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

[remicks]

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:

OK TSOP is another fine choice . :icon_cool:

I point out one distinction to keep in mind here though .... remember the "disco box" ... we're looking for that first song that fits into that box and no other . Pure 100 % disco and nothing else ...

So you're putting away your TSOP record ....could it possibly also go into your "Philly Soul" or your " "Sound Of Philadelphia" box instead ? .... Disco box / Philly box ..... any hesitation ? ...


Nonetheless the offering as been made and another good one rises to the top with now two votes :

TSOP by MFSB


:icon_cool::icon_cool::icon_cool:


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[markydefad]

Hey wait, what about ...

"ROCK THE BOAT" + "ROCK YOUR BABY"?????

Add them into the list also!!!

[remicks]

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and just how many votes do you think you get, kind sir !!! :icon_razz:

We are looking for one song !!!! Your one choice: THE First Disco song.... you must choose , Sophie .



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[markydefad]

Sophie won't choose!!!

....I don't believe there is one and only one answer...otherwise it would be very obvious, wouldn't it? It's a matter of opinion...the answer varies from person to person.

I'm just providing nominees--I won't vote/don't ask me!

[Videoskooter]

Remicks, can I go off-topic for a second? The avatar that you use? Is that a Universal Robot Band Christmas album or the 12"? Do you have it?

What does it sound like??????

Universal Robot Band Disco Christmas (12") DiscoMusic.com

[remicks]

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Markydefad: Sophie won't choose!!!

....I don't believe there is one and only one answer...otherwise it would be very obvious, wouldn't it? It's a matter of opinion...the answer varies from person to person.

I'm just providing nominees--I won't vote/don't ask me!

Nominees are limited to one per !!

Please kindly choose ..... your one submission


( I think /thought it was obvious BTW :icon_rolleyes:)


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VS... its the cover for the 12" .... yes I have it .... haven't played it in a long time but I remember it sounding as "good" as its cover is drawn .....

[Simon White]

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.

Waaaaay of beam Quinny? Here in red is the line you DIDN'T quote from my post, the one that immediately follows the ones you DID -

"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"

If you take the argument back that as far as Louis Jordon (and if you're going to do that then why not go back even further?) the whole thread becomes even more pointless than it already is !

Have fun with this one, guys.

[Mixmachine]

"The Love I lost" released in '73 has to be a a prime candidate.

Here is another Philly one from 1974 that clearly had "Disco" all over.

"Good thing don't last forever" Ecstasy Passion and Pain.

Although "Ask me" from the same LP still is my favorite.

Edit:

THE DISCO COMPILATION CONSENSUS TOP 21
Chart #1: 10/26/74

2) ASK ME - Ecstasy, Passion & Pain
(Roulette 45) (18 pts; chart ABC)

[ashley]

.. I agree, the short 45rpm edit of Eddie Kendricks "Girl you need a change of mind" did indeed bomb in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart .. and no wonder .. the track was never intended to be played as a short 3 minute edit .. the tune simply doesn't work as a radio edit .. it is a 7 minute opus, designed for the dancefloor .. there was no demand for the 45rpm single .. no radio station wanted to play it .. but in the clubs, it blew up like an H-bomb .. the dancers went mental .. it was a 7 minute disco orgasm .. the hip people, the dancers & the djs wanted the album for the full length version .. nobody wanted to own the 45rpm single .. the world had changed .. nothing would be the same again ..

[ashley]

.. and how does "TSOP" count as the first genuine made-for-the-dancefloor disco record? .. it was the theme to Soul Train for years .. sure, it was a groovy theme tune .. just like Shaft .. but not a 100% disco tune ( .. I'd say it was a 50% disco tune ) ..

[remicks]

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.. I agree, the short 45rpm edit of Eddie Kendricks "Girl you need a change of mind" did indeed bomb in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart .. and no wonder .. the track was never intended to be played as a short 3 minute edit .. the tune simply doesn't work as a radio edit .. it is a 7 minute opus, designed for the dancefloor .. there was no demand for the 45rpm single .. no radio station wanted to play it .. but in the clubs, it blew up like an H-bomb .. the dancers went mental .. it was a 7 minute disco orgasm .. the hip people, the dancers & the djs wanted the album for the full length version .. nobody wanted to own the 45rpm single .. the world had changed .. nothing would be the same again ..

Excellent account . I think you are pointing out something significant in that you are stating that this particular song was designed for the dance floor ...i.e. intentionally trying to be disco . That's an important part of the equation here . The intent of the record .

