🕺 Disco: More than a mirror ball

Disco has a place in our cultural memory as the ultimate fad. Disco has a place in our cultural memory as the ultimate fad. It’s fun, but it’s corny—the stuff of costume parties and 70s memorabilia. There’s a reason disco is remembered this way, and it obscures a rich history. During disco’s late 70s heyday, songs like Chic’s “Le Freak” and The Bee Gees’ “Stayin Alive” topped the charts, the movie Saturday Night Fever was a box office hit, and New York’s Studio 54 was the hottest, most exclusive club in the world. The disco era was all about glamour, vice, and having a good time. Or was it? Despite disco’s rep as a frivolous trend, it was a fundamental chapter in American music and cultural history. Born out of Black music and queer subculture, it went on to influence generations of musicians. But disco also inspired a fierce backlash, and a concerted effort to write it off as nothing more than cool beats and bad fashion. That narrative stuck, and disco is just now starting to get its due. Ready to step onto the dance floor? 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( [Quartz Weekly Obsession] Disco October 06, 2021 Let’s boogie --------------------------------------------------------------- Disco has a place in our cultural memory as the ultimate fad. It’s fun, but it’s corny—the stuff of costume parties and 70s memorabilia. There’s a reason disco is remembered this way, and it obscures a rich history. During disco’s late 70s heyday, songs like Chic’s “Le Freak” and The Bee Gees’ “Stayin Alive” topped the charts, the movie Saturday Night Fever was a box office hit, and New York’s Studio 54 was the hottest, most exclusive club in the world. The disco era was all about glamour, vice, and having a good time. Or was it? Despite disco’s rep as a frivolous trend, it was a fundamental chapter in American music and cultural history. Born out of Black music and queer subculture, it went on to influence generations of musicians. But disco also inspired a fierce backlash, and a concerted effort to write it off as nothing more than cool beats and bad fashion. That narrative stuck, and disco is just now starting to get its due. Ready to step onto the dance floor? 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( By the digits [10,000:]( Disco clubs reportedly in the US in 1976 [120:]( Beats per minute in a typical disco song [40 million:]( Copies of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack that sold worldwide, the second-highest grossing movie soundtrack in history (The Bodyguard is No. 1) [8:]( Weeks the Bee Gees song “[Night Fever](” spent at No. 1 on the Billboard chart in 1978, the most for any disco song [$7,172:]( Price for a 10-by-10-foot LED light up dance floor (truly, a steal) Giphy Explain it like I’m 5! The rise and fall of the disco ball --------------------------------------------------------------- Disco wasn’t just a sound, it was a vibe. It first coalesced in 1970 at [The Loft]( a rent-party-turned-venue at 647 Broadway in New York City where downtown scenesters, the queer community, and interracial couples went to dance together without fear of judgement—or worse. The music came out of funk, Motown, soul, and R&B, with a little psychedelic sprinkled on top, and the [scene involved sex, drugs](, inclusivity, and acceptance. Disco’s commercialization and eventual demise was a process of cultural appropriation. The 1977 hit movie Saturday Night Fever depicted a whitewashed version of the scene, that centered on Italian-American dancers from Brooklyn, erasing its more diverse history. At the same time, formulaic, unoriginal disco music made by big recording companies flooded the airwaves. That oversaturation sparked a backlash. July 12, 1979 became known as “[the night disco died](,” when at a Chicago White Sox game, a local rock DJ named Steve Dahl—who had recently been let go from his job at a radio station that went all disco—hosted “Disco Demolition Night” at the then-struggling ballpark. The price of admission was 98 cents plus a disco record to be thrown into a dumpster and blown up. The event drew some 50,000 people—a typical crowd at the time would have been about 16,000—and turned into a riot that destroyed the field, and had to be broken up by police. [Historians make a direct connection]( between this [violent rejection of disco]( by a majority white audience and the music’s origins in Black, Latinx, and queer spaces. The subsequent narrative that formed around disco music and culture—essentially that it was shallow and silly—took a subversive art form and simplified it into a single dance move and signature white suit. Quotable “Disco was the only time we were equal. No one cared whether you were Black or white—no one even knew. We were using the culture and the clubs to elevate our thinking. It was a revolution in a primal way.” —[Nile Rodgers](, founding member of Chic Giphy take me down this 🐰 hole! The undeniable danceability of “four-on-the-floor.” --------------------------------------------------------------- The rhythmic backbone of disco’s sound is a 4/4 beat that the bass drum holds throughout a song—four evenly spaced beats without syncopation, like a steady march: one-two-three-four. Known as “four on the floor,” it’s simple, even boring before other sounds are layered on top. That steady beat also happens to be perfect for dancing. Famed Philadelphia drummer [Earl Young]( is credited with originating disco’s four-on-the-floor sound in the 1973 song “The Love I Lost” by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, though a 4/4 time signature is one of the most common in music in genres from country to the Lindy Hop. Disco’s four-on-the-floor bass beat, though, is foundational to rhythms later [adopted in house]( and EDM music. Four-on-the-floor time has one other important application: CPR. The steady, even rhythm, plus the relatively fast tempo (more than 100 BPM) of most disco songs make them ideal timekeeping measures for pacing chest compressions. The Bee Gee’s “Stayin’ Alive” has been [recommended]( during CPR trainings. Giphy Pop quiz Which of these songs samples a disco tune? "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Nirvana"Gettin' Jiggy With It," Will SmithAll of these!"Hung Up," Madonna Correct. All of these songs were influenced by disco! (For more, read Let’s Talk.) Incorrect. