That's pretty much why I didn't watch. I don't like those types of specials. I like them when it focuses on individuals. It's easy to get lost when they try covering a genre or a year concerning music. Which is why I wasn't a fan of those decade Behind the Music documentaries.
While this wasn't an all-encompassing disco documentary, I really enjoyed it. It reminded me less of "Behind The Music" and more of British dance music documentaries. Nice mixture of interviews with well-known stars, lesser known acts and behind-the-scenes players. They provided a nice musical & social history lesson. This episode's argument is 70s' disco is unsung because it hasn't been given the respect it truly deserves.
Favorite Parts:
-Candi Staton and Nile Rodgers' interviews and Earl Young's drumming demos.
-Established acts like Gloria Gaynor & Harry Casey admitting they initially resented The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever success. BGs were viewed as late-comers that hitched on the bandwagon.
-Victor Willis admitting he was ignorant of The Village People's gay overtunes, until the third album. Nevermind that he was the lead singer and co-wrote the songs.
-Janice-Marie Johnson of "Taste of Honey" revealing she became a limo driver after the disco backlash. The SOS Band were great tippers, apparenty.
-Despite the disco backlash in '79, the last big hit of the era, "Good Times" laid the foundation for the first hip-hop movement's first hit "Rapper's Delight".
LOVE Miss Candi! Speaking of, there's an Ashford & Simspon song as the "B" side of "When You Wake Up Tomorrow" called "Rough Times" and it's never appeared ANYWHERE in her anthologies, remaster of "Chance," etc...Anyone ever heard it and/or question why this is beside myself? It's a great little song. A forgotten one though.
I thought it was a good episode, too, but I think that it glossed over a lot of things and acts. It seemed to me that they created this episode to cover the acts of the era instead of focusing on individual acts. I think a KC and the Sunshine Band one would have been much better.
That's pretty much why I didn't watch. I don't like those types of specials. I like them when it focuses on individuals. It's easy to get lost when they try covering a genre or a year concerning music. Which is why I wasn't a fan of those decade Behind the Music documentaries.
While this wasn't an all-encompassing disco documentary, I really enjoyed it. It reminded me less of "Behind The Music" and more of British dance music documentaries. Nice mixture of interviews with well-known stars, lesser known acts and behind-the-scenes players. They provided a nice musical & social history lesson. This episode's argument is 70s' disco is unsung because it hasn't been given the respect it truly deserves.
Favorite Parts:
-Candi Staton and Nile Rodgers' interviews and Earl Young's drumming demos.
-Established acts like Gloria Gaynor & Harry Casey admitting they initially resented The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever success. BGs were viewed as late-comers that hitched on the bandwagon.
-Victor Willis admitting he was ignorant of The Village People's gay overtunes, until the third album. Nevermind that he was the lead singer and co-wrote the songs.
-Janice-Marie Johnson of "Taste of Honey" revealing she became a limo driver after the disco backlash. The SOS Band were great tippers, apparenty.
-Despite the disco backlash in '79, the last big hit of the era, "Good Times" laid the foundation for the first hip-hop movement's first hit "Rapper's Delight".
Good summary. I thought it was good. I thought the show captured the essence of disco unlike the episode they did a few years ago on Sylvester.
Don't laugh at my funk
This funk is a serious joint
Is there a way to watch full episodes of UNSUNG? I lost TVOne when my cable system restructured its channel lineup about a year ago, and have been missing these episodes ever since...
Is there a way to watch full episodes of UNSUNG? I lost TVOne when my cable system restructured its channel lineup about a year ago, and have been missing these episodes ever since...
You watch UNSUNG episodes by going here.....
http://www.soultracks.com/unsung
and yes,they have this week's new episode (the disco artists)
-Candi Staton and Nile Rodgers' interviews and Earl Young's drumming demos.
-Established acts like Gloria Gaynor & Harry Casey admitting they initially resented The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever success. BGs were viewed as late-comers that hitched on the bandwagon.
-Victor Willis admitting he was ignorant of The Village People's gay overtunes, until the third album. Nevermind that he was the lead singer and co-wrote the songs.
-Janice-Marie Johnson of "Taste of Honey" revealing she became a limo driver after the disco backlash. The SOS Band were great tippers, apparenty.
-Despite the disco backlash in '79, the last big hit of the era, "Good Times" laid the foundation for the first hip-hop movement's first hit "Rapper's Delight".
I thought it was interesting when Niles Rodgers mentioned that Dolly Parton and Frank Sinatra (!!) approached him to produce disco records for them it's amazing how so many non-disco artists wanted to jump on the disco bandwagon back then.
