.

Of the non-Salsoul 1970s classics, we include 'Sunny' by New York salsa/funk band Yambu (a cover of the Bobby Hebb song), US-based Cuban flute legend Fajardo's hustle inspired single 'C'mon Baby, Do The Latin Hustle', and Colombian artist Wganda Kenya's cover of Carl Douglas's 1974 disco-soul hit 'Kung Fu Fighting', translated into Spanish as 'Combate A Kung Fu'.

Post-2000, with the nu-disco movement in full swing, a host of new young artists began to produce music heavily influenced by the classic 1970s Latin disco sound. We present four of these new generation bands on the compilation - three from the UK (Grupo X, Malena and Los Charly's Orchestra), and one from California (Jungle Fire). These tracks feature the trademark Latin disco sound - a four-to-the-floor beat, fingerpopping basslines, scratchy syncopated rhythm guitar, heavy Latin rhythms and, in some cases, sweeping Salsoul style strings. All proof that Latin disco is still alive today four decades on since it first exploded in the clubs of 1970s New York.

Seventies style has been rekindled for the alternative music scene. But the alternative retro-movement has forgotten the 70s' most lasting effect on contemporary pop culture: the music. Groups like Chic and Kool and the Gang paved the way for artists such as Cameo, Chakka Kahn, and even Tina Turner's 80s chart-toppers. Seventies music, as a whole, had a major influence on the succeeding decade.

Listed below are what I consider the 10 best disco hits of all time. Some notable songs like "Y.M.C.A.," and "Celebration" have not been included, but I preferred to encompass the whole genre of the music, rather than focus on any particular groups.

"Le Freak," released in 1978, encompasses everything that the disco connoisseur desires in a song. Right after a groovin' scream in the intro, the base settles into a panacea of flashing lights and disco balls. Even the squarest lounge lizard can't help but do the freak.

Originally a C-side cut, "I Will Survive" became Gloria Gaynor's greatest hit and the anthem of the oppressed minority during the late '70s. The song, unfortunately, has a polyester, naugahyde feel, but the bluesy instrumental, in conjunction with the inspirational lyrics, makes "I Will Survive" a landmark in the landscape of musical empowerment. So on those late nights when you're seeking the solace of Room 13, save yourself the walk. Instead, listen to Gaynor's hit and your world of despair and heartache will suddenly blossom into a thriving disco kingdom of multicolored lights and smooth leisure suits.

One of the first disco hits to break Billboard's Top 40, "Macho Man" was the first hit in the Village People's distinguished career. Although "Y.M.C.A." is better known, "Macho Man," released in 1978, is more noteworthy because it establishes the roots of the '70s urban cowboy trend.

The Village People were created in New York City's gay club scene; all their members, except for the lead singer (Policeman), were homosexual. "Macho Man" was written to parody the stereotypical '70s stud. But the image was accepted in straight bars all across the country and what had been a intended as a satire of the straight man became the refrain of the stud man.

This 1975 hit blazed new ground in music history. The first disco megahit, "The Hustle" features melodious horns and, of course, that catchy flute riff which compels you to swing your hips into a series of pelvic thrusts until the sweat is flying off your hairy chest and the strobe light beams off your faux gold medallion.

"Stayin' Alive" is one of the best dance songs ever recorded. Even if you have never experienced the thrill of disco, this work of art will have you strapping on your elevator shoes and opening up that butterfly collar. Soon you will be dancing like a John Travolta with this high-pitched symphony of disco melody.

Beethoven's fifth symphony with a disco twist. How can you go wrong? This groovy classical/disco magic was also released on the popular Saturday Night Fever album. Beethoven himself would have slipped into his lavender leisure suit, grabbed the gal closest to him, and funky-chickened his way across the dance floor.

Although the riff follows the basic disco patterns, the lead vocalist's solo foreshadows early '80s pop and gospel music. "We are Family" carries you into a disco paradiso of warm, mellow lava lamps, hot incense, disco togetherness, and the aura of love.

"Disco Inferno" tells the tale of a burning disco tower. The Trammps' 1977 hit is filled with jazzy riffs, and raging base lines of which even Dante would approve. "Disco Inferno" takes the listener through a world of mythical disco beasts and three-headed gyrating monsters. Just remember the warning: Abandon all hope, all ye who enter into this steamy disco inferno.

Another in a long line of disco one-hit wonders, "Funkytown" epitomizes the mechanical, methodical sounds of '70s robot funk. The Minneapolis studio group's lone hit was released in 1980, and it features some of the best production techniques of the late '70s and early '80s. Where, exactly, is "Funkytown?" Once it's pulsing beat gets hold of you, you no longer care.

"Please Don't Go" stands at the top of the disco ballads, approached only by Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You." The song's smooth rhythms and cool vocals make it the finest attempt at disco blues.

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