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The Disco Lifestyle

Rarely does a dance movement fit so precisely within a decade. Seventies Disco was born on Valentine's Day 1970, when David Manusco opened The Loft in New York City, and it rapidly faded in 1980. When the Disco movement peaked in 1978-79, the demographic was predominantly white, heterosexual, urban and suburban middle class. But it didn't begin that way. For the first eight years, Disco was an underground movement. Then the film Saturday Night Fever (December 1977) helped turn the simmering subculture into a mainstream fad, resulting is a 30-fold increase in disco clubs.

Who went to discos, and why?

There wasn't one definitive disco demographic. The seventies saw the emergence of today's pluralism, where individual variety of interests and tastes surpasses mass trends and fads. Thus several different populations were attracted to the disco scene.

One population was the generation of younger baby boomers who felt left out of the sixties counterculture revolution. They were teens during the sixties, perhaps college students, but were bystanders watching the events from the sidelines. Many were wistfully envious of the expanding freedoms which they saw the hippies create, from personal evolution and quests for enlightenment, to the sexual revolution. Especially the sexual revolution.

As Bruce Pollack recalled in 1979, "We had been reminded once too often that we were just not with it. Where they had long hair and Woodstock, we had nothing to clearly call our own. We needed a kind of shared activity, scorned by our elders, which would bring us together as a group. At the disco, we have forged a generational banner. It's great to feel special at last." For a significant population of boomers, the seventies were their turn. With the price of admission to a disco, they could safely purchase a taste of the freedoms which they had only watched during the sixties.

But they adopted a wholly different aesthetic from the counterculture, because an important part of feeling special is being different - in this case different from the hippies. A core element of the new disco scene was sophistication. This meant upscale and classy, but keeping the counterculture emphasis on becoming personally evolved. Sophistication was also defined by what it wasn't - it wasn't rustic country life and dressing down. So the sexual liberation pioneered in the sixties was embraced, but as a glamorous urban version.

There was another reason for the change in aesthetics (the disco look) beyond change for change's sake, and this involved a second disco population: the suburban middle class and blue collar working class. Here we find the same upward mobility which has motivated the middle classes for two centuries.

Disco was appealing because its sophistication was a step up for them, but within reach. All they had to do was dress up and pay the admission and they could live in an elegant, futuristic world for a night. And hopefully mingle with people a step higher on the social ladder.

Disco music mirrored this sophistication, featuring orchestras (the Philadelphia Sound) with large string and brass sections. Quite the opposite of small hard-hitting rock bands. Intentionally opposite.

So for the middle and working class young Americans, the possibility of taking a step up in their lives was more compelling than dressing down. That's essentially the story of Saturday Night Fever - the working class Italian American who was a hardware clerk by day and a Disco King by night.

Significantly, the discos also offered a taste of freedom and self actualization for three other subcultures during the seventies: Gays, Hispanics and African Americans. After decades of marginalization for each of these minorities, they all found a supportive home in the discos.

1) Gays were the first, right from the beginning, when David Manusco opened The Loft, closely followed by The Gallery and the Paradise Garage, all in New York City. After the counter-culture revolution of the sixties, there was now a relatively wider acceptance of gays in the media, followed by some legal freedoms in New York City in 1971.

2) Then New York City Latinos, largely Puerto Rican and Cuban, quickly joined the party with their couple dance traditions of Latinized 1950s rock'n'roll swing. American popular culture had mostly given up partnered "touch" dancing in 1960, when the Twist changed the dynamic of social dancing. But Hispanic dancers in New York had never stopped partnered dancing, partially because it was considered masculine for Latino men to dance, and had been for generations. So for them, partnered couple dancing was preferred over solo dancing.

3) How about the music in 1972? If you were transported back to an early seventies disco you might be surprised to hear only pop, soul and Motown music from the sixties. Then a new sound hit New York in 1973, imported from Africa - the Soul Makossa single by Manu Dibango, which charged the Manhattan disco scene with a new energy. It was stunningly unlike anything else at the time - a repetitious motif with no melody line, or story in the lyrics, and with a steady dance beat. Soon this new sound was filled out with a larger Philly-style orchestral version, funky rhythms, and the next generation of Motown soul, all of which were primarily African-American. Combined together, this became the definitive sound of the disco era.

So one could say that the original disco subculture (1970-77) was a fusion of (1) the gay urban party scene, (2) partnered dancing kept alive by Latinos, and (3) African American music. Then once the ball was rolling, many other populations of Americans were also attracted to Discos, for a wide variety of reasons. From there, Disco quickly spread to Europe and parts of Asia.

