...AND THE BEAT GOES ON! The GRAND ILM DISCO POLL results are revealed!

It begins.

I really regret not finding the time to submit a ballot, but this is gonna be fun!

Didn't vote, but looking forward to an education!

http://leblow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Groove-is-in-the-Heart.gif

Whoop!

My ballot was a shambles but it's good to still have some sort of stake in the results. Makes it more interesting.

Oo-wa oo-wa! Oo-wa oo-wa!

99.(tie) KC & The Sunshine Band - Keep It Comin' Love (1976)
169 points, 4 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/keepitcominlove_zpsacff709d.jpeg

http://youtu.be/hFnRqkax44Q

Love the guitar sound on a lot of KC songs... "Keep It Comin' Love" gets my vote for, if nothing else, the bit where the chorus breaks down and KC goes "ohhhh yeaaah."

It's the little things, you know.

― Kent Burt, 2. maaliskuuta 2011 21:27

the one I've always had a special, separate place in my heart for is "Keep It Comin' Love," for being some ultimate bubblegum disco epitome.

― xhuxk, 4. maaliskuuta 2011 16:23

another vote for Keep It Comin' Love. what a fucking great tune

― NI, 13. maaliskuuta 2011 19:40

Wasn't really familiar with this tune before this poll, but I think Chuck is right there.

Looking forward to this. I like or love so much disco but I only have a superficial familiarity with it.

Oh yeah, I know this song, but didn't know it by title.

Don't know this one, not a huge fan of KC but will check it out.

how many ballots did u get in the end tuomas?

Looking forward to this.
Yes - and to learning the Finnish for all the months of the year apparently :)

Bubblegum disco seems right, I actually dig this.

99.(tie) Bumblebee Unlimited - Lady Bug (Disco Mix) (1978)
169 points, 4 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/32XMCUO1bz_zps9c4558a1.png

http://youtu.be/K4ClcX14K7g

I LOVE Ladybug, beyond most other things, ever.

― Alex in Doncaster (Alex in Doncaster), 19. lokakuuta 2005 23:26

I LOVE Lady Bug, one of my top 5 disco.

― dan138zig (Durrr Durrr Durrrrrr), 12. helmikuuta 2013

Patrick Adams deserves his own thread.

That's more like it! Killer Patrick Adams tune, I've grown to love the goofy lyrics too. "Let's smoke the flowers!"

how many ballots did u get in the end tuomas?

In the end there were exactly 40 ballots.

98. Giorgio - From Here to Eternity (1977)
171 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2317287-1292030788_zpsf2b69a44.jpeg

http://youtu.be/qTFEyFEu1Fk

From Here To Eternity is Perfection

― I know, right?, 8. syyskuuta 2007 14:40

the title track = glorious.

― s1ocki (slutsky), 3. heinäkuuta 2005 23:56

For better or worse trance is Moroder's From here to Eternity LP remodelled 20 years on.

― Billy Dods, 20. marraskuuta 2001 3:00

the title track from 'from here to eternity' is so awesome

― latebloomer (latebloomer), 22. kesäkuuta 2006 6:49

96.(tie) Kid Creole & The Coconuts - I'm a Wonderful Thing (Baby) (1982)
172 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-191571-1247929919_zps6e9f019b.jpeg

http://youtu.be/yRCvMDLdbxs

they're such a wonderful thing, baby.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, 24. elokuuta 2008 15:32

15 May Kid Creole & the Coconuts I'm a Wonderful Thing Baby (4) - Or "Wherever I Lay My Hat" without the guilt and 20 times the easy swagger. Again they SHOULD have had the big hit 12 months previously with "Maladie D'Amour" but it was good to have them around.

― Marcello Carlin, 2. joulukuuta 2002 17:42

Kid Creole & The Coconuts- "I'm a Wonderful Thing, Baby" never fails.

― Chantilly Bass (ChantillyBass), 4. maaliskuuta 2006 10:49

96.(tie) Imagination - Just an Illusion (1982)
172 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-575804-1285176487_zps96fdb5fe.jpeg

http://youtu.be/xDs_aRRdp2o

Didn't Imagination do "Just an Illusion"? That was such a cool song.

― dog latin (dog latin), 12. toukokuuta 2005 20:11

I only heard it (Just an Illusion) for the first time last year when someone posted it on facebook. Great great song.

― Johnny Fever, 5. toukokuuta 2011 6:42

6 Mar Imagination Just An Illusion (2) - Their first two albums are CLASSIQUE and this was their biggest hit; Swain and Jolley's finest moment (including subsequent Spandau and Bananarama work).

― Marcello Carlin, 2. joulukuuta 2002 14:29

synths in Imagination - "Just an Illusion"

Has there ever been a proper Imagination revival? Their first two albums are soooo good, synth disco smooth as silk... And "Burnin' Up" from the first one sounds like they practically invented piano house.

I ditched "Just An Illusion" from my ballot, on stickler-for-purist-definitions-of-genre grounds, but it's still A+++ Total Classic.

fantastic song, and first from my ballot to show up! i like their less successful single "flashback" even more, same great sound but more high-energy. glad "keep it coming love" made it in, haven't heard any of the others but i'll enjoy checking them out.

Love the Kid Creole but I was v. strict with my ballot and all Darnell, Mutant Disco and the like was deliberately excluded. We should probably have a separate poll on that whole sub genre.

two of mine already. I always think of "Just And Illusion" as the greatest British disco track ever. can someone prove me wrong?

so basically both Imagination (11. on my ballot) and Kid Creole (21.) are too low. as pretty much every track on a top 100 disco list must be.

I didn't post it above, because I wanted to include the original video, but there's also a nice 8 minute extended remix of the tune; don't know who's the remixer.

Love the Kid Creole but I was v. strict with my ballot and all Darnell, Mutant Disco and the like was deliberately excluded. We should probably have a separate poll on that whole sub genre.

I don't really count Kid Creole as disco either, and didn't vote for it, but IMO Machine is almost as disco as it can get.

Can't wait, thanks for putting it together!

let's just pretend it's 100 joint #1s.

(had i voted lady bug would've had a significant boost.)

95. The Jones Girls - You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else (1979)
173 points, 4 votes.

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/73532022/The+Jones+Girls.jpg

http://youtu.be/t8lkVb_oM-o

The Jones Girls, "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" <---- totally hypnotic! why did I ever sleep on this one?!

― Eric H., 30. syyskuuta 2008 7:39

13. Jones Girls - You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else

like this one a lot too -- i spent a decent portion of my childhood dancing to shit like this at bar mitzvahs

― wee-based god (J0rdan S.), 22. tammikuuta 2011 10:12

Those two seem to be the only posts ever on ILM about this tune. :(

I spent my Jones Girls vote on "Nights Over Egypt", but I love this one too. Beautiful mid-tempo disco groove with classic "woman scorned" lyrics, that's instant success for me!

delighted this made it, but I assumed it was going to be hiigh

94. Chic - At Last I Am Free (1978)
175 points, 4 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/cest-chic_zps24edd7e7.jpg

http://youtu.be/ZIl4odSpAfg

I like Wyatt's version (and have never heard Liz Fraser's), but Chic's is such a masterful production: the strings and vocals sound like they were on Qualudes.

― I'm crossing over into enterprise (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), 25. huhtikuuta 2009 20:32

A nice man made a mix tape full of weird avant garde stuff and stuck 'at last i am free' on the end as some light relief which was nice.

― Leigh, 13. maaliskuuta 2002 3:00

Disco bands could be serious - very few late-70s rock songs are as fraught as "At Last I Am Free". Try telling the tens of thousands of women who've belted it out at karaoke that "I Will Survive" is not serious and fun both at once.

― Tom, 29. huhtikuuta 2002 3:00

2. At Last I Am Free - at around 3 and a half minutes everything turns staccato for the third chorus, leaving the strings gliding along below the melody before Luci lifts an octave, reaching and bending the melody as an intro to Bernard's bass solo.

There may be nothing better than this music.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), 21. huhtikuuta 2004 13:42

At Last I Am Free: Choose Your Version: Liz Fraser, Robert Wyatt or Chic?

This is one of the few non-singles in this poll... I wonder if its popularity is because of the cover versions mentioned in the thread above (I've never heard them)? It's a great tune anyway, so nice that it made it to the top 100.

That cover, haha. One of the first albums I ever bought.

"You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else" is better than almost any slow disco song evah.

― Nurse Detrius (Eric H.), Tuesday, February 24, 2009 10:58 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah that bassline is godly

― pussy spread like the rainbow (The Brainwasher), Tuesday, February 24, 2009 11:00 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark

here's two more posts

I didn't vote in this poll because my knowledge of disco is awful but i've been very into the Jones Girls and this tune in particular of late

Yeah, I've never understoof the cover for "C'est Chic". Is it supposed to be a parody of some lifestyle magazine photo, or what...?

Personally, I like the Monade version of "At Last I Am Free" best (but then I would).

C'est Chic album cover is great

I voted for "Changes " but otherwise can't get enough of Imagination.

Spotify playlist:
http://open.spotify.com/user/miketd/playlist/4za5ZvxZ6pUQZrcmhkbJja

93. KC & The Sunshine Band - That's the Way (I Like It) (1975)
175 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-407013-1324580312_zps41df1a0a.jpeg

http://youtu.be/XlOpLyTIKKA

Like Chic, the Sunshine Band was one of the few truly great BANDS of disco, with a very identifiable groove and sound. Surely as important to the Miami sound & scene as Chic was to NYC. The horns, the Caribbean percussion -- even the silliest KC song would almost always have this hypnotic boil bubbling underneath. Plus, they achieved massive, superstar-level popularity, and were a red-hit live act (if I remember my Midnight Special correctly). Bet they sold more records than Chic. In other words, uh-huh, I like it.

― briania (briania), 22. lokakuuta 2004 14:46

KC and co. were easily my faves when I was like 5 years old. I never new that my lack-of-a-music-career would cause a run in with Rick Finch in 1991 when I shopped a demo to Hot Productions and he was working A&R.

The thing most interesting about KC's and Rick's careers is how they stole the thunder from Clarence Reid and Willie Clark -- who were the cheif songwriters/producers for Henry Stone before them.

At the time, Rick was an engineer and KC worked in the warehouse. Henry just let them use the studio after hours, which is where "Rock Your Baby" came to life, and changed the direction of Miami (the Allman's once LIVED in that studio).

Also notable that Clarence Reid (aka Blowfly) hired The Oceanliners to play his wedding, which is when and where KC discovered Junkanoo...causing him to fuse it with the soul/funk they were previously working on.

That Junkanoo sound ran deep in the Miami sound during the 70's.

― PappaWheelie (PappaWheelie), 1. elokuuta 2005 17:57

I'm pretty sure I haven't heard any KC&tSB since the Jock Jams era. If memory serves me right, they should probably be pretty cool.

― The Reverend, 19. toukokuuta 2007 12:00

I've never liked the chorus of this tune, but my god that wordless vocal/horn riff that precedes it is glorious! What was the 90s club tune that sampled it?

Nile is quite open that Roxy Music are the source for the whole Chic aesthetic, which is totally otm until you realise Roxy never had a sleeve remotely like that one

KC are magnificent of course. more of them to come I hope

I left off 'just an illusion' for definition of disco reasons but if I hadn't have been as strict it would've joined 'stop bajon' in a top 5. 'At last I'm free' my number 2 ;_;

nice work tuomas

92. Village People - Y.M.C.A. (1978)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-1424926-1260808978_zps47fa6de0.jpeg

http://youtu.be/CS9OO0S5w2k

The Macarana back lash put that song and craze out of its misery while millions of people still try to spell out YMCA.

Without the Village People (or Frankie Goes To Hollywood) karoke would only be half as fun.

― zacko, 22. elokuuta 2001 3:00

SexyBack" is likely a time capsule joke in a decade or two-- our very own "Y.M.C.A."

^^^whaaaaaaaaa?

― Samuel (a hoy hoy)
____________________________________________

i think he might be right about that tbh

― rather shipped (J0rdan S.)

Yep. Y.M.C.A. --> Ring My Bell --> Achy Breaky Heart --> The Macarena --> SexyBack.

― Daniel, Esq., 30. syyskuuta 2009 13:47

You want my honest opinion?

THEY ARE THE BEST BAND EVER.

That's all there is to it. I mean, who is better? Iggy Pop? The Beatles? No, they all suck next to the greatness that is the Leather Man. I mean, YMCA gets played at sporting events, total homophobes sing along with it like morons led to the slaughter, I'm all for that kind of subversion. Plus, Go West is the best song ever made.

