Categories
Blogging Bugs History Home Life Music Radio

The Major’s Friday Night Disco Party

It’s the start of another fun ‘Moldie-Oldie Music Weekend’ here on the big polyester and bell-bottoms blog. I kick it off with my fan-favourite ‘Disco Party’ on most Friday nights because that’s how I roll with it !

Flashback with me – won’t you ? – to the Fall of 1976. Back then I was a short and skinny 9-year-old in the 4TH grade. I walked to and from (public) school, as it was located right in the middle of my Lanham Maryland neighbourhood. After school and on the weekends I loved to play outside past the end of the street – into the woods – and down by the creek. That’s when I first discovered one of God’s Great Creations – mosquitoes. I was also in the Cub Scouts, as I, Christopher Day, promised to do my best to do my duty to God and my country, to help other people, and to obey the Law Of The Pack.

Life was much simpler then, and the world was a whole lot smaller for me back in 1976 – the year of our Bicentennial.

On the radio The Ritchie Family (all-female act, but none of them were actually related to each other) were hittin’ it big with a pop, soul, and disco smash titled “The Best Disco In Town”. It was a medley of disco hits from the era set to a fresh new beat. The group was created and run by the same French producer who also created The Village People. Let’s dance:

Categories
History Music Radio

The Major’s Friday Night Disco Party

Last week on the ‘Disco Party’ I featured the K.C. & The Sunshine Band classic “That’s The Way (I Like It)”. It spent a single week at # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November of 1975. It was replaced at # 1 by “Fly, Robin, Fly” from Silver Convention out of Germany. In fact they were the first German act to ever hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Ironically after its 3-week run at # 1 was over with it was replaced at # 1 by the same song that it replaced – K.C.’s “That’s The Way”. That’s the way the top of the chart rocked back and forth between Thanksgiving and Christmas of 1975 back when I was 8½-years-old.

Categories
History Music People Radio

The Major’s Friday Night Disco Party

What can I say about one of the most prolific disco acts of the era – K.C. & The Sunshine Band. Led by Miami born and bred Harry Wayne ‘K.C.’ Casey he and his ‘Sunshine Band’ cranked out numerous Disco hits over a 4-year time-span starting in 1975. If you’re my age or older then you probably remember dancing to “Get Down Tonight”, “That’s The Way”, “Shake Your Booty”, “I’m Your Boogie Man”, “Keep It Comin’ Love”, and “Boogie Shoes”. They are bonafide certified Disco smash hits that surely defined the era that was.

In honor of his 59TH birthday this Sunday here’s K.C. and his Florida Sunshine Band with one of their # 1 Disco smash hits:

Categories
History Music People Radio Shopping Television

The Major’s Friday Night Disco Party

Disco Ball

One of the hottest hits on the radio, in the record stores, and out in the clubs during the last quarter of 1986 while I was living, working, and playing in the United Kingdom was “Don’t Leave Me This Way” by The Communards (Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles). It became the # 1 best-selling single of the entire year all across the British Isles. It was a spirited HI-NRG remake of Thelma Houston‘s 1977 # 1 Disco smash – which in turn was a remake of a 1975 Disco smash from Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes featuring the late great Teddy Pendergrass on lead vocals. (Teddy died 9 days ago. He was 59.)

Here’s Thelma Houston’s version as performed on “The Midnight Special”: