Blast from the Past: The Best of Donna Summer

I knew when Donna Summer died this week, I would definitely dedicate Blast from the Past to her. And today, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees died. Sad, two disco legends gone. But I've done a recent BftP on Saturday Night Fever, partly inspired by the fact that Robin Gibb was ill. So, we're sticking with Donna. Both acts were plagued by having been so definitive of the disco era. Though they've had careers since, they both had a fallow period, and neither regained their former glory. But Barry's still around, and sadly, Donna is no more. But her music was so fun, so full of life, we will always have that to remember her by.

Those are the big ones. There were countless other dance hits that didn't make the top 40, and some more minor charting tunes. But this post is long enough already! Thanks and RIP, Donna Summer. For the rest of us, have a great Monday!

Disco Queen Donna Summer Dead at 63

Not all celebrity deaths necessarily make me sad. Some are like, "oh, he's still alive?" or "who?" Not this one. This one took me by surprise, and made me sad. I even finished my work day by playing an hour's worth of her hits. Donna Summer was disco (sorry, Bee Gees), and was really, really good at it. This weekend, I'll do a Donna Summer retrospective in my regular Blast from the Past column. For today, I'm just going to give you my favorites:

RIP, LaDonna.

Herman Cain Quotes "Great Poet" Donna Summer at Debate

"I don't think that I can take it
'cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe
again, oh, no."

I know I'm not quite as gay as Marcus Bachmann, but how did a Donna Summer quote go right by me? I chalk it up to having bleeding eyes and eardrums after by that point, watching most of the painful (but again I will admit, well-staged) FOX "News" GOP Presidential Debate. Well, that, and the fact that this particular Summer song is not on her Greatest Hits collection. But this is almost as funny as Newt Gingrich's ABBA ringtone!


[Excerpt]


The Mystery of Herman Cain and the Donna Summer Lyrics

One of the weirdest moments of last night's Republican debate probably slipped completely under the radar for most viewers. This moment occurred in Herman Cain's closing statement, when the former pizza-chain CEO recited a favorite inspirational quote. . .

Read more at: New York Magazine

Blast from the Past: Disco LIVES!

Disco burned brightly and it burned fast. From some time late in 1975, through the late seventies, and til about 1980ish, it was a disco inferno in America. But the "Disco Sucks" movement started in '79 or so, and by late 1980 to early '81, disco was dead. Well, it was dead in name. But it didn't take long for it to morph into (the brand new) MTV-ready dance music. They stirred in a little punk, a little new wave, a little rock, but disco really did survive, and continues to pop up here and there. But that brief Carter-era window was really ruled by disco. And some of it was pretty great. [Story continues below]






Peaches & Herb's Shake Your Groove Thing was the song that inspired this post, popping up on my CD jukebox (yes, I still use mine) while I was doing chores. It's probably the best of the batch. Labelle's Lady Marmalade was another biggie, later remade for the movie Moulin Rouge. Everybody started getting in on the act. Non-disco act Rod Stewart dipped a toe in with Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? Some singers made their name with disco, but probably none as strongly as Donna Summer. MacArthur Park was an odd choice for a disco remake, but it worked.

The Bee Gees had been an act for many years, but struck gold when they recorded the soundtrack to John Travolta's Saturday Night Fever. Unlike Travolta, the Bee Gees pretty much got stuck in the disco era. As did their brother, Andy Gibb, who had a solo career that included Shadow Dancing. By the end of the era, even Barbra Streisand went disco, teaming up with Donna Summer for No More Tears (Enough is Enough). And given the impact that the Bee Gees had on the era, it's fitting that their Tragedy was pretty much the coda at the end of the era.

Blast from the Past: The Death of Disco

Image from Daily Mail

Here's an interesting story about an event that happened during my 'tween and teen years. When I was going from single to double digits, disco music was born. The date is blurry, somewhere between 1974 and 1975. The genre is also fuzzy, with Donna Summer being definitely disco, but bands like ABBA being forced into the category. Also, as disco took over most American music, established stars like Barbra Streisand and Rod Stewart jumped in with both feet.

At first it was great. I was too young to know about Studio 54, the tackiness of polyester, and the concept of disco as a "lifestyle." I just dug the music. But even I could sift through it all to see the good stuff from the bad. I mean, when they set the theme from I Love Lucy to disco--Disco Lucy, naturally--you didn't need to be a critic to see it as crap. Saturday Night Fever was a phenomenon. Nearly everybody owned the double-album, and it was impossible to escape the music of the Bee Gees and KC & the Sunshine Band.

I remember when "disco sucks" became a war cry, mostly from older kids who were into "album rock" on Q-FM-96 in Columbus, where I grew up. Funnily enough, many of the groups they liked instead--Kiss comes to mind--were every bit as calculated and commercial as disco was. The anti-disco mood took root, though. So, from 1980 to 1981, disco as a genre truly died. Or rather, it morphed into something else. MTV was a music blender, mixing elements of disco, new wave, punk, rock, R&B, ska, reggae and more. There was truly an 80s "sound," but I don't know if there is a single genre name for it, beyond "top 40." Even the "alternative" bands of the time now fit right in with the #1 hits.

Other than (possibly) the mini British invasion (Culture Club, Duran Duran) in the 80s and grunge in the 90s, I don't think we've ever as a nation had a dominant musical genre with the power disco had.

[Excerpt]

When ‘Disco Sucks!’ echoed around the world



“Disco sucks!”

It was a catchphrase you couldn’t avoid hearing three decades ago when a backlash started to develop against the ’70s dance music genre that dominated Top 40 radio stations. The resentment culminated in an unexpected riot July 12, 1979 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. It was there fans charged onto the field during a promotional event called “Disco Demolition Night,” after Chicago DJ Steve Dahl blew up a box of disco records. . .

Read more at: MSNBC