What the hell... Here's my Top 25

[Jeff H]

A few of the songs on my Top 25 list have been discussed here recently, so I thought I'd share my list.

I know the funk fans (and the elitists) among us aren't going to get too excited over my list, but I'm just a punter who likes big string and horn sections, and I do love the divas. In other words, I'm gay. :grin:

So:

1. Rumour Has It—Donna Summer
2. Shame—Evelyn “Champagne” King
3. MacArthur Park—Donna Summer
4. In the Name of Love—Sharon Redd
5. San Francisco—Village People
6. The Boss—Diana Ross
7. Love Insurance—Front Page
8. Take Me Home—Cher
9. One More Minute—Saint Tropez
10. Ain’t That Enough for You—John Davis & the Monster Orchestra
11. Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)—The Jacksons
12. Dancer—Gino Soccio
13. Relight My Fire—Dan Hartman
14. The Heart to Break the Heart—France Joli
15. Don’t You Want My Love—Debbie Jacobs
16. Sinner Man—Sarah Dash
17. Great Expectations—First Choice
18. Don’t Leave Me This Way—Thelma Houston
19. Move on Up—Destination
20. Turn the Beat Around—Vicki Sue Robinson
21. Cuba—Gibson Brothers
22. Do or Die—Grace Jones
23. Keep on Jumpin’—Musique
24. This Time Baby—Jackie Moore
25. Beat of the Night—Fever

Thanks for reading!

[Blaxman]

You're quite wrong Jeff!! I'm a funk fan and I have 23 of your 25 tracks in my collection. And I like it!! Obviously our Top 25 are different but, it's all disco!!! :grin:

Peace

[jazz_pilgrim]

I'm a funk fan, too and I can relate to well over half of your tunes!! :grin:

My highlight from your excellent list - IMHO, gotta be "Shame"!!! :grin: :grin: Love it

You know, guys, all these discussions I read about Donna Summers means .... that I am now on the lookout for her Lps and I will buy them when I see them!!! The power of this Board!

[Nano]

The Jacksons? Gino Soccio? Well, there's always hope, Jeff. :lol:

[DanceMan]

Jeff....that was an excellent list, and overall, it reflects my Top 100...my Jackson 5 tune was "Forever Came Today," and Soccio's, "Dance To Dance" - sadly, always the stepchild to "Dancer"....

Many of them definitely in my Top 10....

Loved your words, too, and I was trying to figure out why strings and horns are akin to being Gay....please answer that for me...had I known that back in the 70s, I could have credited disco for who I am!!!

[Jeff H]

Thanks, DanceMan. I had a feeling you'd like a lot of my selections.

As for my comment equating being gay with liking big, fussy over-orchestrated numbers, I was being at least partly facetious. But I DO believe there's something about one's sexual orientation that influences the type of music you like; I made reference to this just this morning in a reply to Steely Dan in the "Best Disco Album" thread.

But relax all you straight guys--I'm not suggesting... :lol: :lol: :lol:

[zeca azevedo]

On 2002-09-11 09:14, Jeff H wrote:
A few of the songs on my Top 25 list have been discussed here recently, so I thought I'd share my list.

I know the funk fans (and the elitists) among us aren't going to get too excited over my list, but I'm just a punter who likes big string and horn sections, and I do love the divas. In other words, I'm gay. :grin:

So:

1. Rumour Has It—Donna Summer
2. Shame—Evelyn “Champagne” King
3. MacArthur Park—Donna Summer
4. In the Name of Love—Sharon Redd
5. San Francisco—Village People
6. The Boss—Diana Ross
7. Love Insurance—Front Page
8. Take Me Home—Cher
9. One More Minute—Saint Tropez
10. Ain’t That Enough for You—John Davis & the Monster Orchestra
11. Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)—The Jacksons
12. Dancer—Gino Soccio
13. Relight My Fire—Dan Hartman
14. The Heart to Break the Heart—France Joli
15. Don’t You Want My Love—Debbie Jacobs
16. Sinner Man—Sarah Dash
17. Great Expectations—First Choice
18. Don’t Leave Me This Way—Thelma Houston
19. Move on Up—Destination
20. Turn the Beat Around—Vicki Sue Robinson
21. Cuba—Gibson Brothers
22. Do or Die—Grace Jones
23. Keep on Jumpin’—Musique
24. This Time Baby—Jackie Moore
25. Beat of the Night—Fever

Thanks for reading!