Is there a way to watch full episodes of UNSUNG? I lost TVOne when my cable system restructured its channel lineup about a year ago, and have been missing these episodes ever since...
You watch UNSUNG episodes by going here.....
http://www.soultracks.com/unsung
and yes,they have this week's new episode (the disco artists)
-Candi Staton and Nile Rodgers' interviews and Earl Young's drumming demos.
-Established acts like Gloria Gaynor & Harry Casey admitting they initially resented The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever success. BGs were viewed as late-comers that hitched on the bandwagon.
-Victor Willis admitting he was ignorant of The Village People's gay overtunes, until the third album. Nevermind that he was the lead singer and co-wrote the songs.
-Janice-Marie Johnson of "Taste of Honey" revealing she became a limo driver after the disco backlash. The SOS Band were great tippers, apparenty.
-Despite the disco backlash in '79, the last big hit of the era, "Good Times" laid the foundation for the first hip-hop movement's first hit "Rapper's Delight".
I thought it was interesting when Niles Rodgers mentioned that Dolly Parton and Frank Sinatra (!!) approached him to produce disco records for them it's amazing how so many non-disco artists wanted to jump on the disco bandwagon back then.
I'm so glad Nile had the foresight to know that wouldn't have worked.
That's pretty much why I didn't watch. I don't like those types of specials. I like them when it focuses on individuals. It's easy to get lost when they try covering a genre or a year concerning music. Which is why I wasn't a fan of those decade Behind the Music documentaries.
While this wasn't an all-encompassing disco documentary, I really enjoyed it. It reminded me less of "Behind The Music" and more of British dance music documentaries. Nice mixture of interviews with well-known stars, lesser known acts and behind-the-scenes players. They provided a nice musical & social history lesson. This episode's argument is 70s' disco is unsung because it hasn't been given the respect it truly deserves.
Favorite Parts:
-Candi Staton and Nile Rodgers' interviews and Earl Young's drumming demos.
-Established acts like Gloria Gaynor & Harry Casey admitting they initially resented The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever success. BGs were viewed as late-comers that hitched on the bandwagon.
-Victor Willis admitting he was ignorant of The Village People's gay overtunes, until the third album. Nevermind that he was the lead singer and co-wrote the songs.
-Janice-Marie Johnson of "Taste of Honey" revealing she became a limo driver after the disco backlash. The SOS Band were great tippers, apparenty.
-Despite the disco backlash in '79, the last big hit of the era, "Good Times" laid the foundation for the first hip-hop movement's first hit "Rapper's Delight".
It was good seeing Candi Staton, Janice-Marie Johnson, Thelma Houston, Gloria Gaynor, KC and Nile Rodgers. They played some good music on the show.
Gloria Gaynor and Janice-Marie Johnson looked great. Janice-Marie was too cool gettin' down on her bass! She almost looked the same as she did then.
Nile Rogers will be featured on this episode. He was on the Tom Joyner Morning Show today and said that TV-One has already contacted him about expanding this Disco feature into another episode for next season.
I'm excited about this episode.
You know what TV One should consider? All of these stories turned into a Disco tv series. The nostalgia is pretty strong & you could have a really addictive show about something similar to Studio 54 life. You could have some really despicable & likeable characters in that world. Who wouldn't sign up for that to act in if you were a girl or a guy?
As far as KC not having a full episode, that would be a waste of time. VH1's Behind the Music KC & The Sunshine band covered pretty much everything you want to know about KC.
Thanks Kemi. I might check this out on TV One on Demand. I like the intros and the section leading to the story. The online portions always cut them out. Maybe to just get to the real meat of the story?
It was enjoyable even if it was "Disco; The Abridged History".
I enjoyed hearing about Diana Ross, who they showed excitedly getting out of a limo waving to the crowd, dancing on speakers and partying in the DJ booth. THAT I would've loved to see.
But it was never meant to be. I would NEVER stand in a mob all night for the slight chance of getting picked to go inside anywhere. I guess I'm no fun.
I thought it was interesting when Niles Rodgers mentioned that Dolly Parton and Frank Sinatra (!!) approached him to produce disco records for them it's amazing how so many non-disco artists wanted to jump on the disco bandwagon back then.
I'm so glad Nile had the foresight to know that wouldn't have worked.
and he even turned down Aretha (rightfully so).Disco was an amazing thing,but not just anybody could do it.Aretha got pissed and went to Van McCoy instead,but her disco album flopped.
