A Lonely World Without Disco Music

[Robbie]

I love many kinds of music, but disco is one that is quite difficult for me to appreciate. There are so many avenues one can go to when approaching the disco city. It is a music that is so varied it cannot even be categorized by one label.



Jammin' 105's departure has put the final nail in the casket for disco music on the radio in the NY area. My earliest recollections of listening to disco classics on the dial was back in the late 80's when Al Bandiero hosted the Sunday night show on Hot 103. He had a segment called "Cobweb Classics". One song I recall him playing was "Baby Blues" by Barry White. At this time, it was not easy to find disco on CD's because the market for disco reissues wasn't so big. Later on, Paco hosted the same show and remember songs being played like "Mondo Disco" and "If There's Love". Then on Kiss-FM (before it became "smooth R&B/classic soul" in 1994), Johnny Duke Allen hosted the "Cool Kiss Classics". This was around 1992-93. I still have a tape with his shows on it. "Show You The Way To Go" by the Jacksons, "Darlin' Darlin' Baby" by the O'Jays, "Let's Get It Together" by El Coco, and so many others. It was from the Al Bandiero show that I heard one of my favorite disco songs, "Sunny" by Yambu. I'm looking so hard for this record. Will it ever be put out on CD??



There are times when I feel as if things would've been a lot better had the disco revival hadn't made too much of an impact like it did in the 90's. Before the market exploded, hearing these disco songs on a certain night at a certain time made it just right. It was so true that even though you could never go back (as in, relive everything), the memories made you feel good and there was a warm, fuzzy feeling about it. Sunday nights were special, and you always had something to look forward to that night before the week had to start all over again.



I feel as if the disco revival spoiled everything for us. Yes, it was great to see long forgotten groups and singers come back again and the songs be heard on a daily basis again, but how long could the feeling truly last. "Retro" killed it. Do you think you'll see another volume of "Pure Disco 4"?? One CD set that was really great was "Super Rare Disco", a 2-CD set that came out in 1997, I think. But no future volumes have ever come out.



In all due honesty, I hope for a time when things cool down to the point where the disco music will come back, and have a certain show at a certain time like it did before the "revival" started. Let the true, real life 70's be memories to most of you (including me), and forget about "retro". It's not the real thing. I even knew that right in the thick of it all. Before the revival, it was such a pleasure to hear the true club classics on Hot 103 and Kiss FM. And actually, it was easier to hear 70's pop music on the radio before the 70's became a "big deal" for the retro market. Now it's dying a quick, painful death.



I'll never stop loving this music, and I'll always savor my early memories of being attracted to it from the late night Sunday shows.