So next do you think this song was identified as "disco" in its day? Did people recognize it as being that? Did they call GYNACOM "disco" ? Because that is also an important part of determining the light switch song we are looking for....

ditto for THE LOVE I LOST Mixmachine ... Was it recorded intentionally to be a disco record and was it identified as "disco" in its own time of release???? Were people saying "check out this record from Harold Melvin. It's disco" .... ???


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[Mixmachine]

Which Lp (or singles)was released first in 1975??

Gloria Gaynor "Never can say goodbye" or Carol Dougla's "Carol" with "Doctors orders"

Just found my original Carol LP with the original 'Disco-Soul' sticker intact, apparently Midland was already calling and pushing this music as "Disco" in 1975.

You can't get any more Disco than "Doctors orders" (this was played on Top 40 radio) and "A hurricane is coming tonite" , this LP was recorded in NY not Philly, although Meco and John Davis arranged some of the cuts (not Doctor's)

edit: I answered my own question..
THE DISCO COMPILATION CONSENSUS TOP 21
Chart #1: 10/26/74

1) NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE - Gloria Gaynor
(MGM 45) (30 points/chart A, B & C)


DISCOTHEQUE CLUB DIALOG
by Tom Moulton

Column #2: November 2, 1974
Carol Douglas' "Doctor's Orders" prompted Midland to give out several test pressings to test it's disco potential. It's creating so much excitemnt in New York that it will be rush released this week by Midland which RCA distributes...

Pretty close if you ask me, so I'll leave it to Remicks to sort out the winner... maybe:icon_rolleyes:

[remicks]

Which Lp (or singles)was released first in 1975??

Gloria Gaynor "Never can say goodbye" or Carol Dougla's "Carol" with "Doctors orders"

Just found my original Carol LP with the original 'Disco-Soul' sticker intact, apparently Midland was already calling and pushing this music as "Disco" in 1975.

You can't get any more Disco than "Doctors orders" (this was played on Top 40 radio) and "A hurricane is coming tonite" , this LP was recorded in NY not Philly, although Meco and John Davis arranged some of the cuts (not Doctor's)

edit: I answered my own question..
THE DISCO COMPILATION CONSENSUS TOP 21
Chart #1: 10/26/74

1) NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE - Gloria Gaynor
(MGM 45) (30 points/chart A, B & C)


DISCOTHEQUE CLUB DIALOG
by Tom Moulton

Column #2: November 2, 1974
Carol Douglas' "Doctor's Orders" prompted Midland to give out several test pressings to test it's disco potential. It's creating so much excitemnt in New York that it will be rush released this week by Midland which RCA distributes...

Pretty close if you ask me, so I'll leave it to Remicks to sort out the winner... maybe:icon_rolleyes:

Mixmachine ... if you mean sorting out which record between DOCTOR'S ORDERS and NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE came first ......DO was sort of a follow up ... also done by the same Meco gang by the way... but for legal reasons Meco's name is absent (see Bernie's interview with Meco for all the dirt ! )


Here's one thing I like about NCSG in this discussion :
Its chart history can be documented and from this it clearly was a huge club record first , one that finally revealed itself to the masses as a disco based song months later. This as opposed to songs that were released for general consumption and also got played in the clubs either simultaneously ... or exclusively in clubs without ever crossing over. This was a BIG club hit way before presenting itself to the masses (I can only guess that there was some initial radio programming resistance to this odd sounding record ) . Tom Moulton says it was already #1 in the clubs in the summer of '74....staying at the top for weeks . It didn't reach its general population peak until four months later ... reaching #9 on the Hot 100 in January '75. For this reason I think NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE arrives at the front door of the Holiday parties of 1974 and is greeted as "disco" .



When I listen to TSOP , its sound clearly was something new in the wind ... so fresh and uplifting and musically full ...that's why SOUL TRAIN chose it as a great intro to their dance show ! ( even though you'd have thought they'd have chosen something more funky ) .... (and even though the song never mentions anything about a soul train. :icon_confused: I wonder why they never reworked it some to fit the show specifically? ) . I think what prevented that particular song from being the light switch song .....IMO ... were two things.... It's title : THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA ... (implying one more record of what was already being released under that banner) ....People were not going to analyze and ask ..what is this different sounding music ? ...Their answer would've been found in the title ! Now if the title had been TSOD !! case closed :icon_mrgreen:.... Also I think it got accepted as being regarded as simply a "soul" song because it was the theme to SOUL TRAIN ...again .... that was not an association to set it apart like had it been the theme for a show called DISCO TRAIN.