― Ally, 21. elokuuta 2001 3:00

Things that it's fun to do at the YMCA poll!

I couldn't sensibly evaluate this one - it is wonderful, it's just too much of wonderful

Tuomas had the same problem, hence no numbers

I saw this disco documentary a while ago, where they interviewed the current Village People, and they kept insisting VP didn't really do gay tunes. (I guess one reason for that claim is that there are only one or two only original members left in the current lineup, I think.) Like, the Native American dude (who I think is an original member) was claiming that Jacques Morali (the writer/producer for the group), being a foreigner, didn't even know what the YMCA was, it was just a sign he saw on the street... Except that immediately before that the doc had showed an interview of Henri Belolo (Morali's co-producer), where he said Morali liked to hang at the YMCA and pick up guys there, and that was the inspiration for the whole song. The contrast between those two interviews was pretty odd, and sad.

Whoops, sorry, that should read:

92. Village People - Y.M.C.A. (1978)
176 points, 4 votes.

I think seeing Jim Davidson perform YMCA repeatedly on the generation game when I was a kid put me off the song.

I never really got what was so gay about this one tbh. Native American dude otm.

I'm not sure if you're joking there...? But just in the case you're not, you should know that the in the US the YMCA was traditionally a place for gay men to meet each other. That's the whole point of the song.

I'm ... sort of joking - the whole thing is obviously delicious campery, but I never knew about the YMCA other than this song. Though there's one in London that has indeed served as a pick-up joint in a couple of books I've read (I've never been).

I don't even know what it is! Except its got a gym in it, and my friend used to go swimming there.

91. Dan Hartman - Vertigo/Relight My Fire (1979)
177 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-993303-1366140118-5115_zps076b2f65.jpeg

http://youtu.be/HgOhXTiarv0

RIP Hartman, Holloway, Norman Harris:

So many "!!!" moments in these 10 minutes.

― Andy K, 15. helmikuuta 2012 15:24

Imagine hearing this for the first time, not expecting Holloway to show up at 6:40.

― Andy K, 15. helmikuuta 2012 15:28

not strictly female but....

Dan Hartman - Vertigo / Relight My Fire later dan hartman cut, out of this world

― administrator galina (Matt P), 17. helmikuuta 2013 6:24

Jezus, dat gaat wel heel hard zo.

05. Dan Hartman - Relight my fire

― Stonehead (Stonehead), 11. elokuuta 2006 14:56

xp iirc the first VP album went after a gay audience and had a lot of in-group references (Fire Island, San Francisco) and after that they pivoted towards mainstream success

TOO LOW!

I guess so, but there are not-so-hidden gay references in pretty much all of their big singles: with "Macho Man" and "In the Navy" it's pretty obvious what the point is, "Go West" is about moving to San Francisco, "Sex Over the Phone" is about the change in gay sex practices after AIDS crisis, and so on...

(xpost)

Imagine hearing this for the first time, not expecting Holloway to show up at 6:40

Eh? I've just passed eight minutes and she's nowhere to be seen?

ah, she's at 8:14 on this cut

No, she does start singing at 6:40 in the version I linked to, with "got to be strong enough to walk on through the night..."

I was listening on spotify. I love songs that have several acts. It's a suite I suppose.

First song that I voted for, yay.

Boo,the full-length version isn't on Spotify, just a rare instrumental remix. I've added the single version, plus a link to the Disco Discharge full-length for those that have the MP3.

90. Jimmy "Bo" Horne - Spank (1978)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/a7671ede-5d65-4ab2-b952-9ca9ecda5c9d_zpsab4bc9f9.jpg

http://youtu.be/6SPPjPI73-U

ok.

today i dropped the forthcoming jimmy 'bo' horne comp into the deck

.. initially my reaction was oh fuck this 70's disco groove,

but i hung in there and i am now loving Spank (as featured above!) , Dance ACross the Floor, Let Me , though his flowery version of Carpenters Close to You is a little too saccharine for my tastes

.. but damn when the fat bass and brass kicks this is total dynamite..

― mark e (mark e), 1. kesäkuuta 2005 21:32

Jimmy "Bo" Horne - "Spank"
This would be unquestionably the greatest disco record ever if only they'd left out the annoying vocal. But the keys are so incredible that it's still in the top 10 - it sounds like running water in Bambi's forest and all the gnomes are humping.

― Jacob (Jacob), 22. elokuuta 2005 10:54

I was actually hoping this thread was gonna be about the Winter Olympics opening ceremony last Friday, where all the teams walked in to disco songs, many of them quite gay. I forget which country got "YMCA," but it definitely made the list. The United States got "Daddy Cool" by Boney M, which was hilarious, since the USA might be the only country on earth where it *wasn't* a hit. There were a couple early '80s picks like "Just Can't Get Enough" by Depeche Mode (still their best song ever!) and someting by the Eurythmics, probably "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)", but mostly it was total disco revenge. Biggest surprises besides "Daddy Cool" where "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Santa Esmeralda and "Spank" by, who? Jimmy "Bo" Horne? Or am I confusing his spank song with another spank song? Either way: Absolute deep-voiced proto-house. It rocked.

― xhuxk, 16. helmikuuta 2006 3:11

Total monster groove, just missed my ballot.

On the KC & Sunshine Band site, I came across a weird semi-official compilation (no catalogue number or label name or anything) that has the two Jimmy "Bo" Horne albums in their entirety... That was one of the best 10 bucks I've ever spent, those tunes just sound so sweet! Jacob's comment above about the keys on "Spank" is OTM, but the spiky horns on it are also a thing to marvel, and I wouldn't belittle Horne himself either (though it's true he's probably not the real star of the tune).

Sorry, forgot the points again:

90. Jimmy "Bo" Horne - Spank (1978)
179 points, 4 votes.

OMG at that Jimmy Bo Horne record cover.

KC & Giorgio stuff waaay too low for realz.

That's it for today, back with the countdown tomorrow. Sweet disco dreams!

a good instrumental version of Spank, for those that don't know, is Sixty-Nine/Change Position by Brooklyn Express.

love that "Keep It Comin' Love" kicked things off -- my taste/knowledge of disco is pretty MOR, so so far all i've voted for is that and the Village People (you think they'll have more songs here or that's as good as it gets for them?). i didn't know even know what "Keep It Comin' Love" was called until relatively recently, i was like are they singing about how sexy common law marriage is or something?

too busy w/Velvets to bother with this, but curious about results

like this one a lot too -- i spent a decent portion of my childhood dancing to shit like this at bar mitzvahs

― wee-based god (J0rdan S.), 22. tammikuuta 2011 10:12

haha <3

Don't know much about this genre, but Relight My Fire seems well low.

92. Village People - Y.M.C.A. (1978)
176 points, 4 votes.

― Tuomas, Thursday, December 5, 2013 4:59 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

You guuuys!

Damn, missed that this started.

DAMN, you guys, the Jones Girls are about 90 slots too low!

Great start to the list.

I didn't end of voting for any KC & The Sunshine but these two songs were in my first draft of possible contenders. I especially like Keep It Comin' Love being the last song on their Part 3, such a great way to end an album.

Bumblebee Unlimited's Lady Bug was one of the last 10 songs I cut from my list. Great song and great album too. I'm really hoping Patrick Adams makes a good showing on this list. Would especially love to see some Cloud One make it.

I did think about losing Kid Creole & The Coconuts from my list I wasn't sure it could be classed as disco (and I was desperate at that point) but in the end I just had to include as it's an incredible song from one of my favourite albums ever.

I really wouldn't be surprised if Chic and their related projects take up about a quarter of this poll. Didn't vote for At Last I Am but it's a stunning song, they just have too many and I really wanted to give other bands more of a chance on my list.

This is awesome, thank you Tuomas! Love reading the blurbs, even if they're just "plain old" ecstatic enthusing.

I really wouldn't be surprised if Chic and their related projects take up about a quarter of this poll.

Chic are obviously awesome but I really hope this doesn't happen.

"Spank" is the shit, glad it made it.
"Just An Illusion" is at least a 9.5 out of 10 but I went ultra purist with my ballot.

The Brooklyn Express cover of "Spank" is really cool too, it's probably on youtube.

i love the tossed-off uniqueness of the euro pic sleeves here - but the american-style(?) die-cut generic record company sleeve, e.g. the iconic TK Disco "beachside palms" (seen at sunset or sunrise, depending on the time of night), offers an appealing blend of anonymity and universality which suits nicely the "in the mix" idiom of disco and nightclubs.

^Yes. Those generic sleeves looked great and have sentimental value for people who are familiar with them from flipping through stacks of 12" singles.

89. Dennis Parker - Like an Eagle (1979)
181 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-750976-1376547099-4665_zpsadea1e6d.jpeg

http://youtu.be/ujbSkWKTuHo (French music video)
http://youtu.be/y87RLJ0M2E8 (12" version)

Okay, this might fall under the "beardo" designation even though it was a semi-hit (IIRC) on Casablanca, but ever since Radio Slave's Eskimo mix reminded me of its existence, Dennis Parker's "Like an Eagle" has been absolutely slaying me.

― Telephone thing, 19. huhtikuuta 2007 19:12

Dennis Parker is said to have been an adult film star at the time he released the Jacques Morali produced "Like An Eagle" in 1979.

― deej, 20. huhtikuuta 2007 3:40

i played 'like an eagle' at a party last year and drunk girls were reeling around, arms outstretched. it was a treat. cryingeagledrunkgirl.jpg, never forget.

― haitch, 20. huhtikuuta 2007 3:46

That 9/11 montage definitely needs a little Dennis Parker.

― matt2, 20. elokuuta 2007 20:42

12" version of like an eagle >> LP version >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> most other songs in the world

― gr8080, 23. toukokuuta 2008 6:35

Not on Spotify, but the original 12" mix is on Disco Discharge: Disco Fever USA, so I've linked to the MP3 on the playlist.

88. Peech Boys - Don't Make Me Wait (Larry Levan Mix) (1982)
183 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-50240-1355736857-6185_zps2e9cdbf9.jpeg

http://youtu.be/QXCSYeNb10Y

Condens aan de muur en zweet op de dansvloer. Check ook zijn remix van Peech Boys' 'Don't Make Me Wait'.

― Arien, 4. toukokuuta 2002 3:00

Don't Make Me Wait - Peech Boys
(influential, pioneering, soulful early electro-funk)

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), 7. lokakuuta 2005 16:34

ive never been to new york but in my head it sounds like ze records or nyc peech boys

― plaxico (I know, right?), 22. helmikuuta 2010 18:26

"Don't Make Me Wait" is even better than I remember. Don't know if I'd put it in the "Hip Hop/Rap" category though. It's really the basis for House to my ears...obviously not a House beat, but the orgasmic moans, the repetitive groove with piano vamps, with the overt disco influence, all distinctly House. And of course, Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles had a close relationship...don't know if Knuckles actually played at the Paradise Garage, but I'm sure he spent some time there.

― viborgu, 7. lokakuuta 2005 19:58

Doesn't fit my definition of disco, but I have loved this track to death for the past 31 years.

That said, this is the first time I've heard this particular Levan remix - it wasn't on the original UK 12" release (which was produced by Levan in the first place). It's not radically different, but it sounds smoother, less stark... a touch more disco, then.

Oh man, wish I could be taking part in this poll but for one reaosn or another (work) i can't.

Must say I do love the 'brand' names on this scene - Tom Moulton, Larry Levan, Nicky Siano, Paradise Garage, etc - and how they've never meant anything to me before but are instantly this mark of quality as well as evocative of a magnificent lost world.

Great to see Just An Illusion up there. Has anyone ever done a 10 minute long edit / remix? That song by Jamie Woon from a couple of years ago gave it more than a passing nod.

hope to see a fair bit of Ze Records. Plaxico OTM, it's how I imagine (or want to imagine) New York sounding like.

I must have told this story somewhere before, but maybe now's a good time to repeat it. My stepmother's third husband was responsible for importing the concept of BPMs/beat-mixing to the UK, via his weekly Disco column in Record Mirror, as a direct result of seeing Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage in 1978. In fact, he was so knocked out that he brought several of his fellow DJs out to NYC shortly afterwards, to witness Levan for themselves.

TBH there seems to be a few different mixes of that tune floating around; the version have (on the Grand 12-Inches 9 comp) sounds a bit starker too, and it lasts for 8.5 minutes. But apparently the 7 minute version is the one that was on the original 12" single.

(xpost to Mike)

Has anyone ever done a 10 minute long edit / remix? That song by Jamie Woon from a couple of years ago gave it more than a passing nod.

