The Icons

The stars who defined the era: Donna Summer, the Bee Gees, Chic, Sylvester, Gloria Gaynor, KC and the Sunshine Band, the Village People and Diana Ross.

Part of Disco

29 moments in this segment.

1. 1974-11 — LaBelle — Lady Marmalade. LaBelle's Lady Marmalade brought glam, funk and disco together for a 1975 number one.
2. 1975-07 — KC and the Sunshine Band — That's the Way (I Like It). The Miami sound of KC and the Sunshine Band was pure, joyful party disco.
3. 1976-05 — Tavares — Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel. The brothers Tavares delivered some of the smoothest vocal disco of the mid-seventies.
4. 1976-08 — ABBA — Dancing Queen. ABBA's Dancing Queen took the disco sound to the top of the charts around the world in 1976.
5. 1976-08 — Wild Cherry — Play That Funky Music. A white funk band's plea to 'play that funky music' became a 1976 number one.
6. 1976-11 — Thelma Houston — Don't Leave Me This Way. Thelma Houston's 1976 version turned a Philly ballad into a disco classic.
7. 1976-11 — Heatwave — Boogie Nights. Written by Rod Temperton, Heatwave's Boogie Nights was a transatlantic disco-funk smash.
8. 1977-09 — Chic — Dance, Dance, Dance. Chic's debut hit announced Rodgers and Edwards as disco's sharpest hitmakers.
9. 1977-12 — Bee Gees — Stayin' Alive. The Bee Gees' falsetto anthem, from Saturday Night Fever, became the sound of the entire era.
10. 1977-12 — Bee Gees — Night Fever. Another Bee Gees smash from the Fever soundtrack, the best-selling album of its time.
11. 1978-07 — Sylvester — You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real). Sylvester's ecstatic falsetto and Hi-NRG sound made him disco's queer icon.
12. 1978-08 — A Taste of Honey — Boogie Oogie Oogie. A Taste of Honey's slap-bass anthem topped the charts and won a Grammy in 1978.
13. 1978-09 — Chic — Le Freak. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards wrote Le Freak after being turned away from Studio 54 — it became a monster hit.
14. 1978-09 — Donna Summer — Live and More. Donna Summer's 1978 double live album made her the first woman with a number-one live LP.
15. 1978-10 — Donna Summer — MacArthur Park. The Queen of Disco topped the charts in 1978 with a soaring disco reinvention of MacArthur Park.
16. 1978-10 — Gloria Gaynor — I Will Survive. Gloria Gaynor's 1978 anthem of defiance became disco's most enduring song.
17. 1978-10 — Village People — Y.M.C.A.. The Village People turned camp into a global phenomenon with Y.M.C.A. and its arm-waving chorus.
18. 1978-11 — Earth, Wind & Fire — September. Earth, Wind & Fire's September is one of the most joyful and enduring songs of the disco years.
19. 1978-11 — Cheryl Lynn — Got to Be Real. Cheryl Lynn's Got to Be Real became one of disco's most sampled and beloved records.
20. 1978-12 — The Jacksons — Blame It on the Boogie. The Jacksons' 1978 dancefloor smash showed the family fully in the disco era.
21. 1979 — Amii Stewart — Knock on Wood. Amii Stewart's electrifying disco reinvention of Knock on Wood topped the charts in 1979.
22. 1979-01-19 — Sister Sledge — We Are Family. Written and produced by Chic, We Are Family became a universal anthem.
23. 1979-03 — McFadden & Whitehead — Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now. A defiant Philadelphia anthem of pride and momentum from 1979.
24. 1979-04 — Donna Summer — Bad Girls. Donna Summer's 1979 Bad Girls made her the undisputed Queen of Disco.
25. 1979-05 — Anita Ward — Ring My Bell. Anita Ward's Ring My Bell, with its synth-drum sound, was a number one in 1979.
26. 1979-06 — Chic — Good Times. Chic's Good Times gave disco one of its greatest basslines — and hip-hop its first sample.
27. 1979-06 — Sister Sledge — Lost in Music. Another Chic-written Sister Sledge classic beloved on dancefloors for decades.
28. 1979-08 — Michael Jackson — Off the Wall. Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson turned disco into art on Off the Wall in 1979.
29. 1980-06 — Diana Ross — Upside Down. Chic-produced, Upside Down gave Diana Ross a number one and disco a late peak in 1980.