last update: 04.02.2008
12" single history :
"the 12" inches discofunk-O-Graphy's place".subject: "charting the beat"...
This text is copyrighted by Al Bottcher and appears here through his kind permission. Any use or portion of the above article without explicit consent from the author is a violation of copyright laws. Al has been involved with Disco music since its beginning in 1974, and currently operates Beach Bum Collectables USA which specializes in selling classic Disco & Dance Records.
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"Over the past two decades Dance Music has continued to grow into a major force in the world music community. To some it may seem as if the music has been round forever, yet it's birth is still a rather recent one. Turning back the hands of time one Atlantic Records executive noted in 1975 that "Disco nightclubs are going great! We don't know how long they will last? But we're deeply involved for as long as they're are around, be it for six months, or six years"! Of course no one could have imagined his vision for the music would still ring true almost a quarter of a century later!!!
Although the lifestyle and Sound of Dance Music has changed often since then, a trip into the Disco's of the mid-seventies would be much the same as a visit into today's nightclubs. Not that they appeared the same, on the contrary. The early Disco Nightclubs featured a lot less technology in both sight and sound. My first "Trip" to a Disco came in late 1974, and consisted of no more than a Disc Jockey, a Spinning Mirror Ball, and a wall to wall Dance Floor! Some club owners saw a bright future in the music, and quickly began investing in what would become the Future of Dance Music. Soon these "Made for Disco Use Only" rooms were sporting a lot more style and decor! Today after two decades of the spinning mirror ball we have witnessed many changes in club decor, acceptability & accessibility of the music, and the constant flux of sound stylings in dance music. Through all these changes there still remains one thing as constant as ever, "The Beat !!"
On the Radio or in the Night
Clubs of the 90's, the most popular Dance Classic Hits of
the past two decades still live on! The "Creme de creme" you
say.
Well, maybe? Still many Disco compilation CD's today offer
only the same tired selection of cliché Dance Classics, but
there however lies only the tip of the Disco Iceberg! Sure,
many a dance music fan can recite the original artist of
"The Hustle", "Le Freak", "Celebration", or "Planet Rock".
Possibly even the month and year the song charted. However
where there are hits, there are always many great tracks
just working their way to the top of the charts, only to be
nudged out of position by another fast climber.
As a Collector, Former D.J.,
and a Retailer of Classic Dance Music (Beach Bum
Collectables), I can't tell you the number of times I am
asked for Dance Music Reference Books that list the Top Hits
of these past two decades. As a retailer, I sometimes work
from want lists of fragmented song hooks taken from a chorus
of a collector's favorite track. It can often provide a
tough challenge for the listener, as well as myself. Since
the beginning of "The Beat", both Radio Stations and D.J.'s
rarely mentioned Artists or Song Titles from their playlists
much to the dismay of the record companies. As a result, if
you missed the title, then that was that! All you could hope
was to hear the song once again. Ahh, but sometimes the
memory is very good! I often wondered, if only there was a
Dance Music reference book available, I could get this damn
song out of my head, and onto my turntable! Although
repeated letters from collectors to record research groups
have offered grand promises, they have never handed over the
hard goods.
Unfortunately I must report that
no such Dance Music
Reference Book exists. After more than two decades
book publishers still do not believe there is a future in
dance music! Yeah I know, and we'll never have an actor as a
President! The early eighties did however see one
enterprising fan compile a fragmented history of dance music
in the form of a computer printout booklet, and which was
sold through mail
order only. Arranged in a B.P.M. (Beats per minute) order,
it helped many D.J.'s with those last minute song matches to
those keep dancer's on the floor! But lacking was vital
historical information such as the songs highest charting
position, longevity, just how fast each gem climbed the
charts, not to mention how fast it descended!
So where does one go to
find dance music's past and present history documented?
Although some music trade magazines dabbled in it, the
Billboard "Dance Charts" are indisputably the only record
(no pun intended) of staying in touch with the complete
history of "The Beat". Billboard is a USA weekly trade
magazine published for the music industry retailer. Its main
objective is to chart the most popular recordings of the
day, and in doing so offer the music retailers all the
proper information to place their orders with the record
companies and distributors. The pages of each Billboard
issue cover all categories of music including Pop, Rock,
Soul, Country, and Jazz just to name a few. Also included
are current trends in all musical styles, new format
changes, artist articles, and recording industry
advertisements.
The introduction of the "Disco Action" charts in Billboard began in November of 1974 as an alternative (heard this word alot lately?) to the Rhythm & Blues and Pop Music Charts. These charts documented the latest interest in a new phenomenon called Disco Music. Early charts offered a modest local and regional Top-10 listing of dance tracks which separated the most played and sold tracks to date weekly. Initially consisting of only LP's and 45's (not 12-inch singles) in this early dance music period, the longevity of a track was never more evident as in such songs as the O'Jays "I love music" or Silver Convention's "Fly, robin fly". Both of which lasted a whoppin' 5 months in the Top-10 "Disco Action" charts!
