Greatest Hits Disco

[Abigail Tyrie]

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.

Importing music to Italy in the eighties cost a lot of money, so much so that they decided to cut the outgoings and produce their version of dance music. Some might say it was an irreversible catastrophe that exposed atrocious music to the world for far longer than necessary. In contrast, others cherish its reaction in their shoulders, hips, and feet ever since, not to mention its lasting impact on dance music in general (it did influence New Order).

We go from bad dreams to good times with good old Paul Paul at number 2. This song was ahead of its time. Next to our number 1, this is the most musically accomplished song on the list. The beginning and bridge sections of this song sounds like an advert or an AIR song.

The one Italo artist on this list I could never be embarrassed of. The one I appreciate so much I listened to his greatest hits underwater while exploring coral reefs in Thailand. You will never know the thrill of imagining yourself driving a Ferrari with a glamorous Italian woman and finding a purple starfish at the same time.

Of course, Giorgi boy had to be first. If Kraftwerk are fathers of techno, then you can call Giorgio the father of disco and by default Italo Disco. His reputation and career stretch from 1969 to the present day and his influence can be felt from everything from music, TV and film. He has scored numerous films and he is the only one on the list to win Oscars, Grammys, Golden Globes or any award whatsoever actually. He may have reached the zenith of his field and become like a god to millions of dance music fans the world over, but Italo Disco is where he found his voice. Indeed, you could say this entire list is comprised of his rejected mongrel children, orphaned for not being cool enough.

Born September 19, 1952 in New York City, Nile Rodgers is one of the most prolific composers and producers in music history. He founded the trendsetting disco group Chic in 1977 with Bernard Edward, and together they wrote, produced and recorded the dance music anthems "Le Freak" and Good Times." This acclaimed guitarist has collaborated with a who's who of rock and R&B, including Madonna, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Diana Ross, Peter Gabriel, David Lee Roth, Jeff Beck, the B-52's, Luther Vandross, INXS, Johnny Mathis, Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire, Al Jarreau, and many more.

In 2014, Rodgers won the three first three Grammy Awards of his career as a featured artist on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories CD. He received Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Get Lucky." His performance with Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, and Stevie Wonder at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2014 at Staples Center in Los Angeles was one of the greatest in the history of the Grammys.

In response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Rodgers founded the We Are Family Foundation (WAFF), named after his iconic song recorded by Sister Sledge, to "create and support programs that inspire and educate the next generation about respect, understanding, and cultural diversity, while striving to solve some of our biggest global problems." WAFF has built 17 schools in Africa, Asia and Central America, and has created a network of the world's most brilliant teenagers (global teen leaders) who are addressing those problems and changing the world.

The leaders of Chic, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, composed and produced "Le Freak" which is the best selling single in the history of Atlantic Records with over seven million copies sold. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B and dance charts in 1978. Billboard ranked "Le Freak" number 21 on the magazine's top 100 songs of the first 55 years of the Hot 100 chart

In 1979, "Good Times" became Chic's second single to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts. Composed and produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, it was the number one R&B single of the year, selling over five million copies. The track also became the basis for the trailblazing hip-hop song "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang.

Nile Rodgers catapulted Madonna from dance music queen to superstardom when he produced the title song of her 1984 album, Like A Virgin. It was her first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained at the top of the chart for six weeks. "Like A Virgin" was also number one on the Billboard Dance chart.

"We Are Family" became the theme song for the Pittsburgh Pirates who won the World Series in 1979. It is also the theme for Rodgers' non-profit We Are Family Foundation which unites the greatest teenagers in the world in a network to solve global problems.

In 1983, the title tune of David Bowie's album Let's Dance became Bowie's second single to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Produced by Nile Rodgers, it is one of the best selling songs of his career.

Nile Rodgers remixed Duran Duran's "The Reflex" in 1984 and it became the band's most successful single. It was their first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and it remained at the top of the chart for two weeks.

Nile Rodgers produced "Material Girl" which was the second single from Madonna's best selling album, Like A Virgin, in 1984. The song reached number one on the Billboard Dance chart and number two on the Hot 100.

With Star Trek: Picard and Space Force in the news, it's time to revisit the best space disco of the original era. These 25 songs feature outer space on the dance floor, from the avant-garde to Star Wars commercialism and beyond.

These contributors may have produced single songs, whole albums, or oeuvres that fit into the Space Disco genre. Their contributions may have been major hits or obscurities with cult status. Their countries of origin include Aruba, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, and the United States.

Several hip-hop artists have sampled the song, including the Notorious B.I.G. on his Life After Death album (1997). In 2009, the song was transmitted into deep space, at the speed of light, as part of a celebration honoring the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.

Time magazine reported in 2015 that Brightman may be going to space for real, soon. She and husband Andrew Lloyd Weber composed a song ideal for her to sing in microgravity but, sadly, her plans for a ten-day stay aboard the International Space Station are for the time being suspended.

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