During the 1970s, I was very heavy into the disco era. Disco had basically taken over the radio in those days and some of everyone was getting into the act.

When disco died and rock and new wave started taking over the mainstream, I swayed more in the funk direction because it was so similar to disco at the time. So many funk artists had made disco records during the disco era and so had a few rock artists too. This is probably why I was more into funk during the 1980s than I was into rock.

There are countless artists that were strictly classified as "disco artists", such as Donna Summer, but this thread is about naming some disco records that were made by funk, R&B, and rock artists. It can get kind of complicated because some of the R&B artists, like Evelyn "Champaigne" King, came out in the disco era but continued being R&B artists during the 1980s. I guess those would be acceptable too. You get the picture though, don't list artists that have been legendary known as a "disco artist".

I'll begin with:

You And I - Rick James
Move Your Boogie Body - The Barkays
It's A Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop) - The Isley Brothers
Bustin' Loose - Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers
Got To Be Real - Cheryl Lynn
Shame - Evelyn "Champaigne" King
The Best Of My Love - The Emotions
Nobody Knows - Ashford and Simpson
Do Ya' Think I'm Sexy - Rod Stewart
I Miss You - The Rolling Stones
Heart Of Glass - Blondie
I Was Made For Loving You - KISS
[Edited 2/9/05 2:57am]

"Shine A Little Love" by ELO (1979)
"Boogie Wonderland" by Earth Wind and Fire (1979)


It's very hard sometimes to determine exactly what makes a song "disco",as opposed to regular R&B and funk.For example,is "Ladies Night" by Kool and The Gang disco,or funk? What about Marvin Gaye's "Got To Give It Up"? How would you classify it?

I know exactly what you mean because disco and funk were both forms of R&B and in the mid to late 1970s, it's like they were "married" so to speak.

vainandy said:

Precisely.It's fun to pick up a disco compilation and see what types of songs they put on them.In many cases,they use songs that aren't really disco at all.

Prince - Just As Long As We're Together

ETHEL MERMAN !!

hell,even Bette Midler made a disco song...

"Married Men" (1979)

and Barbra Streisand did two disco songs...

"The Main Event/Fight"(1979)
"Enough Is Enough" with Donna Summer (1979)


I was waiting for Pink Floyd to do a disco album

"Let Me Take You Dancing" by Bryan Adams (1979)


alot of his fans don't remember this song,and I'm sure he will NEVER sing this song in concert...lol...but it's a disco song where his voice is speeded up to sound like one of the Chipmunks,lol.You gotta hear it to believe it!

DavidEye said:

damn u beat me to that shit lol

TheRealFiness said:

you got this song?

DavidEye said:

Test pressing yeah.,. but back in NY it was on A & M

Yeah, this is what I was saying in the forgotten funk thread and I think there are some dead giveaways in the music.

String sections, casio or electronic programmed sounds are a couple of giveaways.

I'm always disappointed when I hear it from an artist I love like Kool & the Gang (JT Taylor). I know just about every artist had a disco album (the Stones ) but when I want funk, I want something that is pure and dirty at the same time. Disco lacks the grit and soul that I need to listen.

Slave2daGroove said:

I feel your pain.

Throw on some Raw Hamburger to sooth your soul.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

theAudience said:

and some chocolate buttermilk to wash it down

TheRealFiness said:

and go see the Fruitman for desert. A'ight!



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

Rapture - Blondie
You Should Be Dancin' - Bee Gees
Grease - Frankie Valli
Last Train to London - Electric Light Orchestra
Instant Replay - Dan Hartman
Wheel Me Out - Was (Not Was)
I Walk - Don Cherry

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

theAudience said:

Emotional Rescue - Rolling Stones
1984 - David Bowie

vainandy said:

That was the first one that came to mind!

Cher--Take Me Home

DavidEye said:

I guess you could put Cher there, since before she was more of a soft rock artist. She made two disco albums.

DavidEye said:

Well, some people do consider 'Another Brick in the Wall part 2' a disco song, at least it has a disco beat behind it.

I guess U2's "Discotheque" doesn't count. (The Deep extended club mix is the joint!)


[Edited 2/9/05 19:05pm]

vainandy said:

Yeah, even some blues artists were trying their hand at it.

James Brown - The Original Disco Man

Dancelot said:

I also recall Aretha Franklin recording a disco album in 1979 called 'La Diva'.It was a huge embarassment,with such lyrics as...

"come on girls....we're disco queens tonight"

Elton John went disco in the late 70s.First,there was his 1978 hit "Mama Can't Buy You Love".Then,a year later,he hooked up with Donna Summer's producer (Pete Bellotte) for an album called 'Victim Of Love'.It flopped big time,proving that not just anybody could do disco,lol.

Eartha Kitt did an underground disco record called "I Don't Wanna Be Alone" that still gets played to this day.

Speaking of underground, the drag queen, Divine, from the movie "Polyester", did several underground disco records.