Radio -vs- Dance Floor (Disco Music)

[Huffstutler]

This has been touched upon briefly in a varied form concerning "overplay" but now addressing songs that only received radio play -vs- what was played in the clubs. In other words... "mainstream" disco music as it was called which found its way to the top 40 charts and now heard in elevators.

Question in point... why was there only a set list of artists or sounds played for the general population and accepted as what disco was all about?

And are you aggravated as I am that it is that way? I mean if you ask someone on the street they may cite "Disco Duck" as a song played often in clubs not knowing otherwise. Not that the radio stations played a variety in 1979 but 30-years later they seem to only have a list of 25 songs (overplayed).

Comments... History... Background....

Eric S. Huffstutler
Richmond, VA

[drlove]

Hiya Eric,

Me thinks that those distinctions you bring up (radio-disco vs. club-play) do/did in fact exist. Personally, by the mid-90s, my understanding of disco was basically what I grew up on (pop radio) and reading how these much-known disco tunes performed on the pop and/or R&B charts. It was only upon researching the Billboard disco charts at Tulane U. did I discover --- wholly crap --- what's with all these high-charting disco tunes I've never heard of:icon_exclaim: With my curiosity piqued, I started picking up in thrift stores/vinyl stores those titles I'd seen in the research (but never quite heard). And thank God for that -- a whole new world opened up, and expanded my limited disco horizons to include many of the fantastic tunes we write about on these forum threads:icon_mrgreen:

A good example of this evident distinction is "Full Time Thing" by Whirlwind (an ultra cool disco number from '76 on the old Roulette label). #91 Pop, #91 R&B (flop right???) Not in the disco world, where it went top 10, and straight onto my top 10 fave disco tunes of all time. Record execs and the accountants and the pop/R&B chart followers might yell "Flop", but many fans of such club-play disco prefer the term "Obscure Classic" !!!

May we always seek to dust off & bring into sunlight these Club-Play classics that pop radio happened to ignore

[KEN]

Radio stations limited their disco play lists becuase of time constraints. Radio advertisements were and still are more important to a radio station's survival than the music they played. The average disco tune in its extended form was about 6-8 minutes in length. Radio stations would play songs that were in edited form, about 3-4 minutes in length. In addition, radio stations stayed away from very small record labels and unknown new recording artists.

As you have discovered, they missed the boat! One might argue that nothing has really changed even today. The only way to hear those great dance songs was to frequent the clubs. Even back then, you couldn't rely on just one club to provide you with all the wonderful variety that existed. One club might prefer to play "classic disco", while others might play R&B and funk, and others would play "pop disco".

There were so many wonderful songs issued back in the 1970's and 1980's that I'm still discovering ones I've never heard that are outstanding. There are a number of internet sites that play disco music to continue your discovery process such as www.dancenetradio.com and www.divaradio.net.

[drlove]

thanks, Ken, for the divaradio link . . .just visited the site & added it to my Fave links :icon_cool: Always looking to hear yesteryear's disco that's "new" to my ears.

[needlefingers]

I think there are many reasons and ways to look at the initials posters observations.

And while it’s roughly 30-35 years later, some things stayed the same and some things changed.

1) Music Charts

Back then…the top 100 charts back then where based on sales.

Today…the charts are based on sales, digital downloads and airplay.

Also

Back then…the Disco charts were based on club play/popularity both in regions and nationwide. And could be skewed by bias DJ’s. And DJ’s tended to avoid radio played hits.

Today…there are many different charts to reflect different aspects such as club play/popularity, 12 inch sales, downloads, airplay….

2) Radio

Back then…As mentioned, radio has to sell ad time. And relied on requests, from what was generally a younger audience that, for the first time, now had a phone in their own bedroom. Kids are more likely to call a radio station than an adult. And “bubblegum” sells (that’s why it’s right next to the cash register in the grocery store).

Today….there are many ad free outlets to hear music such as radio, satellite, internet, digital television…

Also

Back then….When FM Radio came in, it was first used for classical music and underground rock. Then pop radio crossed over to FM and brought the pop format with it. However, we did have disco radio stations for a few years there and they did play club mixes and songs. But unlike pop radio, which gave the title and artist before/after playing the record, disco stations mixes, like clubs, did not tag the music (that is I.D. the song/artist). In fact, in the 80’s there was a campaign called “When you PLAY IT, SAY IT “. By that, they wanted the DJ to I.D. the song so the listener could go out and buy it. The sticker is still found on '80’s albums.

Today….Radio (and the other music outlets) are more genres specific and can reach a very certain audience. And that young audience that stayed up all night phoning in requests are now the moneymakers and decision makers of the world and still want to hear “their” music. And the I.D. tag is easier because now you can read it while the song is playing. Music videos and MTV were the reason behind that.

And don’t forget that personal computers were not around during disco. Today, you can come to websites, like discomusic.com, and ask the world community about a song you are searching for. Or browse for something new. And in most instances, hear a sample.


3) The Disco Phenomena

Back then…..it was a real phenomenon that included fashion, drinks, types of dances, etc. When it grew, in ’78 and ’79, a lot due to Saturday Night Fever, it overtook all ages and in practically every aspect of our society. It was on TV (shows and commercials), movies and radio (and that was pretty much our outlets). And the pop disco songs were the ones that reached all generations, even if they were over produced and overplayed. In fact, it was probably the first time your parents and grandparents liked your music. It was tribal, with a 4/4 beat and handclaps.

Today……even though Hip Hop still rides on top of the music world, it is by no means the favorite of the population. Minimalist in its sound and usually produced on computers. No flash on fashion or dances, grownups don’t want to hear it and there are so many other outlets today (internet, DVD’s, cable, independent labels and entertainment companies/websites, gaming consoles, even cell phones and I-pods) that end up dividing the population into the genres and things that work on an individuals' level, instead of as a community.

1978….Three television networks with a few UHF stations, a couple of pop radio stations (and if you were lucky, you had a disco station), very, very few record store chains…

And it should be mentioned, again, of the gluttony of music that was released in the late 70’s and just not enough outlets to get it to the population to hear and/or buy.

2008…A person could live on youtube.com alone and have more choices and information than 30 years ago. It is a very different world considering how various are the outlets we receive our entertainment and information today.

So if you are wondering why certain songs or acts didn’t make it back then, maybe there were just not enough ways to convey the information,…. or it all sounded the same after awhile, ….or it sounds better today to fresher ears.

When we had only a few roads to go down, the community grew around certain songs on the radio and certain songs in the clubs.

When you have many roads to pick, the community breaks down into individuals and all kinds of music are explored, including “music from the past”.

I don’t think either is right or wrong, and both have advantages and disadvantages.

The younger musicologists of today are on a sort of archeological dig and I applaud that. They are not hindered by charts, radio play or other influences.

But I remind you that a working DJ needs an audience. And there is, and was, no shame in playing to the masses.