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A Survey: The First DISCO Song / Record!
The FIRST DISCO SONG...
The term "DISCO" was loved by many in the seventies, it was a reference to a style of music that was played in the Night Clubs. They, in turn became known affectionately as "DISCOS", as in "I'm going to the DISCO" It was there that we heard "DISCO Music". Soon those who didn't know how to dance started an anti-DISCO movement, as in DISCO SUCKS! That is another story all together. The Term "DISCO" is today like a sexually transmitted disease, no-one wants anything to do with it.
But when did DISCO actually start? What was the FIRST DISCO record? Who was the first DISCO GROUP? Well, I hope to shed some light on this. While there have been "DISCOTEHQUES" in Europe since before World War II, in Paris , today's "DISCOS" started being called that in the early seventies. DISCO music was what changed them from Night Clubs . The music itself caused the TERM to be applied to the locations as well. BUT....
Is there ONE song that changed everything? ONE song that started "DISCO"? Probably not just ONE song, but for arguments sake, I tried to find it. The FIRST song that was termed DISCO. Before it, the music played was called SOUL or R&B. After this one song, DISCO MUSIC or DISCO became the term to which the dance music was being referred to. There isn't just ONE song, no. But I asked 1,200 deejays from that DISCO era to give me their earliest recollections, and I took them down, made a list of their responses. Soon I had a list of over one-hundred and sixty-five songs!! The ones that were mentioned most often, credited for the beginning of DISCO, are now listed below.
Some deejays put titles like "Dancin in the streets" by Martha Reeves and The Vandellas from 1964 as the first. WRONG! That was SOUL / R & B / MOTOWN, not DISCO. That wasn't the song that gave us the TERM! Others credited SANTANA and "Black Magic Woman/Evil Ways". WRONG again. That was "Dance-able Rock", it too, didn't start the DISCO movement. A lot of Stevie Wonder's work was mentioned, but alas, that too was MOTOWN, and did not start the DISCO explosion.
It was close, the top three songs listed were all mentioned by over 75 percent of those who responded to my survey. There are some BIG surprises on the list. Even bigger surprises as to who is NOT on the list. No Bee Gees, or DISCO INFERNO. Is this "fool proof", no, but it does give us a very good idea of the music that started the DISCO movement.
Here you have them, the TWENTY-FIVE FIRST SONGS OF DISCO! (In reverse order)
#25- "FRANKENSTEIN" by The EDGAR WINTER GROUP- 25 percent
#24- "Mr. BIG STUFF" by JEAN KNIGHT-27 percent
#23- "LET'S GET IT TOGETHER" by EL COCO-30 percent
#22- "JUNGLE BOOGIE/HOLLYWOOD SWINGIN" by KOOL AND THE GANG-33 percent
#21- "BALL OF CONFUSION" by THE TEMPTATIONS-35 percent
#20- "ROCK THE BOAT" by THE HUES CORPORATION-45 percent
#19- "VENUS" by The SHOCKING BLUE-45 percent
#18- "PILLOW TALK" by SYLVIA-45 percent
#17- "LOOK ME UP" by BLUE MAGIC-45 percent
#16- "LOVE'S THEME" by The LOVE UNLIMITED ORCHESTRA-46 percent
#15- "DANCE TO THE MUSIC" by SLY STONE-47 percent
#14- "I'M GONNA LOVE YOU JUST A LITTLE MORE" by BARRY WHITE-48 percent
#13- "THE LOVE I LOST/BAD LUCK" by HAROLD MELVIN and THE BLUE NOTES-50 percent
#12- "KEEP ON TRUCKIN' / BOOGIE DOWN / DATE WITH THE RAIN" by EDDIE KENDRICKS-50 percent
#11- "SPANISH HARLEM" by ARETHA FRANKLIN-52 percent
#10- "ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS / NEWSY NEIGHBORS" by The FIRST CHOICE-53 percent
#9- "IN THE SUMMERTIME" by MUNGO JERRY-54 percent
#8- "THEME FROM SHAFT" by ISSAC HAYES-59 percent
#7- " LOVE TRAIN" by The O'JAYS-60 percent
#6- " LET'S GET IT ON" by MARVIN GAYE-60 percent
#5- "WANT ADS" by HONEY CONE-60 percent
#4- "JUNGLE FEVER" by The CHAKACHAS-70 percent
#3- "FREDDIE'S DEAD / SUPERFLY" by CURTIS MAYFIELD-75 percent
#2- "CISCO KID / ME AND BABY BROTHER / SPILL THE WINE" by WAR-80 percent
#1- "ZING WENT THE STRINGS OF MY HEART" by THE TRAMMPS-90 percent
There it is, the best that I could do. Gives us a lot to talk about doesn't it!
