In 2022, Best Classic Bands published a story, Surviving the ’70s: 12 Disco Songs Even Rock Fans Enjoy, that featured dance floor classics from Gloria Gaynor (“I Will Survive”), Chic (“Le Freak”) and The Trammps (“Disco Inferno”) that even classic rock die-hards would even enjoy at Cousin Eddie’s wedding. A comment from BCB reader who goes by the name of “122intheshade” suggested that we do a list of disco songs by rockers.
A brilliant idea! During disco’s heyday, some of music’s biggest rock and pop acts (and their record labels) took the plunge. Some even achieved a #1 single for their efforts. To keep things on par with the story that inspired this one, we’ve taken a look at twelve songs. Not surprisingly, all but one were released between 1978 and 1980, falling sometime around the time that disco was peaking on Top 40 radio. Note: For the most part, we’ve included audio for the songs’ 7-inch version. All charts are for the U.S. unless otherwise stated.
“Miss You” – The Rolling Stones
It would be hard not to start with this one from 1978. The song was the first single from Some Girls and became the band’s eighth and final #1 U.S. single. The 4:48 album track was expanded to 8:26 for the club version. What’s surprising is that the latter only reached #6 on the dance chart, blocked at the top by A Taste of Honey’s “Boogie Oogie Oogie” and Musique’s “In the Bush.” What’s the matter with you, boy?
“Gemini Dream” – The Moody Blues
The Justin Hayward – John Lodge composition helped propel its 1981 album, Long Distance Voyager, to the top of the chart, with the single reaching #12. As Hayward told an interviewer, “We started grooving on that particular beat – I suppose it’s about 115 or 120 [beats per minute] – and then what came out was a sort of guitar riff, and [drummer] Graeme [Edge] was a real four-on-the-floor beat – boom-CHA-boom-CHA – that kind of thing, and John was doing an eight to the bar [on bass]. The song itself developed out of us sort of saying ‘Oh, that’s quite good,’ and remembering this groove.” It was enough to get The Moody Blues to #36 on the dance chart.
“Here Comes the Night” – The Beach Boys
The 1967 track from the band’s Wild Honey album was re-recorded for their rather dismal 1979 release, L.A. (Light Album), and is one of the songs that BCB reader “122intheshade” suggested that we write about for this feature. Of the updated version, Al Jardine said, “I hated that track. It was one of the worst experiences of my life recording anywhere, but Bruce [Johnston, who co-produced it] has this idea to do the perfect disco record, which of course none of our fans wanted us to do. I like the original song, but this pandering to disco did not work.” Radio programmers and club DJs apparently agreed as the song peaked in the 40s on both charts.
“Heart of Glass” – Blondie
The song, written by Deborah Harry and Chris Stein, took the band to international stardom. Their first two albums had yielded no charting U.S. singles and the track was almost an afterthought for their third release, 1978’s Parallel Lines, when producer Mike Chapman asked if they had any other material. Harry told an interviewer, “We’d tried it as a ballad, as reggae, but it never quite worked.” That changed when the toe-tapping recording was released as a single in 1979 and reached #1 on the Hot 100 and in many other countries.
“(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman” – The Kinks
The DC Comics character was the subject of a box-office smash in 1978 and Ray Davies capitalized with a comedic take on the renewed popularity of the superhero. Unlike the “Man of Steel,” the song’s protagonist is a lightweight at nine stone (the U.K. equivalent of 126 pounds) with “knobbly knees” and a “big black cloud hanging over me.” It became a modest hit at #41.
“Goodnight Tonight” – Wings
The Paul McCartney song was recorded during the sessions for his 1979’s Back To the Egg, and though it was released as a single a few months’ earlier—earning top 5 success in both the U.K. and U.S.—it ultimately wasn’t included in the album. Record World‘s singles reviewer, Joe Ianello, called it “a semi-serious disco tune featuring every conceivable studio technique and a hook you can boogie (or sing) along with.”
“Let’s Dance” – David Bowie
The 1983 single, co-produced by Nile Rodgers of Chic, became Bowie’s biggest of his career internationally and represented a huge comeback in the U.S. where he hadn’t had a pop hit since “Golden Years” in 1976. The guitar solo at the end of the song was played by a then-largely unknown blues-rock guitarist from Austin, Tex., Stevie Ray Vaughan, and helped spark the buzz for his debut album, Texas Flood, released later that year.
“Victim of Love” – Elton John
The title track of an album that’s best forgotten. The star was only 32 when it was released in 1979 with the LP peaking at just #35 and the single at #31, a far cry from his phenomenal success just a few years’ earlier. It appears he survived it.
“Running From Paradise” – Daryl Hall & John Oates
This is the second track suggested by BCB reader “122intheshade.” The song, from 1979’s X-Static, features a funky bass line, synths and bongos.
“Shine a Little Love” – Electric Light Orchestra
The leadoff track from 1979’s Discovery album helped propel the album to #1 in the native U.K., their first of two there, and to #5 in the U.S. As Jeff Lynne wrote several decades later, “A bit of a disco beat on this one, and quite a lot of things going on, forty-piece string section and all. It’s very jolly and bouncy and I must have been in a very good mood when I wrote it!”
“Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” – Rod Stewart
Rod may have taken a lot of grief for this one but it became one of the biggest hits of his phenomenal career. While it won’t be confused for such all-time classics as “Stay With Me” or “Maggie May,” the 1979 single was a song very much of its time, reaching #1 around the world and topping the U.S. disco chart. “They thought I was a traitor to rock ‘n’ roll,” said Stewart. “Was I jumping on the bandwagon? Yes… and what’s wrong with that,” he told Dan Rather. “Was it a huge hit? An amazingly huge hit.”
“Another One Bites the Dust” – Queen
Was there any doubt which song we’d end this feature with? Its songwriter, Queen bassist John Deacon, was clearly influenced by Bernard Edwards’ bass line on from Chic’s “Good Times,” a year earlier. The track was the band’s second U.S. #1, though it fell just short of the top spot on the Disco chart.
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3 Comments so far
Jump into a conversation“Shakedown Street” by the Grateful Dead….
“let’s dance”: great dance song! disco? i think not.
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