The Houston Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual banquet last Saturday night, and the event’s theme was “Saturday Night Fever/Disco.”
While my wife Wendy and I danced to some classic disco tunes toward the end of the evening, my mind couldn’t help but go where it went many times in the late 1970s and early 1980s when disco was popular.
As I had on numerous occasions while growing up in the Seattle suburbs during that time period, I wondered why bashing and degrading disco music ever became so popular. Back then, me and a bunch of my friends didn’t understand the problem. We were big fans of the Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aerosmith, Bad Company and several other mainstream rock-and-roll acts, but we also recognized that disco just plain sounded good.
And it still does.
Allow me to break this down a bit.
Like much of “pop” music since rock-and-roll took center stage in the 1950s, disco is basically just rock with a twist. It has the guitar, drums, bass, keyboards and vocals, and even its biggest detractors would have to admit it also has the catchy melodies associated with popular songs.
So what’s the problem? Was it the way people dressed? Was it the way they danced?
I still don’t know. I always thought it was kind of cool that a musical genre came equipped with its own wardrobe style and moves.
And as a friend of mine and I were discussing last Saturday, anyone who doesn’t get the urge to move at least a little when a song like “Stayin’ Alive,” “Funkytown” or “Groove Line” comes on has no sense of rhythm whatsoever (or maybe is trying to make some sort of “disco sucks” point). Suppressing such movement just isn’t natural; it’s sort of a knee-jerk, instinctive thing that just automatically happens.
I guess that’s why my friends and I loved to go to “under 21” nightclubs (like “Tonight’s the Night” on Mercer Island) where disco blared loudly and crowds packed the dance floors. And we didn’t even “dress the part.” We just went because it was big-time fun.
So yep, when it comes to disco, I “got it.” I even owned 45 RPM singles of “Le Freak,” “Ring My Bell,” “That’s the Way I Like It,” “Heart of Glass” and other quality disco tunes (and I have zero apprehension about admitting that). And you can bet I had an epic “various disco” cassette tape or two.
Anyway, in final defense of disco music, it’s nothing more than a version of rock-and-roll that has a defined beat and is meant for dancing. And I don’t care what someone might think of me for saying this, but it’s a dang cool version, the likes of which would do a lot of good if it found its way into today’s rather limited line-up of popular music.
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald.
Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.