Check my post a few posts below the Imagination entry; I linked to an 8 minute remix of the tune... Apparently it was made in France in the 90s, but it's pretty faithful to the original, the drums are a bit harder though.

(He also started telling me about all the gay sex that was going on in dark corners, but my stepmother shut him up - "Michael doesn't need to hear that!" For a libertine, she had quite a prudish streak.)

I must have told this story somewhere before, but maybe now's a good time to repeat it. My stepmother's third husband was responsible for importing the concept of BPMs/beat-mixing to the UK, via his weekly Disco column in Record Mirror, as a direct result of seeing Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage in 1978. In fact, he was so knocked out that he brought several of his fellow DJs out to NYC shortly afterwards, to witness Levan for themselves.

That's a nice story. Having grown up with dance music and DJ mixing always around (I was born in 1979), I sometimes forget these things must've totally blown many people's minds back in the day.

Another "Like An Eagle" video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN0hlI3zizM

There's Lindstrom/Terje versions of "Just An Illusion" floating around, as well as the version on Night Dubbing. Sampled by Mariah in the mid-aughts!

Was hoping "Spank" would be higher - always a treat to play out, and I've never understand the problem people have w/the vox.

xxpost thanks tuomas

I didn't vote for Peech Boys because it doesn't feel like disco to me - think of it alongside Let the Music Play - but boy is it great.

The Spotify playlist of the results is behaving all wrong for me. Up top the "including artists" list is right, but not all the songs are showing up in the playlist itself. (incl Kid Creole, Moroder tracks)

That's odd. Could it be a different territories thing? I'm compiling it from the UK. The only omission is Dennis Parker, unless you have the Disco Discharge MP3.

I misspoke about Moroder, but the Dan Hartman, Kid Creole and Jones Girls songs aren't showing for me. So weird! I've looked them up individually on Spotify and all three can be found/aren't grayed out for US users.

Hmm. Album-wise, the Dan Hartman is on Boogie Nights (1999 comp), Kid Creole is on Tropical Gangsters and the Jones Girls is on Philadelphia International Records 12" Singles. Are those albums available in the US?

Ah, I think that's it. Those albums don't come up in searches for me.

OK, I've made the playlist collaborative, so US alternatives can be added.

Very happy to see Like an Eagle make it. It's all about those incredible strings that come in for me.

86.(tie) Tavares - More Than a Woman (1977)
186 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-563667-1368910427-2153_zps15f80bb7.jpeg

http://youtu.be/zXu0MR-_cJw

The Bee Gees' version sounds like a half-hearted demo. I'll take the Tavares, such an underrated group they were.

(both get a dud demerit for rhyming "myself" with "itself," though.)

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), 14. syyskuuta 2005 8:06

It should be noted, however, that Tavares PWNED the Bee Gees on "More Than a Woman."

― Rick Massimo (Rick Massimo), 20. huhtikuuta 2005 16:04

Tavares - More Than A Woman

probably my favorite thing related to the Bee Gees not called "Night Fever"

― gospodin simmel, 25. huhtikuuta 2012 20:44

WilliamC, the version of "Vertigo/Relight" which you added is a later instrumental remix.

Dang. That's the only one that comes up in a search.

That's such a lovely, elegant track. That and "Open Sesame" were the only two from the SNF soundtrack I even remotely considered.

Also, just an observation and not (as yet) a slam, but this list is a great deal more mainstream than I was expecting this early in the game. Then again, I guess disco WAS mainstream for a good run of years, so that's not a big surprise.

I recently expressed a stronger sentiment ("gospodin simmel" was my first nick here): "sometimes I feel like the Tavares version of More than a Woman is one of my favorite songs ever. the Bee Gees original pales in comparison imo"

which Eric H followed with: "Totally; the Tavares one is transcendent. The Bee Gees is karaoke time."

I stand by that 100 percent.

People are obviously forgetting the classic 911 version of this, perhaps the definitive version for me.

wonder why the Bee Gees version of If I Can't Have You isn't on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack? it's on a B side from the era iirc.

Yikes - because of the way I did my ballot, I never reached the Tavs' version, but I placed the Gees' ^high^. I may have cost this one a good twenty places.

wonder why the Bee Gees version of If I Can't Have You isn't on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack? it's on a B side from the era iirc

Wikipedia says it was originally meant to be - and Yvonne Elliman was supposed to sing "How Deep Is Your Love," but Robert Stigwood decided to switch that up.

I have never heard "Like An Eagle" before. Wow, really great!

OMG at that Jimmy Bo Horne record cover.

― Tim F, Thursday, December 5, 2013 5:05 PM (Yesterday)

the LP cover is great as well

http://i.imgur.com/KWXTiQC.jpg

xp hats off to Robert Stigwood then! smart dude. Bee Gees version (even though it pales next to Elliman's) woulda been huge mind.

i hope Disco Tex And The Sex O Lets 'Get Dancin' shows up.

"Spank" is my big discovery thus far. It reminds me of Exodus "Together Forever", with its dinky little piano figure.

there is a great betty botox edit of it out there that is not on youtube

great poll so far

86.(tie) Loose Joints - Tell You (Today) (1983)
186 poins, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-84945-1152220701_zpsb3580520.jpeg

http://youtu.be/u-OZokZbaUs

Just now, hearing Loose Joints' "Tell You (Today)" slip from a held- in-check groove into the most tenderly thrilled dancepop moment I've heard in....oh, *weeks*.

― Tom, 22. toukokuuta 2001 3:00

Order all the alcohol that I can in one round, down it all as fast as possible, the listen to Tell You Today by Loose Joints on my Headphones.

After the second or third round I'd ask Baby Spice to join me in the lavatory. I would then proceed to tell Nicky from MSP that the only Welsh cultural export that was worth half a shit was Dylan Thomas, and that he wasn't even in a real rock and roll band because nobody in America ever gave a shit about Manic Street Preachers.

After the fifth round I would go into business class and start yelling at the stewards and passengers, telling them that "I AM REM" and if anybody tried to stop me I would then tell them not to fuck with me, because I am in fact, a Viking.

After all of that happened, I would probably wander back to my seat in first class, put on my headphones and pass out to Here Come The Warm Jets by Brian Eno.

― Mike Taylor (mjt), 20. huhtikuuta 2003 22:23

Unspeakably awesome brass section I am listening to right now: Loose Joints, "Tell You Today".

― Robin Carmody, 29. toukokuuta 2001 3:00

LOL farty trombones.

Not caught up from yesterday, but there was some damn fine stuff there.

Any interest in me compiling these into a youtube playlist as we go, so at the end people have them all in one place?

totally forgot about this one

so good

Any interest in me compiling these into a youtube playlist as we go, so at the end people have them all in one place?

― emil.y, Friday, 6 December 2013 12:36 (48 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that would be much appreciated as i am stealth listening to these at work

looooove this track

tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you tell you

the vocals are so chill

i kind of used to really resent this track for having such an epic buildup for what was a kind of wimpy payoff chorus, but i've come to terms with it

Oh, this is GOOD. Another discovery!

gr8080 otm

86 god this poll can go to hell, or alternatively i should have voted.

love the doubling of the piano riffs in the Loose Joints jam - sounds as if the DJ is playing two copies! a work of genius.

85. Patrice Rushen - Forget Me Nots (1982)
188 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-87214-1195570286_zpsea96d50c.jpeg

http://youtu.be/R6J5ciRpVcA (12" version)
http://youtu.be/W2XhhuM9GZo (music video)

24 Apr Patrice Rushen Forget Me Nots (8) - More wonderfully seductive R&B, quoted by George Michael in "Fastlove" 14 years later as recognition of what he, and perhaps all of us, lost.

― Marcello Carlin, 2. joulukuuta 2002 15:22

agree 100% with the top 2, indeep should be at 3, then situation and forget me nots/freeez, greatest songs of all time

― NI, 10. tammikuuta 2011 13:53

My single contribution is maybe "obvious" to those in the know, but I just heard it for the first time and it's one of those songs I've listened to 5-10 times a day since d/ling it:

Patrice Rushen - Forget Me Nots

― flightsatdusk (flightsatdusk), 26. elokuuta 2003 17:56

forget me nots

In a genre known for epic basslines and handclaps, "Forget Me Nots" might just have the most epic ones.

yessss

hope that "haven't you heard" turns up as well

also i think its cool that the posts tuomas is quoting have their timestamps in finnish

84. Phreek - Weekend (1978)
189 points, 4 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2724253-1298174908_zps10259f14.jpeg

http://youtu.be/bUAjlpgfNIc

Check out 'Weekend' by Phreek, a Patrick Adams production - great disco-punk from a disco-point-of-view...

― Vincent Vern, 15. lokakuuta 2003 13:55

Aha! I figured out something. The Chic records don't really have any percussion other than Tony's trap set. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) Right now, I'm listening to "Weekend" by Phreek on the Levan comp. It has bongos and agogo bells going all over the place in between the beats and THAT is what gets me dancing.

― The Reverend, 1. heinäkuuta 2007 23:25

i heartily endorse 'weekend' by phreek.

― haitch, 21. elokuuta 2007 8:45

er, that's meant to be "weekend" by phreek. maybe too obvious, but it's always the first thing that comes into mind when someone says the words "piano" and "breakdown". pisses on every single tasteful weak ass dfa endorsed £145-designer-t-shirt pianodisco track from a very great height

― rio (r1o natsume), 11. helmikuuta 2009 11:46

I prefer the Class Action version of "Weekend" to the original (and voted for it), mainly because Christine Wiltshire's vocals on it are so impressive and powerful. IMO the vocalist on the original doesn't completely manage to sell the female empowerment lyrics, though the groove is obviously undeniable.

ditto

can't argue with any of these, really

Yeah, I prefer the Class Action version too - it sharpens the song up.

(On the other hand, you can't beat a cowbell breakdown.)

Oh, I checked the credits on Discogs.com, and apparently Wiltshire sings on the original "Weekend" too! Well, I guess she just does a better job on the later version.

Phreek was my big discovery on the 2006 Levan comp.

83. Boney M. - Rasputin (1978)
190 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-933613-1255458200_zpsccc638dd.jpeg

http://youtu.be/zL68JAzBZlM (12" version)
http://youtu.be/kvDMlk3kSYg (music video)

The jump from the mock-Cossack "hey-hey-hey" sequence (pissing on the history books and loving every minute of it; it renders most things that could be called plastic folk utterly unnecessary) into the song proper in Boney M's "Rasputin" (radio usually starts after this, therefore removing the only truly classic element of the song).

― Robin Carmody, 10. maaliskuuta 2001 3:00

We are all on crack: the answer = "Rasputin" by Boney M. To hate = to hate life

― mark s, 4. heinäkuuta 2001 3:00

And yes, 'Rasputin' is silly, that's the bleedin' point...jeez, a black guy sporting an afro with a fake beard doing a russian dance isn't exactly Tolstoy, innit? ;)

― Omar, 4. heinäkuuta 2001 3:00

Rasputin not cool? On which planet? The mixing from Nightflight To Venus to the aforementioned greatest single about pre-revolutionary Russia ever made defines dance music. It Began In Moscow.

― Mike Ratford, 26. maaliskuuta 2002 3:00

You really need to hear "Rasputin", at least.

I love the spoken part:

"But when his DRINKING and LUSTING and his HUNGER
FOR POWER became known to MORE and MORE people,
the demands to do something about this OUTRAGEOUS
man became LOUDER and LOUDER."

― Arthur (Arthur), 29. maaliskuuta 2003 7:14

gotta say Tongue N Cheek's house version from 1990 is a blinder

If you're only familiar with the regular version of "Rasputin", I urge you to check out the 12" mix linked to above: IMO, it has one of the finest extended break intros in all of discodom.

Tuomas is correct. This could easily have been my no.1.

Also, I love how they have to double the final chorus in order to depict the real-life death of Rasputin, i.e. that he was first poisoned, and when that didn't work, shot. Though they still leave out the fact that after he was shot they threw him into a river, just to make sure he was really dead... I guess a triple chorus would've been to much.

surely the only disco single in history to contain the phrase "he was such a lovely dear"?

Just discovered the 12" version on Spotify - great intro.

The 12" intro is quite similar to Cozy Powell's "Dance With The Devil".

And, for our younger readers: http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/staff_top_10/top-ten-things-about-rasputin-by-boney-m.htm

82. Tantra - Hills of Katmandu (Album Version) (1979)
192 points, 4 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-212461-1360370028-1724_zpse533df84.jpeg

http://youtu.be/7MCfnMpkUTo

I am listening to Tantra's "The Hills Of Katmandu" right now, but I'm only on my 4th beer. The Love may come out as well.

