Worst Disco Songs?

[Nadia]

I was thinking about it, and I wondered what you all thought were the worst disco songs of all time...I mean I know there are a lot of good ones, but what about the bad?

I'd have to say that one of my very *least* favorite disco songs is "Body Heat" by Alicia Bridges. I'm sure there are a lot of people who happen to love the song, but it just doesn't tickle my fancy at all.

So what are your least favorites?

[markydefad]

Well, I'm gonna slightly amend the question for my own means: "What's the worst Disco LP with one outstanding track?"

This question came to me recently when I listened to the Baby O' LP again. "In The Forest" is a sublime Latinish disco gem with vocals by The Waters. The rest of this LP is godawful. A song called "Pork Chop" comes to mind. I'm not home ...so I can't pull the rest of the titles...but I listened in disbelief at the unbelievable level of incompetent song-writing; even some of the vocals were dreadful (male vocals featured some of the Hudson Brothers, BTW. I think it was Bill Hudson who was married to Goldie Hawn and is the father of Kate and Oliver.) Not sure exactly who was responsible ....but it was sooooooooooooo awful. :o

Any other examples of this?

[SandraDee]

Well Marky, one LP that springs to mind is Alphonze Mouson's (of Poussez fame) 'Morning Sun' LP. I absolutely adore the 'I'm Glad That Youre Here' track as I just think its classic early 80's disco/jazz-funk, but the rest of the LP is the WORST kind of muzak imaginable. Its too bland for hotel lobbies or Jazz FM even!
BTW, I featured Baby O's 'In The Forest' in my Top 25 as I really rate this track. I've never heard the LP but according to the sleeve notes of 'Disco Spectrum' its every bit as bad as you say!! I'd love to hear it out of curiosity.

[QUINNY]

Steely & Marky: I think the recently talked about Lipstick soundtrack must be a candidate.

[JussiK]

Broadway Brass's "Guys And Dolls Go Disco" album is even worse than it sounds, with the exeption of the sole track "Luck Be A Lady". This jolly rolling tune always sounded perfect mixed in and out of Ritchie Family's "Lady Luck". And how about "Salsa Woman" off the Vast Majority lp, did you ever even consider giving any of the other tracks a spin? The hot & sassy "Salsa Woman" struts just fine even today. There's also an absolutely terrible Paul Delicato lp from 1976 which contains a wankish disco version of "Cara Mia". Terrible but I like it.

[NickNack]

Please put the Ethel Merman disco album in this category. I know we've circled this tree before but that woman's voice makes my eardrums bleed. :evil:

[Marcio**]

There's an incredible silence (I think) about the disco album of the group Black Ivory. They did disco songs like "Dance", "White Wind" and "Walking Downtown (Saturday Nignt)". Is it good ? Bad ? My fave, "Making Love In My Mind", has only 2:18 :( .



.

[Masdefi]

No doubt: "Disco Duck" by Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots (he included) :lol:

[Funky Dude]

I'm not the one to hate disco songs but there are two disco songs I find it really HARD to wanna listen to and they are:

Walter Murphy - A Fifth Of Beethoven 1976
Rice & Beans Orchestra - The Blue Danube Hustle 1976

They are very embarrassing :oops: :oops: :oops: to listen to as they are discotized old farts music. Not all discotized old farts songs are embarrassing to listen to but these ones are and I have a REALLY hard time wanting to listen to them.

Walter's discotized Beethoven while does sound funky to a certain extent, but at the same time it sounds uncool as the Beethoven tune makes me feel like one of those 1950's boarding school boys with glasses and wear a school uniform with a tie. If I listen to this song, I may as well be listening to classical music.

Rice & Bean's blue danube is even worse especially when they go "waltz waltz waltz" YUUUUUCK :( !!! This song makes me feel like I'm living in the 1930's. I've only fully listened to this song once and had to turn the volume right down as I was too emabarrassed :oops: to let anyone else hear it.

So they are the worse ones I've heard so far and the most uncool ones I've ever heard.

[nrgbeat]

I'm not the one to hate disco songs but there are two disco songs I find it really HARD to wanna listen to and they are:

Walter Murphy - A Fifth Of Beethoven 1976
Rice & Beans Orchestra - The Blue Danube Hustle 1976

They are very embarrassing :oops: :oops: :oops: to listen to as they are discotized old farts music. Not all discotized old farts songs are embarrassing to listen to but these ones are and I have a REALLY hard time wanting to listen to them.

