THE first "100% DISCO" song was : ...

[remicks]

*****


--- Tracing the roots of disco is so fascinating .... reviewing the particular songs that included certain elements in their musical arrangements that would one day all gel together into something to be called disco. By the early seventies it was clear something was up. Certain things like bongos and whistles and electric organs and sexily cooing females were spicing up the current musical stew. It was a period bursting with creative activity . There was something universally appealing about this developing new music that was sexy, uplifting, and energetic. Soon it was almost like a mad race to the finish line the way artists and producers from all angles were getting involved . Funk performance bands like Kool & The Gang and Gary Toms ; MOR arrangers like Paul Marriott and Henry Mancini ... rock based folks like Bob Crewe and The Bee Gees, all participating.
To a large extent, when looking at the early charters, it looked like the jazz crowd may take command of the genre...Herbie Mann , Donald Byrd, Grover Washington and many other were all integrating a dance vibe into their sound .
When it was said and done though , I think no one was the clear winner .... they all fit in . Disco embraced a wide swath of musical influences which is why on Marky's current chart you'll see big band sounding Dr Buzzard alongside Motown's Stevie Wonder alongside British artists Gary Glitter and The Bay City Rollers and so on and so on.

So disco originates from a diverse conglomerate of musical styles and sounds and continued to maintain a rich diversity of sound within itself once it arrived. That there is no "one" disco sound makes it hard to decide what earlier songs were the most disco ....depends on which disco sound you're referring to .

Still ... all said , there must be that one point in the evolving disco story ....that one point where the disco "ON" switch gets officially clicked on ..... that one point where disco makes its arrival known.

Is there one song that flicks the disco switch ? I think a big factor in deciding that is not only by how completely the song's music sounded like disco.... but also what was the original intent of its composition ? Was the song intentionally created to be "disco" ?

In other words this isn't a song that is a continuation of the funk, or of Motown , or Philly soul or R&B in general ... or jazz, nor any other musical genre it could be ascribed to .

Instead this song goes into it's own little box and only that box ... a brand new box ...
the box labeled "DISCO" :icon_cool:

What all this is leading to then is : :icon_confused::icon_rolleyes:
rather than asking , "What was the first disco song? " ...
I'm asking, "What was The FIRST 100% , no doubt about it : "disco and nothing else" song???

I'll be most curous what song you think that is .



For me , I've given it a lot of thought and there's no doubt about it.

THE first song to say "I am disco , hear me roar" was :

....wait .... :icon_mrgreen::icon_rolleyes:

........ I'd rather hear your choice first !


******

[VINYLLIFE]

Please tell me it's something Philly.:icon_cool:

Or something HOT

[remicks]

Please tell me it's something Philly.:icon_cool:

Or something HOT

Vinyllife ... you tell me !! :icon_biggrin:


*****

[SandraDee]

'More More More' by Andrea True Connection is IMHO one of if not THE first pure 'disco' record. It doesn't really fall into soul, r'n'b, philly, funk, pop, jazz, eurodisco or any other bags that were popularly used, it's just disco isn't it? It's a bit unusual too because it came out in '76 so it preceded the trend for pure disco becoming faster & faster towards the end of the 70s. There are exceptions from later in the 70s though such as Melba Moore's 'You Stepped Into My Life' which is pure disco but at a slower tempo like 'M M M'.
I'm really pleased you brought this up Remmy as, though I like all types of disco/funk, I've always been fascinated with this 'pure' disco that could've only come out in that disco era & could never be solely categorized as anthing other than disco.

[garrybcoston]

I'd say that Gloria Gaynor's "Never Can Say Goodbye" album was the first real, for real, pure disco album (I think Honeybee, How High the Moon, etc. were also on that album); the other songs were also, in my mind, the first real disco songs to "rev it up" so to speak to introduce and start the wheels rolling for the disco era.

Garry:icon_lol:

[Simon White]

Surely this subject has been covered before but with different wording ?? :icon_rolleyes:

Or is it another remix? :icon_cool:

[remicks]

'More More More' by Andrea True Connection is IMHO one of if not THE first pure 'disco' record. It doesn't really fall into soul, r'n'b, philly, funk, pop, jazz, eurodisco or any other bags that were popularly used, it's just disco isn't it?