― scott seward (scott seward), 6. helmikuuta 2005 2:12

listening to the tantra album tonight, i felt like downloading a few tracks for u jon. they might be a bit gay for you, but they are epic

― STRAIGHT FERN GULLY (jaxon), 20. huhtikuuta 2006 8:48

Valli's stuff w/ Azoto is great...San Salvador and Exalt Exalt are the ones I know. but Tantra is just mega-classic. Didn't realize those two were produced by the same person. Tantra's Ma-Cum-Be, A Place Called Tarot and Hills of Katmandu are awesome.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), 7. helmikuuta 2006 0:32

that tantra double lp is by far and away the greatest $3 record i found misfiled in the prince section EVER

― team jaxon (jaxon), 7. helmikuuta 2006 0:51

i really enjoy both hills of katmandu and wishbone pitched way way down

That was my #2. I have huge passion for cosmic 10+ minute disco epics, and "Hills of Katmandu" is the best that I've ever heard. Also, I love the surprisingly sweet B part that follows the mystical incantations, and I love the fact that it doesn't even hit until the song has already played for 7 minutes.

I think "Weekend" is the first one I voted for to place. What a stunning bridge into the chorus.

Wish I'd have had room for "Forget Me Nots" on my ballot, but had to give it up to "Haven't You Heard."

Actually much prefer the original Phreek version, too, btw. The Levan mix seems to hectic and the Class Action one too spare. I prefer the full-on Patrick Adams lushness of the album track.

also i think its cool that the posts tuomas is quoting have their timestamps in finnish

This.

Did any songs lose out because people voted for different versions?

xps I gave Rasputin big points, glad it made it. It's always puzzled how in between their drippy stuff they put out such an undeniable total banger. I don't suppose they had any others tucked away?

Wow @ that Tantra sleeve!

It's always puzzled how in between their drippy stuff they put out such an undeniable total banger. I don't suppose they had any others tucked away?

You might dig He Was a Steppenwolf; it's slower than Rasputin, but definitely has a similar vibe.

It's also my favourite Boney M. tune, even if it kinda steals the chorus melody from "Under the Boardwalk".

'Daddy Cool', while no 'Rasputin', isn't exactly drippy.

('Rasputin' is totally ace, obviously.)

If you're only familiar with the regular version of "Rasputin", I urge you to check out the 12" mix linked to above: IMO, it has one of the finest extended break intros in all of discodom.

you ain't kiddin!

OMG at the 12" version of Rasputin! Heard this song a million times, and only now realized how great it is. The bassline! But really, the song where the "but kazachok he danced really wunderbar" line is not the best thing must be great.

I love that Phreek album cover so much. When I finally get around to framing some of my favourite vinyls that's one I'm going to put up.

Didn't vote for Tantra but happy to see it place and yeah that single cover is quite something too.

"ma baker" by boney m actually got my vote instead of rasputin, and i always got the impression that rasputin was a (successful) effort to replicate ma baker's success. same faux-historical basis, corny voiceovers and great strings. can't say i prefer one over the other though, both excellent tracks.

I think i voted for Gotta Go Home as well as Rasputin but it could have been four or five. Boney M's greatest hits is better than that of almost any band i could name.

81. Heatwave - The Groove Line (1977)
193 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-3451021-1330878398_zps1711dc97.jpeg

http://youtu.be/Cr6o88OJ8x8

There doesn't seem to be too much discussion on this tune on ILM, but here's a couple of general threads:

Rod Temperton : what should I look for ?

Has any band ever looked as silly as Heatwave in their matching disco outfits?

That's it for tonight, more tomorrow.

Awww poop. And I just got here.

This list is just fantastic so far. I can't wait for the rest.

99.(tie) KC & The Sunshine Band - Keep It Comin' Love (1976)
99.(tie) Bumblebee Unlimited - Lady Bug (Disco Mix) (1978)
98. Giorgio - From Here to Eternity (1977)
96.(tie) Kid Creole & The Coconuts - I'm a Wonderful Thing (Baby) (1982)
96.(tie) Imagination - Just an Illusion (1982)
95. The Jones Girls - You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else (1979)
94. Chic - At Last I Am Free (1978)
93. KC & The Sunshine Band - That's the Way (I Like It) (1975)
92. Village People - Y.M.C.A. (1978)
91. Dan Hartman - Vertigo/Relight My Fire (1979)
90. Jimmy "Bo" Horne - Spank (1978)
89. Dennis Parker - Like an Eagle (1979)
88. Peech Boys - Don't Make Me Wait (Larry Levan Mix) (1982)
86.(tie) Tavares - More Than a Woman (1977)
86.(tie) Loose Joints - Tell You (Today) (1983)
85. Patrice Rushen - Forget Me Nots (1982)
84. Phreek - Weekend (1978)
83. Boney M. - Rasputin (1978)
82. Tantra - Hills of Katmandu (Album Version) (1979)
81. Heatwave - The Groove Line (1977)

LOVE The Groove Line. Think it was when it was used in Freaks and Geeks when I realised what an incredible song it is.

wow, The Groove Line is exceptional - hadn't heard it before. There's so much going on at every moment, it's a full-spectrum assault you can dance to.

just wanna mention that "Spank" is the greatest song ever

"Groove Line" is fantastic. Anything connected to Rod Temperton is fantastic.

wow, The Groove Line is exceptional - hadn't heard it before. There's so much going on at every moment, it's a full-spectrum assault you can dance to.

― Ismael Klata

Yeah that is exactly it, every second of the song as something exciting going on. I'm sure I had it way too low on my list.

Here's that cool instrumental cover of "Spank" by Brooklyn Express, from 1981:

http://youtu.be/xIltkM_ipNg

What the hell are those head covering things called that the Boney M ladies wore? They seemed to be very popular with funk/disco artists in the 70s...

They seem kind of Sun Ra inspired.

http://www.oocities.org/realsoul_music/Images/ratyson.jpeg

It hasn't come up and won't but I can't get Change's "Angel in My Pocket" outta my head.

Groove Line is more my speed than most of these (but I'm hearing a bunch of them for the first time).

(Have to check my surprise over some people saying they've never heard it before and remind myself I am old.)

hope you have your mind blown by hearing Rasputin and YMCA for the first time

wonder what change songs are going to show up. feel like "angel in my pocket" has a good chance.

Oops, I think I voted for the wrong version of "Weekend." Both versions are great though.

I voted 'groove line' p high, so much more of a jam than 'boogie nights'. The "leave your worries behind" hook is one of the greatest hooks ever.

already this might be the greatest poll in ILM history, God bless you guys.

I too prefer Class Action's version of "Weekend." Kind of sad I had to cut it off my list to make the 50 now.

very american so far

i dunno, disco is pretty international - i count 7.5 out of 20 so far as uk/euro-driven.

hmm I dunno, at first glance i guessed 75% were american style. doesn't matter anyway, just an observation.

80. Heatwave - Boogie Nights (1976)
193 points, 7 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-1421526-1365580036-9428_zpse098d0fc.jpeg

http://youtu.be/Z7g6_n7AW8g

*Dr. C, what is your definition of good disco?*

Swagger + a great melody + unstoppable momentum + hooks, hooks, hooks!

e.g Boogie Nights, Best Of My Love, Staying Alive, He's The Greatest Dancer + Funkytown

― Dr. C (Dr. C), 3. maaliskuuta 2004 18:03

When I was about ten, a friend of mine insisted that the chorus in "Boogie Nights" by Heatwave is "Dance with the boogie guitar." I told him it was "Dance with the boogie/Get down," but he said that didn't make any sense. He didn't know about the expression "Get down!"

― Tim Ellison, 1. toukokuuta 2004 21:53

Listen to Heatwave's "Boogie Nights" for the genesis of the Thriller sound -- that rolling plush electronic bass cushion. Rod Temperton doesn't get much credit, but he does play on both records.

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), 15. tammikuuta 2005 18:00

fwiw I was like 10 years old when this term was being used in disco ("Boogie Oogie Oogie") and I hated it. Except for Heatwave's "Boogie Nights," Heatwave owns they can do what they want

― available for sporting events (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), 31. tammikuuta 2013 15:08

Santa Esmeralda - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (1977)
195 points, 6 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-1546461-1227459217_zps6eef45ef.jpeg

http://youtu.be/Oso0ieD8-tI

Santa Esmeralda all the way! I love the fact that they followed up a debut album that started with a 15-minute disco fantasia on an Animals song ("House of the Rising Sun") with a second album that started with a 15-minute disco fantasia on an Animals song ("Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"). Or was it the other way around?

― Douglas, 25. helmikuuta 2002 3:00

I don't remember her exact words at the time, but I have a fond image of my mum dancing dreamily to Santa Esmeralda's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" while wearing a lion costume.

― Thea (Thea), 4. maaliskuuta 2004 4:33

And a lot of those Eurodisco guys like Cerrone and Costandinos and Santa Esmeralda were totally making concept albums, completely pretentious ones, with opera parts and everything. They were about as prog as you can get.

― chuck, 25. elokuuta 2004 22:18

Santa Esmeralda are way, way over-the-top disco--both of their first two albums are based around heavily orchestrated 15-minute disco versions of songs by the Animals. They go downhill after that, but sort of in a good way. I own too many records by them.

― Douglas (Douglas), 18. toukokuuta 2005 18:34

Sorry, that should say:

79. Santa Esmeralda - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (1977)

I'm a big Nina Simone fan, but I gotta say this is by far the best version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood".

xpostz - Rod is so good. his music with Heatwave is beautifully intricate - gorgeous harmonies in the service of tight rhythmic songs.

Also, I gotta correct the misinformation in the Santa Esmeralda quotes: neither "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" nor "House of the Rising Sun" are originally by the Animals. The former was first performed by Nina Simone, and the latter is, as most of you probably know, an old folk song. Though undoubtedly Santa Esmeralda's versions of them were informed by The Animals recordings.

Yeah this is an amazing version.

I forgot about this song as soon as I submitted my ballot. Glad it made it, but TOO LOW

blarpfh that should read "remembered this song"

oh man i FORGOT to vote for "The Groove Line," probably would've been in my top 10 :(

Great song, but I think it would've fallen on the funk side of my personal eligibility criteria. Funk has the accent solidly on the one, disco on the one-and-three - I think that's how I carve it up?

I've had some fine discoveries already but 'Just an Illusion' is cream of the crop, even if the groove it goes out on feels somehow limper than it should.

In what may have been my first gig ever, as a kid I was asked to play in a band that was playing that weekend at a party, and was handed the then-new record "The Groove Line" to learn. I never did figure out that little horn lick at the end of the bridge.

Santa Esmerelda the second from my ballot I think.

Just one of the most amazing intros ever.

78. Patrick Cowley - Menergy (1981)
196 points, 4 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-1259939-1330541470_zps759391c4.jpeg

http://youtu.be/Lne4izAcT5w

What is the Gayest Song Ever?

Patrick Cowley - "Menergy"

Some magazine or other called the Pet Shop Boys' "New York City Boy" "the gayest song ever recorded" when it came out. It would be a contender except it's not quite as good as the muscular disco tracks it's pastiching.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), 17. helmikuuta 2004 13:13

"Menergy" (the non-Sylvester version) is my favorite Cowley production. The three (four?) times it build and builds and builds and then LITERALLY shoots off only to sink back into that stripped-down arpeggiated bass line and beat combo are just as exhilarating EVERY FUCKING TIME.

The song COMES ON YOU. Sleaziest shit ever.

― Richj (Rich), 10. marraskuuta 2005 18:41

I love Patrick Cowley and agree that he's underrated, though perhaps not specifically on ILM. Not sure i'd really want to choose between him and Arthur TBH! It's a good question/discussion point though mt, I think there are some pretty clear reasons as to why Patrick hasn't been embraced by the critical cognoscenti the way Arthur Russell has, and it would be interesting to think about what it would take to convince everyone that Cowley was an "important figure" in the way that Russell is regarded as being.

Maybe a key issue is that Russell always seems like this wild musical sprite who 'passes through' disco but is not defined by it, whereas Cowley really blew it up from within.

― Tim F, 20. elokuuta 2007 7:34

I think the thing that kills Cowley is that he doesn't have any of the rock backstory so he can't grab cred by association. He doesn't have any good stories, he was just a brilliant studio guy that laid the groundwork for a whole bunch of great gay dance records that haven't been cannonized by hipster record nerds yet. I think his music might signify as being too strictly DANCE and too GAY to be fully embraced by hipsters. EXPERIMENTAL and GAY can work if Soul Jazz curates it, but underground GAY DANCE music that isn't being curated isn't real music in a lot of people minds. When there is a Hi-NRG Soul Jazz comp the tides will turn for this guy.

