Favorite 'Rosco' (Rock that was almost 'Disco') Song

**DJ P** · May 13th, 2002, 06:22 PM

Just watching tv and the 'King of Queens' show played an old Eddie Money song 'Two Tickets To Paradise'. I remebered spinning that song at an ABC liquor lounge in the early 80's (during the so called 'death of disco). It was a song that I enjoyed in that time frame and had forgotten about. Hi-nrg like (132-133bpm if I remember correctly), very dancable and enjoyable even though it was a rock song. Any other members have a 'Rosco' song that they heard spun in the clubs or spun themselves and enjoyed the song?

**markydefad** · May 13th, 2002, 06:28 PM

Lots of 'em.

First off, "Swingtown" by the Steve Miller Band.

More later.

**Funky Dude** · May 13th, 2002, 06:52 PM

One of my favourite rosco or should I say disco rock songs is:

Les Variations - Superman 1975

**markydefad** · May 13th, 2002, 07:00 PM

"Philadelphia Freedom" - Elton John
"I've Got The Music In Me" - Kiki Dee Band
"How Long"- Ace
"How Much Love" - Leo Sayer
"Winds Of Change" - The BEE GEES
"Baby Hold On To Me" - Eddie Money

More later.

**maarten** · May 13th, 2002, 11:45 PM

Marky - kudos for the "Ace - How long" plug. Thank you! The singer of that band is called Paul Carrack, who had some success as a solo artist later on.

In the same category as Ace, I would list "Lorilee" by David Gates, "What you won't do for love" by Bobby Caldwell, "Georgy porgy" by Toto, "Reminiscing" by The Little River Band, "Baby come back" by Player, and (TAADAAAA) my number one favorite "Wildflower" by Skylark. There are many others I like, but... Rosco this is not. Marky - what DO we call this type of music?

I would offer as Rosco's all tracks by Ian Dury & The Blockheads. Especially "Inbetweenies" and "Wake up (and make love to me)".

_________________
"ON THE BEAT"

[ This Message was edited by: maarten on 2002-05-14 00:56 ]

[ This Message was edited by: maarten on 2002-05-14 01:00 ]

**Nano** · May 14th, 2002, 02:31 PM

Being maybe a little younger, I remember Lipps Inc.'s version of "How long", but I found the Ace version on a CD compilation and it's far better. I suppose this is the original version?
About disco rock (don't like the tag very much) I think Steve Miller's "Abracadabra" suits it just fine. Ditto that Ian Dury tracks produced by Chaz Jankel.
But for me on those years disco, USA new wave and AOR were all messed up. For example, "Georgy Porgy" (great song) is on the same album as "Hold the line"... Those session guys could play over anything, I guess.

**markydefad** · May 14th, 2002, 03:33 PM

Yeah, the guys from Toto were great musicians and did session work for lotsa artists. What about the great "Silk Degrees" LP by Boz Scaggs? I guess "Lowdown" is sorta in that "Rosco" category, although many considered it straight up Disco. Also, another great track from that LP--"What Can I Say".

Toto's "Georgy Porgy" fits the description as does another song by them titled "99". Very much morning music due to the down tempo, though.

**markydefad** · May 15th, 2002, 12:14 AM

Ok, this "Rosco" thing has me going. Now I really never heard this term until I started visiting this board--but the term "Rosco", I would think has to apply to all those danceable rock songs released during the Disco Era. At some point in the early 1980's the predominant music was plain old Dance Rock--so I guess that only records from the mid '70's to the very early '80's qualify? Right?

Anyway, I just happen to have compiled a list. Quelle Surprise!!! (spelling?--hey I learned this French term from Bette Midler and it ain't in the Foreign Phrases section of my ancient dictionary. Apologies to all Francophiles.

What about:

ACE: "How Long"
DAVID BOWIE: "Young
Americans"/ "Fame"/ "Golden Years"/ "Heroes"/ "Cat People(Putting Out Fire With Gasoline)" w/G. Moroder
BOZ SCAGGS: "Lowdown"/ "What Can I Say"/"Lido Shuffle"/"You Make It So Hard (To Say No)"
Joe Cocker: "Fun Time"
Hall & Oates: "Running From Paradise"/ I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)"
ABBA: "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!"/ "Summer Night City" / "Voulez-Vous"
Queen: "Another One Bites The Dust"/ "Body Language"/ "Staying Power"/"Under Pressure" (with David Bowie)
ROBERT PALMER: "Looking For Clues"/ "Johnny & Mary"
MARIANNE FAITHFUL: "Broken English"/"The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan"
ROXY MUSIC: "Angel Eyes"/"Dance Away"/ "Over You"/ "Eight Miles High"/ "The Main Thing"
BEE GEES: " Jive Talkin"/ "Nights On Broadway" / "Winds Of Change"
ELTON JOHN: "Philadelphia Freedom"/"Nobody Wins"/"Chloe"
KIKI DEE BAND: "I've Got The Music In Me"
ROD STEWART: "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" / "Passion"
ROLLING STONES: "Miss You"/ "Emotional Rescue"
BLONDIE: "Heart Of Glass"/ "Atomic" / "Call Me" / "Rapture"
KISS: "I Was Made For Lovin' You"
BEACH BOYS: "Here Comes The Night"
SPARKS: "Beat The Clock"/ "Tryouts For The Human Race"/ "When I'm With You"
TOM TOM CLUB: "Wordy Rappinghood" / "Genius Of Love"/ "Under The Boardwalk"
YOKO ONO: "Walking On Thin Ice"
TALKING HEADS:"Slippery People"/ "Life During Wartime"/ "Take Me To The River"/ I Zimbra"
CHAS JANKEL: "Glad To Know You" / "Am I Honest With Myself Really"
STEVE MILLER BAND: "Swingtown"/ "Abacadabra"/ "Fly Like An Eagle"
MICHAEL JACKSON: "Beat It"
LEO SAYER: "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing"/ How Much Love"/ "Thunder In My Heart"
GREG KIHN BAND: "Jeopardy"
EDDIE MONEY: "Baby Hold On To Me"/"Two Tickets To Paradise"
NONA HENDRYX & MATERIAL: "Busting Out"
NONA HENDRYX & THE CAGE: " Do What You Wanna Do"
LYNN TODD: "Metropolis Suite"
FINGERPRINTZ: "The Beat Escape"
CHEAP TRICK: "Saturday At Midnight"
DONNA SUMMER: "Hot Stuff"/ "The Wanderer"
STEVIE NICKS: "Stand Back"
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN: "Physical"/" Make A Move On Me"/"Xanadu"
TOTO: "Georgy Porgy"/"99"/"Africa"

Get the picture?
Yes, we see.

_________________
Make My Feet Wanna Dance!

Markydefad

[ This Message was edited by: markydefad on 2002-05-15 01:18 ]

[ This Message was edited by: markydefad on 2002-05-15 01:25 ]

**Robbie** · May 15th, 2002, 09:23 AM

"Quelle Surprise"??

The first time I heard that was when Betty White said it on an episode of Match Game PM. HaHa!!

**Outsider** · May 15th, 2002, 09:51 AM

On 2002-05-14 00:45, maarten wrote:
"Reminiscing" by The Little River Band

Say, does this song have a keyboard intro and does the last line in the chorus part go something like "sitting here in the park and reminiscing"? Going by the title of the song, it could be the one I'm thinking of.

**Funky Dude** · May 15th, 2002, 10:44 AM

The best LRB songs I consider are:

Curiosity Killed The Cat 1975 (I love the funky oily guitar wah wah sound)

Everyday Of My Life 1976

It's A Long Way There 1976

Happy Anniversary 1977 (Fantastic disco song)

**markydefad** · May 15th, 2002, 11:10 AM

On 2002-05-15 10:23, Robbie wrote:
"Quelle Surprise"??

The first time I heard that was when Betty White said it on an episode of Match Game PM. HaHa!!

But Robbie,

No air date??????

You're disappointin' me.!!!!!

**DJ P** · May 15th, 2002, 03:52 PM

Great to see these posts on the board dealing with this topic. The term 'Rosco' is for danceable 'Rock' music (Disco music was just that 'Disco' in that time frame) that charted on Billboard's Disco chart or was played in Disco's. Many songs did chart that were 'Disco' but sung/produced by 'Rock' artists or groups. Some examples are 'Brass in Pocket'/Pretenders (New Wave/Rock...Danceable but not 'Rosco'), 'Miss You'/Rolling Stones (Disco song by a Rock group...Disco, not 'Rosco'), 'What A Fool Believes'/Doobie Brothers (Disco song again by a Rock group...Disco not 'Rosco'), 'Abracadbra'/Steve Miller band (Disco/Dance Top 40-Made after the '70's so the term 'Disco' cannot apply to it) A dancable Rock song (I consider it more 'disco'ish' than rock) preformed by a Rock group, this song would be 'Rosco' if it was sung in the '70's, thus it is a 'Top 40's' song. New Wave/Punk is just that, not Disco or Rosco. Was and is still a fan of 'Wave' (Thompson Twins, Echo And The Bunnyman, The Smiths, ... but not of 'Punk'). 'Rosco' again is 'Dancable' (almost 'Disco') rock preformed by a Rock artist/group. Thanks for the posts, Phil!!

[ This Message was edited by: DJ Phil on 2002-05-15 16:56 ]

**Nano** · May 15th, 2002, 04:34 PM

I will add "Whirly girl" by Oxo and "Planet Claire" by The B-52's, those were played on discotecas.
Outsider: sounds like "Reminiscing" is the song you have in your head, but in my memory the intro is just soft plucked guitar & bass. It's a slow song, with pretty voice harmonies and all.