MORE MORE MORE certainly deserves to be placed in that same "disco only" box I'm referring to. Pure disco ....breathy vocals sighing sexy lyrics , cow bell/ wood block .... long disco version ... 12" pressing .... 100% disco on many levels --- (and yet ......no strings !!!!)

I'll only take exception with its choice, SandraBee, as being "first" because by then Billboard had had a disco chart for well over a year which contained an ongoing list of songs all getting identified as "disco" ...so the concept of disco music had by then been birthed , spanked and well into doing the hustle .
So, I suggest we need to go back earlier if trying to pinpoint the one song that triggered a universal awareness of "Aha! ...this song, this is a new music ... a new music to be christened "disco".

I'm really pleased you brought this up Remmy as, though I like all types of disco/funk, I've always been fascinated with this 'pure' disco that could've only come out in that disco era & could never be solely categorized as anything other than disco.

Thanks Dee. Me too concerning pure disco.
I've been thinking about this topic for some time and it's one I don't think has ever been quite addressed. ( if so, I can't find it ) I think Garry has submitted a reasonable choice ... so for now I'll sit back with interest and see what other members consider the answer to be. :icon_cool:



*****

[SandraDee]

I'd say that Gloria Gaynor's "Never Can Say Goodbye" album was the first real, for real, pure disco album (I think Honeybee, How High the Moon, etc. were also on that album); the other songs were also, in my mind, the first real disco songs to "rev it up" so to speak to introduce and start the wheels rolling for the disco era.

Garry:icon_lol:

I know what you mean as Gloria's LP has that zingy orchestrated 'disco' sound that became the norm for the rest of the 70s & also has the tracks segueing into each other which was also to become a standard feature but I just think that it had elements of philly & motown that had already been done whereas More More More had a completely new style which wasn't that much like anything that had gone before. Certain records like this came along that had a completely original unidentifiable disco sound such as Donna's I Feel Love & Dance Dance Dance by Chic. Just my opinion.

[Disco Funk]

Remicks, are you referring to songs or records that had the word 'disco version' labeled on them? Or if they were consciously making a record that was disco in nature?

I don't know about the former (I think they started putting out 'disco versions' in '75 on 45s), but I'd have to say with the latter, the nod would have to go to the Philly guys. Once they started putting more thump on top of the snare beat with either the tom drum or the four-on-the-floor, that was when disco really came to be. The first track to use this was I'll Be Around, which I wrote in another thread was Earl Young using the Al Green / Al Jackson Jr style of drumming. It's really hard to put my finger on what was it about I'll Be Around that made it way more disco than, say, Let's Stay Together. It wasn't just the better sound quality, and the heavier sound of the drums. They both featured the tom drum beat, and strings, plus all the regular instruments (guitars, bass, keyboards?). But there is one thing that set I'll Be Around apart: it definitely was unlike anything that came before.

Anyway, that's when I feel disco music was truly born, when they decided to boost the sound of the drum to emphasize the beat for club play.

Let's Stay Together performance

I'll Be Around performance

Disco Funk

[remicks]

Remicks, are you referring to songs or records that had the word 'disco version' labeled on them? Or if they were consciously making a record that was disco in nature?

The latter

I don't know about the former (I think they started putting out 'disco versions' in '75 on 45s), but I'd have to say with the latter, the nod would have to go to the Philly guys. Once they started putting more thump on top of the snare beat with either the tom drum or the four-on-the-floor, that was when disco really came to be. The first track to use this was I'll Be Around, which I wrote in another thread was Earl Young using the Al Green / Al Jackson Jr style of drumming. It's really hard to put my finger on what was it about I'll Be Around that made it way more disco than, say, Let's Stay Together. It wasn't just the better sound quality, and the heavier sound of the drums. They both featured the tom drum beat, and strings, plus all the regular instruments (guitars, bass, keyboards?). But there is one thing that set I'll Be Around apart: it definitely was unlike anything that came before.

