The last disco song?

**Nano** · October 12th, 2004, 01:00 PM

Some weeks ago there was much (interesting) debate about the first disco song, so I propose now to do the same thing on the other end.
My pick:

"Flashdance (what a feeling)" (1983)
Sung by Irene Cara - Produced by Giorgio Moroder

This is a disco song still, but with some elements of what would come next (call it HiNRG, or tecno pop, etc.).
Was probably the last real disco smash... I remember EVERYBODY had the soundtrack album, and friends of mine went to see the movie over and over. The thing was so big that John Travolta tried to do a comeback with the Staying alive movie (poor thing).
So, what do you think?

**Videoskooter** · October 12th, 2004, 01:46 PM

Nano, I'm very sorry :oops: but "Flashdance" wasn't very disco to me. I hated the song, the movie and when records like that one appeared in the clubs, I thought "There goes the neighbourhood".

Just like Mr. Moroder broke my heart when he worked on things like "Take my breath away" and stuff like that.

Those were hard times, man. I almost didn't survive them and then.....DISASTER STRUCK!!! Stock, Aitken and Waterman landed on earth and destroyed the dancescene. Luckely the brave Belgian people stood up against that tiranny and saved the world by releasing the New Beat. And all creatures great and small laughed and danced again!

And now for something completely different...

**Noman** · October 12th, 2004, 01:54 PM

"the last disco song?"

Hasn't been released yet... Or... Is disco dead? :-?

**Jimmy-Michaels** · October 12th, 2004, 10:49 PM

I agree totaly with the last 2 posters..Flashdance was not disco what so ever and disco is not dead and never died, it just got its name changed and matter of fact in diff countries true disco is still being made...not this sample house rampage **** either. But for the 80s with the traditional disco sound that could easaly pass for 1979/80 it woulda had to have been in 1983 with 2 Pattie Brooks tracks "You Are The One" and "Get It On And Have A Party"
on the Doctor Detroit soundtrack LP (unfortunatly the soundtrack is long extinct and the movie as well...both movie and soundtrack were solid!)

**DiscoMan** · October 12th, 2004, 10:55 PM

Hasn't been written yet.
Check out R. Kelly's "Happy People" or Cerrone's "Hysteria" CD.
This year's "Lola's Theme"...

Disco lives on :D

**Jimmy-Michaels** · October 12th, 2004, 11:01 PM

R Kelly and disco????????? This **** I gotta hear!

**K-Bee** · October 13th, 2004, 01:47 AM

I've heard rumours of Kenny Dope doing a R. Kelly remix but have't had a chance to listen to it yet. Is "Happy People" the one?

**DiscoMan** · October 13th, 2004, 05:22 AM

"Happy People" was released in August so I don't think so.
I said the same thing about R. Kelly!
Catch the video if you can - a group of Hustle dancers in a huge hall.

**buckaroo** · October 13th, 2004, 10:27 AM

Originally Written by Videoskooter

Just like Mr. Moroder broke my heart when he worked on things like "Take my breath away" and stuff like that.
...

You're forgetting "Electric Dreams" :roll:

**Jimmy-Michaels** · October 13th, 2004, 11:26 AM

Originally Written by DiscoMan

"Happy People" was released in August so I don't think so.
I said the same thing about R. Kelly!
Catch the video if you can - a group of Hustle dancers in a huge hall.

Holly **** you are right! I checked it out and there are actualy 2 versions of the track. The album version and yes..an extended mix done in the style 12''rs used to be done! This track is a basic mellow classic disco/soul track. Kinda like George Mcreae stuff or on that order of disco. Coulda easily seen this on TK back in the day. Cant belive id see the day where id say I like an R. Kelly track! Brilliant and good to see someone is tryin to make real music still!

**judydoggie** · October 13th, 2004, 01:42 PM

Not at all yet; but Disco's days will certainly be numbered if you limit the definition of "Disco" to a song of a certain style written during a certain time period.

I belong to a Jazz website filled with poor souls who're hanging on to "Great American Standards" and then they piss and moan when I suggest that maybe, just maybe a really nice R&B song that's been covered by their beloved singers should be considered by them as a "Great American Standard." It might add a little excitement to the genre and make it easier to sell tickets in what is a down market for them.

It is certainly a down market for "Disco." So why not be kind to the more creative voices out there in hip-hop and dance music, and even R&B. By year's end, my good friend Kelly Mittleman's album, produced by Nile Rodgers, will have hit the stores and there's a danceable funk-jazz tune on that album that I plan to include in mixes offered by my entertainment division for holiday party dancing, etc.

Anyone care to define "Disco" for me so we can put a timeline on this? My preferred right hand limit is "infinity."

**Jimmy-Michaels** · October 13th, 2004, 01:54 PM

Hip Hip is by all means NOT disco! It's pure crap if ya ask me. Jazz on the other hand I love and I do agree that alot of the disco sound is within today's jazz. Disco would be defined as what it is, not a certain period in time. Self explanitory really. There was all forms of disco. The form that seems to have survived through the 80s, 90s and today is the soul/disco based stuff and some of the eurodisco sound. Disco is not gone..never will be..end of story LOL.

**DiscoMan** · October 13th, 2004, 09:07 PM

I have to agree Hip Hop is **** and makes my ears hurt.
Even my 20 year old son and his pals are getting away from it - they're getting into Classic Rock and they always liked my Disco collection so... Is Hip Hop running it's course?
It's 30 years old and tired, what's next?