Does it seem odd that over a million white, straight, middle class and suburban Americans flocked to discos which were initially gay, black and Latino scenes? No, because a core element of the disco scene was sophistication. Sophistication meant wanting to see oneself as personally evolved. The messages of the 1960s counterculture revolution had received endless press coverage, propagated in hundreds of popular songs, and glamorized in dozens of films. By 1976 it had trickled down to the working class. Rural bigotry was now seen as unsophisticated, as harshly depicted in the 1972 film Deliverance. The term "homophobia" was coined at this time, around 1970, and was pejorative. Both the suburban and blue collar kids liked to see themselves as evolving beyond that. Seventies disco dancers may have been criticized at the time for their pursuit of superficial pleasures, but this was also a time of acceptance of otherness - more so than would be seen in the following decades.

The new freedoms were also expressed on the dance floor. This could be the self expression of solo dancing, or the many shades of the sexual revolution played out in partner dancing, dressed up with disco fashions which often emphasized sexuality, and accompanied by overtly sexual lyrics in the new music... songs celebrating macho men and foxy ladies, love machines and "doing it."

Like most fads, Disco was also a way to be modern. Beyond modern, it was futuristic - a major element of the disco scene. Everything was state-of-the-art, from the latest look in club design to all-new fashions in all-new synthetic polyester fabrics.

Electronic synthesized dance music entered the disco scene in the late 70s, as the perfect match for state-of-the-art sound systems with hanging arrays of super-tweeters above mammoth subwoofers the size of minivans, illuminated with the highest-tech lighting, fog machines, computerized multimedia visuals (that was my job then), animated neon and multicolor lasers. To quote Steve D'Acquisto, "It was like a cross between outer space and a big playhouse."

The dancers felt that Disco was a movement that they created. But that was the original disco scene, before it became a fad. The underground phase lasted a fairly long time - eight years - much longer than the two-year second phase, after Saturday Night Fever launched the discomania, when the number of dance clubs exploded from 1,500 to 45,000. But soon Disco Fever became "last year's fad" - the sure death of any trend - and by 1980 it was proclaimed to be dead.

Disco lasted only a decade but it initiated several traditions that are still with us today, most notably in dance and dance music.-

1) While rock music in the 1970s was becoming a sit-down medium, with the stars up on the stage in the lights, and the audience listening in the dark below, Disco reversed this, putting the audience in the spotlight.

2) The music changed to support this figure/ground reversal. Song lyrics became intentionally uninteresting, while the rhythm become more insistently driving. Two decades later, both of these trends would be refined even further in the 1990s rave scene, when minimalist music was given a dance beat, becoming Psy Trance, while House music continued the disco diva tradition.

3) Disco brought the return of partnered dancing, after the drought of the 1960s when the Twist and other solo steps mostly replaced couple dancing. As former disco dancer Joan Walton phrased it, "In the counterculture 60s, the woman's attitude was, You're not going to lead me anywhere, buster! Then people rediscovered that collaborating with a partner to make a neat move happen was fun!" So this was not actually a new change, but rather a correction to the 1960s change.

Richard Powers

On to the 1970s Disco dances

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The Disco Lifestyle Rarely does a dance movement fit so precisely within a decade. Seventies Disco was born on Valentine's Day 1970, when David Manusco opened The Loft in New York City, and it rapidly faded in 1980. When the Disco movement peaked in 1978-79, the demographic was predominantly white, heterosexual, urban and suburban middle class.

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1) How has disco influenced other forms of music?
2) How did disco influence other aspect of society during its time?

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1)  What one thing that you learning while watching the video?
2) What is one questions you still have about what going on today?

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What song is helping you cope the most during this time?

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What song is helping you cope the most during this time?

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Dico has influenced music in a lot of ways. One of those ways is to make the music more danceable.
Disco influenced people to be themselves at that time

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That you can do anything at home as long as its safe and not destructible.
Why can't people stay inside so this covid can go away?

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Lucid dreams - Juice wrld

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1) disco was influenced by african rythms and latino partner dancing.

2) DIsco offered liberation from envious feelings held against the hippies and allowed many people in socioeconomic tiers other than the top, to dress and live it up. Meaning that they could feel more bliss and dance off the stress of their 9-5s.

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1) I'm learning how bad the unemployment rate had gotten.

2) I have two questions: Why are people in the US government being so selfish with testing, greedy by trying to prematurely open up places in the country and ignoring recommendations from actual medical professions.

2.2) I am really confused as to why the media, (in an ethical sense because the easy answer is that they are capitalizing off of a panic and are trying to install more in order to maintain profits) is trying to make corona sound worse than it is by lying and citing people that aren't necessarily involved in specific situations?
(See: elon musk's twitter feed, you have to scroll back a bit bc CNN was trying to say that elon musk had never delivered promised ventilators, but in actuality he had and there was only a slight lag between the offer and delivery because of shipping and he was gathering logistics. Also see The Quartering's youtube video on this topic.)