Anyway, that's when I feel disco music was truly born, when they decided to boost the sound of the drum to emphasize the beat for club play.

Let's Stay Together performance

I'll Be Around performance

Disco Funk

Well the thing is , when I'LL BE AROUND was released, did people say: "aha ! --- I'LL BE AROUND = disco !!!! " .......?

That's the song I'm looking for .

*****

[Disco Funk]

The latter




Well the thing is , when I'LL BE AROUND was released, did people say: "aha ! --- I'LL BE AROUND = disco !!!! " .......?

That's the song I'm looking for .

*****

I wasn't around at the time, so I can't when people decided that disco music was called 'disco'. But to the people making that record (i.e. baker, harris, young, thom bell, etc...) I think they knew they were making a new type of dance music because they repeated that same sound with Could It Be I'm Falling In Love in the same session, and kept going on with it for years to come.

My guess, though, is that many artists at the time were making songs geared towards dancing and clubs, but the sound that would later become the true disco form, was just one of many competing styles in '72/'73. These tracks are probably considered Northern Soul classics nowadays, borne out of the 60s dance numbers by Motown and artists like The Four Season, etc... Tom Moulton dug up some of these tracks on his Disco Gold series of LPs, because to him, those were the roots of disco, but when you listen to those tracks, they sound out of place on a 'disco' record from '75. Anyway, I'd say it wasn't until '74 that disco as a unique genre really became 'mainstream', in that it was recognized as the definitive new sound by the music industry.

Back to Philadelphia: Those philly guys must have known they were onto something, because had I'll Be Around been a fluke, they wouldn't have continued to make records with that same groove and drum pattern. The competing dance music style within the philly circles, as far as I can tell, was the Love Train type groove, which was kind of a shuffling or a kind of march. Earl Young was playing the drums with the hi-hat emphasizing the quarter beats (bassdrum,snare,bassdrum,snare), and overall feel was a shuffle. The disco template could have gone that route, but instead, it started first as the snare-tom drum combination, then the snare/kick drum AKA four on the floor combination (which I think started in '72 with The Futures' 'Stay With Me'). It must have been the flying/bouncing hi-hat pattern that also pushed it forward, because you couldn't use that on the Love Train shuffle groove.

So, I still have to stick with I'll Be Around being the one song that really made the philly guys first go 'ah ha!', and then as they moved further into '73, other producers heard these new sounds, if not on the radio, then by watching Soul Train, and tried to emulate that philly dance sound.

Disco Funk

[remicks]

*****

Ok I very much agree that BHY and gang knew they were creating a new approach under which to groove ( much removed from say ..............James Brown :icon_razz:....) but I don't think they had any idea their music at this point would some day be identified with anything called "disco" . And agreed they knew they had tapped into a sound that only got better by their exploring further...

The caveat to this challenge is in naming the first song that goes into the "disco box" and only the disco box. 100% ... no argument .... disco.
I'LL BE AROUND was released as a soul song and only now in retrospect do we hear its strong disco leanings . At the time there was no disco box ....but there still didn't need to be one either because I don't think anyone categorizing I'LL BE AROUND had any trouble placing in the ongoing "SOUL" box.

Meaning at the time i don't think people were running around and questioning, "That record, " I'LL BE AROUND by The Spinners ... what do you call that music ?" .... and even if they were, I don't think anyone was answering : "Its 'disco'."

This is why I believe the song we're looking for can't be anything that has an evolutionary process behind it ....i.e. records that had been built off their former selves such as thru the Motown machine or the ongoing Philly Sound at Sigma ...those early 70's records coming out of both camps could have gone on to be identified as such and only as such and I think no one would've been the wiser .

I'm seeking the song that gets released and the resulting buzz word on the tips of wagging tongues is DISCO .... the song that when asked at the time "What box does this song go in anyway?" ...

The answer : "the disco box" ...

Disco Funk : Anyway, I'd say it wasn't until '74 that disco as a unique genre really became 'mainstream', in that it was recognized as the definitive new sound by the music industry.