As the "Disco Explosion" of 1977 brought in wider interest from new dance music fans, many night club hits "Crossed Over" to the "Top-40" Pop Charts. As a result the "Disco Action" charts were expanded from a "Top-30" list, to it's peak in 1979 of "Top-100" titles weekly. With multitudes of new releases offered each week, the charts saw frequent changes. Some titles would skyrocket to the top "With a Bullet", while other took much longer to reach the same position. Typical songs included Barbara Streisand & Donna Summer's "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)" which shot to the Number-1 position in just 4 weeks, while slow movers such as Freddie James "Hollywood" took 22 weeks to accomplish the same results. Did all of yesterdays dance classic become hits at the time of their original release? No, often many titles such as Yvonne Eliman's "Love Pains" lasted only 5 weeks on the Dance Music charts creeping up only to Number-75 before dropping off into obscurity, and later cult status.
As fan interest in the "Disco Sound" floundered, late 70's hits such as "Bad girls" and "Call me" influenced many new artists to gain ground on the night club dance floors by utilizing the fusion of Rock and Soul to "The Beat". Through these reigning periods of 1980-1982, both New Wave and Funk lived side by side on the Billboard "Dance Music" charts. In 1983 the commercial success of Madonna and Prince brought many new fans back into the clubs once again and re-introduced many Pop - Rock - Soul "Cross Over" Tracks back into the "Top-40" Pop Charts. Today much of pop music has been re-styled or re-mixed to fit the dance floor requirements, and as a result Dance Music has continued to flourish to the present day. Now offering "The Beat" to a third generation of fans who may very well have listened to their first Dance music in 1975 to "The Beat" of Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame", Ohio Player's "Fire",or the Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes "Bad luck" at the tender age of only 3 years old!.
My desire to turn-on to some timeless music, as well as solving some of those fragmented song hooks left me craving more information! As a lover of past and current dance music, a friend suggested I call the main Library for dance music information. "The library?" I said, "You must be having a 60's acid flashback"! Well, a few phone calls later I headed off to my local library that carried back issues of Billboard Magazine on micro-film. I might add, with my pockets so full of coins that the librarian must have thought I had just robbed a Laundromat! Soon after a little searching through these files i found the Billboard "Disco Charts" alive and kickin' in print! Offered in these pages was a documented history of the song's life, writer, format (LP, 12", or 7"), original label, catalog number, and its rise and fall on the weekly Dance Music Charts. Some songs listed on these charts I had often seen at the local record store, while others i had never heard have since become personal favorites!
Also included in these Billboard pages were articles on legendary artists, Who's Recording Now, The Club Scene, Music Industry Hype, and new information on Commercial, Promotional, and Import 12-inch single releases reported weekly in a column by early pioneering dance remixer Tom Moulton. In researching these pages of the first 10 years of dance music, the charts documented the complete rise and fall of the disco era. Also highlighted in Billboard were new music styles, and the much debated name change from the "Disco Music" to "Dance Music" charts in 1981. Well after emptying my pockets of anything that resembled money, I took my copies and purchased clear sheets and a looseleaf binder on my way home. No sooner than you could say "Psycho - Alpha - Disco - Beta - Bio - Aqua - Dooloop (aqua boogie baby)", there was my "History of the Dance Music Charts" book that had been promised for years!!!.
Now many Dance Music Researchers may not desire the full 25 years that are well documented in Billboard. Some of you may have interest only in the era of "The Beat" that you particularly love. Be it Funk, Disco, Soul, or New Wave, you can still focus on the complete history of the music you crave! And for less than a price of a compact disc and a trip to your local library, you can enjoy this information right at your fingertips, offering both old and new music to explore! Heres A tip: If you want to cover many years at the same price, just copy these charts on a bi-weekly or monthly basis!.
Since the beginning of "The Beat", dance music has always followed new trends in technology. Sounds that are influenced by both old and new music styles. Whether your "Beat Thang" is Philly Soul, Disco, Funk, Garage, Electro, New Wave, Top-40, Hi-Energy, Hip-Hop, Rap, House, or Techno. All styles are represented in the Billboard "Dance Music" charts in their reigning years. As a retailer I often find many collectors interest began at a time when they first became involved in Dance Music, and ultimately concluded at the point in which they lost interest in entering new musical styles. These changes were new wave for some, hip-hop, or techno for others. But as with life, so it is with music. To stay fresh and interesting, music must continually evolve. Everything must change! As it does the influence of past music styles affect todays Top Hits, keeping many of us listening and purchasing both New and Old Dance Classics!.
As school has once again returned for many, we can still knuckle down and return to the knowledge of "Old School" music. As a one recent hit noted "When you're lacking, you're losing"! For those of you fortunate enough to live near a big city, all this information may be available right at your fingertips from your local library. Encompassed in these Billboard pages is the excitement of watching many of your favorite Dance Music Classics climb the charts, while others locked away in your fading memory can once again be reclaimed! Awaiting you are the musical surprises offered when your needle first touches the record, and you remember once again Dance Music's Past. Awaiting you there is the History, and the Charting of The Beat!!!
Al BOTTCHER
Contact: Beach Bum Collectables
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