― Display Name, 20. elokuuta 2007 8:00

Talk to me about Patrick Cowley's 'Menergy'

All these posters being quoted, where are they? This is their moment.

I think Cowley's productions clearly beat Arthur Russell's productions in this poll, so maybe things have changed in 6 years?

rich juzwiak hasn't posted here in quite a while, although he's all over gawker these days.

favorite side effect of this thread is finding out what months are called in finnish.

This list is making me realize how narrow my exposure to disco was and is. I am old enough to remember listening to commercial radio stations devoted completely, or almost completely (I don't really remember), to disco back in probably 78/79, but I'm too young to have been going out clubbing during the disco era. And it's just not something I've dug into deeply.

emil, a youtube playlist is a good idea!

77. Chaka Khan - I'm Every Woman (1978)
196 points, 5 votes, one 1st place vote.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-1419739-1292257429_zps78971d23.jpeg

http://youtu.be/Q8xuUdI1an0

"I'm Every Woman" still sounds like disco perfection... GOD I love that track!

― Eric H. (Eric H.), 16. tammikuuta 2004 3:06

Arif Mardin produced 'Jive Talkin' and 'Nights On Broadway' and 'I'm Every Woman', I think he deserves a round of applause just for those three.

― LondonLee (LondonLee), 17. helmikuuta 2004 17:06

Praga Khan = cheesy techno that lost its sharpness around '92 or so
Chaka Khan = funk/disco goddess
Genghis Khan = mercenary ruler played by John Wayne in notoriously hideous 1956 film The Conqueror
"Khan" = white-suited, granter of O. Henry-esque fantasies

I'd have to go with Chaka. She can outshout 'em all.

― M. Matos, 14. marraskuuta 2001 3:00

Oh now, that one I love.

One of the saddest things ever is that there seems to be no 12" extended mix of "I'm Every Woman" - I'd love for it to just go on and on and never stop... (There is a long remix from the 80s, but that's too housey in a way that doesn't suit this tune.)

Also, even though the comments on this song I found on ILM were mostly praising Nick Ashford for writing it and Arid Mardin for producing it, I think it'd be nothing without Chaka Khan's inspired performance; I can imagine it being totally bland with a lesser singer.

Chaka's heights were so high, that's one of the main things I've learned.

I was the number one vote there. I'm stunned it's as low as it is. The next 76 tracks better be FLAWLESS.

76. Rufus & Chaka Khan - Ain't Nobody (1983)
198 points, 5 votes, one 1st place vote.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-163681-1268922360_zpsf5fce82a.jpeg

http://youtu.be/ycnuyo3MLbw (music video)
http://youtu.be/tdavRm23lfY (longer version)

"I Feel For You"--classic.

"Ain't Nobody"--immortal.

― ellaguru, 1. heinäkuuta 2007 20:06

I just listened to "Ain't Nobody" and wanted to revive to say "classic" for Chaka Khan, not just for "I Feel For You" but that too. The keyboard riff on "Ain't Nobody" is so classic; Wikipedia says Quincy Jones wanted this song for Thriller but didn't get it; it would have been amazing on there.

― Euler, 5. heinäkuuta 2008 23:32

generally sending a shiver up my spine is a prerequisite for records to make my (oft-updated)"top-ten-of-all-time"; so here's the current one:
1)"ain't nobody" rufus & chaka khan.

― michael w., 6. syyskuuta 2002 9:13

Yet another vote for "Ain't Nobody"

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), 21. kesäkuuta 2006 12:15

That one might be a bit controversial, as good as "Ain't Nobody" is, I at least don't really consider it to be disco. But it was nominated and people voted for it, so that's that.

Anyway, one of the best synth lines of the 80s, no?

xp Great song, obv, but doesn't pass the "is it disco" smell test by my estimation.

The dance clip at the beginning of the "Ain't Nobody" video is from archival mambo dancer footage that shows up everywhere (at least in Latin music contexts).

(Or a really close imitation of them.)

Writing 1000 words for RBMA about post-Rufus Chaka is the highlight of my writing career in 2013.

Ain't Nobody is not disco. I'll just pretend Space's Magic Fly took its place, as I have doubts it will make this list

yo imma let you finish but "gloria" is the greatest santa esmerelda song of all time OF ALL TIME

So happy to see Menergy place. Love that song so much, especially how the intro sounds like it's going be a Boards of Canada song before it explodes into life.

I'm just gonna share this exquisite contemporaneous MC Lane Explosion cover of "magic fly" again

http://youtu.be/YpB2asybA7I

The O'Jays - Love Train (Tom Moulton Mix) (1973 - original / 1977 - remix)
199 points, 6 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2869597-1304871086_zpsca398507.jpeg

http://youtu.be/__lYfFyP0hk

*cues "Love Train" by the O'Jays, sparks joint*

― hstencil, 25. huhtikuuta 2003 23:59

Classic, and with years of good stuff before Philly got big. Backstabbers and Love Train and several others are wonderful.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), 27. huhtikuuta 2003 20:22

When I heard "Love Train", I was in a certain place and I felt a certain way and the song just rushed into me and stuck somewhere, a joyful glue aneurysm waiting to burst and stick to everything.

― David A. (Davant), 2. helmikuuta 2005 11:09

I kinda like it when an LP-closing single feels a little more self-consciously trivial, happy-go-luckier you might say, than the music that preceded it. "Train In Vain" is like that, and so are "Flash Light" and "Love Train". It's as tho they're saying "Here's one you probably know already, just a bit of silly nonsense really, but we enjoyed recording it. Hope you like it." Has a sort of humanizing effect, in a way...I don't know what I mean...

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), 13. lokakuuta 2005 23:33

Possibly the happiest song EVER??

― Amiii Stewart (Amiii Stewart), 17. toukokuuta 2005 20:12

Sorry, that's 75., obviously.

Yay Philly!

damn straight!!

Amii Stewart otm there

I'm just gonna share this exquisite contemporaneous MC Lane Explosion cover of "magic fly" again

http://youtu.be/YpB2asybA7I

― ☞ (brimstead), Saturday, December 7, 2013 11:24 AM (8 minutes ago)

I had not not heard this version before! A bit more atmospheric and dark. Love it.

Directed my Philly votes elsewhere, but I'm happy to see any and all of it place.

74. John Paul King - Love Is in the Air (1977)
201 points, 6 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2133386-1303595994_zps562c0636.jpeg

http://youtu.be/NNC0kIzM1Fo (music video)
http://youtu.be/H9garIoefS4 (12" version)

My Dad flirted with blues and jazz in the 50s. He played ice hockey. His two favourite songs in the 70s were "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" by Ian Dury & the Blockheads and "Love is in the Air" by John Paul Young (a song I later discovered was very popular with other people's dads, for some reason or other)

― Dadaismus (Dada), 7. lokakuuta 2005 12:25

No, the latter masterpiece is expressly for the boogieing needs of Smooth Uncles worldwide.

― suzy (suzy), 7. lokakuuta 2005 12:28

I also like Love is in the Air by some Scottish guy named Young, though apparently not related, which they produced.

― mizzell, 9. elokuuta 2007 17:27

john paul young. no-one in australia really ever needs to hear this again ever ever ever, but it is quite good.

― haitch, 13. elokuuta 2007 3:59

I swear to almighty God, everytime I walk into a Borders 'Love Is In The Air' comes on, the John Paul Young version I think. It's the kind of song that would go well with some hot crazy homicidal killing spree, but not when I'm trying to buy books. One of these I will crack and mow down the toothless hoardes, making them eat on their Barbara Kingsolver paperbacks. They only have themselves to blame.

― toofattoskate, 7. marraskuuta 2009 21:36

This was one of the few songs in the top 100 I was totally unfamiliar with (though the melody sounded instantly familiar when I played the tune, so I guess I'd heard it somewhere). It's very pretty.

Whoops, sorry, that should read John Paul Young, not John Paul King. Don't know where the "King" came from.

Wish "Menergy" had made it higher. Surprised that some people think it's sleazy - it's no "Walk The Night."

I watched this biography of "The Godfather of Disco" Mel Cheren (West End Records/Paradise Garage) last night - really interesting. Lots of NYC queer/disco/AIDS history intertwined there for those curious.

http://youtu.be/KuBGPj-klT8

"Love Is In The Air" is such a dreamy song. The top 20 better really be something, bitches.

The first song I've disliked :(

first result i nommed iirc

didnt think this had a chance outside of the bottom 10-20!

Why do you hate love, Alfred?

the week i first discovered love is in the air i was on a date and as we walked by this record store i said "would you mind if we stopped in here? i promise i'm not browsing, i just want to check if they have this one record" and i went straight for "Y" in the "DISCO" section and there was a copy of the 12" with a $4 price tag on it

http://i.imgur.com/qciyzwC.jpg

72.(tie) Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (1982)
207 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-196049-1240168445_zps0b3e349e.jpeg

http://youtu.be/BB-IwOwUR9o

Wanna Be Startin' Something is the greatest song of all time.

― groovemaaan, 25. huhtikuuta 2007 21:29

MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA MAMASE MAMASO MAMAKOSA

― The Reverend, 26. huhtikuuta 2007 0:29

listening to "Wanna Be Startin' Something" god the breakdown at the end is so great

― matt h. (M@tt He1ges0n), 26. kesäkuuta 2009 23:59

amazing, you know oddly i didn't think people thought THAT much of Wanna Be Startin.. so glad that they do. what a TUNE.

― piscesx, 25. helmikuuta 2012 6:3

I never reached the Tavs' version, but I placed the Gees' ^high^. I may have cost this one a good twenty places

I've just played these back-to-back and yes, I've voted for the inferior version (which I still love). Sorry, Tavares.

The first song I've disliked :(

Oh there have been about four or five of them so far for me (one I actually outright loathe), but I'm holding my tongue this time around because it's disco.

MJ-as-disco felt all wrong to me, I couldn't vote for any of his. He is his own thing.

I wrote this about "WBSS" in the Jacksons poll thread, still stand behind every word:

"Wanna Be Startin' Something" was my #2, and it's definitely my favourite MJ single of all time. Everything about is just perfect: the way it starts full-force (thus mirroring the chorus lyric), no intro or anything, with that ridiculously catchy bassline; the way the verses just repeat the same things over and over again, but the way Michael emotes them manages to give each line poignancy; the way the production and arranging on the tune is so impeccable, so aurally pleasing it practically shines; the oddball lyrical injections only MJ could pull of so convincingly ("you're a vegetable", wtf?); the mama-se mama-sa mama mako-ssa coda that (controversy ahoy!) he pulls off with more soul than Manu Dibango ever did in the original. I just love every second of this tune!

Again, awesome song, but it's kinda disco with an asterisk, unlike "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" (which I presume is still to place).

Yeah I felt fine voting for "Don't Stop..." but couldn't vote for "Wanna..." even though they're like twin godheads controlling the universe with irresistible compulsion.

wonder what change songs are going to show up. feel like "angel in my pocket" has a good chance.

― From the Album No Baby for You! (Matt P), Friday, December 6, 2013 11:15 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

"A Lover's Holiday" should win every poll ever but I have a feeling I'm gonna be disappointed on this front.

I will have to be content if "Angel In My Pocket" or "Paradise" place, I suppose.

HOLD TIGHT

I didn't see "Angel in My Pocket" on Tuomas' spreedsheet; that's the only reason I didn't vote for it.

from WIKI

The coda at the end of the song comes directly from Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango's 1972 disco song "Soul Makossa". Dibango sued Jackson and settled out of court for one million French francs, agreeing thereby to waive future rights to this recording but not future use of the material.

news to me!

I agree Tim F, We need some Change!

Yeah I felt fine voting for "Don't Stop..." but couldn't vote for "Wanna..." even though they're like twin godheads controlling the universe with irresistible compulsion.

OTM unto perpetuity.

72.(tie) Evelyn "Champagne" King - Shame (1977)
207 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-850672-1175931301_zps6ce41f1c.jpeg

http://youtu.be/2_oGq1USOIo

Can't really find any discussion on this tune on ILM, but maybe you can say something about it?

Evelyn King is probably the youngest artist in this poll; I think she was only 17 when this song came out.

I've never known the title or the artist but this is a classic of course, especially that chorus.

Personally, I prefer her later boogie material; "I'm in Love", "Love Come Down", and "Get Loose" are all awesome. IMO she's still pretty generic on "Shame".