Agree !! And so now its time to name that tune !! :icon_mrgreen: :icon_mrgreen:

******

[Simon White]

*****


Agree !! And so now its time to name that tune !! :icon_mrgreen: :icon_mrgreen:

******

Haven't people already named what they think tune is in this thread already and in fact elsewhere? :icon_question:

Like here -

http://www.discomusic.com/forums/sho...rst-disco-song

We've had 'More More More' 'Never Can Say Goodbye' and 'I'll Be Around' cited here in this thread, all good candidates as far as I can see.. how many answers do you want Remix, or hasn't anyone mentioned the one that agrees with you yet ... or is this another attemp at a There's something about WE ARE FAMILY thread? :icon_biggrin:

[Disco Funk]

Maybe what you're looking for can be found in this old thread from 2004:

Disco Chart

Somebody's already mentioned Never Can Say Goodbye. I guess that was the song that told everybody 'hey, disco is here'. Whether that song was called 'disco' by the public or was just a song played in disco, it's hard to say. It's all semantics and probably lost in the sands of time.

I still stick to my guns and think it was that switch in the philly sound in '72 that made people take notice and realize a new dance sound was on the way, hence all explosion of philly-esque dance numbers in 73. A prime example, which I discovered recently, is a track called Bet You If You Ask Around by Velvet from 1973 on Perception, which featured an instrumental B side for, I'm guessing, extended DJ mixing.

Bet You...

Disco Funk

[QUINNY]

Remmy...you're a NASTY man for drawing people into yet another "how long is a piece of string" thread.:icon_lol::icon_rolleyes:

ONE record (admittedly waaay after the Gloria Gaynor album) that really had my ears pricked was Helplessly by Moment Of Truth. The sound, production,style and the fact that it was an extended mix really made it stand out.

[remicks]

Haven't people already named what they think tune is in this thread already and in fact elsewhere? :icon_question:

Like here -

The Very First Disco Song

My question is just a little different from that . I'm asking for that certain "light switch" song . The one that sort of made everyone aware that a new sound had arrived . Not the one that in retrospect we think was the first disco song ..... but the first one at the time that was commonly being called such.

We've had 'More More More' 'Never Can Say Goodbye' and 'I'll Be Around' cited here in this thread, all good candidates as far as I can see.. how many answers do you want Remix, or hasn't anyone mentioned the one that agrees with you yet ... or is this another attemp at a There's something about WE ARE FAMILY thread? :icon_biggrin:

It is like the WAF thread in that I'm actively seeking participation ! Yes , I have a definite answer of my own .... and of course everyone is entitled to their own conclusion. When I first wrote my opening post I almost concluded it with what I thought the song to be .... but then I thought it'd be much more interesting to hear what others think and then as a group of disco connoisseurs arrive at what we consider that certain disco song to be. :icon_biggrin: I was curious if automatically there'd be a universal agreement ... or not.


Since there is no absolute ... any answer qualifies ... when I press DF and SandraBee further , it is only to make sure we're on the same page .... in other words am I being successful in presenting my question !!? So, my one more follow up for Dee would be .... was MORE MORE MORE your personal introductory song to this music being called disco at the time? Until MORE MORE MORE were you unaware of any songs being called disco? .
DF cannot answer the question in the same way because as he says ... he wasn't around then. Still he's made a fine case for his choice , stands firm on his candidate, and that is just fine !!

I think everyone here regardless of age has a general idea of when disco kicked in and which songs were out and about at the time. Now the question is .... which of those songs most ignited an awareness of the birth of "disco" .

I think the best way I've said this is so far is :
What's the first song to enter the music scene declaring "I AM DISCO, HEAR ME ROAR!" .....