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Brief history [1940s](: Nightclubs in Nazi-occupied Paris that aren’t allowed to host live music opt to play jazz records and become known as discotheques. [1959:]( The Scotch Club in Aachen, West Germany opens and plays records as entertainment for diners. Inspired by liquid courage, local journalist Klaus Quirini hops on the stage, wowing the audience with witty banter in between songs, and landing himself a job as a DJ. [1960s:]( Popular soul, R&B, and the Motown sound lays the foundation for what will become disco. In the late 60s, artists begin experimenting with “psychedelic soul,” which features orchestral interludes and long run times, aspects that will go on to define disco. [1970:]( David Mancuso throws his first rent party in New York City, which quickly becomes known simply as The Loft—a haven for bohemians, weirdos, and party people, and welcoming to Black, Latinx, and queer dancers. [1971:]( The movie Shaft is released in theaters. The main theme, written by Isaac Hayes, is one of the first widely-recognized proto-disco songs. [1974:]( Disco hits like “Rock the Boat” and “Kung Fu Fighting” go mainstream, and Billboard launches Disco Action, its first dance chart, which eventually becomes the more general Dance Club Songs. [1977:]( Studio 54 opens in New York City, and Saturday Night Fever is released in theaters. [1979:]( Disco Demolition night becomes known as “the day that disco died.” [Early 1980s:]( DJs in Chicago and New York begin remixing old disco records, giving rise to House music. [2013:]( Daft Punk collaborates with disco legend Niles Rogers on “Get Lucky,” ushering in a resurgence of the genre. [2020:]( Pop songs like Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” and Doja Cat’s “Say So,” combined with renewed interest in roller skating solidify disco’s return. [2021:]( ABBA is back on top of the Billboard charts. (Quartz is [obsessed with them](, too.) Fun fact! The disco ball was invented in the [late 19th century]( and was popular in dance halls through the 1920s before falling out of style and coming back in the 70s. But make it a podcast If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “Sure, I love the Quartz Weekly Obsession, but what if I could have it in podcast form?” brace yourself. You can have it as a podcast, starting on Oct. 12. [Subscribe to it]( wherever you get your pods. [Listen to the trailer]( Youtube Watch this! Yes, disco was commercialized and appropriated, but it was also lovingly parodied by none other than The Muppets—the highest form of flattery. Giphy The way we 🕺🏻 now Dead music --------------------------------------------------------------- In a world in which DJs are the new rock stars, it’s hard to fathom how weird it was once considered to dance to pre-recorded music. The term “disco” originates from the French discotheque, meaning “record library.” It referred to the underground clubs in Nazi-occupied Paris that played records when live music was banned. This new way of playing music gained [popularity in Europe]( and the US in the 50s and 60s because it was cheaper for clubs, and offered more creative freedom to DJs and dancers. Instead of a band playing discrete songs for couples to politely dance to, DJs mixed tunes together, seamlessly transitioning from one song into the next. Once disco’s smooth, energetic sound arrived at the party by way of R&B, Motown, and soul, it encouraged a communal atmosphere on the dance floor—you could dance with the partner you brought, a partner you met, or no one at all, as the music carried everyone through a trancelike experience that lasted for hours. The big, sweaty festivals popular today? Those started in basements with bell bottoms. Spotify You didn’t think we’d let you leave without a disco playlist, did you? [Listen to this!]( Giphy Poll What is your all-time favorite disco song? [Click here to vote]( “Stayin’ Alive”, The Bee Gees“I Will Survive”, Gloria Gaynor“Dancing Queen”, ABBA 💬let's talk! In last week’s poll from our Obsession about the [bullwhip effect](, 38% of you said the Tasmanian cutback is your favorite bullwhip technique, 33% of you favor the snake killer, and 29% prefer the coachman’s crack. If you wanted to know more about the songs referenced in the Pop Quiz, in “Gettin’ Jiggy With It,” Will Smith directly samples “He’s The Greatest Dancer” by Sister Sledge; “Hung Up” by Madonna features the backing track from “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” by ABBA, and drummer Dave Grohl said in an [interview]( that the drums he played on “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” as well as some other Nirvana songs, “ripped off” the Gap Band. 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20disco&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) 🎲 [Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by [Camille Squires](, cities reporter and weekend roller-disco fan. It was edited by [Annaliese Griffin]( and produced by [Jordan Weinstock](. [facebook]([twitter]([external-link]( The correct answer to the quiz is All of these!. Enjoying the Quartz Weekly Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! Want to advertise in the Quartz Weekly Obsession? Send us an email at ads@qz.com. Not enjoying it? No worries. [Click here]( to unsubscribe. 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