Walter's discotized Beethoven while does sound funky to a certain extent, but at the same time it sounds uncool as the Beethoven tune makes me feel like one of those 1950's boarding school boys with glasses and wear a school uniform with a tie. If I listen to this song, I may as well be listening to classical music.

Rice & Bean's blue danube is even worse especially when they go "waltz waltz waltz" YUUUUUCK :( !!! This song makes me feel like I'm living in the 1930's. I've only fully listened to this song once and had to turn the volume right down as I was too emabarrassed :oops: to let anyone else hear it.

So they are the worse ones I've heard so far and the most uncool ones I've ever heard.

I love your descriptions.

[QUINNY]

Funky: Now you know how an awful lot of disco tunes make me feel. There are countless others I would add (including some by Alec R.) Sadly, there were many that made me feel ashamed of being a DJ. I tell no lies.

The most embarassing element in the Walter Murphy scenario is that it was featured so prominently in Satrurday Night Fever, THE film that supposedly turned so many people on to Disco music. The Trammps were just about the only band that came out of that with any honour and Disco Inferno was barely heard. Still, doubtless your fellow countryman Robert Stigwood had a BIG say in which tracks were included? Anyone know?

[discosavvy]

Hey Funky Dude, do you know that Robin Thicke's debut single "When I Get You Alone", which reached #29 on the American Pop chart last month, is sung over "A Fifth of Beethoven"? Can you believe it? The singing is actually OK, and I can deal with discofied classical music, but the music should have been original. Anyway, it's one of the few pure disco songs that have charted in the top-40 on the American pop chart since 1983. (because the good disco songs from foreign artists don't get much airplay or attention... Cher's "Strong Enough" got on the top-40 in 1999.)

Even worse, can you believe that the dreadful Ethel Merman Disco Album is being re-released on CD and that it got mentioned in the New York Times on December 6?

I can't tolerate "Is Something Wrong With You?" by Bobby Thurston, "YMCA" by the Village People, "Knock on Wood" by Amii Stewart, "Shake Shake Shake" by K.C. & the Sunshine Band, "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" by Rod Stewart, and "You're OK" by Ottawan.

[SandraDee]

Well I'd sooner listen to any of the tracks you have all just listed than that **** that's supposed to be music by the likes of Oasis & Eminem. Anyway, I think its a shame that everyone seems to have got away from the 'LPs with one brilliant track & not alot else' topic which is much more interesting IMO as we've been down this 'disco that sucks' route time & again. I'm sorry, but its so negative & defeats the object of why we're all here doesn't it? Sorry guyz but I had to get that off my chest.

[NickNack]

I can't tolerate "Is Something Wrong With You?" by Bobby Thurston

Love it, Love It, LOVE IT! :lol: Talk about throwing attitude right back to the dancefloor? Was always in my box just in case 'one of those nights' popped up .

[midas]

it has got to be D.I.S.C.O by ottawa
destroes anyones reputition who listened to disco.

[vinylqn69]

I can't think of any song in the history of disco music worse than that of Rick Dees' "Disco Duck." It's the 70's equivalent of Buckner & Garcia's 80's hit "Pac-Man Fever." However, I'm sure the term "worst" is open to interpretation. And in the realm of disco as we know it, much of what was produced---in my personal opinion---after 1979 is pretty awful. With a few exceptions, a lot of stuff from the 80's forward was a lame attempt at what was the demise of eurodisco and the introduction of new wave. The heavy use of synthesizers and drum machines took away what was so organic in the disco music that was spawned in the mid to late 70's, in particular the incredibly intoxicating string arrangements prevalent in the music of Barry White, the Munich Machine/Giorgio Moroder (circa, 1976's 'A Love Trilogy' by Donna Summer), Silver Convention, Tina Charles, et al. All of a sudden, certain disco acts that were in their artistic prime in the 70's tried to cash in the synth trend by putting out real bad pseudo new wave crap. Which brings me to this: I need to know from disco afficionados out there what their top 10 favorite disco "albums" are. Personally, here are my top four, in no particular order (reduced due to space limitations on this post):

1) Donna Summer "A Love Trilogy" - the amazing 17-minute track "Try Me...." is worth it alone. Her cover of "Could It Be Magic" has never been better.

2) A Taste of Honey (self-titled) - Play this LP repeatedly several times and you'll see why they won the 1978 'Best New Artist' Grammy.