So anyway .....we have three candidates so far

I'll BE AROUND
MORE MORE MORE
NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE

Let's see what other songs come up. When we get five dominant song candidates , maybe VS would be so kind as to create a poll and we each can vote and come to a group consensus on what was that first intentionally created and universally accepted "DISCO" disco song. :icon_biggrin:


*****

[ashley]

.. The first ever designed for the dancefloor disco record must be "Girl you need a change of mind" by Eddie Kendricks from 1972 .. Frank Wilson produced & designed the track especially for the dance clubs .. it is full of recognisable disco breaks & at over 7 and a half minutes in length was intended to keep the audience on the floor for as long as possible .. and if you dismiss this choice as simply another r&b mass-production from the Motown machine, please remember that until this time all records had been considered over-long if running for more than 3 minutes .. record companies would deliberately edit the length of a record as radio stations traditionally refused to play long tracks, thinking their audience would grow weary of one tune & switch stations before the song had finished .. This all began to change however in 1972 when the Temptations classic "Papa was a rolling stone" hit the charts .. the cut was so popular with black audiences many clubs & radio stations started playing the full-length 11 minute version .. this wasn't a record designed especially for dancefloors .. but the demand had been created .. so Motown responded by creating 2 lengthy dance tunes intended for (disco) dancing .. these were of course the Eddie Kendricks track & also "Law of the Land" by the Temptations (from their 1973 LP "Masterpiece") .. .. And of course we can't overlook "Waiting for the rain" by the Fantastic Johnny C from 1973 .. this was only a tiny 7" philly-flavoured soul 45rpm single .. but wow what a record it was !! .. listen to the hi-hat .. listen to those Vince Montana strings .. the Salsoul Orchestra was born that day .. and so probably was disco ..

[QUINNY]

:icon_lol:

.. The first ever designed for the dancefloor disco record must be "Girl you need a change of mind" by Eddie Kendricks from 1972 .. Frank Wilson produced & designed the track especially for the dance clubs .. it is full of recognisable disco breaks & at over 7 and a half minutes in length was intended to keep the audience on the floor for as long as possible .. and if you dismiss this choice as simply another r&b mass-production from the Motown machine, please remember that until this time all records had been considered over-long if running for more than 3 minutes .. record companies would deliberately edit the length of a record as radio stations traditionally refused to play long tracks, thinking their audience would grow weary of one tune & switch stations before the song had finished

Hadn't LPs contained long tracks for some time previously (so the 'designed for the dance floor' quote is questionable). Also, didn't some stations play LP tracks (the Pirates in Europe certainly did, most notably Radio Caroline)? Also consider that many, if not most Disco 12" releases were 3-4 minute workouts, extended by remixing choruses and verses and pasting together. Personally, I can't see the Eddie Kendricks track as the first Disco toon, especially as it was a Motown release. It still sounds more like a retrospective attempt to fill in a missing link, rather than a genre defining moment, to my ears. No-one at the time would have thought it was particularly different, would they?

As for some of the other suggestions, More, More, More is too slow a tempo and too average to be considered the first, genre defining Disco record and was preceeded by George McCrae's Rock Your Baby (at a similar tempo) which truly was a jaw dropping change to what had been released before (and the Miami sound featured prominently in Disco).

I think Remmy is looking for THE record that signalled the change was happening (to more or less everyone on the scene) rather than tracks which may or may not have some claim to sounding Disco-like from earlier times and for our sins, he'll only do the reveal when he's had more than enough fun pulling our collective chains. This thread will play and play and ...........

He's a sadistic so-in-so at times.:icon_lol:

[ashley]

.. well Quinny, if you can find me an extended long dance track that preceeds "Girl you need a change of mind" .. I'd love to hear it .. .. Personally I can live with Berry Gordy giving birth to disco .. those A&R people at Motown back in the 70s certainly had their ears to the ground .. they knew exactly what was being played in the U.S. clubs & what was required to stir a dancefloor .. if Motown discovered they could boost sales by marketing thru dance clubs as well as radio, it makes perfect sense that they created the first genuine disco records .. There's no argument Motown changed the face of 60s popular music .. it should be no suprise they did the same again 10 years later ..

[Simon White]

OK..
Using the very wide and creatively selected criteria often cited here-

The first Disco record is Chubby Checker's cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters original version of 'The Twist'.

Ballard's record is R&B. It was written purely as a dance record, it's about dancing.