**markydefad** · May 15th, 2002, 04:35 PM

DJ Phil,

So I'm still confused by what distinguishes a song as "Disco" or "Rosco". I mean I vaguely understand, but I thought "What A Fool Believes" was primarily a rock song that got a Disco treatment remix for play in clubs. Does that make it Disco?

Which of those songs listed so far, qualify, as "Rosco"?

**maarten** · May 16th, 2002, 01:04 AM

On 2002-05-15 10:51, Outsider wrote:

On 2002-05-14 00:45, maarten wrote:
"Reminiscing" by The Little River Band

Say, does this song have a keyboard intro and does the last line in the chorus part go something like "sitting here in the park and reminiscing"? Going by the title of the song, it could be the one I'm thinking of.

Yes it has that keyboard intro. Part of the lyrics talk about Glenn Miller's band playing.

But I still want everybody to listen and love "Wildflower" by Skylark...

Marky: I think Chaz Jankel was disco, or dance, but not Rosco. How about "Macho city" by Steve Miller - love that long album version - or Grandfunk Railroad's "Some kind of wonderful", "Radar love" by (Dutch) Golden Earring or perhaps "Get ready" by Rare Earth?

**markydefad** · May 16th, 2002, 11:33 AM

Maarten,

I'm at work...so I can't play it, but wasn't "Wildflower" by Skylark a mellow R&B sounding ballad--although it was actually a white Canadian group?

**Jeff H** · May 16th, 2002, 11:42 AM

Glad to know I'm not the only one who's a little unclear about how "Wildflower" fits into this "rosco" category.

Great, soulful ballad, but not what I'd call dance music. And my definition of dance music is pretty broad. (Shut up, Marky.)

**markydefad** · May 16th, 2002, 01:25 PM

Yeah, that's my memory too Jeffy. But then, I sorta misunderstood what the whole "Rosco" term meant. I think I see more clearly now and most of my list doesn't apply. :sad:

Mainstream '70's Pop/Rock that you can dance to, I guess. Although by the end of the '70's, most danceable pop/rock was given that Disco Mix treatment.

I checked the Skylark stats on allmusic and saw that it's most famous member was uber-producer David Foster (responsible for so many of those Celine Dion & Whitney Houston mega-hits).

**Outsider** · May 16th, 2002, 03:32 PM

It sounds like "Reminiscing" is the song that I'm thinking of. I've known this particular song for as long as I can remember, and if I hear it I would recognize it (it was even used in an episode of "That 70s Show"). If you could hear me speak I could hum out the melody. At the end of the song there is a trumpet solo from what I remember. Until now I didn't know the song title or artist. Thanks for helping me.

**markydefad** · May 16th, 2002, 03:46 PM

On 2002-05-16 16:32, Outsider wrote:
It sounds like "Reminiscing" is the song that I'm thinking of. I've known this particular song for as long as I can remember, and if I hear it I would recognize it (it was even used in an episode of "That 70s Show"). If you could hear me speak I could hum out the melody. At the end of the song there is a trumpet solo from what I remember. Until now I didn't know the song title or artist. Thanks for helping me.

No doubt about it, Outsider--that's the song you want. "Reminiscing" by the Little River Band (from Australia) ("We'll go dancing in the dark, walking in the park and reminiscing") Top 10 tune in 1978, if I remember correctly.

**kari** · May 16th, 2002, 05:40 PM

Anyone remember John Miles? "Slow Down" and "Manhattan Skyline" from his 1977 album Stranger In The City were very near disco and still very "rock" (if I know the meaning of the word "rock" at all...).

Anyway, John Miles had these and a couple more on the UK charts in the late 70's. Back in the day, "Slow Down" was one of my favorites too.

Oh, I just remembered a real gem, another UK hit: Sweet's shortlived "comeback" in early 1978, "Love Is Like Oxygen". Great song, even had an extended 12" mix in the best disco style, but in the end it was still "rock". Or was it?

**Outsider** · May 16th, 2002, 05:53 PM

On 2002-05-16 16:46, markydefad wrote:
No doubt about it, Outsider--that's the song you want. "Reminiscing" by the Little River Band (from Australia) ("We'll go dancing in the dark, walking in the park and reminiscing") Top 10 tune in 1978, if I remember correctly.

You're absolutely right. I even listened to a sound clip from CD Now a little while ago, and while the clip was only 30 seconds long, I could tell that it is indeed the song I was looking for. Well, twenty-plus years of wondering has now come to an and. I suppose now I'll be "reminiscing" about how I didn't know who recorded the song or the title all those years (lol). Well, maybe not.

**Mixmachine** · May 17th, 2002, 01:50 PM

I'd give you a truly "Rosco" song that was played in clubs in the mid 70's,probably many here never heard it,check it out,good stuff.

"Macumba" ('74) Titanic

**Nano** · May 17th, 2002, 06:32 PM

Hey Outsider, if you liked "Reminiscing" and want to try other Little River Band songs, I recommend you "Lonesome loser", "Man in your mind" and "By my side". And there's many more.