3) Tina Charles "I Love To Love" - Tina's collaboration with Biddu and his team of musicians produced one of my faves from 1976. Her vocals are killer, the string arrangements--again--are wildly irresistable.

4) Silver Convention (self-titled) and "Madhouse" - Once again, both of these albums has those wonderful strings hovering all over the place. Some of the songs are rather hokey (check out the intro to "Everybody's Talking 'bout Love" from 'Madhouse'---it's a hoot!)

[Behind Mars]

My pick for worst song has got to be :-?

Hold On by Pride 'N Politix

I can't even give it away :roll:

[Jimmy-Michaels]

Well, worst disco tracks?????? lol, I used to say just about every mainstream one out there however, after the other night listening to (for the first time ever) some of Kelly Marie's 70's work, OMFG!!! that had to be the most horrable **** i've ever heard in my life!!! I cant remember the tracks off hand what they were called, but a close friend of mine was playing me these on yahoo and one I remember sounded like a "special disco version" of a douche commercial, one sounded like a rip off of Sylvester's Dance Disco Heat bassline with a touch of giorgio moroder thrown in with her horrable screetching voice that makes me cringe and another sounded like some dumb early 70's pop crapola with a slight disco beat. Urgh!!! Id listen to YMCA or Ring My Bell anyday rather than hearing that again. There are 2 good Kelly tracks though, "Feels Like Im In Love" and "This Night Was Made For Loving You" which this night i heard all this crap was made aware that this track was by Kelly and I was in shock cause I loved it for years and used to dance to it at the good ol club lol.

Now, as for horrable LP with one outstanding track, hmm, let me think...Well I guess I would have to say "Turn On To Love" by Jumbo. I absolutly can not stand that LP accept for the entire side B which i loooooooooooooove which is of corse "Turn On To Love". There is one track on there called "Saturday" that if it wasnt for the ridiculous lyrics repeated over and over, i would have liked that one too. Musicly its gr8 but those lyrics gotta go, i mean come on "saturday babe you come into my life, sunday babe your bound to be my wife and monday babe we'll live through paradise...nanananananananananananana you and me, me and you will find a road of loving thats so true together" and thats the whole damn song lmaof. Thats repeated 3 times as 3 verses...gimme a break!! And one that im emarrised to even play on that LP is "Lets Dance Dance Dacne", cant discribe how it makes me feel but i will say it sounds like a cheesy mid 70's child like musical lol. Then "China - Na" is almost a rip off of the rare Bowie track "Velvet Goldmine", then "Loco Loco" sounds like tripped out video game and then "Sexy Lady" is another repetitve deal like "Saturday" accept this time the vocals sound like DC Larue goes to hell lol. Thats my take on that LP. Now their 2nd LP "City Girls" was damn solid, good disco and pop/rock on it and if they would have only put "Turn On To Love" on that LP I think thats where it belonged.

DJ Jimmy M

[discokid]

five words!

Yes sir, I can boogie!

nuff said!

[Jimmy-Michaels]

The Baccara track is a good one if you ignore her voice lol, I just love the flow and production of the music on that one. But I wouldnt say it sucks.

DJ Jimmy M

[discokid]

OK, HOW ABOUT "BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON" BY BONEY M?

(OR IS THAT RIVERS? I CAN'T REMEMBER BECAUSE I USED TO TURN IT OFF SO MUCH!).

[rdenver]

I'm new to this site. I just put in my vote for the my favorite disco songs of all time. I have way more than 30.
As far as worst disco songs ever! Ring My Bell would definately be on the top of my list followed closely by Boogie Oogie Oogie. Two rotton tomatoes from a great era.

RDenver

[K-Bee]

I Know Boris Midney hails as one of the true unsung heroes of Disco. However, i'll have to admit that listening to his "USA - European Connection" album from '78 gives me a headache.

Tracks in question are: Come Into My Heart & Love's Comming

Also, A track by "Webster Lewis and the post pop space rock be bop gospel tabernacle orchestra and chorus"
(that's the name, honestly)

It's called "On The Town" & came out in 76. It's as hard to listen to today as it ever was!

[FranceJoliFan]

"Midnight Love Affair" by Carol Douglas.

As for worst album with one good song, I would choose the Sheila & B. Devotion lp which was renamed King Of The World on cd. "Spacer" was excellent. But all the other songs sounded like they were written on the drive to the studio.

[FranceJoliFan]

I have to add Deshabille Moi (Undress Me) by Louis Lester, and Let Go, Let Go (Let Love Be The Driver)" by Kellee Patterson.