Ballard and of course many others had dance records long before this one but The Twist as a RECORD is different...because :
Chubby Checker later recorded it at Cameo (PHILLY AGAIN !) took it to new heights and it became a phenomenon, a number one POP million seller, swept the world and became the first huge international dance craze record, sparking a whole industry and thousands of spin offs all over the world, got the general public dancing in a totally new way. It crossed racial barriers and it crossed social barriers. It was controversial. The Twist was featured in magazines, newspapers, everywhere, was the subject of films and books..it was an industry. Anyone could do it and everyone did.
Chubby Checker wasn't a Soul singer, the record is not a soul record, his version is not an R&B record, its lighter, less 'earthy' than Ballards was made purely to dance to with an eye on the POP charts..
Remember, the word 'Disco' is derived from the French word 'Discotheque' that in itself shows how truly international the whole thing was.

And here's a Chubby Checker record with the word 'Discotheque' in the title.

http://www.discomusic.com/records-more/10680_0_2_0_C/

Disco isn't about the number of BPM's and it isn't about strings or the length of the track. It's not about vocals, Black or White because there are so many instrumentals that are 'Disco' records. It's not about a track being on a 12" or being 6 minutes long. Plenty of tracks are that without being 'Disco'.

So what glues Andrea True, Gloria Gaynor and The Detroit Spinners together? They are records made for dancing. They are entirely different apart from that. I would argue against "I'll Be Around"..it is far more than a Disco record, it is a groundbreaking dance record. Disco is too cheap and broad a title for it. Plus The Spinners had been an established Soul act for years anyway.
"Disco" in the popular mind is throwaway trite dance crap. We know differently on this board because we dig deeper. And there are many sides to Disco . But play Gloria , Andrea, The Spinners, Katmadu, Miquel Brown, Candt Staton, Rick Dees, Sir Monti Rock III, The Moment Of Truth,The Sunshine Mand, Boney M to the man on the street and he'll say "DISCO"


So if 'The Twist' isn't the first true disco record then why not? :icon_biggrin:

[remicks]

.. The first ever designed for the dancefloor disco record must be "Girl you need a change of mind" by Eddie Kendricks from 1972 .. Frank Wilson produced & designed the track especially for the dance clubs .. it is full of recognisable disco breaks & at over 7 and a half minutes in length was intended to keep the audience on the floor for as long as possible .. and if you dismiss this choice as simply another r&b mass-production from the Motown machine, please remember that until this time all records had been considered over-long if running for more than 3 minutes .. record companies would deliberately edit the length of a record as radio stations traditionally refused to play long tracks, thinking their audience would grow weary of one tune & switch stations before the song had finished .. This all began to change however in 1972 when the Temptations classic "Papa was a rolling stone" hit the charts .. the cut was so popular with black audiences many clubs & radio stations started playing the full-length 11 minute version .. this wasn't a record designed especially for dancefloors .. but the demand had been created .. so Motown responded by creating 2 lengthy dance tunes intended for (disco) dancing .. these were of course the Eddie Kendricks track & also "Law of the Land" by the Temptations (from their 1973 LP "Masterpiece") .. .. And of course we can't overlook "Waiting for the rain" by the Fantastic Johnny C from 1973 .. this was only a tiny 7" philly-flavoured soul 45rpm single .. but wow what a record it was !! .. listen to the hi-hat .. listen to those Vince Montana strings .. the Salsoul Orchestra was born that day .. and so probably was disco ..

Have you ever had a post almost ready to submit and then your hand stumbles on certain keys ... and POOF ...gone !! That just happened :icon_evil: so you're going to get a condensed version of my thoughful reply Ashley (lucky you!:icon_lol:)

I think GIRL YOU NEED A CHANGE OF MIND is an excellent candidate and you've made a good case for it. Just wish I could agree with it. :icon_cry:
..I don't for a couple of reasons ... I don't think the song took the populace by storm , fizzling out at #87 on the Hot 100. It just didn't make enough of a proclamation. And those that were aware of it ...I think they accepted it as one more creative offering from Motown... I don't think because of it, people were asking "what do you call this new style of music? " and then being answered: "disco" . Similarly to Marvin Gaye's WHAT'S GOING ON sounding revolutionary ... but didn't therefore result in a whole new term for music . I think Quinny and I are saying similar things about this ... The length of GYNACOM is a good point ...but as you say Ashley, Motown was already doing that and epic songs from the Temptations like PAPA WAS and MASTERPIECE I believe were strong dance floor numbers...so wouldn't we have to refer back to them on that basis?
So that's just my take on it .