Submitted by vyniljunkie (611)
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Nov 13, 11 | 3:13 pmWhaaaaat?! No Diana Ross "Surrender"... Detroit Emeralds "Feel The Need"... Dramatics "What You See Is What You Get"... "Ecstasy Passion & Pain "Ask Me"...
Many of the songs listed above are too slow to be Disco, but I love this topic. I guess anything during or before 1973 qualifies if it has the right "vibe"
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Nov 10, 11 | 10:17 am
what about crown heights affair- dreaming a dream/every beat of my heart. silver convention- fly robin fly, the main ingredient- just around the bend, the fatback band- Spanish hustle.i believe some records around 74 and 75 is where the main stream for disco came out. as far as the first? i would say "Love's theme" to my it was the foundation for euro and all disco music that followed .
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Oct 26, 10 | 10:49 am
My Favorite songs also not mentioned are Van McCoy THE HUSTLE.....this song always reminds me of the first disco song!!
And what about my favorite song of all.........EVERYONES A WINNER by Hot Chocolate 1978!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-GkwIRbLw8&feature=related
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Aug 06, 10 | 9:26 am
Two songs not mentioned on this list:
Pick Up The Pieces - Average White Band (1974)
Do It (til You're Satisfied) - BT Express
The entire AWB album by Average White Band is soul and disco flavored. Not bad for a bunch of guys from Scotland!
BT Express is early funk, but it certainly got a lot of club play in 1974 and later. BT Express has a Wikipedia entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.T._Express
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Apr 16, 10 | 12:38 pm
I still think the first release of HONEYBEE by GLORIA GAYNOR on COLUMBIA RECORDS was the first true DISCO record because it got no if very little radio play but was wildly popular in discos in 1973/4. After seeing the success that a record could have with only club play record producers and executives took notice. Also Gloria's NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE cover was the first single to come SOLEY out of the clubs and onto radio and it did reach #1 in some markets, though #2 in most on pop charts.
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Mar 30, 10 | 12:17 am
Wow, nice read... I guess MJ Dancing Machine has a big part in me. I used to Go home for lunch and dancing to this like crazy. There are so many listed above and all the memories thx. Leaving home at 16 and working midnight in 24hr gas bar I used to listen to WBLK Buffalo and Willie Dee. I even called him for requests. My Disco vinyl collection started in 1973 when I was nearly 17. I left the gas bar and got a job as a busboy at the Riverside, Oakville. Upstairs we had the Boathouse with live bands, all types, downstairs was the Disco with the lit up dance floor. I have kept and treasured all my records since. Now, Because of the dual clubs I had to obtain, 50 % 60's for Rock & Roll night, Rock records for I had to play this too and Disco for the Disco. Although the bar bought all the records, I still bought my collections so I had the opportunity to extend the songs. I was also lucky to be able to introduce, with a passion, disco, funk and motown to the rockers in between the bands sets. This chance was one in a life time. To expose our music to the hard core rockers crowd. I stopped buying records around 1986 as I changed careers to manage etc. the biggest clubs in Toronto until 2000 when I left the business. A lot more happened in between too...another story later.
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Jun 15, 09 | 9:28 am
I think a lot of people are confused! People danced to james brown in the sixties, even to Sam Cooke in the late 50's, but these were not 'disco' records! Surely the term 'disco' is defined by records which were aimed directly at the dancefloor, with that 'four-to-the-floor' beat - a sound much hated by soul purists.
The truest disco tunes were churned out a bit later than most on this list. Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Biddu, Cerrone, Alec Costandinos, the Salsoul stuff, the TK stuff . . . . . I know it's hard to admit and a lot of DJ's/people feel a little embarassed by these admissions of guilt, but come on guys, if it weren't for the likes of these artists and producers we would not have rap, hip-hop, techno or however you want to divide it all up today.
Go listen to Donna Summer's 'Wasted' and tell me that ain't pure early D.I.S.C.O.!!!!
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May 21, 09 | 8:12 am
My first club on Staten Island. I heard the song Where Do We Go From Here by the Traamps. Zing Went the Strings of My Heart was on that album. That was my first disco album. That night I remember dancing to Sideshow by Blue Magic. I only know that when I discovered a club to dance in...I started buying any record I could. There was a small store in the mid 40's near Lexington Avenue in NYC. The owner would get 4 or 5 new 45's each week and I would stop in and buy anything I could. Some records were only played in clubs and never made it to the top 10. One group...ugh can't remember something "Harlem". I bought Lady Bump, Date With the Rain by Eddie Kendricks, can't think of all of them..At 53, my memory is going...but when I hear a song somehow I can sing along and remember the lyrics. I absolutely love this site...Thank you so much
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Dec 03, 08 | 10:57 am
There's no way to not agree: Gives us a lot to talk about doesn't it! Consider that I'm talking from Brazil, and, then and now, things take a little or great time to go out from USA and to land here... of course, at net era it happens faster each day.. but, 30 years ago...
Giving this explanation, for me, as a Brazilian guy, the first disco tune was Brazil (I know, will tell me patriotic even in a matter like this), that I knew was recorded by Ritchie Family, but just now at net time I discovered that Salsoul Orchestra plays the theme, as Ritchie girls only sung. At the almost same time, the true Ritchie big hit, and one of the greatest from disco, Best Disco in Town, that remained at the charts here more than an year (Brazil almost reached the same) exactly due for the lyrics and the mixing of great hits at that time, make this great disco tune the first one here. Sound your funky horn could be considered the one, and I agree with this first position, Zing, but the K.C first cut played here, and Zing, which made part of a soap opera soundtrack in 1975, did'n had the same success, so I vote in Ritchie Family referred tunes...
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Nov 28, 08 | 1:42 am
how about FATBACK BAND - GOIN TO SEE MY BABY ?!? funk-based tune with a straight 4/4 beat it is 100% disco already and it is from 1972, one year before BOHANNON released STOP & GO (the next step in my opinion)
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Sep 12, 08 | 4:37 am
Eddie Kendricks "Girl you need a change of mind was one of the first records that was mixed like a disco record.
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Aug 22, 08 | 4:38 pm
I GOTTA TELL YA HAROLD MELVIN 'THE LOVE I LOST' & BAD LUCK TAKE THE CAKE...VAN MCCOY 'DO THE HUSTLE WAS A CLASSIC TOO.ALL DISCO WAS GREAT-FOREVER CAME TODAY; A JACKSON SONG MOST PEOPLE DONT REMEMBER WAS A GREAT ONE TOO; VOYAGE; SALSOUL ORCH;BARRY WHITE ;THE TRAMPS; ILL ALWAYS LOVE MY MAMA BY THE INTRUDERS-BEST! THIS IS A NO WIN !!!!!I ENJOYED ALL OF THEM-HUNG AT DECAMERON ;LATIQUE; UNCLE SAMS; ENCHANTED GARDEN[I KNEW STEVE RUBELL B4 HE OPENED 54}IN DOUGLASTON QUEENS;PENRODS; CHANNEL 80;RUMORS; FOCOS; ZACHARYS; ETC MARK DONOHOE PHOENIX AZ
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Aug 04, 08 | 9:37 am
This is a terrific list and a fascinating subject. I'm no expect on disco music but I wish I was! I was 9 years old in 1974 and I remember a couple more songs that made an impact on me. One is "Dancing Machine" by the Jackson Five. I don't know if it's really disco but I remember it really stood out as a dance tune. Also, "Rock Your Baby", by George McCrae, seems like an early disco song to me. I only wish your list included the years. Thanks!
