-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
THE VERY BEGINNING OF DANCE MUSIC WAS THE FIRST 12 INCH SINGLE
- Thread starter RADIO TRUTH
- Start date
RADIO TRUTH said:
1. I never knew that Phil Spector produced funk/disco style tracks!
2. I vaguely remember Calhoon, as a kid hearing block parties being thrown...AT NIGHT, back in the days
This was the first actual 12" single ever made even though the one in the picture was an import. There were only 1000 pressed of the original promo 12" single on the Warner Spector label in the U. S. Before this 12" single, there were some attempts at some long play singles by the various record companies. Capitol put out a 7" extended length version of Tavares-It Only Takes A Minute that played at 33.33. Atlantic put out a set of five 7" singles that had small holes that played at 33.33 with extended dance mixes of Consumer Rapport-Ease On Down The Road, Manhattan Transfer-Operator, Hot Chocolate-Disco Queen. There were two others in the set. All of these led up to the first 12" single which was this Calhoon record. After the Calhoon 12" was released, the other record companies started putting out promo 12" singles for disco djs that were distributed by the original New York Record Pool located at 99 Prince Street run by David Mancuso. Each label also had a disco promo man and many of the disco djs who were not in the New York Record Pool went directly to the record company's office when a new 12" promo release came out. The various disco promotion men were an interesting bunch.
So much for the long held belief that "Rock Your Baby" by George McRae and "Rock the Boat" by The Hues Corporation were the first disco records! They were likely the first to get national top 40 radio exposure. Weren't 12" versions of those two disco clasics released? Never knew Phil Spector ever tried his hand at disco!
There's a lot of other disco classics on this You Tube link. How about "We All Need Love" by Troiano? Troiano was Dominick Troiano of The James Gang, an early 70s rock group.
Thanks for this post!
There's a lot of other disco classics on this You Tube link. How about "We All Need Love" by Troiano? Troiano was Dominick Troiano of The James Gang, an early 70s rock group.
Thanks for this post!
'Rock Your Baby" had a 12 inch; I don't believe that "Rock The Boat" did...(I was selling vinyl at Sam Goody's on Long Island in 1974,fresh out of school,when these records were new...I, in fact,created the first 12 inch singles wall in a retail chain store, the very same Sam Goody in Smithhaven Mall, as disco started to take off...)
There was no U. S. 12" single promo of Rock Your Baby. TK Records was late to the game when it came to 12" single promo releases for disco djs. They may have released Rock Your Baby as a 12" single after it had been out a few years. When it comes to TK Records, there were no 12" single promo releases of any of the early K. C. And The Sunshine Band singles until I'm Your Boogieman which was 1977, two years later. There were no 12" promo singles of Get Down Tonight, That's The Way I Like It or Shake Your Booty.
As far as what was the first disco record, there were some normal 7" singles as early as 1972 and 1973 that were
considered the beginning of disco but, the Calhoon 12" single was still the first 12" single. Some of the early 7"
singles that were considered the beginning of disco were Trammps-Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart and Manu
Dibango-Soul Makossa.
considered the beginning of disco but, the Calhoon 12" single was still the first 12" single. Some of the early 7"
singles that were considered the beginning of disco were Trammps-Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart and Manu
Dibango-Soul Makossa.
One more thing.....
From a record collecting point of view, the only disco 12" singles that have any collector value are the ones that were promo only which generally means that only about 1000 to 2000 were pressed for disco djs on average. The
disco 12" singles that were available for retail sale at places like Sam Goodys have no value because they were pressed in much greater quantity. If anyone is interested, I can tell you the value of some of the early promo 12"
singles because I sold off a great quantity of these records on Ebay a period of years ago. There are a number of record collectors who were willing to pay some high prices for some of the rarer promo only disco 12" singles.
From a record collecting point of view, the only disco 12" singles that have any collector value are the ones that were promo only which generally means that only about 1000 to 2000 were pressed for disco djs on average. The
disco 12" singles that were available for retail sale at places like Sam Goodys have no value because they were pressed in much greater quantity. If anyone is interested, I can tell you the value of some of the early promo 12"
singles because I sold off a great quantity of these records on Ebay a period of years ago. There are a number of record collectors who were willing to pay some high prices for some of the rarer promo only disco 12" singles.