GIRL YOU NEED A CHANGE OF MIND is now on the list for consideration . :icon_cool::icon_cool::icon_cool: .
( BTW I'd nominate Eddie Kendricks as the Original Disco Performer Man)

QUINNY : I think Remmy is looking for THE record that signalled the change was happening (to more or less everyone on the scene) rather than tracks which may or may not have some claim to sounding Disco-like from earlier times and for our sins, he'll only do the reveal when he's had more than enough fun pulling our collective chains. This thread will play and play and ...........

He's a sadistic so-in-so at times.:icon_lol:

Quinny !! :icon_eek: Why you wanna paint me that way !!!:icon_eek::icon_sad::icon_rolleyes:

Well .... thank you for restating the goal here .....sometimes I think I'm not so good at this ....I think I'm being painfully clear ...and yet .....

But there's nothing to "reveal" (by me) at the end here ....Yes I have my own candidate ... one that I can defend ... but it isn't THE answer .... its just AN answer .... ......in the end , we'll put the top group of candidates up for a vote .... and see collectively what we get ! :icon_mrgreen:
I understand what you mean about HELPLESSLY . Pure almost ridiculously so, disco .... too bad by the time it came out it was so 'disco' .... it sounded retro.
Since you seem to get the gist of what is being sought here Quinny ... is HELPLESSLY your choice for the song you are submitting?? :icon_rolleyes:

Simon White : The first Disco record is Chubby Checker's cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters original version of 'The Twist'.

OK Simon , you're down as one vote for THE TWIST . :icon_biggrin:


******

[markydefad]

I can add that remicks is looking for something from 1974--maybe that will help cut to the chase!!!

[remicks]

*****

I can add that remicks is looking for something from 1974--maybe that will help cut to the chase!!!

Well yes ......thereabouts makes the most sense doesn't it ? .... since Billboard's first disco chart comes out in October of '74 .... meaning about then disco was out of the box and off and running .....


*****

[QUINNY]

OK..
Using the very wide and creatively selected criteria often cited here-

The first Disco record is Chubby Checker's cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters original version of 'The Twist'. :icon_biggrin:

You're waaaaay off beam with this. Let's go back to Louis Jordan and some of his jukebox hits (some complete with short promotional films..pre-dating MTV by at least 30 years), or even further back to the big band swing era (lotsa tunes made specifically for dancing with 4/4 rhythms),or better still to the original Black good time music, with 4/4 beats, syncopation and all...Dixieland Jazz.

My own nomination would be TSOP by MFSB. That's the one record that seemed to herald a quantum shift and sounded somewhat different to most of the Philly tunes that immediately preceeded it. Hi hat driven, strings, female cooing chorus, smooth as silk and ultimately bland as hell!! However, it was omnipresent, soooo different sounding on first hearing and was undoubtedley THE blueprint for 100's of records that followed.

[markydefad]

I agree with Q--has hell frozen over???

It seems like "TSOP" or maybe "The Love I Lost"...had all the elements from the proto-disco songs like "Shaft (1971)..."Papa Was A Rolling Stone"/ "Girl You Need A Change Of Mind" (1972)..."Love's Theme"/Armed & Extremely Dangerous"/"Love Train"/ "I'll Always Love My Mama"/"The Love Lost" (1973)...........

enter "TSOP" (1974)..followed by the Pop #1's "Rock The Boat" + "Rock Your Baby" in July 1974...that's where Billboard starts the disco label. Billboard celebrated the 2nd anniversary of disco in mid-July 1976 as the anniversary of the 2 "Rock" disco songs going to #1 on their Pop chart. :icon_cool::icon_cool::icon_cool: