10 Songs That Defined the Disco Era

Van McCoy began his musical career in the late 1950s as part of a childhood group called The Starlighters. His 1961 song "Mr. DJ" charted at No. 104 on Billboard. Over the next decade, he struggled to gain significant traction. That changed in 1975, when he composed "The Hustle." The song was inspired by his musical collaborator Charles Kipps, who saw nightclub patrons performing a line dance in New York. "The Hustle's" repeating sequence of synchronized moves became one of disco's signature dances.

The song reached the No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Hot Soul Singles chart in 1975. Billboard magazine ranked it at 22 on its list of the most popular songs of the year. "The Hustle" won the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1976.

McCoy was considered a disco hitmaker, though his later songs never replicated the success of "The Hustle."

Thelma Houston got her musical start in a gospel group and released her debut album "Sunshower" in 1969. However, it wasn't until 1976 and her third album "Any Way You Like It" that Houston finally found the hit she was looking for with a disco cover of "Don't Leave Me This Way." The original version by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes had not yet been released as a single in the United States.

Houston's rendition is a heavily orchestrated reinterpretation, complete with congas, floor toms (double-headed tom-tom drums), a string section and an electric guitar. It reached No. 1 on the U.S. R&B and Dance Club Singles charts as well as the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977. Houston also won the Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for the song in 1978.

Known as the "Queen of Disco," Donna Summer had 32 hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100 during her lifetime, 14 of which hit the top 10 and four that reached No. 1.

Her 1977 song "I Feel Love" was particularly influential. "It wasn't the first disco record. However, it is the one that pushed the boundaries of what disco was and became," says Searby. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, the song set up a futuristic mood through its use of the Moog synthesizer. "It was unlike anything heard before," says Searby.

"I Feel Love" inspired musicians like David Bowie, Debbie Harry and Kylie Minogue.

The release of the film Saturday Night Fever in 1977 became a defining moment of the disco era. The story of dancer Tony Manero (played by John Travolta) and his desire to find freedom on the dance floor of the local discotheque came to illustrate why the genre was so popular with young people.

The film's soundtrack, featuring songs written largely by the Australian group the Bee Gees, was an immediate hit. "Stayin' Alive," the soundtrack's second single, became a signature song for the band.

The soundtrack won Album of the Year at the 1978 Grammys, the only disco album to ever achieve that honor. Today, it is still one of the best-selling albums of all time.

One of the most recognizable disco songs of the era is "Boogie Oogie Oogie" by A Taste of Honey, released in 1978.

With an infectious bass line and the chorus of "Boogie oogie oogie till you just can't boogie no more," the track quickly crossed over from dance clubs to the pop and soul charts. It became the first certified platinum single in Capitol Records' history, and both the single and its parent album achieved platinum status. The following year, A Taste of Honey won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

The band released other disco songs but never reached the same heights. They continued recording—with at least two of the original band members—before disbanding around 1983.

The Trammps had a few hits in the early '70s on the R&B charts. In 1976, they recorded the powerful "Disco Inferno." Its chorus of "Burn, baby, burn" was inspired by the 1974 blockbuster film The Towering Inferno.

Although the song made it to No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Chart, it initially had only modest crossover success. It wasn't until it was included on the soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever that it eventually reached No. 11 on the Hot 100 in 1978.

One of the best-selling singles in history to date, Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" isn't just one of the great disco songs, it's become an anthem of empowerment. That's exactly what songwriter Dino Fekaris was thinking when he first conjured up the tune. Fekaris was a staff writer for Motown Records before he was fired in the mid-1970s. He gave himself a pep talk: "I'm going to make it. I'm going to be a songwriter. I will survive!"

In 1978, Fekaris and his collaborator Freddie Perren met Gloria Gaynor, a singer who had a few minor hits on the pop and R&B charts. She told the duo she wanted to sing "songs that are meaningful, have good lyrics and touch people's hearts."

"I Will Survive" was released as the B-side track to her single "Substitute" from her sixth studio album, "Love Tracks." Gaynor's husband shared "I Will Survive" with Studio 54's DJ Richie Kaczor, who loved the song and it quickly spread through clubs from there. It spent three non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1979, and won Best Disco Recording at the Grammy Awards in 1980. Numerous bands and artists have covered the song since, including Diana Ross, Selena and the band Cake.

Sister Sledge consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim and Kathy Sledge. They had two successful dance hits in the mid-1970s, but it was their 1979 album "We Are Family" and the song of the same name that made them truly famous.

Celebrating the love of their sisterhood, "We Are Family" featured a catchy melody, funky guitar and pulsating percussion that made it a favorite on radio and in clubs. The song was certified gold, reached No. 1 on the R&B charts and No. 2 on the pop charts.

Before Anita Ward became a singer, she was a schoolteacher. When she signed a contract with music producer Frederick Knight in the late 1970s, he had a song for Ward with an unusual history. "Ring My Bell" was initially written for 11-year-old singer Stacy Lattisaw to celebrate the joy of kids talking on the telephone. The song was reworked for Ward and released in 1979 on her album "Songs of Love."

"Ring My Bell" is unique for its use of the Synare electronic drum and electronic chimes. Its lyrics also led listeners to believe the song was sexually suggestive, though Knight was quick to dispute that. The song reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 and charted on the Disco Top 80 and the Soul Singles charts. Billboard magazine later included the song in its "60 Sexiest Songs of All Time" list.

As disco began to fade from the mainstream in the early 1980s, Diana Ross's "I'm Coming Out" highlighted the genre's transition into pop. The song was written and produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, the creative forces behind the disco band Chic.

In a 2021 interview, Rodgers recalled that the song's optimistic refrain—"I want the world to know / Got to let it show"—was inspired by seeing drag performers impersonate Ross in New York City nightclubs. The lyrics also reflected a pivotal moment for Ross as she prepared to leave the Motown Records label and launch the next chapter of her career.

"I'm Coming Out" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Disco Top 100 chart and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over time, it also became an enduring anthem for LGBTQ+ communities. "Disco really thrived under the gay banner," says Searby. "But when LGBTQIA+ stopped going to clubs [because of the AIDS epidemic], it really was the beginning of the end for smaller, underground venues, and then it trickled through to the big clubs."