I believe Exposure's "10 Percent" was the first commercially released 12-inch single..
But I remember getting a PROMOTIONAL copy of "Free Man" by South Shore Commisssion in the spring of '75 in the mail from Sceptor OR from the NY Record Pool folks.
I think that I also got a copy of something on a 10-inch perhaps even before that!! It might have been Al Downing's "I'll Be Holding On" during the winter... All of my records are in a storage joint in Dallas--long story...
There were many releases on 12-inch from Sceptor and Atlantic at that time...then everyone got the message that the fidelity of the BASS and even high-end would be better in clubs. Tom Moulton was a big reason for this as the re-mix guy on MANY tunes...including the Salsoul stuff.
So I can't say with CERTAINTY what the first largely available 12-inch single was. Perhaps that Spector-produced track was. I remember getting Consumer Rapport's "Ease On Down The Road" on a 7-inch 33 1/3 rpm disc. Also, Tavares "It Only Takes A Minute" in the same format. Consumer Rapport's was in the spring...Tavares was in the summer of '75...
Now I'm really gonna seach the net to see if I can find the real story. I am likely way off on the FIRST 12-inch single...but it could be that Spector thing. But my experience was that the first PROMOS were released in early '75 or late '74.. Thanks Record Pigs! BE BIG! Jay
But I remember getting a PROMOTIONAL copy of "Free Man" by South Shore Commisssion in the spring of '75 in the mail from Sceptor OR from the NY Record Pool folks.
I think that I also got a copy of something on a 10-inch perhaps even before that!! It might have been Al Downing's "I'll Be Holding On" during the winter... All of my records are in a storage joint in Dallas--long story...
There were many releases on 12-inch from Sceptor and Atlantic at that time...then everyone got the message that the fidelity of the BASS and even high-end would be better in clubs. Tom Moulton was a big reason for this as the re-mix guy on MANY tunes...including the Salsoul stuff.
So I can't say with CERTAINTY what the first largely available 12-inch single was. Perhaps that Spector-produced track was. I remember getting Consumer Rapport's "Ease On Down The Road" on a 7-inch 33 1/3 rpm disc. Also, Tavares "It Only Takes A Minute" in the same format. Consumer Rapport's was in the spring...Tavares was in the summer of '75...
Now I'm really gonna seach the net to see if I can find the real story. I am likely way off on the FIRST 12-inch single...but it could be that Spector thing. But my experience was that the first PROMOS were released in early '75 or late '74.. Thanks Record Pigs! BE BIG! Jay
There were a number of disco classics on the You Tube link, the remixed version of "Dancing Queen" by Abba and "I Can't Stand the Rain" by Eruption. Haven't heard those in years!
They may have been overproduced, but they all had bands playing real instruments! Most 70s disco hits weren't overly reliant on synthesizers.
They may have been overproduced, but they all had bands playing real instruments! Most 70s disco hits weren't overly reliant on synthesizers.
You ever have one of those posts when you feel as though you are dating yourself?
Spring 1974's Hues Corporation's "Boat" is normally considered the first "Disco" song. But was it released as a 12inch single?
George McRae's "--ck Me Baby" was released later in the year.
Ohio Players came into view during that time.
Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
Spring 1974's Hues Corporation's "Boat" is normally considered the first "Disco" song. But was it released as a 12inch single?
George McRae's "--ck Me Baby" was released later in the year.
Ohio Players came into view during that time.
Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
Rock The Boat was not near being the first disco song. It was the first disco song to be number one on Billboard but, that was almost two years after the first disco releases. There was no 12" single for Rock The Boat or Rock Your Baby. There were no 12" singles until 1975 and, as stated already, Calhoon-Dance Dance Dance, produced by Phil Spector on Warner Spector Records was the first one.
Since this is the original post that started the thread, the original concept was flawed. The statement that "The very beginning of dance music was the first 12" single". I would submit to you that people have been dancing long before the 70's. So, my first response on this thread still holds.RADIO TRUTH said:
The 12" single was before WKTU, but hardly before Disco started. We called it "soul music" and the fusion would be "rock and soul". It took on the term "Disco" short for "Discoteque" which is a bar where the music was primarily played.
Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!
and there was no commercial 12 inch release for "Rock Your Baby" upon it's release, but the label did issue one when the 12 inch craze kicked in, I know, I own one;
no one cares what the first ever 'disco' single was, they care about successful records, the ones that broke through on 77WABC MusicRadio in the early days, and those were the first Barry White hit and "Rock The Boat",followed by George AND Gwen McCrae(Rock Your Baby and Rockin Chair)
no one cares what the first ever 'disco' single was, they care about successful records, the ones that broke through on 77WABC MusicRadio in the early days, and those were the first Barry White hit and "Rock The Boat",followed by George AND Gwen McCrae(Rock Your Baby and Rockin Chair)
badjef said:
The term "discotheque" was around as far back as the mid-60s. There were a number of them on Long Island during that time and I recall those clubs' ads on WMCA, WABC and WOR-FM in its Drake format. Some names I recall were The Action House in Island Park, Cloud 9 Go-Go in Farmingdale and The Barge in Southampton. Never set foot in any of those, as I was in high school during the first golden era of the discotheque. I do know that records were not played in those clubs. Live bands ruled the day. Records were for radio stations and home record players.
What we came to know as disco, a club were records were played and people came to dance, was taking hold in Europe in the late 60s, while here in the States, dance clubs were on the decline in the wake of psychedelic rock. The disco concept didn't catch on stateside until the very early 70s in underground clubs. "Rock Your Baby" and "Rock The Boat" were the two big hits in 1974 that took disco mainstream in this country.
David Mancuso began spinning Soul Makossa which aided it to become what is popularly known as the first Disco record to enter the Top 40- in July of 1973. However, if you listen to Sly and the family Stone, in the late 60's, play Dance To The Music, it is clearly a Disco song. In my opinion, the 30's Jazz and Doo-Wop 50's were precursors to Disco.
John Waywoods said:
"Dance To The Music" was definitely the earliest electrified funk song. It offered a look at what was to come. It was re-released in 1979 with a disco mix behind the original track. The 1968 original was far better, IMHO.
Another pre-disco hit from 1968 was "Baby Come Back" by The Equals. Not a big hit and not much airplay, but another one a few years ahead of its time. I don't think WABC played it, but WMCA and WOR-FM did.
An even better example of an early disco hit was Freda Payne's top 3 hit in 1970, "Band Of Gold". Surprisingly, this one wasn't given a disco re-mix in the late 70s, at least not that I'm aware of.
Big Band and Doo Wop certainly led to Disco. Tom Moulton was definitely the link between Doo Wop and Disco. He produced Doo Wop records in the 50s and early 60s and in the 70s produced many Disco classics.
of course records were played in the 60s discotechques,but they were the soul and rocknroll hits of the day;
45 rpm records were used, and djs used to buy two copies of a hit to extend it from 2minutes 30 seconds to almost 5 minutes;
there are numerous pictures of djs at The Peppermint Lounge, The Cheetah,Electric Circus, Arthur's(owned by Richard Burton's wife,Sybil) playing 45s; people wanted to hear the hits, even in venues where bands played, they didn't play non stop, and they didn't have bands every night of the week..the disco started in France, a club called Regine's and the rest is history
45 rpm records were used, and djs used to buy two copies of a hit to extend it from 2minutes 30 seconds to almost 5 minutes;
there are numerous pictures of djs at The Peppermint Lounge, The Cheetah,Electric Circus, Arthur's(owned by Richard Burton's wife,Sybil) playing 45s; people wanted to hear the hits, even in venues where bands played, they didn't play non stop, and they didn't have bands every night of the week..the disco started in France, a club called Regine's and the rest is history
- Status