Shame is completely fantastique

changing your middle name to "champagne" is pretty dope imo

let's not preemptively mar this thread with disappointment over things that may or may not yet place (plenty of time for that later) and just enjoy the tunes

btw these covers are awesome! so they'r european? makes me wish disco singles didn't all have those generic labels

also glow of love rules but my fav change tune is not disco but the killer 80's r&b of "change of heart"

xps I know a guy whose middle name is 'Champion' but for some reason he keeps quiet about it. I'd have my full name embroidered on the back of all my shirts.

so far only things on my ballot to have placed are peech boys & jones girls. voted for different giorgio (i wanna funk with you) & patrick cowley songs (mind warp). btw richjuzwiak who is quoted in the menergy post wrote this about p cowley for lgbt history month http://gawker.com/lgbt-history-month-the-aids-masterpiece-of-a-lost-disc-1454245531

"Shame" in my top ten but yeah I prefer "Love Come Down."

xxp http://i.imgur.com/aYmY0No.jpg

If I voted for a "Champagne" track, it would've been "I'm In Love."

71. Class Action - Weekend (1983)
208 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-5015025-1382708257-5366_zps82eeb4b3.jpeg

http://youtu.be/j_RcdZzDg3c (music video)
http://youtu.be/PYy02J51SNo (Larry Levan 12" mix)

Derrick May is awesome w/ hates - "Beyond the Dance" is so intense for me.

and Timbaland's "One In A Million" was the most groundbreaking record of the 90's (except for maybe "Soon")

but the high-hat award goes to Class Action - "Weekend (Larry Levan's Weekend mix).

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), 3. syyskuuta 2002 20:12

Class Action - did the best ever version of "Weekend", vocals by Chris Wilshire (acapella later sampled by Todd Terry), at least one of the mixes by Larry Levan. "I can't take the heartbeat of you leaving me again...etc." Oh, you know the one. Perfect post-disco/pre-house club track, right up there with C-Bank "One More Shot".

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), 5. huhtikuuta 2005 16:55

THREE mixes of Class Action's "Weekend"??? Just buy it already!

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), 12. huhtikuuta 2006 2:25

listen to this over + over yesterday: goosebump-inducing perfection every time

have a disco christmas y'all

― hubertus bigend (m coleman), 23. joulukuuta 2010 17:21

Yay, Class Action - in my Top 10, and another track which I've loved for over 30 years.

"Shame" was in my long list, but just missed the final cut.

Class Action was #5 in my ballot. I think every aspect of the song - the spiky beats, Chris Wiltshire's spirited vocals, the liberated lyrics, that ultra-catchy synth riff - simply kick ass.

70. Patrick Cowley - Sea Hunt (1981)
210 points, 6 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-114402-1143741113_zps859b6428.jpeg

http://youtu.be/E0L7sKXEdG0

sea hunt is definitely one of the most beautiful songs i've ever heard. i played it this one time and my friend was shouting at me "OMG THIS SOUNDS LIKE PORPOISES FUCKING IN OUTER SPACE!!!!"

― jaime, 20. elokuuta 2007 8:05

Sea Hunt. Wow.

― Violent In Design (Masonic Boom), 3. heinäkuuta 2009 18:09

I can't speak to the rest of his catalog -- but most of that record (LP, right? There's certainly 40 minutes of material on there) is outstanding and feels very italo. I particularly love his deplyment of female vocals -- on "Get a Little" but also the wordless cooing doubling the synthesizer lead on "Sea Hunt."

― Naive Teen Idol, 15. lokakuuta 2009 19:10

This is only the second non-single on the list, after "At Last I Am Free". It's not hard to see why people (myself included) voted for it, anyone who loves epic synth instrumentals should love "Sea Hunt".

Apparently the tune is a cover version of the theme from a late 50s TV show of the same name:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HFdvCy6ivY

Sea hunt is epic, my fav cowley tune

huh didn't know it was a theme tune cover, but that makes sense! It's a very "action tv" oriented melody.

Btw, everyone should read that Patrick Cowley article Flopson linked to a few posts above... It's a touching text, and the anecdote at the end of the article is hella impressive.

wonder what change songs are going to show up. feel like "angel in my pocket" has a good chance.

― From the Album No Baby for You! (Matt P)

I went for The Glow of Love, it was one four songs I voted for with Luther Vandross on vocals.

I voted for a few Change songs - "AIMP" wasn't one of them - and will be very disappointed if none place in the top 50.

'Ain't nobody' is still (11 years after the quote above) some days my favourite song ever but yeah it's not disco and I didn't vote for it.

'A Lover's holiday' somehow slipped off my ballot at the last minute, I think partly because it never registered much with me until i heard Greg Wilson play the LNTG edit out, before that I was always a 'searchin' kind of guy or a 'glow of love' kind of guy on a Sunday.

I was a woman-with-a-purpose-in-the-city the other day when Shame came on in the car

69. Chic - My Feet Keep Dancing (1979)
211 points, 4 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2255109-1272628018_zps62ce1bf9.jpeg

http://youtu.be/A75Bb0erCU4

The incredible restraint of the strings on "My Feet Keep Dancing" is quite nice. In my head that strident triplet (is it?) comes in every few lines, on the track it happens something like twice. And the tap solo w/Bernard repeating this incredible surging figure OVER AND OVER is nice, too. And! Tony does the most incredible drumroll, just a straight long duggaduggadugga that's pretty fucking stunning after nothing (I think. Effectively, anyway, really) but that same exact and perfect beat for the whole song.

― Mr Mime (Andrew Thames), 21. huhtikuuta 2004 15:09

My God, this is powerful stuff, almost religious. Undeniably physical music that is utterly ethereal yet tough as nails at the same time. There's a deep chasm of melancholy and sadness at the heart of what are, on the surface, very jubilant songs, and I find that undercurrent unbearably affecting. The austerity, tightness and restraint in something like the tap-dance breakdown and slow build-up in "My Feet Keep Dancing" makes me feel like my lungs and heart are going to explode.

― Clarke, 3. helmikuuta 2008 20:25

listening to 'my feet keep dancing' right now and thinking how NEXT LEVEL the groove on this is, the short, rapid guitar bursts

― deej, 1. heinäkuuta 2007 23:21

Reverend, the way Rodgers/Edwards mixed strings and Thompson's drums negate the need for extra percussion! Listen to "My Feet Keep Dancing" again! Their ethos is crafting this huge drama using minimalist ends.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, 1. heinäkuuta 2007 23:27

Generic is the last thing i would call a song like (and i hate to use this example again but its the one i've been playing over and over today) "my feet keep dancing" - so many of their best songs seem like an exercise in originality/creativity, an attempt to take a standard soul-disco formula and make it interesting, while keeping the same communal vibe and incredibly lockstep-tight dance grooves. You can here them experimenting w/ hemiolas and other rhythmic tricks, minimalism, playing the groove of the guitar-bass-drums off the strings-horns-lushness, bells and handclaps, using a small palette of instruments and styles (how many times did you ever hear nile rodgers guitar doing the 'nile rodgers trick') but somehow making it all sound v. v. different from song to song...everything in their catalogue sounds so distinct to me

― deej, 2. heinäkuuta 2007 8:45

"My Feet Keep Dancing" - the greatest song from this greatest of disco bands

― Kevin John Bozelka, 11. syyskuuta 2009 18:39

TOO LOW. Love the tapdancing breakdown and the general Red Shoes vibe.

Why is it so easy to find great ILM quotes on Chic tunes, but not on the other tunes in this poll?

Because Chic?

Those are great quotes, but then this is one of the greatest songs by one of the greatest bands.

68. Luther Vandross - Never Too Much (1981)
212 points, 5 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-206392-1274370533_zps72a5c2fe.jpeg

http://youtu.be/uoI_tWf3pH8

This is easily Never Too Much, it's one of my favourite songs ever. I'm a huge fan of the Never Too Much album, only seven tracks but they're all brilliant.

― Kitchen Person, 5. joulukuuta 2012 0:49

There are other good ones on that list too, but Never Too Much is just a perfect R&B single.

― jetfan, 5. joulukuuta 2012 3:14

i sang "never too much" at karaoke once and it was actually surprisingly boring to sing.

― fennel cartwright, Wednesday, December 5, 2012 1:28 AM

i did the same! & its so true. it's def more about how he uses his voice than that melody

― D-40, 5. joulukuuta 2012 17:30

Luther's schmaltzy more often than not, but he's great nonetheless. "Never Too Much" will always remind me of early 80's NYC R&B radio - WBLS, KISS, KTU. It was a standby on those stations, and those were GREAT stations at that time. Frankie Crocker anyone? Anyone? Hello?

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), 18. heinäkuuta 2003 18:42

Oh Papa

Right ON! Heard *Never Too Much* on one of Theo Parrish's mixes and had to quiz him to find out what it was. Fortunately I found a 12" of it.

I used to sing it to my girl... I shall do so again.

― factcheckr (factcheckr), 9. helmikuuta 2007 6:47

Luther Vandross "Never Too Much" Classic or Dud?

I think it's fair to say Luther Vandross was the finest male vocalist disco produced. (Though obviously his biggest successes were post-disco; I'm not sure if "Never Too Much" really counts as disco either.)

67. Sister Sledge - He's the Greatest Dancer (1978)
222 points, 7 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2595493-1292281973_zpsea7c0323.jpeg

http://youtu.be/TDwutKpVyas

He's The Greatest Dancer has so many killer lines - "The place was so boring / Filled with out-of-towners touring", "Halston, Gucci, Fiorucci", "He looks like a still"!!

― etc, 5. toukokuuta 2008 1:20

I love Will, but nothing is better than "He's the Greatest Dancer".

― I Ain't No Addict, Whoever Heard of a Junkie as Old as Me? (noodle vague), 27. elokuuta 2005 14:24

Hi, my name is Cliff Purvis. Have you ever heard that called He's The Greatest Dancer by Sister Sledge? I like to play that song really loud in my dressing room before I give lectures at real estate seminars. It makes me feel like I can take on the world.

― Display Name, 3. heinäkuuta 2007 10:23

Sister Sledge's "We Are Family"/"He's the Greatest Dancer" 12-inch may be the greatest double-sided single by anybody, ever

― M Matos, 12. maaliskuuta 2002 3:00

Three great songs back to back to back.

"My Feet Keep Dancing" was my Chic pick. In my universe it was as huge as "Le Freak" and "Good Times."

Sister Sledge's "We Are Family"/"He's the Greatest Dancer" 12-inch may be the greatest double-sided single by anybody, ever

Really?! Those were issued together?

Amazed only seven votes for this, I thought it was a universal.

Never Too Much is way too low. It was my number two and it's one of the most perfect songs ever created.

Great Chic and Sister Sledge songs but not the ones I voted for. Not sure which of the ones I voted for will place as He's The Greatest Dance is so low.

Might have been let down by vote splitting. I know that some people only went for one song per artist and when the competition is Lost In Music, We Are Family and Thinking Of You (all within the first five tracks of the same album) it's going to be tough.

Xp

I love "Never Too Much" but didn't vote for it, because I feel it's more R&B than disco... Maybe some others felt the same way and that's why it's so low?

(xpost)

Yeah, I tried to keep my votes to one-per-artist, except for a couple of personal favourites (Sharon Redd, Boris Midney) with whom it would've been impossible, so there was no room for "He's the Greatest Dancer", as great as it is.

I went back and forth whether to include 'Never Too Much' because of this, but finally decided to leave it in (I think? I'd have to check my ballot). I probably put it lower than I otherwise would have because I was hesitant about its disco status.

I went relatively unorthodox on my Chic picks. For Sister Sledge, I went with "One More Time," tho "He's the Greatest Dancer" was close.

I excluded "Never Too Much", on not-really-what-I-call-disco grounds. "My Feet Keep Dancing" is a great Chic pick, although not one of mine.

has anyone started spotify/youtube playlists yet?

i have a slow day at work so i can

http://open.spotify.com/user/miketd/playlist/4za5ZvxZ6pUQZrcmhkbJja

There are some duplicates on that Spotify list, where the full length versions are only available in the UK. In those cases, WilliamC has added alternative versions that can be streamed in the US.

Twice as many good times

66. "D" Train - You're the One for Me (1981)
228 points, 7 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-1293083-1237306234_zpsde1196c0.jpeg

http://youtu.be/qfwmt8HyZ38

D-Train actually was a football player before a composer. His music was some of the best early 80s electronic funk(but not electro-funk!) You're the One For Me was a big hit and is listed on a 1982 Hacienda chart along with New Order, ABC, Patrice Rushen and other New York and UK club acts. Keep On and Walk on By were also hits. Massive, beautiful stuff, don' t know if there was ever a video.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), 25. toukokuuta 2004 16:14

What a great song

― boxedjoy, 7. huhtikuuta 2012 0:4

So life-affirming. I would karaoke the hell of this song.