I'm so glad Nile had the foresight to know that wouldn't have worked.
and he even turned down Aretha (rightfully so).Disco was an amazing thing,but not just anybody could do it.Aretha got pissed and went to Van McCoy instead,but her disco album flopped.
and he even turned down Aretha (rightfully so).Disco was an amazing thing,but not just anybody could do it.Aretha got pissed and went to Van McCoy instead,but her disco album flopped.
lol it didn't die in the '70s but it's not as dominant and disco was music for everybody actually. Blacks, Latinos and Europeans play equal parts in creating it. Black films at least to the magnitude of its releases in the '70s were gonna have a shorter shelf life anyway.
Nile Rogers will be featured on this episode. He was on the Tom Joyner Morning Show today and said that TV-One has already contacted him about expanding this Disco feature into another episode for next season.
I'm excited about this episode.
You know what TV One should consider? All of these stories turned into a Disco tv series. The nostalgia is pretty strong & you could have a really addictive show about something similar to Studio 54 life. You could have some really despicable & likeable characters in that world. Who wouldn't sign up for that to act in if you were a girl or a guy?
As far as KC not having a full episode, that would be a waste of time. VH1's Behind the Music KC & The Sunshine band covered pretty much everything you want to know about KC.
Is there a way to watch full episodes of UNSUNG? I lost TVOne when my cable system restructured its channel lineup about a year ago, and have been missing these episodes ever since...
You watch UNSUNG episodes by going here.....
http://www.soultracks.com/unsung
and yes,they have this week's new episode (the disco artists)
and you can watch directly on the network's website too
Because it'll get more viewers than one about zydeco.
From what I've seen, 98 percent of the acts on this show were popular, and not "unsung". So obviously they're going to pick disco, and not zydeco, jazz, or a folky type singer like Odessa, which won't get the ratings.
You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
Also, Unsung seems to be geared towards an audience more interested in gossip and dirt, and less on the music. It's just Sister 2 Sister magazine on TV. The music documentaries on the PBS show Independent Lens are more interesting to me.
You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
It was a pretty good episode. I liked that they focused on the early history of disco and on some of the lesser known acts of the era. It was as good as VH1's Behind The Music episode on Studio 54, but a really amazing documentary of the disco era would need a Ken Burns-type treatment over several nights. Even though some of the tackier elements of disco surfaced in the late 1970's (the Ethel Merman disco album - really?), it reached its pinnacle in 1979, with the Bee Gees, Village People, Donna Summer, KC and the Sunshine Band, Sister Sledge, Chic, and even rock acts like Blondie and Rod Stewart having huge disco songs on the Billboard Hot 100. And even after the whole Disco Demolition debacle, it really wasn't until 1980 that disco suddenly became a musical plague to be avoided. In fact, the last huge disco song of that era was Lipps, Inc's "Funkytown," which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the late spring of that year. But after that the pop charts were ruled by lite FM and country acts, and the new wave acts were bubbling underneath, pushing disco underground only to resurface later on as eurodance and house music.
That's pretty much why I didn't watch. I don't like those types of specials. I like them when it focuses on individuals. It's easy to get lost when they try covering a genre or a year concerning music. Which is why I wasn't a fan of those decade Behind the Music documentaries.
While this wasn't an all-encompassing disco documentary, I really enjoyed it. It reminded me less of "Behind The Music" and more of British dance music documentaries. Nice mixture of interviews with well-known stars, lesser known acts and behind-the-scenes players. They provided a nice musical & social history lesson. This episode's argument is 70s' disco is unsung because it hasn't been given the respect it truly deserves.
Favorite Parts:
-Candi Staton and Nile Rodgers' interviews and Earl Young's drumming demos.
-Established acts like Gloria Gaynor & Harry Casey admitting they initially resented The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever success. BGs were viewed as late-comers that hitched on the bandwagon.
-Victor Willis admitting he was ignorant of The Village People's gay overtunes, until the third album. Nevermind that he was the lead singer and co-wrote the songs.
-Janice-Marie Johnson of "Taste of Honey" revealing she became a limo driver after the disco backlash. The SOS Band were great tippers, apparenty.
-Despite the disco backlash in '79, the last big hit of the era, "Good Times" laid the foundation for the first hip-hop movement's first hit "Rapper's Delight".
But THAT^ shouldn't surprise you. Victor was the first and only ever heterosexual in The Village People. At least he was very comfortable lead vocalist, given THIS video and all:
Excuse me, but those short shorts from the late 1970's to early 1980's should NEVER come back in style!
New topic
Printable
Report post to moderator
I would love to see a Taste Of Honey reunion! 
Janice-Marie was gettin' it! She's still got it.
Dear Lawd, please let me age like this Janice-Marie, Grace Jones, and Sheila E. 
Blacks, Latinos and Europeans play equal parts in creating it. 