Hi Jeff,

if you want an opinion by a funk fan and a music elitist (LOL), well, you list is fantastic, full of soulful disco songs. SHAME by Evelyn King, is one of the most beautiful and elegant songs ever (I forgot to include the song on my 25 list. Shame on me!).

Peace,

zeca azevedo

[sirius]

Dear JeffH!
A very nice list of DiscoClassics and thank
god I have all of them!!!
Cosmic Love & Kisses From SIRIUS & DARKTUNES

[markydefad]

Jeff, now this list looks like a Disco 500 list!!!!! I like ALL these songs, I have ALL of them--YET I think only 3 will appear on my list...just shows to go ya... HOW DAMN MANY GREAT RECORDS THERE ARE TO CHOOSE FROM!!!!

I still need at least a hundred to do justice to the genre--BUT all I get is 25!!!! What am I gonna do????

[Jeff H]

No one said this was going to be easy, Marky!

I started with a list of about 70 songs that I thought I MUST include, then looked at that list again and again to determine which of those songs maybe still didn't give me that "buzz" every time I heard it. Then I dropped songs that I felt certain would get votes from others ("Souvenirs," "Native New Yorker" and "Got to Have Loving" come to mind). My list went down to about 28 eventually; cutting those final few songs was almost impossible.

So there are LOTS of runners-up! Only TWO Donna Summer songs on my list? Which John Davis song to choose? What about "Never Can Say Goodbye," "Another Cha Cha" and "Victim"?! And it breaks my heart that I didn't have room for anything by Linda Clifford or Ethel Merman.

Just kidding about that last one... :lol:

[markydefad]

By gawd, I forgot you didn't include ANYTHING by MISS CLIFFORD...(Now you DO have her on speed dial, right???)

I woulda eliminated "Cuba" for a little "Runaway Love"...BUT that's just me...

[markydefad]

Oh and ..not to nitpick (what MEEEE??? ...but "DO OR DIE" instead of "I Need A Man"????

I'm just askin'???!!!! :razz:

_________________
Make My Feet Wanna Dance!

Markydefad

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: markydefad on 2002-09-11 15:14 ]</font>

[Jeff H]

Well, "Do or Die" because I just LOVE that medley of "Do or Die"/"Pride"/"Fame." But just as I used "Rumour Has It" to represent Once Upon a Time since we weren't permitted to vote for the whole work, that medley outweighed "I Need a Man" in my book.

Actually, my picks from Miz Clifford were narrowed down to "Don't Give It Up" and "Shoot Your Best Shot." And it's like comparing apples and coconuts (huh?!) but how can you beat the energy in "Cuba"?!

Let's face it: Making these lists is a nearly impossible and highly subjective project, and my list could probably change if you asked me again in a month.

[DanceMan]

Don't tell me that you have Linda Clifford on speed dial and NOT Cheryl Lynn? :lol: :lol: :lol:

By far.............................I love Linda big time, but "If My Friends Could See Me Now" is far and away DA BOMB!......(I heard some kid tell another kid that once and it stuck.)..where is Linda today and will she be making a Gloria GAYnor recording comeback? Like Marc Anthony, I Need To Know!

[SandraDee]

What can I say Jeff. That list is disco heaven on earth! Interested that u included Beat of the Night by Fever as I only recently became aware of this 1979 pure disco gem on a Fantasy compilation CD. I think it sounds like Poussez singing a Sylvester track; I bet this track sounded brilliant over a quality disco sound system.