― neutral sequence for flute (blank), 7. huhtikuuta 2012 0:59

6 Feb D Train You're The One For Me (30) - Yes, ONLY #30! One of the ten most important dance tracks of the decade. OK it did get a Paul Hardcastle makeover (i.e. the keyboards off "19" and much gurning on TOTP) three years later and did, uh, twice as well (#15) - but this is an URGENT AND KEY record. Years ahead of its time in its use of space and echo (see Inner City at the opposite end of the decade for proof of this). Classic classic classic.

― Marcello Carlin, 2. joulukuuta 2002 14:03

D-Train's "You the one for me"

didnt vote for this because i tried to stay away from things that felt more "boogie" than "disco" but this song is a classic-- played it out a million times

I think "You're the One for Me" really set the mold for early 80s boogie/synth disco. So many singles released after it (including D-Train's own follow-ups, they kinda stuck to the formula) sound like they're trying to imitate what Hubert Eaves and James Williams did here.

Anyway, an über-classic tune, obviously; my cell phone ringtone is the synth riff is from this. IMO "You're the One for Me" is one of those rare tunes where the B chorus (the one that starts "with the love I have inside of me...") is actually better than the A chorus. That B chorus, with its shouty gospel vocals, also seems to presage a lot of the vocal house music produced later in the 80s, such as "Love Can't Turn Around".

!!!

Musician Prince performed a cover version of the song on Lopez Tonight featuring his backup singers, with Shelby J. on lead vocals & Sheila E. on percussion in early 2011 to launch his 21 Nights in Los Angeles.

this is the best ilm poll ever

Oh!!!

Where can I see that?

(xpost)

i tried to stay away from things that felt more "boogie" than "disco"

To the contrary, I think maybe half of my ballot was boogie, which I think is the apotheosis of disco.

That said, I threw my support behind "Keep On."

Yeah, to me too boogie is a direct continuation of American disco, only with synths replacing strings and horns, I can't really see it as a different genre.

64.(tie) Space - Magic Fly (1977)
231 points, 7 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2441311-1284234537_zps31c74429.jpeg

hhttp://youtu.be/wVP0bPH-_-k (music video)
http://youtu.be/P_ukfGAd8T4 (12" version)

The real punks were listening to "Magic Fly" and "Dancing In Your Head" in '77 ;)

― Marcello Carlin, 28. toukokuuta 2002 3:00

I don't know the Pyramid Project but I think Danny Wang played the Floyd part a few years ago at a lifechanging gig. He was warming up a small space before Robert Owens and I was on a couch falling asleep and he played the most amazing set, including the 9 minute italian remix of Passion by the Flirts. It was so beautiful. I think one of my goals in life is to have as many copies of Magic Fly and Oxygene. They are surely the "Gloria" and "insert other rock song all bands cover" of the electronic disco scene.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), 9. tammikuuta 2004 3:40

Magic Fly | Space (1977)

Next in the series of 'no idea how I haven't heard this before'. No.2 in the UK. Sounds just like the title suggests. I keep forgetting it's almost 30 years old. Strangely now sounding.

― Alba (Alba), 7. syyskuuta 2004 0:50

Space - "Magic Fly" c/d?

The original is the original, but IMO the Tom Moulton remix of Kébekélektrik's cover version is better for disco dancing.

i love boogie, i just needed some arbitrary rules to get down to 50 votes

i never understand what boogie is

YES! I never thought Magic Fly would chart so high!

i love boogie, i just needed some arbitrary rules to get down to 50 votes

Oh me too. Which is why I mostly got rid of anything not dominated by a monster bassline.

64.(tie) Bee Gees - You Should Be Dancing (1976)
231 points, 7 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-1187062-1199322217_zps2434c32f.jpeg

http://youtu.be/pegK76VxXIY

You should be dancing? One word: HORNS

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), 20. kesäkuuta 2012 0:08

All those mid-to-late 70s singles are fucking incredible, though. Great melodies, good dancing groove, very unique sound (you can tell immediately when a song is the Bee Gees; which seems a clue to turn off the radio to many here.) All you haters will come around eventually.

― Mark, 6. kesäkuuta 2001 3:00

what is your favorite bee gees song

YOU SHOULD BE DANCING

― GOD, 5. lokakuuta 2007 1:25

I'd be fine if that was the highest ranking Bee-Gees song. But I'm starting to get the fear.

worst song to play as a dj... impossible to follow it up with anything as hype

my eyes, like, roll into the back of my head when i dance to this track

I'd be fine if that was the highest ranking Bee-Gees song.

otm

you're afraid more bee gees songs will place? why?

Probably because I think "You Should Be Dancin" is their best disco song and also there are most definitely more than 65 disco songs better than "Staying Alive," "Jive Talking," et al.

63, rather.

I would consider it a great triumph if "Staying Alive" completely fails to place.

It's also the best Bee Gees disco song, so its placement is just right.

I couldn't not vote for some D Train. As joyous as it gets.

Anyways purism be damned, I Feel Love will probably place high and that's frickin HI NRG

The bridge on "You Should Be Dancing" really nice on this, tho. The echoing of the vocals, the drama of the chords. It's definitely a highlight of strip mall disco fodder.

I always thought this was the best Gees song but I ended up placing two higher (one of which I wouldn't've picked at all had I twigged to The Tavares in time)

It is utterly tremendous in the film

even if nobody would ever dance thusly in an actual disco

I want to be the Greatest Dancer.

gotta love how supposedly the Bee Gees suggested after an early preview screening that the sound effects/ background dialogue in the club scenes should be mixed off the soundtrack and the music turned way up; accurately replicating what a club's really like! so that's what Stigwood and co did.

Gotta love that Stigwood and co. implicitly never stepped foot inside a club.

63. Change - Paradise (1981)
231 points, 7 votes, one 1st place vote.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2097779-1263850833_zpsbcb85a16.jpeg

http://youtu.be/ebY1BjrMUZQ

omg "Paradise"--that might be my favorite of anything mentioned on this thread. holy fucking bassline, Batman

― Matos W.K., Thursday, 7 June 2007 21:19

And I do agree, "Paradise" by Change could give anything on the Pazz&Jop list a run for its money

― xhuxk, Friday, 8 June 2007 00:40 (6 years ago)

"Paradise" has great bridges, which means it is automatically my friend.

― The Reverend, Sunday, 1 July 2007 20:15

A bit hard to search for quotes with that band and song name, but feel free to add your take.

It's amazing how slow this song is. Each string plucked is like a millisecond off what Chic would attempt.

the chorus is drugs raining down from heaven.

Personally, I was a bit perplexed why this Change tune was so popular, considering that "Searching" and "A Lover's Holiday" (seriously, that one is among the 20 best disco singles of all time) exist. Okay, the bassline om "Paradise" sounds ridiculously awesome, but IMO the singles from second Change album are lacking what Jocelyn Brown and Luther Vandross brought to the first, the lead vocals on this aren't quite as good.

and, er, "Angel in My Pocket."

Yeah! The first Change album is one of those rare disco albums where every tune is different and they're all good. (Most great disco albums are ones with two or three long suites, but that one has six quality songs.)

62. Eddie Kendricks - Girl You Need a Change of Mind (1973)
232 points, 6 votes, one 1st place vote.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-443628-1245491109_zpsa163f69c.jpeg

http://youtu.be/df8SZF-DPwE

"Girl you need a change of mind" is another kendricks monster.

― jamie, 20. helmikuuta 2002 3:00

girl you need a change of mind is as good as it gets.

― michael wells (michael w.), 25. helmikuuta 2003 0:42

Girl You Need a Change of Mind

YES. One of the most important tracks in the origin story of disco. Unfortunately it looks like it's going to be dated out of Tuomas' poll. Lyrics are a bit dodge but otherwise it's a monster.

― sword of (seandalai), 22. toukokuuta 2013 3:04

'girl you need a change of mind' was in my top 3 i think. a strange dichotomy of hugely uplifting music and structure with p dubious lyrical content.

― ewar woowar (or something), 26. heinäkuuta 2013 19:43

I'm the number one voter here. should I be satisfied or dissapointed with this placement?

Kendricks was at #79 on my longlist. Tough choices.

Love and voted for the D-Train, the album version with the slow piano intro is all time!

Didn't vote for Magic Fly (voted for Just Blue instead) but very happy to see it make the list. I heard it on Radio 2 a while back and it just sounded amazing.

Love this Eddie Kendricks song but again I voted for s different song that probably has no chance of making it. It was one of the last songs I had to cut. As mentioned by various people on the Motown poll the album it comes from is an absolute classic.

Great list so far, almost every song a masterpiece.

xp on "Paradise" - that was my #1. That chorus is undeniable - it's manna. Alfred OTM, of course.

"A Lover's Holiday" is a little too sub-Chic for my taste, though it's certainly a good song. No disagreements about that first Change record, but "Paradise" transcends its obvious influences - it delivers what the title promises.

u guys "hold tight" is the Change sleeper

GYNACOM way way too low

man even that acronym sounds uncomfortably sexist

lmao

The whole album feat. "Paradise," "Hold Tight" and "Miracles" is astonishingly great.

Amen to that - I even voted for "Miracles," but I doubt it'll place.

I almost did, but went for "Paradise" instead.

"Miracles" is glockenspiel heaven

61. Universal Robot Band - Barely Breaking Even (1982)
239 points, 6 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-1740858-1348582248-6667_zpse84ea18e.jpeg

http://youtu.be/1E4q7LuUoH4

Universal Robot Band: "Barely Breaking Even" is about as joyously perfect as 80s groove gets.

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), 7. syyskuuta 2004 12:28

Has Any Music Ever *BURSTED WITH JOY* to the Same Extent as Early Beatles Songs Such as "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "Please Please Me?"

Perhaps not bursting in Tim's prescribed way, but Universal Robot Band - Barely Breaking Even.

― Rob Uptight (Rob Uptight), 20. heinäkuuta 2005 0:31

Universal Robot Band - Barely Breaking Even

Greg Carmichael and Leroy Burgess early 80s disco masterpiece

― Confounded (Confounded), 5. lokakuuta 2005 5:26

"Barely Breaking Even" by the Universal Robot Band == awesome.

― Bill in Chicago, 21. elokuuta 2007 20:14

yessssss

YESSSSSSSSSSS

60. Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive (1977)
244 points, 8 votes, one 1st place vote.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-671814-1386434573-1332_zps9cf18f4f.jpeg

http://youtu.be/y29r3oKSwL0

Feel like it's kind of like their "Stairway to Heaven" -- once uniformly regarded as their best work, then discarded as lesser known stuff came into favor and once again regarded as a high point (if no longer *the* high point).

― Naive Teen Idol, 20. kesäkuuta 2012 20:13

oh, and i only dress like barry gibb when i go to work. someone stands at the entrance of the floor ready to cue "staying alive" so that i may strut my way into the office. when i leave, the top four buttons get buttoned and the gold medallion hidden.

― fred solinger, 6. kesäkuuta 2001 3:00

there's been times when "stayin alive" is going when i think that groove is up there with mankind's greatest achievements. so that one.

― andrew m., 12. huhtikuuta 2007 21:21

obviously, "Stayin' Alive" - guaranteed to be played on the radio sometime today, guaranteed to annoy a lot of people, guaranteed to make me happy! "Agh, this sounds so girly!" Well that's what makes it rule, duh.

― Poppy (poppy), 10. joulukuuta 2003 5:19

"Stayin' Alive" may be about the speed of normal walking, but something in its funk makes you have to strut, swagger, or lope, all of which I think work for a "Walkin' Asshole" mix.

― Doctor Casino (Doctor Casino), 17. toukokuuta 2006 18:15

Those harmonies are the most frightening things on earth -- it's like the Nazgul.

"Barely Breaking Even" was a revelation, that was one of the handful of songs in the top 100 that I hadn't heard before. So thanks for bringing it to my attention, what an incredible groove!

well
well
WELL

damn "Barely Breaking Even" is incredible

Stayin' Alive - love it, didn't vote for it

i didn't know the whole gibbs story, i.e. all those early records, until a year or so ago, which makes me love the disco hits even more. i don't think i could have resisted voting for 'jive talkin,' which rings all my bells for 'pop masterpiece'.

i'll never be able to unhear "feel more of the flavor on the dancefloor" when i listen to "stayin' alive"

"Barely Breaking Even" was one I discovered off an ilxor's disco top ten (maybe Andy K's) some time ago, it's the kind of thing I'd never have discovered but for ILM!

