Disco, the Bee Gees, and the Death of the Dance Phenomenon
And odd shuffle across the dance floor
Hello! Odd to see you! :)
If you’re of a certain age, you remember disco permiating every nook and cranny of popular culture. It was like groovy snow falling over all the land from horizon to horizon. If you’re not old enough to remember it, well, you missed out. However, you can still tap into disco’s timeless upbeat spirit with it’s enduring music - namely, the Bee Gees!
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The Long and Groovy Road
Sometimes, what we aim for is not exactly the target we hit, yet that different target ends up being the target. As is the case with the Bee Gees, disco’s supergroup! You know you love ‘em!
Nothing screams “DISCO!” like “Saturday Night Fever.” We all know the songs and we all love them. Admit it. Deep down, as a kid, you wanted to dance like John Travolta’s Tony Manero. I know I did.
Before you try to deny it (keyword: try), I’ll direct you to Exhibit A, a video from the YouTube channel Isaiah Shinn. Click the image below to see the short viewed 40 MILLION TIMES!
And they say “Disco is dead.” I beg to differ
60 Years Ago in the 60s
We tend to think that a music group’s most well-known work is their only work. It’s irrational, but our human brains are irrational so it tracks. Would it surprise you to hear that the Bee Gees weren’t always a disco band? Check out this performance from 1963 and tell me what you think:
Kinda goofy, right? Hard to believe these dudes turned into a disco supergroup. I reckon we all gotta start somewhere. It’s crazy to think that these dudes started in the 1960s and are still relevant today. After all, a new book came out about them: “The Story of The Bee Gees: Children of the World” by Bob Stanley. I haven’t read it but I read part of an article about it. That’s good enough these days.
Disco Didn’t Die, Omnipresent Dance Crazes Did
Why do the Bee Gees matter? Disco was undoubtedly more than just a dance craze, it was a cultural phenomenon. The Bee Gees were, for lack of a better term, the poster child for the musical aspect of it all. What have we had after disco that compares? An argument could be made for breakdancing but participants needed to have a modicum of skill and even if they did, the core of the culture was urban inner-city - there were few breakdancing suburban moms. Yet those same moms may have gone to a discotheque. Regardless, breakdancing didn’t have a central musical act that permitted the movement; at least not one that everyone knew instantly.
After breakdancing, there were no popular culture dance crazes. We had isolated trends like:
Maybe the Harlem Shake, although that just seems like chaos
After the 80’s, popular culture started to fracture into smaller sects that inhibited any wider acceptance of any particular craze across subcultures. But I digress. I wouldn’t be so grim if disco was still alive and well!
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Until next time, stay oddly beautiful!
Jason