I watched a recent episode of Professor of Rock about Rick Astley and his biggest hit, Never Going To Give You Up. One commenter on that episode said that, to them, this song is a disco song. And that got me thinking: did disco foreshadow mainstream pop and New Wave of the 1980’s? Did disco actually die, or did it simply evolve like other music genres? It’s an idea worth exploring.
The Rise of Disco
Disco evolved from mainstream pop music in the 1970’s. The songs generally featured an increased use of horns and strings, as well as synths. The objective for most songs was for them to be danceable. In some cases, songs came with a new dance. The Hustle by Van McCoy was one popular example of it. Disco essentially went mainstream when the movie Saturday Night Fever came out in 1977, and with it one of the best selling soundtracks and albums of all time. It put disco firmly in the middle of western culture.
There was, of course, a host of other music genre followers that hated, even reviled, disco. I have to admit at the time that I was one, although to a limited degree. The music was catchy, it was usually upbeat and uptempo, and it wasn’t filled with “messages” or “lessons”. The songs were about dancing, partying, and just generally having fun. But the use of orchestral instruments and synths, coupled with a degree of over-production, put off listeners of rock and country. It spawned fashion styles that some derided, even viciously mocked.
Disco Replaced by 1980’s Pop, Rock, and New Wave
As the 1970’s rolled into its final years, bands began to release albums mocking disco. ELO’s 1979 album Discovery was meant as a bit of a response (with the name including “disco”), as one example. By this time, disco was now mainstream, and was getting a bit “worn” and “tired” for some listeners.
While some claim that Rick Dee’s 1976 novelty song, Disco Duck, was when disco jumped the shark, the music form would continue for years beyond it. There were disco, and disco-like, songs released right up until 1982. Many of the core aesthetics of disco would carry on into 1980’s New Wave and pop, using similar production philosophies, and featuring synths and, at times, orchestral instruments.
All Music Is An Evolutionary Form
All music styles are an evolution of some older style. At it’s core, all modern music calls the blues as it’s core foundation. Blues gave rise to jazz and folk music. Those were remixed back with the blues, and each other, to spawn Big Band, country (first called race music, then hillbilly music, followed by country & western), pop, and rock ‘n roll (later just rock). While new genres can have a distinct sound and feel, ultimately, you find a lot with the basic 12-bar blues structure somewhere at its core.
In the same way that gospel and folk (evolutionary descendants of blues) foreshadowed country, disco could be seen as the natural ancestor of mainstream 1980’s music. Again, they share some similar sounds and a similar feel. The difference can be more use of political or social messages, or exploring deeper topics around breakup, loss, or failure. Not all New Wave songs were uptempo, cheerful dance numbers.
Even 80’s Music Would Decline
In the same way that disco gave way to mainstream 80’s music, other forms would supplant the 80’s. The new forms didn’t, of course, conveniently start in 1990. By 1988 and 1989, you could already see a shift. Rap was becoming more prominent. The early sounds that would become garage rock and grunge could be heard. The music of the late 1980’s was different from the early and mid-1980’s. You could feel a shift in 1987 and 1988. The same happened in the late 1970’s, where some songs that sound quintessentially 80’s came out in 1978 and 1979. Genesis’s “Follow You Follow Me” (1978) and “Misunderstanding” (1979), as well as some of Pat Benetar’s first hits are from the period.
So, was disco foreshadowing mainstream music of the 1980’s? Did a form sometimes thought of as a niche (you’d never know it listening to the radio in the late 1970’s) presage what was coming? Based on a cursory look, that would seem to be the case. Performers and songwriters may have been influenced, even if only indirectly, by the sound that was prevalent on the airwaves, in movies and television, and in school dances. The fingerprints of disco can be seen all over many, many hits of the 1980’s.