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My favorite youtuber's (Elliot Choy) spotify playlist -  https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ECpI7VgVNEtTYimefR3Ex?si=tlW4DeoBT3irpDwrhjl3Lg

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there isn't one specific song, but spanish music in general.

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1. how high the unemployment rate has gotten.
2.how far are they in finding a cure?

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It's hard to name just one, but I think it'd be Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles.

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Rush-Cygnus X-1 Book Two

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It influenced other forms of music in the sense that generations were finally able to find their symbol or their banner.

Disco was "welcome" to everyone and was not limited to one specific race, gender, or sex. I think that is what made disco so different and how impactful it was on their society at the time.

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I learned that the unemployment rate has skyrocketed due to businesses closing.

Does the government have a proper infrastructure, for when their is a cure, in order to get this vaccine to first responders first.

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1) Disco music was greatly influenced by primarily African-American music techniques. This, in turn, influenced future forms of music.
2) The Disco era influenced society in that people of varying cultures wanted to be a part of it. Their primary motivation was to find a sense of sophistication which is described in the article as a sense of individualism.

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1) I learned that we may have to wait a while longer for a vaccine
2) Could it be possible to get the vaccine sooner? By that I mean will they make an exception and have a vaccine available a few months less than usual?

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disco music influenced a lot of other music, it can be argued that it made others be comfortable to put out their own type of music.

the music was not for a certain individual or a certain crowd. it was able to be enjoyed by many people.

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i learned that there is no time table on when a vaccine will be created for the ones who are effected.

where did the virus come from and why don´t people show symptoms of having it and some others do show symptoms.

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all the tiktok songs

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1.) Disco music is influenced by other cultural music during that time which was latino or african and even dance beats.
2.) people that enjoy to hang around with other people tend to love the same type of music and was often used for gatherings.

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Something or Yesterday by the Beatles.

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1. made other people wanna make beats
2. people liked it listen to it more

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1. there is a long wait for the vaccine
2. why did they let the vivrus out on purpose

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6ix9ine - GOOBA and Righteous by juice wrld n sasuke by uzi

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disco influenced many other genres because of the uptempo beats and it was music you could dance to.

at that time people were into dancing and it was something new, and it was also open to anyone.

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I learned that theres no timestamp on when this virus will go away and how vaccines take time as well.

I just want to know how the virus got here and why didnt Trump take action sooner

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lil durk and navs new album

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Bigger than life, or stole your luv, or any other way by Juice Wrld

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Bigger than life, or stole your luv, or any other way by Juice Wrld

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1.) I learned that this coronavirus is hard to make a vaccine and there is alot of people out of a job because they need to stay away from one another
2.) My question is why are any of the government social distancing they are together in a press conference and they are not 6 feet apart

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Disco influencers have influenced other to start their own line to influence.
Well it all depend with the society

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I learned that there's is alot of people in the wait for vaccines.
my question is that are they even following the rules they want us to follow.

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Dont have a favorite song at the moment

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1.if i try to get a job right now, what are my chances
2.if we take a long time to find a cure for covid, how will things turn out?

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1.help develope sound system teck, using electronic synthesized dance music
2.it allowed a taste of freedom for 3 other subcultures.

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VNNY - Old Friend - SINGLE

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1). Disco influenced other forms of music as the scenery inspired individuals to be more open about themselves and it was also a way to be modern and unique in one’s appearance.

2). Disco influenced society because minority groups such as Gays, Hispanics, and African Americans were able to express their freedom and self actualization without interference.

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1). I learned that there are a couple medicines already being tested for covid but there is still no official vaccine against the actual virus.

2). How long will it take for the US economy to recover once things start getting better?

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Rod Wave- Roaming

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dont have one at the moment

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1. Disco had taken music at the time and made it more sophisticated and modernized.
2. It brought back partnered dancing, as well as bringing freedom to the gays, hispanics, and the African Americans.

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1) disco influenced music because it set the standards for the future.
2) it influenced society by changing the fashion norm

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****** in paris by Jay Z and Kanye West

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1) how bad covid changes jobs and the economy
2) How long do you think we will be able in order to go outside

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1. The virus has completely changed the economy of the whole world because of how it has closed so many stores and businesses, and I guess I didn't realize how bad it had actually gotten.
2. How much longer would it take to fully develop a vaccine and have it ready to use for the public?

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Siúl a Rún
I really enjoy the softness of this song.

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Siúil a Rúin - LYRICS + Translation - Clannad

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1- They expanded on the use of technological aspects to the music that helped develop future music.

2- The created an aesthetic and artform that made people feel unique and different from rest of the people at the time. It lead to a form of self expression for the  people were normally shunned by society at the time.

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1- the siberian tiger is the national symbol of south korea
2- with all of the cautions placed to keep the virus from spreading why do people protest saying that this is oppression?