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[markydefad]

OK, I've been thinking about this...and if Never Can Say Goodbye is where you are going...I think that is on the money...the only flaw is that it is a cover of old Motown so it seems rooted in the past--BUT the production does seem more "disco" than "Philly"...but it also seems so obvious....I woulda thought you'd be going for a less likely choice!!!

Billboard Disco charts begin with Never Can Say Goodbye....so you're saying that it's the first "pure disco record"??? :icon_exclaim:

Well, it did seem to provide the template for what came after it---and it did have a "fresh" sound on the radio when I first moved to San Francisco..in January, 1975.....

[remicks]

OK, I've been thinking about this...and if Never Can Say Goodbye is where you are going...I think that is on the money...the only flaw is that it is a cover of old Motown so it seems rooted in the past--BUT the production does seem more "disco" than "Philly"...but it also seems so obvious....I woulda thought you'd be going for a less likely choice!!!

No ... never meant for this to be some sort of tricky remicksy question .
Just got to wondering if there was a consensus amongst us disco fans as to what that first, no doubt about it, ..... first song to be labeled disco was.

I'm still looking for the thoughts of others here ... what song you'd nominate and why .... and then see if we'll agree on this one in the end . :icon_rolleyes: :icon_lol:



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[Disco Funk]

No ... never meant for this to be some sort of tricky remicksy question .
Just got to wondering if there was a consensus amongst us disco fans as to what that first, no doubt about it, ..... first song to be labeled disco was.

I'm still looking for the thoughts of others here ... what song you'd nominate and why .... and then see if we'll agree on this one in the end . :icon_rolleyes: :icon_lol:



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I'm thinking it might be one of those BT Express Roadshow singles of either Express or Do It (Till You're Satisfied). Didn't the long sides say 'Disco version' on them?

Disco Funk

[DJ RD Tall]

Well written intro.

For me the first song that screamed disco was Van McCoy's The Hustle - Yes I know that there may have been other songs that came before this one approaching that hallowed mark of being a "Disco" song but for me the true, died in the wool, Mirror ball required FIRST DISCO SONG is The Hustle. "Ooooo oo oo oo ooooo Do It!" still gives me shivers.

[Disco Funk]

I think the jury is still out on the first 100% disco song, but I did find a clip on youtube from what I think is the '76 Grammy awards acknowledging the new sound. It features Aretha Franklin with the original Campbell Lockers (minus Toni Basil). It looks like everyone, including the audience, was having a funky good time during that sequence.



Disco Funk

[remicks]

I think the jury is still out on the first 100% disco song, but I did find a clip on youtube from what I think is the '76 Grammy awards acknowledging the new sound. It features Aretha Franklin with the original Campbell Lockers (minus Toni Basil). It looks like everyone, including the audience, was having a funky good time during that sequence.



Disco Funk

Interesting clip (Why'd you put it here DF ?? It should have its own thread! )


My thoughts are :
Why Aretha?? ( I give her credit for participating in this somewhat elaborate presentation though.)

Odd mix of nominees ....
Silver Convention: FLY ROBIN FLY
BT Express : EXPRESS
Herbie Hancock: HANG UP YOUR HANG UPS :icon_confused:
Brecker Bros.: SNEAKIN' UP BEHIND YOU :icon_confused:
Van McCoy: DISCO BABY

And I'm not sure about this audience having a funky good time ... Aretha encourages them to "get up " and I think I see two or three couples at best up off their seats ! :icon_redface:


great to see this though DF . Good find ! ...:icon_cool:


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[Disco Funk]

Yeah, the choices of disco songs are odd. Hang Up Your Hang Ups and Sneakin Up Behind You are actually jazz funk songs. Did they get a lot of club play back in the day? They're great tracks, don't get me wrong, just not disco. I don't know why they mention 'disco baby' but then play The Hustle. If it was for LP, then wouldn't it be Herbie Hancock's 'Man Child', for example?!!!

I should have put it in a different thread, but I thought it was interested to illustrate how at that point, the industry still hadn't defined 'disco' the way we define it today, based on the nominees.

The guy who posted it was one of the lockers. Pretty cool to see that he taped it off the air back in '76. He must have been loaded to be able to afford a VCR back then!!

Disco Funk

[remicks]

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Yeah, the choices of disco songs are odd. Hang Up Your Hang Ups and Sneakin Up Behind You are actually jazz funk songs. Did they get a lot of club play back in the day? They're great tracks, don't get me wrong, just not disco. I don't know why they mention 'disco baby' but then play The Hustle. If it was for LP, then wouldn't it be Herbie Hancock's 'Man Child', for example?!!!

