The Sound & The Producers

The birth of the four-on-the-floor: Philly soul, the strings and the beat, Giorgio Moroder's Munich synth machine, Salsoul and the 12-inch single that let a groove run forever.

Part of Disco

22 moments in this segment.

1. 1971-07 — Isaac Hayes — Theme from Shaft. Isaac Hayes's wah-wah funk theme won an Oscar in 1972 and pointed the way to disco's orchestral funk.
2. 1972-09 — The O'Jays — Love Train. The Philadelphia sound of Gamble & Huff, all strings and brotherhood, laid the template for disco.
3. 1973-11 — MFSB — TSOP (Soul Train theme). 'The Sound of Philadelphia' became the theme to Soul Train and one of disco's founding grooves.
4. 1973-11 — Love Unlimited Orchestra — Love's Theme. An instrumental number one in 1974, Love's Theme was one of disco's earliest blueprints.
5. 1974-02-18 — The Jackson 5 — Dancing Machine. The Jackson 5's Dancing Machine caught the early dancefloor beat and Michael's robot in 1974.
6. 1974-06 — The Hues Corporation — Rock the Boat. Often called the first true disco hit to top the American charts, in 1974.
7. 1974-08 — B.T. Express — Do It ('Til You're Satisfied). B.T. Express's raw 1974 funk-disco was one of the sound's earliest club hits.
8. 1974-08 — Barry White — Can't Get Enough of Your Love. Barry White and his Love Unlimited Orchestra brought lush, orchestral seduction to the pre-disco dancefloor.
9. 1975-08 — Donna Summer — Love to Love You Baby. Giorgio Moroder produced a seventeen-minute seduction that announced the album-side disco epic.
10. 1975-09 — Gloria Gaynor — Never Can Say Goodbye. Gloria Gaynor's 1975 album pioneered the continuous, non-stop DJ-friendly disco side.
11. 1976 — The birth of the 12-inch single. The extended 12-inch single, pioneered by DJs and mastered by Tom Moulton, let a groove run for ten minutes.
12. 1976 — The Salsoul Orchestra. Salsoul Records and its orchestra gave New York disco its lush, Latin-tinged house style.
13. 1976-03 — Diana Ross — Love Hangover. Diana Ross's shift from ballad to four-on-the-floor mid-song became a dancefloor landmark in 1976.
14. 1976-09 — Rose Royce — Car Wash. Norman Whitfield's Car Wash was a funk-disco crossover smash and a hit film soundtrack.
15. 1976-09 — Cerrone — Love in C Minor. The French producer Cerrone opened Eurodisco with an orchestral, sixteen-minute suite in 1976.
16. 1976-12 — The Trammps — Disco Inferno. 'Burn baby burn' — the Trammps' Disco Inferno became an anthem after Saturday Night Fever.
17. 1977 — Giorgio Moroder and the Munich sound. From his Musicland studio, Giorgio Moroder built the pulsing synthesizer sound that defined late disco.
18. 1977-05 — First Choice — Doctor Love. Philadelphia's First Choice made proto-house classics beloved by DJs for decades.
19. 1977-07 — Donna Summer — I Feel Love. Moroder's fully synthesized 1977 track invented the sound of electronic dance music.
20. 1979 — Salsoul and the disco orchestra. Vince Montana's Salsoul Orchestra brought Philly's orchestral polish to the New York underground.
21. 1979 — Rodgers & Edwards, the hitmakers. Beyond Chic, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards produced Diana Ross's Diana and Sister Sledge — disco's sharpest production team.
22. 1979-11 — Shalamar — The Second Time Around. Born from the Soul Train dancers, Shalamar carried disco into a slicker post-disco groove.