HERC began publishing his list of favorite 45s from 1978 way back in February 2014. With this post, he unveils the final sixteen of his one hundred singles of that incredible year. But the best news of all is that they are all his Disco favorites from the year; that's right, every one's a winner!
The first of three songs on this list from 1977's Saturday Night Fever soundtrack double-album, "Boogie Shoes" gets right to the point. It was first heard on the group's 1975 self-titled album and then appeared as the b-side to 1976's "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" before finally hitting in 1978 with the high profile inclusion in Saturday Night Fever.
Either you like it or you don't. HERC has always loved it and is an unashamed fan of Rod Stewart's musical output up through the Eighties. Stewart admits the song was always a joke and unconscious plagiarism of Jorge Ben Jor's "Taj Mahal".
Dave Marsh wrote of Reggie Jackson taking batting practice while the sounds of "Disco Inferno" echoed throughout the vacant stadium. Hit after hit, Jackson knocked them into the cheap seats and out of the park. This may be the first documented case of a "pump up" song, one of the most powerful tools in an athlete's arsenal. The full-length version of "Disco Inferno" ranks as one of remixer Tom Moulton's best efforts.
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HERC's loopy love for this song has been well documented. It is as if someone got inside his brain, inside his music-loving heart, and determined what would be the perfect song to set his soul afire. Which is what this song does every time he hears it. Is it his favorite song of all-time, his desert island disc? Maybe. But for today he's just going to listen to that wonderful fuzzed out guitar solo on loop.
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Our man Ray Parker Jr is guitarist on this one, too. And the song was co-written by Toto's keyboardist, David Paich, and soon-to-be mega producer, David Foster. But it was Lynn, fresh from a perfect score albeit in a losing effort on an episode of The Gong Show, that really sets this song ablaze, making it truly one of disco's defining songs. And it still sounds fresh today.
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They had made a couple of albums before but it wasn't until Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards were given their choice of acts to produce that they chose the sisters Sledge and gave the girls two of the hugest hits anybody has ever had. As near as HERC can remember, he heard this song, the first track on the album, over Christmas Break so it was probably in Jan. 1979 and not Dec. 1978. Ooops. Doesn't even matter cause his favorite song on the album is "Lost In Music".
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One of the first songs Debbie Harry and Chris Stein wrote for their group Blondie, this was originally demoed as "Once I Had A Love" and then rechristened "The Disco Song" for its second demo. The pair reluctantly pulled the song out at their producer's request and together the three of them shaped it into song HERC knows and loves.
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Donna Summer recorded dozens of great songs throughout her career but HERC's favorite among them is her duet with Brooklyn Dreams, "Heaven Knows". With co-lead vocals provided by Brooklyn Dreamer, Joe "Bean" Esposito, the two made beautiful music together yet Donna ended up marrying Joe's bandmate, Bruce - that's him with his hand resting on Donna's knee.
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The wonderfully monikered Precious Wilson took Ann Peebles sad, soulful "I Can't Stand The Rain" Memphis monster from 1973 and infused it with a sassy defiance and a suped up disco beat. HERC first heard the remake on K-Tel's Starburst double album and remembers it getting some plays at the roller rink.
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ACK-SHON! With this sped up soul song, Alicia Bridges became a disco diva while the song crossed over to country radio, becoming quite possibly the only disco song ever to do so. One listen to the album I Love The Nightlife will tell you that the song was an anomaly, that Bridges heart & soul was in belting R&B and crooning slow jams, much like the similarly voiced Taylor Dayne a decade later.
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HERC's top three Nile Rodgers/Bernard Edwards jams are Sister Sledge's "Lost In Music", Norma Jean Wright's "I Like Love" and this one. After buying the 45 for "Le Freak", HERC went all in on the parent album C'est Chic, which is where he found "I Want Your Love" and played it over and over. And over.
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For many disco fans and wanna-be karaoke stars, this a personal emancipation proclamation, a kiss-off to those who hurt them in the past. For HERC, it's just a catchy as can be Philly soul song; easy to dance to while a string section soars, dives and then soars again in the mix.
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Dan Hartman's countdown to fun "Instant Replay" is uptempo from start to finish, a turbo blast much like his earlier, similar sounding "rock" hit with the Edgar Winter Group, "Free Ride", which Hartman later disco-fied under his own name in 1979. Both tracks were popular with roller skaters on Saturday afternoons when HERC was at the rink.
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Out of all the strong contenders, this is HERC's favorite track from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. It's the guitar sound and those brotherly harmonies though HERC will freely admit he can't make out more than a few of the lyrics. And as long as he's dancing, he doesn't really care what the words are.
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Even Stevens' lyrics are quite audible and ring all too true in this countrified-disco concoction that sends HERC shuffling across the floor every time. Do yourself a solid and seek out the extended dance mix by Richie Vetter of this all too brief song, which was recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals Studios.
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