PLAYLISTICLE: The Top 50 Country AND Top 50 Disco Songs Of All Time

Before you go getting all riled up and start peppering the comments with your enlightened views, know that we'll be featuring two entirely different lists today: one for country and one for disco.  The twang and the glitter shall not meet though the closest thing to Country Disco might be this:

When I make music lists, I try to be as fair and inclusive as I possibly can, more often than not limiting each artist to one spot on a list so that others may have a chance.  That is one of the things I really like about Taste Of Country's Top 100 Country Songs of All Time list which was posted in 2012 - they limited each artist to one song which probably avoided a Hank Williams cluster in the upper reaches.  It looks like the list's sole author Billy Dukes is a lifelong country music fan and appreciates the genre's long history - it doesn't hurt that several of my favorites made his list as well.  What I don't like about the list is that it is presented click-bait style, so that you have to click through each song on the list - there is no option to view all songs at once though there are 20 song increment jump buttons available if you just want to check out the top half of his list like I did.  Made the Spotify playlist down below which is missing just two songs out of the Top 50: number 17  "Love Story" by Taylor Swift and number 4 "The Dance" by Garth Brooks, both of which I understand you can only listen to if you buy the respective CDs.  Taylor seems to be okay with you buying used but Garth only wants you to buy new. From Wal-Mart.  And pay cash.  But before we get to that playlist, let's watch a few of my favorite songs from the list on the YouTube.

#48

#40

#37

#24

#6

In my research, I also stumbled across Rolling Stone's own list of the 100 Greatest Country Songs Of All Time cause you know the magazine's website maintains a prominent country section now they call RS Country.  The list was posted in 2014 but is authored by committee, with each person writing up one or more of their favorites, which is fine by me.  But like Taste Of Country's list, the list is presented gallery style which is the same as click bait style, one song at a time.  And as predicted earlier, because the writers chose not to implement the one song one artist rule, there are five of Hank Williams classic songs in the Top 50 and seven other artists each have a pair of songs in the Top 50 so right from the gitgo, eight artists control 38% of the list.  Not good from my perspective.  One point in the Rolling Stone list's favor is that it only has a handful of songs in common with the list above.  Only one song is MIA from Spotify, number 24 "Mean" by Taylor Swift - remember when she was considered country?  More video performances of my favorites?  Yes, please!

#47

#27

#25

#16

#4

Dave Whitaker over at Dave's Music Database did his research for The Top 50 Disco Songs of All Time using 40 lists and compilation albums yielding his definitive list of The Top 50 (Most Popular and Licenseable) Disco Songs of All Time. In the charts below, all ordered by Dave's Rankings, I've included peak chart positions from three Billboard charts as well as the songs respective ranking on Billboard's own Top 100 Disco Songs Of All Time list which doesn't appear to be one of the lists our man Dave used.  

Billboard Top 100 Disco (2013)	Dave's Music (2015)	title	artist	year	Disco	Hot 100	R&B
41	50	Macho Man	Village People	1978	4	25	-
77	49	Rock The Boat	The Hues Corporation	1974	-	1	2
-	48	Best Of My Love	The Emotions	1977	11	1	1
67	47	Rock Your Baby	George McCrae	1974	-	1	1
71	46	More, More, More	The Andrea True Connection	1976	2	4	23
73	45	Let's Groove	Earth, Wind & Fire	1981	3	3	1
-	44	Upside Down	Diana Ross	1980	1	1	1
38	43	Bad Girls	Donna Summer	1979	1	1	1
61	42	Heart Of Glass	Blondie	1978	58	1	-
-	41	Lady Marmalade	LaBelle	1974	7	1	1

Listen to DJ Disco Cat's Disco Purrfection remixes of some of the songs listed above:

• "Rock The Boat"
• "Rock Your Baby"
• "More, More, More"
• "Let's Groove"
• "Upside Down"
• "Heart Of Glass"
• "Lady Marmalade"

Billboard Top 100 Disco (2013)	Dave's Music (2015)	title	artist	year	Disco	Hot 100	R&B
-	40	If I Can't Have You	Yvonne Elliman	1977	-	1	-
-	39	Shake Your Groove Thing	Peaches & Herb	1978	2	5	4
90	38	Brick House	Commodores	1977	34	5	4
40	37	Ladies Night	Kool & the Gang	1979	5	8	1
19	36	Knock On Wood	Amii Stewart	1979	5	1	6
8	35	Born To Be Alive	Patrick Hernandez	1979	1	16	-
-	34	Got To Be Real	Cheryl Lynn	1978	11	12	1
30	33	Love Hangover	Diana Ross	1976	1	1	1
-	32	Boogie Nights	Heatwave	1977	36	2	5
72	31	It's Raining Men	The Weather Girls	1982	1	46	34