About R. Kelly and "Happy People"; I have friend who put me on to it. Then in the middle of one night around the time of it's release I was watching music videos on MTV and they played the video of "Happy People" and I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing!!!! And since then I've had the DJ spin it at a Friday night dance I go to and the dancers love it.

R. Kelly, who would have guessed!

**Nano** · October 13th, 2004, 09:16 PM

Just out of curiosity: what song do you guys consider was the last of Giorgio Moroder "disco" output? Maybe "Heaven knows"? :-?

**Jimmy-Michaels** · October 13th, 2004, 11:23 PM

For the last of Moroder's disco stuff id say it would be the great stuff he produced on the "Foxes" soundtrack (1980). After that I belive it was pop and rock Moroder all the way up till the late 90s when he redid "Chase"..was more rave style but still had the Giorgio classic hints in there.

**Jimmy-Michaels** · October 13th, 2004, 11:25 PM

Oh one more thing...I wish damn hip hop and rap would die! But unfortunatly I think its here to stay. Its great that some kids are getting into the classic rock and true disco. It shows what music is today mainly for the most part that the kids have to go back and listen to the stuff we listened to as kids :)

**Videoskooter** · October 14th, 2004, 02:21 PM

Don't worry Jimmy. Today I had a long conversation with some DJ's who also say that more and more youngsters are asking information on vintage disco and funk coz they are really tired of what's in the charts nowadays. Maybe it's a good sign!

**markydefad** · October 14th, 2004, 02:33 PM

The last "DISCO" song, eh?

Well, the music changed circa early Eighties. The "Disco " sound became Hi-NRG.

With that in mind, while working at Aloha Records in SF at the time this transition was taking place (1982-1983)...

I'd say some candidates for the last "traditional"- sounding Disco songs would be stuff like..

"It's Raining Men" by the Weather Girls
"So Many Men, So Little Time" by Miquel Brown
"In The Name Of Love by Sharon Redd
"Searchin' (I Got To Find A Man)" by Hazell Dean

Or am I just thinking GAY AGAIN???? :oops: :lol: :oops: :lol: :P

All we ask is one mention of "GAY" in every post.

**QUINNY** · October 14th, 2004, 04:59 PM

Go for it marky. It's fun seeing someone unfurling the rope that'll hang 'em, eventually. :lol: :lol: :lol:
I tawt you was betta dan dat.

The last Disco record has yet to be made. THAT'S OBVIOUS I would have thought.

**Nano** · October 14th, 2004, 06:12 PM

Thanks Marky! Now we're having a conversation :D
I didn't hear the songs on your list, but I remember Sharon Redd doing "Beat the street", which was more like a tecno-HiNRG kind of stuff, or at least going in that direction. So she started doing more "analogic" disco? If so, are there examples of other artists who jumped wagon at the time?

(Other than EW&F, Gap Band and all the funk bands who changed to electric drumming.)

Maybe we could do a list of who survived and who not (like in the passing from the silent movie era to the "talkies").

Can we say that at that time most disco artists and producers put their horn sections and percussion teams in the basket and went for the Roland drum machines and DX7 keyboards? And that in doing so, they entered the path that Giorgio (and later Patrick Cowley and some others) had opened with "I feel love" some years earlier?

**markydefad** · October 14th, 2004, 06:47 PM

Nano,

"In The Name of Love" was from the same LP as "Beat The Street"...but it was the throwback to the lusher disco sound as opposed to the streetwise electronic "Beat The Street". I mention this cause these were songs (the 4 I listed above) that the old disco lovers were crazy about; the folks who hated the "New Musik".

Nicky used "In The Name Of Love" in his mix for this site back in tha day. This was one of the later romantic traditional disco throwback-type songs that I recall people LOVING in late 82-early 83 era.

Now, I'm not saying that synths and drum machines were not used here...but the sound was not the cold mechanical stuff...it was warmer and lusher and "more disco".

**Jimmy-Michaels** · October 14th, 2004, 10:30 PM

"In The Name Of Love" is actualy one of my faves

**darrens** · October 15th, 2004, 06:25 AM

I don't think it's actually possible to say which was the "last disco record". The style in which records were produced evolved gradually before, throughout and after the "disco era", there wasn't some switch which was flipped!

Notwithstanding my comments, I always think of Julia & Company's "Shakin' it down (sugar samba)" from 1984 as the latest record I call disco - it sounds very retro and has violin stabs, etc. which you won't find in much 80s dance music.

**totoman** · October 16th, 2004, 07:12 AM

Ithink that You Can by Madleen Kane was great disco by Giorgio Moroder that came after Foxes.

toto

**discosavvy** · October 16th, 2004, 07:54 PM

Last disco song? No such thing, but here are some new ones released this year that are worth hearing:

"Soy tu Venus" by Baccara (2004) (one of the two original Baccara singers from Spain participated in this)

"Diskossa" by G-Litter (2004) (winning Finnish ensemble gets their groove for on a second time)

"I Realized" by Jiva (2004) (smooth and deep)

"Body Request" by Har Mar Superstar (2004) (from a wacky album)

"New York City Rhythm (Live in Concert 2002)" by Barry Manilow (2004) (a classy remake)

At least 205 (that's right, two hundred and five) disco songs have been released in this decade (2000s) so far. There were at least 95 during the 1990s.

"Happy People" is a fun song. I don't know that I've heard the 12" of that yet, I'll look for it.