Reply With QuoteBelow is what I wrote to http://ilx.wh3rd.net/thread.php?msgid=5905979
Though I object to the notion that disco as a form of music is relegated to only a particular time period, and prefer to use consistent scientific rather than inconsistent nostalgic criteria, I will confirm that "Fresh" by Kool and the Gang was the last disco hit on the American Billboard Pop chart of major consequence, reaching number 9 in June 1985. "Fresh" is also conveniently the last song on the 4-CD compilation "The Disco Box", which catalogs hits from the classic disco era. The period from 1985-1992 was when disco was almost completely out of sight in America - out of most nightclubs, off the radio, unavailable in stores, etc. I remember I stopped playing and thinking about disco after December 1984, and the last time during the 1980s that I remember encountering disco was when my schoolmates played a tape of "Shake, Shake, Shake (Shake Your Booty)" by K.C. and the Sunshine Band on a trip to Washington D.C. in the spring of 1985. As for disco culture, roller-disco was still going on during the first half of the 1980s, there was a "Discotheques" section in our local phone book in Connecticut as late as 1983 or 1984, and let's look at some lyrics of obscure American songs like "Born to Dance" by Fats Gaines Band (1983) ("...dancing at the disco 7 nights a week...") and "Tantalize" by Contrast (1984) ("...Everybody getting down with the sounds at the disco..."). By the way, the band Contrast was based in Savannah, Georgia - not even close to New York City or San Francisco where disco lingered longer than usual.
On the American R&B chart, "Fresh" plus "Glow" by Rick James can be considered the last top-10 charting disco hits. When those two songs went off the radio is when the classic disco era definitively comes to a close.
Certain hit songs during the 1990s and 2000s, notably "Cosmic Girl" by Jamiroquai (1996), are pure disco in every respect, while others, like "Strong Enough" by Cher (1998), are disco too but the beat is not the sort of beat one would encounter on a classic disco track. But they are modern disco, not classic disco.
The Swedes might say that the last disco hit so far has been "Finally" by Fredrik Kempe (#18 Pop in March 2004). The Australians could point to that unfortunate remake of "Car Wash" by Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott (#2 Pop in October 2004). Americans could reference Robin Thicke's "When I Get You Alone" (#29 Pop in November 2002). People in India would be able to say their last disco hit was sometime during the mid-1980s. By the way, a lot of modern disco is termed "disco" by the media and the artists themselves, as well as by listeners. The German compilation CD "Die Besten Disco-Hits" (2004) includes two modern disco hits, "Crying at the Discotheque" by Alcazar and "Murder on the Dancefloor" [by Sophie Ellis-Bextor], alongside classic disco.
Originally Written by EricHG23
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