Listen to DJ Disco Cat's Disco Purrfection remixes:

• "Ladies Night"
• "Born to Be Alive"
• "Got To Be Real"
• "Boogie Nights"

DJ Freddy G also offers his Digital Visions Re-Edits:

• "If I Can't Have You"
• "Shake Your Groove Thing"
• "Knock On Wood"

Billboard Top 100 Disco (2013)	Dave's Music (2015)	title	artist	year	Disco	Hot 100	R&B
-	30	Boogie Wonderland	Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions	1979	14	6	2
-	29	Ring My Bell	Anita Ward	1979	1	1	1
14	28	Shame	Evelyn "Champagne" King	1978	8	9	7
84	27	September	Earth, WInd & Fire	1978	-	8	1
52	26	I Love The Nightlife (Disco Round)	Alicia Bridges	1978	2	5	31
28	25	Celebration	Kool & the Gang	1980	1	1	1
-	24	Play That Funky Music	Wild Cherry	1976	12	1	1
53	23	We Are Family	Sister Sledge	1979	1	2	1
39	22	The Hustle	Van McCoy	1975	3	1	1
-	21	Dancing Queen	ABBA	1976	-	1	-

DJ Disco Cat's Disco Purrfection remix:

• "Play That Funky Music"

DJ Freddy G's Digital Visions Re-Edits:

• "Ring My Bell"
• "Shame"
• "Dancing Queen"

Billboard Top 100 Disco (2013)	Dave's Music (2015)	title	artist	year	Disco	Hot 100	R&B
29	20	Don't Stop Til You Get Enough	Michael Jackson	1979	2	1	1
42	19	Turn The Beat Around	Vicki Sue Robinson	1976	1	10	-
20	18	Night Fever	Bee Gees	1977	3	1	8
96	17	Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now	McFadden & Whitehead	1979	10	13	1
35	16	Boogie Oogie Oogie	A Taste Of Honey	1978	1	1	1
36	15	Get Down Tonight	KC & the Sunshine Band	1975	11	1	1
68	14	Good Times	Chic	1979	3	1	1
-	13	You Should Be Dancing	Bee Gees	1976	1	1	4
18	12	That's The Way I Like It	KC & the Sunshine Band	1975	18	1	1
7	11	Y.M.C.A.	Village People	1978	2	2	32

Listen to DJ Disco Cat's Disco Purrfection remix:

• "Get Down Tonight"

DJ Freddy G's Digital Visions Re-Edits:

• "Night Fever"
• "Boogie Oogie Oogie"

Billboard Top 100 Disco (2013)	Dave's Music (2015)	title	artist	year	Disco	Hot 100	R&B
31	10	Hot Stuff	Donna Summer	1979	1	1	3
21	9	Last Dance	Donna Summer	1978	1	3	5
93	8	Car Wash	Rose Royce	1976	3	1	1
22	7	Don't Leave Me This Way	Thelma Houston	1976	1	1	1
12	6	I Feel Love	Donna Summer	1977	3	5	9
5	5	Funkytown	Lipps Inc	1980	1	1	2
3	4	Stayin' Alive	Bee Gees	1977	3	1	4
1	3	I Will Survive	Gloria Gaynor	1978	1	1	4
6	2	Disco Inferno	The Trammps	1977	1	11	9
2	1	Le Freak	Chic	1978	1	1	1

Listen to DJ Disco Cat's Disco Purrfection remix:

• "Car Wash"
• "Funkytown"
• "I Will Survive"

DJ Freddy G's Digital Visions Re-Edits:

• "Car Wash"
• "Funkytown"
• "Le Freak"

Forty-nine out of Dave's Top 50 are in playlist above - only song missing is original mix of Amii Stewart's "Knock On Wood".  Whenever there was a single or radio version or edit of a song, I used it in the playlist above which clocks in just over three hours, top to bottom, #50 to #1.  For the playlist below however, I used full length album versions or twelve inch single remixes so it runs just under five hours, beginning to end.

Check Dave's original list and sources HERE.