;_; love u guys so much ;_;

Use in medical training

"Stayin' Alive" was used in a study to train medical professionals to provide the correct number of chest compressions per minute while performing CPR. The song has close to 104 beats per minute, and 100-120 chest compressions per minute are recommended by the British Heart Foundation,[5] and endorsed by the Resuscitation Council (UK).[6] A study on medical professionals found that the quality of CPR is better when thinking about "Stayin' Alive".[7] This was parodied in the season 5 episode of comedy series The Office "Stress Relief".

On 15 June 2011, the song was featured in a Hands Only CPR PSA campaign video from the American Heart Association and featured actor and medical doctor Ken Jeong in the classic John Travolta outfit from Saturday Night Fever.[8]

Vinnie Jones also stars in a UK version of this CPR video in association with the British Heart Foundation shown on TV circa January 2012.[9]

haha yess

59. The Crusaders featuring Randy Crawford - Street Life (1979)
249 points, 7 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-87212-1343907509-4345_zps81848bbf.jpeg

http://youtu.be/JVvLNMIGHTE

Also, "Street Life" by the Crusaders is GREAT, probably even in its 11-minute album version, but that's 1979, so never mind.

― chuck, 25. lokakuuta 2003 3:15

I really thought the Def Leppard cover of Street Life would be the Randy Crawford one, major disappointment

― the same relation to machines as that which machines have to man (Matt #2), 28. syyskuuta 2010 0:15

4. Crusaders – Street Life
Immaculate in every respect, including the presence of Ms Crawford.

― mike t-diva (mike t-diva), 9. lokakuuta 2006 12:51

Again, this is a song where probably everyone knows the radio version, but the 12" version is quite different. Try it out, it might change your opinion for better – or worse.

For me, "Street Life" was the first disco song I really fell in love with with during my adult years; I was getting into jazz, picked up a Crusaders comp which had the full-length version (I'd heard the tune on the radio, of course, but never knew the artists, so I had no idea it was by this jazz-funk band) and those strings just pulled me in.

I had to cut it from my ballot though, which made me sad.

So pleased to see "Barely Breaking Even" represented. My sister got me into the track in the late 1980s; it was a big tune at Kiss FM club nights, before the station got its licence.

And, yes, you need the full length album version of "Street Life".

NB There are links between "Barely Breaking Even" and "Weekend" - both co-written by the wonderful Leroy Burgess, both co-mixed by John Morales of M&M.

(...the Class Action version, that is.)

god i love john morales

the M&M comps were my intro to 70's nyc disco. soo good

the version of Street Life used over the opening of Sharky's Machine is amazing but i've no idea which version that is.

I hadn't heard "Barely Breaking Even"! Great job, ILM.

the M&M comps were my intro to 70's nyc disco. soo good

― flopson, Monday, December 9, 2013 3:02 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

me too

damn "Barely Breaking Even" is incredible

― Tip from Tae Kwon Do: (crüt), Monday, December 9, 2013 4:11 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^^^ wow, never heard this before. 1984? Too late to be Disco with a capital D, by my arbitrary rules, but still...

the version of Street Life used over the opening of Sharky's Machine is amazing but i've no idea which version that is.

― piscesx, Monday, December 9, 2013 6:04 PM (29 minutes ago) Bookmark

otm

Two of the GYNACOM quotes are from me but I ended up voting for a different Eddie Kendricks track that feels more disco to me. Can i add another "YESSS" to Barely breaking even' showing up.

Wow, that first "M&M Mixes" comp is awesome. The La-Rita Gaskin "Never Can Say Goodbye" appears to be a completely different song than the one everyone knows. And it's amazing.

Barely breaking even is from 1982
http://www.discogs.com/Universal-Robot-Band-Barely-Breaking-Even/release/310462

The M+M remix of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is probably in my top 20 pieces of music ever.

58. Loleatta Holloway - Love Sensation (Tom Moulton Mix) (1980)
250 points, 7 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-763878-1370373487-4593_zps6f50ce04.jpeg

http://youtu.be/2IMWCCP7sY0

Actually I'd think about this in terms not of what was a typical-sounding record, but what encapsulates the spirit of disco best i.e. fantastical, glossy hedonism with an epic sense of drama.

Therefore I nominate Patrick Juvet - "I love america"

Either that or Donna Summer - "Love trilogy" or Salsoul Orchestra - "Love sensation"

For much the same reasons that "Move your body" or "Reachin" epitomise 80s house not by being typical, but by being evocative...

― Jacob (Jacob), 21. toukokuuta 2004 8:40

Am I missing something? WTF did Black Box do apart from rip off Lolletta Holloway's Love Sensation? Pfft.

― oats (oats), 13. lokakuuta 2004 15:56

This song basically invented screaming-diva gay house

Well, maybe house. Maybe. But certainly not disco. The Black Box magii merely recombined Holloway's vocal which means that "Love Sensation" is already screaming-diva and gay gay gay.

― Kevin John Bozelka, 10. elokuuta 2007 1:01

And yet she remains kind of immortal in that she was first and foremost famous for old recordings of her singing voice being cut and pasted into new pieces of music.

― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), 23. maaliskuuta 2011 4:26

In which we attempt to list all the songs, hit or not, that have sampled or (urgh) "interpolated" Loleatta Holloway's "Love Sensation".

Sadly (though perhaps understandably), most of the ILM discussion on this tune and Loleatta Holloway seems to revolve around Black Box and others who sampled it.

Sorry to rewind, but have to cosign the love for Barely Breaking Even, I'll never tire of that one. The other Universal Robot Band output is solid and fun stuff but nothing of the same caliber as BBE, such a knockout.

And the sleeve for Magic Fly, for real, how rad is that. I love that you can almost feel the rough paper texture in the scan.

some solid and fun and very timely Universal Robot Band action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NEnSkpbmCY

damn the bassline on "Paradise" is incredible!

I actually rate two URB songs above BBE ("Dance and Shake Your Tambourine", "Making Love") but I'm not going to try to convince anyone...

add me to the chorus for Barely Breaking Even

Sorry, that's kinda hard to do, it's already been recorded 30 years ago.

In my top ten.

Loose Joints - Is It All Over My Face? (Larry Levan Mix) (1980)
260 points, 8 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-235302-1305255413_zps48068529.jpeg

http://youtu.be/PGfTCEyR75o

Of course it's that sort of avant-cool music that is pleasant on first listen but doesn't really bowl you over until about the third or fourth. To make an example, I was a bit mystified as to the legend surrounding "Is It All Over My Face" when I first heard it, but it's since been one of my most-played songs all summer.

― Tim, 24. helmikuuta 2001 3:00

who did that 'is it all over my face' disco song, thats sexy and ill

― s trife (simon_tr), 1. joulukuuta 2002 6:54

i don't like the vocal on is it all over my face either

― gaz (gaz), 13. lokakuuta 2003 6:19

Ah Ha! But that song would never work with a "good" vocalist. The personality in that song is about 90 % in the woman who sings it.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), 13. lokakuuta 2003 6:33

arthur was a genius. a much bandied about term but in this instance, totally deserved. he was an avant garde cello player who fell in love with disco and made some of the most out there disco records ever.

you should also check -

loose joints - is it all over my face (west end 12") - a total classic

― stirmonster, 24. kesäkuuta 2002 3:00

Loose Joints, "Is It All Over My Face?" MUST be included

― M Matos, 17. kesäkuuta 2002 3:00

Sorry, that's number 57., obviously.

this song is how disco should sound imo

TOO LOOOOOOOOW

BOOOOOOOO

BOOOOOOOO

Agreed. Disappointingly low.

56. Donna Summer - Bad Girls (1979)
261 points, 7 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-1437918-1260791799_zps68c5fefb.jpeg

http://youtu.be/QZ_KbwEVBjU (music video)
http://youtu.be/PA0NkYi3Y5U (12" version)

i only know "bad girls" and "hot stuff" but they're both awesome.

― hobbes, 15. heinäkuuta 2010 5:34

No disrespect to Kraftwerk, and the cross-pollination between the two camps is possibly overstated, but her work with Moroder (almost) makes those Germars redundant.

― balls and adieu (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), 24. heinäkuuta 2010 6:10

Which came first, "Bad Girls" or Rick James' "Love Gun"?

― musically, 4. elokuuta 2007 22:46

"Bad Girls" is great, as you know.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), 20. lokakuuta 2004 6:58

TOOT TOO YEAH BEEP BEEP

TOOT TOO YEAH BEEP BEEP

― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, December 10, 2013 8:32 AM (7 minutes ago)

Phew, just caught up after an incredibly busy weekend. Playlist so far is here, let me know if I've missed anything.

Very happy to see 'Magic Fly' here, was one of my top picks.

I heard of Patrick Cowley loads and the name 'Menergy' rang a bell, so I just assumed I'd heard it before... it seems not, whoaaaoaoaoaoaoooooooooo that song is good.

Catching up. "Street Life" is really familiar but I couldn't guess when or where I last hear it (or originally heard it, for that matter). Anyway, good down tempo tune.

emil.y, it's not disco but you should check out the School Daze comp of lost Patrick Cowley synth soundtracks/experiments that just came out this year, feel like you might enjoy it.

Thought Loose Joints would be top 20, easy. The iconic art-disco song.

Cosign on School Daze, it's amazing.

keep em' coming tuomas

I will check it out - I read a review which kind of concentrates on the kosmische elements, which you'd think would excite me, being a massive fan of that stuff, but honestly I'm more hyped up by the beat and the vocals and the *perfect* synth choices in 'Menergy'... I already have one Klaus Schulze, how many more do I need?

(NB: I totally reserve the right to change my mind and laud the kosmische elements myself when I've calmed down a little.)

I hope you change your mind. It's a great record and an awesome addition to his canon

55. Gino Soccio - Dancer (1979)
262 points, 6 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-2287540-1312979042_zps507162ae.jpeg

http://youtu.be/8TO78gCEMjI

Yeah, he's great! I just picked up his '79 Outline LP -- same beat-driven Euro-rigidness as Moroder, a bit more funky and celebratory, less remote. Soulful-yet-anonymous female vox.

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), 27. toukokuuta 2003 0:34

I only have 'DANCER' - love the music and effects, and much prefer the muted vocals in the 2nd half to the diva disco moments... but I've been hearing his stuff more and more recently, and have mixed feeling about so much... I'd like to hear it some more

― nick.K (nick.K), 27. toukokuuta 2003 2:19

I agree with you about the end of "Dancer" -- the whooping and hollering seems out of step with the rest of the track. At least if, say, Beyonce were doing it, it would feel more controlled. She's a diva, yes, but also a professional who knows how to give a song exactly what it needs.

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), 27. toukokuuta 2003 2:48

i still have yet to explore a majority of gino's material, but all i know is "dancer" might be the best disco track of all time

― san frandisco, 28. elokuuta 2008 20:21

as a novice digger myself, i can attest to finding the "dancer" 12" (one that has the same sleeve as outline) for £1 in a care and share, and always see it in the record exchange. don't know about the others though. i love it so much, especially how it starts with just the handclap so you can mix it with practically anything.

― rio (r1o natsume), 16. huhtikuuta 2009 18:20

thought Gino was a woman until just now.

booming song, hope "try it out" places as well

Way way way too low. I had a hard time deciding whether or not to give it the top spot on my list and it ended up at number 2 for me. KEEP YOUR BODY SHAKIN!

TOO LOW. One of my top five tunes.

Emily I would say that 'School Daze' is sleazier and druggier than the kosmische tag would suggest. More like if early techno had stayed more heavily indebted to italo and amyl rather than ecstacy had become the accompanying drug of choice.

54. Indeep - Last Night a DJ Saved My Life (1982)
263 points, 9 votes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v655/lixnixn/R-172721-1242590816_zps78a603e0.jpeg

http://youtu.be/GtfZbj4J71A (music video)
http://youtu.be/7JWy9PCtKNA (12" version)

The video to 'Last night..' is beyond classic. Clear where Richard X ripped everything off from. Girls spinning and singing while Mr Indeep stands between them barely moving until it comes to his 'in the mix' speech. I was clapping for joy watching this, everyone please d/l it if you can.

― Affectian (Affectian), 5. maaliskuuta 2005 22:20

Anyway "Last Night..." is a great tune. And away go troubles down the drain, indeed.

― Tantrum (Tantrum The Cat), 5. maaliskuuta 2005 23:35

Last Night, A DJ Saved My Life. Zij trok mij van de snelweg af net voordat een vrachtwagen vol Coberco-yoghurt mij kon raken.

― Arien, 24. maaliskuuta 2002 3:00