All-Time Favorite Disco Music

Disco is a genre of dance music whose popularity peaked in the mid 1970s to early 1980s. Its musical influences include funk and soul music. It is said to be the last mass popular music movement that was driven by the baby boom generation. 

Watch and listen to these music videos and let the music speak for themselves why disco makes us feel nostalgic or simply get us in the mood to dance, and suddenly it’s the most wonderful music in the world.

The following songs are some of the top most popular disco tunes that are still played and danced to around the world to this day.

Let’s Groove

Let’s Groove is a 1981 song by the R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF). The song was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and reached #3 in the US and UK charts and also spent eight weeks at #1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart in late 1981 through early 1982. The song is from the album Raise! which peaked at #5. Another disco hit by the band is the 1978 single September which reached #2 in the US and #3 in the UK charts.

Hot Stuff

The Song is a 1979 Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Dance Play #1 song for three non-consecutive weeks. “Hot Stuff” was sung by the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer, and won for her a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance making her not only the first Afro-American artist to achieve the feat, but also the first woman to ever win a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance. Hot Stuff is also ranked #103 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” and #67 on “Billboard’s Greatest Songs of All Time.”

Dancing Queen

Released in 1976, it is considered by many to be the Swedish pop group ABBA’s signature song. “Dancing Queen” is one of the most successful singles of the 1970’s reaching the #1 position on popular music charts in 13 countries. Two of the group members said that they all know the song is going to be a massive hit. Arguably, the song has one of the most instantly recognizable intros in pop music.

I Will Survive

“I Will Survive” is one of the most famous disco songs of all time and Gloria Gaynor’s biggest hit. Released in October 1978, it received massive airplay in 1979 and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It grabbed the Grammy Award for Best Disco recording in 1980, the only year that the award was given. The song is ranked #489 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” and was #97 on Billboard’s Greatest Songs of all Time. In 2000 the song was ranked #1 in VH1’s list of the 100 Greatest Dance Songs of the 20th Century.

Le Freak

“Le Freak” is one of the best known songs of the American disco and R&B band Chic. Released in 1978, and the band’s only #1 song, it stayed at the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 for seven non-consecutive weeks.

Chic  guitarist and founding member Nile Rogers said the ‘Aaahh Freak out!’ parts of the songs were supposed to be ‘Aaaaahh, fuck off!’ after the Studio 54 doorman wouldn’t let them in on a 1977 New Year’s Eve  party due to some miscommunication. Pissed off by the incident, Rogers and bassist Bernard Edwards went to the former’s apartment and started drinking and jamming to ease their sorrows, and thus, one of the all-time favorite disco music was born.

Stayin’ Alive

Written and sung by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees, “Stayin’ Alive” was released on December 13, 1977 as the second single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Upon its release, the song hit the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 4, 1978 and stayed there for four straight weeks.

The song gave the Bee Gees the 1977 Grammy Award for Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices.

“Stayin’ Alive” ranked #189 on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time; #46 on Billboard’s All time Top 100 and was also included on the list of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.”

* More disco hits at Best of Disco.

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