I should have put it in a different thread, but I thought it was interested to illustrate how at that point, the industry still hadn't defined 'disco' the way we define it today, based on the nominees. Disco Funk

Well the award wasn't for best disco song though .....it was for "Best R&B Instrumental". Did you know that the Grammies only got around to a disco category in 1980 (for 1979) :icon_eek: ... and of course it was then too late. One year only that category ! :icon_sad:

The guy who posted it was one of the lockers. Pretty cool to see that he taped it off the air back in '76. He must have been loaded to be able to afford a VCR back then!!

:icon_lol:
And it explains why in the world someone would tape all of this and yet cut it off just before the winner is announced .."Well I'm off the screen ...who gives a %#@* who the actual winner is !!" click .

So the winner ?

FLY ROBIN FLY Silver Convention :icon_mrgreen:

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[Mixmachine]

The guy who posted it was one of the lockers. Pretty cool to see that he taped it off the air back in '76. He must have been loaded to be able to afford a VCR back then!!

Disco Funk

DF this video was a great find, I never saw this show back then, the "Lockers" were great dancers, they used to show up in many broadcasts of the day, "re-run" of the "What's happening show" is there.

You can see where the "break dance" craze of the 80's got their start, they used to roll around the floor even back then already.

And you are right!! VCRs were expensive back then, I bought my first Beta, a Sanyo in '77 I think, and paid 800.00 :icon_eek:for it, the 2 hr blanks sold for like 25.00, but I wasn't rich, just crazy :icon_smile:

[markydefad]

The actual Grammy category in that clip from 1975 was:

R&B Instrumental

(all recordings are for either pure instrumentals or instrumentals with vocal coloring)

1) "DISCO BABY" - Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony [ALBUM] ["The Hustle" was the hit single, obviously]
2) "FLY, ROBIN, FLY "- Silver Convention [SINGLE] [WINNER!!!]
3) "HANG UP YOUR HANGUPS" - Herbie Hancock [SINGLE]
4) "SNEAKIN' UP BEHIND YOU" -Brecker Brothers [SINGLE]
5) "EXPRESS" - B.T. Express [SINGLE]



1979 was the only year "Best Disco Recording" was presented at the ceremony held in early 1980.


Winner: "I WILL SURVIVE" Gloria Gaynor [Single]


Other Nominees:
"BOOGIE WONDERLAND" - Earth, Wind & Fire & The Emotions [Single]
"BAD GIRLS" - Donna Summer [Album]
"DA YA THINK I'N SEXY?" - Rod Stewart [Single]
"DON'T STOP 'TIL YOU GET ENOUGH" - Michael Jackson [Single]

[remicks]

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And why let the fun stop there !

More results from Grammy Night 1975 ::icon_mrgreen::icon_biggrin::icon_exclaim:

Best Pop Instrumental Performance:

The Ritchie Family - Brazil :icon_cool: :icon_cool:
Chuck Mangione - Chase the Clouds Away
Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony - The Hustle winner !!!
Mike Post - The Rockford Files
Tom Scott & the L.A. Express - Tom Cat


Best Rhythm & Blues Song

Walking in Rhythm - Barney Perry
Ease on Down the Road - Charlie Smalls
Get Down Tonight - H.W. Casey, Richard Finch
That's the Way (I Like It) - H.W. Casey, Richard Finch
Where Is the Love - H.W. Casey, Richard Finch, Willie Clarke, Betty Wright winner :icon_eek:

KC was HOT !! three songs nominated !!


Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Duo, Group or Chorus

Average White Band - Cut the Cake
Ohio Players - Fire
K.C. and the Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight
The Pointer Sisters - How Long (Betcha' Got a Chick on the Side)
Earth, Wind and Fire - Shining Star winner!

Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female

Gloria Gaynor - Never Can Say Goodbye:icon_cool: :icon_cool:
Gwen McCrae - Rockin' Chair:icon_cool:
Shirley & Company - Shame, Shame, Shame:icon_cool:
Natalie Cole - This Will Be winner! :icon_eek:
Esther Phillips - What a Diff'rence a Day Makes

Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Male

Isaac Hayes - Chocolate Chip:icon_cool:
Al Green - L.O.V.E.:icon_cool:
Ray Charles - Living for the City winner! :icon_eek:
Major Harris - Love Won't Let Me Wait:icon_cool:
Ben E. King - Supernatural Thin, Part I:icon_cool:

thanks to LA TIMES


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