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May 12, 08 | 4:54 pm
I really must agree, the longer I look at him (Edgar Winter)on that list, the more I want to do some LSD? I don't do things like that?? Maybe it was the song that was played, I played it, so did Jimmy Burgess, Larry Lavan and probably thousands of others. Remember, we played ANYTHING, and I really mean ANYTHING, that was danceable. But I do get stoned just reading that name on this list!!--- The SALSOUL ORCHESTRA was much later, after DISCO was on a roll. TANGERINE was their first hit, that came out in 74 or 75? AL GREEN, he was considered FUNK/SOUL, but I did play a lot of his great stuff. Herbie Mann? What did give us? He was a great studio musician at the beginning of DISCO, 1972 or so. I can't think of any SINGLE release he had in the early seventies. Refresh my memory, I have been burning out too many brain cells just thinking about EDGAR WINTER!!
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May 12, 08 | 4:31 pm
What about:
Al Green
Herbie Mann
Salsoul Orchestra
Sorry, I can't accept EDGAR WINTER "FRANKENSTEIN" Too hippy for me.
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Apr 23, 08 | 7:59 am
A lot of deejays considered SOUL MAKOSSA the first song, a lot told me that while they played it, it isn't a DISCO song. That is argumentative, I first believed that SOUL MAKOSSA was before DISCO, I since have changed my mind, it does belong on this list. It, according to the numbers I came up with, would come in the top three!!It gathered a 75 percent share of all responders. That puts it in a tie with Curtis Mayfield. Now RAIN 2000 by TITANIC was also played at that time, but it failed to get enough votes to get included. I feel that it was among the first DISCO songs as well. So, this list, is not perfect, but it gets us talking about it!!
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Apr 23, 08 | 7:39 am
Why is Soul Makossa by Manu Dibango NOT in the list? Many historians consider this the first record
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Apr 14, 08 | 1:46 pm
For me, the top 3 were:
Love Train by The O'Jays, Bad Luck & The Love I Lost by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and Love's Theme by The Unlimited Orchestra. Soul Makoosa was a strong hit as was Rock The Boat also.
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Apr 04, 08 | 10:39 am
Two other songs that didn't make the list could have. SOUL MAKOOSA and RAIN 2000, while pre-disco, should have made this list. It was tough to exclude them, but they were released before the term DISCO came into existence in 1972. Still, I think I should have included them. Sorry!
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Mar 25, 08 | 11:23 am
There are two records on this list that I should talk about. In the early seventies, the ROCK group EDGAR WINTER released FRANKENSTEIN, some may question it being on this list. DAN HARTMAN was a member of that group, his DISCO influence comes shinning through in an obvious fashion. That led this song to be played EXCLUSIVELY in DISCOS, enough so that many remembered and added it when talking about the music they played back then. The other is the SHOCKING BLUE, and VENUS. While not a DISCO group, VENUS was a DISCO song, they just didn't know it would be. It too, was played in heavy-rotation at DISCOS! It could be "Dance-able ROCK", but it was mentioned enough, that I believe it worthy of being included. It was the volume of responses that put it on this list. That hopefully, will answer your questions and sub-due your doubts.
''Girl you need a change of mind '' by Eddie Kendricks from 1972,''Soul Makossa'' by Manu Dibango from 1972 ,''Theme from Shaft" by Isaac Hayes from 1971 and ''Love Epidemic" by Trammps from 1973 have my vote.