Was any disco made by women?

**infrasound** · July 30th, 2003, 11:59 AM

One of my lesbian pals asked me if any women produced or created disco/italo/hi-nrg in the 70s or 80s, and I completely drew a blank. I couldn't think of any. Was there any "dance music" that was made by women?

**paul** · July 30th, 2003, 02:20 PM

She has got to be kidding. I almost feel like this is a trick question and I'm the dummy responding.
I guess you drew a blank because your brain couldn't believe the question :lol:
Perhaps I'm wrong but here goes -
Taste Of Honey
Labelle
Diana Ross
Gloria Gaynor
Madonna
Donna Summer
Bonnie Pointer
The Pointer Sisters
etc, etc.

**infrasound** · July 30th, 2003, 04:02 PM

I guess to be more specific - disco made by women who made all of the music without the help of a male writer/producer. Obviously there are loads of women in disco and dance music, but I'm looking for a list of female artists that primarily made all of their own music as well, independently - more than just vocalists/singers.

**paul** · July 30th, 2003, 04:17 PM

Music with no men. I guess knowing the source this makes more sense. Well, I can't think of any. I don't even believe there was any music that was exclusive all male, from writer to production and distribution.
By the way, this sounds so antidisco.

**infrasound** · July 30th, 2003, 04:37 PM

Hmmm..well, it's definitely not anti-disco. I clearly see her point. She likes to listen to music that is made/written by women. (She, by the way, likes all different kinds of music.) Of course, very little music is either exclusively all-male or all-female, but there's a difference between a vocalist who sings a song written by someone else, and one who writes the song herself. Maybe not to you, but to some people. I guess Madonna is a good example for my friend - a lot of her tracks are credited to her as the writer. But then, a lot of her hits are Jellybean or some other producer.

This came up because I made her a CD of my favorite artists, lots who are women, but she noticed through her own research that most of the tracks were written or produced by men. It does seem that women are often vocalists in disco music, and the tracks are credited to a songwriter, and the instruments were played by someone else too....It may be a tough question to answer, but it certainly is a valid question, not meant to offend anyone.

Maybe it's just more common these days that female musicians feel strongly that their music should be 100% their music... not just as a feminist statement but a creative one.

Thanks for your attempt to answer the question! :)

**QUINNY** · July 30th, 2003, 04:43 PM

I've never seen many all female bands. I think you're gonna have lean pickings.

**markydefad** · July 30th, 2003, 04:57 PM

I can't recall any famous FEMALE record producers of the Disco era. It seemed ALL-MALE.

There were women songwriters like Valerie Simpson, Donna Summer, Pam Sawyer, etc.

But the FEMALE producer is hard to come by til maybe Madonna and definitely Missy Elliott today.

Oh wait...What about Sylvia Robinson??? (Sugarhill Records founder and producer of Sugarhill Gang)

Also a performer who did "Pillow Talk" in the early 1970s.

**paul** · July 30th, 2003, 05:32 PM

As they say, "it's all good" infra. Perhaps you can invite your friend to visit the boards. Warn her though that I'm a potty mouth breeder with a thick skin so I won't be easily offended :D

**QUINNY** · July 30th, 2003, 06:31 PM

Originally Written by markydefad

I can't recall any famous FEMALE record producers of the Disco era. It seemed ALL-MALE.

There were women songwriters like Valerie Simpson, Donna Summer, Pam Sawyer, etc.

But the FEMALE producer is hard to come by til maybe Madonna and definitely Missy Elliott today.

Oh wait...What about Sylvia Robinson??? (Sugarhill Records founder and producer of Sugarhill Gang)

Also a performer who did "Pillow Talk" in the early 1970s.

And even Sylvia Robinson would have had an all male band laying down the tracks. Maybe A Taste Of Honey is about as close as you're gonna get to a female band?

**Leatherman** · July 30th, 2003, 08:42 PM

Patrice Rushen wrote and (co) produced most her disco period material. I'm pretty sure Teena Marie did the same after a couple of LP's.

**K-Bee** · July 31st, 2003, 12:56 AM

What about Klymaxx. Now that was an all girl band who played their own instruments. They did use male producers like the Calloway brothers however.

Remember "never underestimate the power of a woman"?

Marcio** · July 31st, 2003, 01:44 AM

A female disco group with female singers in quantity (and quality, I guess) is the five sisters of The Nolans.

