Disco: A Genre Of Dance Music In The 1960's

Disco is a genre of dance music that that had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, psychedelic and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and early 1970s. While disco was a form of black commercial pop music and a craze among black gay men especially, it did not catch mainstream attention until it was picked up by the predominantly white gay clubs of New York. Latinos and women embraced disco as well, and the music eventually expanded to several other popular groups of the time. In what is considered a forerunner to disco style clubs, in February 1970, the New York City DJ David Mancuso opened The Loft, a members-only private dance club set in his own home. Most agree that the first disco songs
The DJs played "...a smooth mix of long single records to keep people 'dancing all night long'". Some of the most prestigious clubs had elaborate lighting systems that throbbed to the beat of the music. McFaddin Ventures in Houston, Texas commissioned a study on the stimulation of males and females during the playing of music. They accordingly custom tuned their speakers to make their numerous properties more exciting. Their programmer/disc jockey, Karen Cook, was the first female disco DJ in the states and trained other McFaddin Ventures discjockeys to work the music format - 6 up, 3 down, to sell more
Examples of well-known songs which illustrate this difference include Kool & the Gang?s "Celebration" (1980), Rick James? "Super Freak" (1981), Grace Jones's "Pull Up to the Bumper" (1981), Carol Jiani's "Hit N' Run Lover" (1981), Laura Branigan's "Gloria" (1982), The Pointer Sisters? "I'm So Excited" (1982), Prince?s "1999" (1982), The Weather Girls's "It's Raining Men" (1982), Madonna?s "Holiday" (1983), Irene Cara's "Flashdance (What A Feeling)" (1983), Angela Bofill's "Too Tough" (1983), Miquel Brown's "So Many Men, So Little Time" (1983), Michael Jackson?s "Thriller" (1983), Stevie Nicks' "Stand Back" (1983), Cerrone's "Back Track" (1984), Jocelyn Brown's "Somebody Else's Guy" (1984), and Klymaxx's "Meeting in the Ladies Room"