:D I'm In The Mood For Dancing by The Nolans

**QUINNY** · July 31st, 2003, 03:40 AM

Yeah, but did they play their own instruments on those sugary sweet backing tracks and more importantly, were they Disco?

**Leatherman** · July 31st, 2003, 07:58 AM

Does it have to be a totally 100% woman only production? I'm sure that isn't what the original question asker meant! Ladies like Patrice Rushen and Teena Marie pretty much directed and produced their own material. So there was some male involvment as far as musicians went, but the girls were the masterminds of the project and played some of the instruments. If we are gonna be really strict about it, I'm sure they weren't many records which were totally guys (taking into account female BV's, orchestra players etc),

**QUINNY** · July 31st, 2003, 09:00 AM

I got the impression her friend wants only all female productions. I expect there may be a few, but............................ :o

**markydefad** · July 31st, 2003, 12:23 PM

This sounds like a topic for the omnipotent GODDESS--BOODIKKA!!!!

BTW, Boodi I see that PBS is doing a show about your namesake starring Alex Kingston from "ER" as "BOODIKKA"!!!! :D

I saw the promo on PBS last week!!!

Marcio** · August 1st, 2003, 12:24 AM

Originally Written by QUINNY

Yeah, but did they play their own instruments on those sugary sweet backing tracks and more importantly, were they Disco?

Yes, I think The Nolans are disco but the arrangement is very simple. The producer of The Nolans is a man (Ben Findon) and certainly all
the instrumentists.

I found others female producers but they aren't alone:

Denise LaSalle & Ordena Productions for MCA Records produced the album "I'm So Hot" by Denise LaSalle

Vanda & Young produced the album "Love Is In The Air" by John Paul Young

and evidently Denise & Denis LaPage

Marcio** · August 1st, 2003, 12:56 AM

Vanda is a man !!!!!!!!

Excuse me !!!!!!

**K-Bee** · August 1st, 2003, 01:26 AM

I forgot to mention that Klymaxx member Bernadette Cooper also produced the sole LP for all girl outfit "Madam X" (atlantic, 1987). Another all woman thang then!!

oh..and talking about female producers, don't forget Angela Winbush had a profilic career as a producer for both the Isleys as well as her own 3 solo albums.
Her 1987 "Sharp" LP is still a favorite of mine! :)

**infrasound** · August 1st, 2003, 02:06 AM

Thanks everyone! That's great information... I expected it to be a smallish number.

My boyfried thought of a good one, though, that I don't think anyone mentioned yet: ESG. The four Scroggins sisters and Tito the conga player. And though they've had different producers, it was very much their own thing, I would think.

**Bernie** · August 1st, 2003, 08:50 AM

ESG! How could I have forgotten them?

I checked the CD I have of theirs and Renee Scroggins produced all the tracks save for two; "Moody" and "UFO," which were by the late Martin Hannett.

**Leatherman** · August 1st, 2003, 11:24 AM

Originally Written by Bernie

ESG! How could I have forgotten them?

I checked the CD I have of theirs and Renee Scroggins produced all the tracks save for two; "Moody" and "UFO," which were by the late Martin Hannett.

Probably the best 2 tracks on the LP!

**infrasound** · August 1st, 2003, 12:39 PM

Bernie: I know! That's what I thought to myself! How could I possibly have forgotten them!

I love ALL their songs. "Moody" and "UFO" really stand out, true, but there's also "Dance", "You're No Good", and "Erase You" - incredible tracks. Did you know that they have a new album on Soul Jazz? It's good stuff. The basic sound has stayed the same, although they test out a few new approaches, some more successful than others. My friend (the one I mentioned at the beginning of the post) actually met them last year at a women's music festival, and it's still a family affair: Renee's two daughters are now part of the lineup. The legacy lives on!

**Nano** · August 7th, 2003, 12:10 AM

What about The Runaways? Their music was not strict disco but it was danceable. They had Joan Jett on vocals and Lita Ford on lead guitar. (Or you could say tell your friend that Joan's "I love rock and roll" is pretty disco-ish for its time.)
Also the British punk band The Slits. All women, pretty fun. They appear in The Punk Rock Movie.

**usagi-san** · August 7th, 2003, 09:35 PM

Runaways and Joan Jett: Fine stuff in the pop rock genre, danceable to a degree if one is inclined, but if I suggest not letting Joan know you think "I Love Rock & Roll" was disco-ish for its time.
usagi-san