# Would disco not have been so hated had so many rock stars not gone disco? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 2, 2022, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070 "2022-01-02T06:01:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/81 "2022-01-03T04:45:24Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The things that made disco “suck” had nothing to do with rock crossovers and everything to do with Saturday Night Fever and Donna Summer. Well, it also had to do with being the music of “those kind of people,” similar to how a decade later rap became reviled. ---
**Author:** ![DreamsOfACheetah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/45deac/32.png) [@DreamsOfACheetah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreamsOfACheetah)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/82 "2022-01-03T05:22:23Z")
Just wanted to point out something that’s not been mentioned in the backlash against disco: I think fashion changed a lot back in the 70’s and you started seeing flashing neon lights, the shirts open to the belly button, gold chains, bell bottoms, and oh, that horrible hair. I feel that at least some of the backlash against disco was for that reason, it became an outdated and uncool fashion embarrasment that “old people” (the parents) liked. Leather and chains became the new fashion in the 80’s for the rebels. And to answer the OP: I think the rock stars trying their hand in what was a popular, growing music trend made it more popular (for the most part). And a lot of these bands did suffer backlash when disco became out of date, and they got out of it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/83 "2022-01-03T07:40:53Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > I wonder why people hated disco. While there were, and are, legitimate aesthetic reasons to dislike disco, a lot of backlash was also driven by racism, homophobia and sexism. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/84 "2022-01-03T07:51:17Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > make-out bait like Yes/America That is _not_ how I would have characterized either of those bands… > [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > And yes, “I Was Made For Loving You” is also a Disco song to my ears. 100% ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/85 "2022-01-03T10:06:57Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > however much you still hate disco, almost all of your favorite classic rock bands did disco songs in the seventies Yea, even **Kiss** cashed in on it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZhIsAZO5gl0/maxresdefault.jpg "Kiss - I Was Made For Lovin' You") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhIsAZO5gl0) ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/86 "2022-01-03T10:32:53Z")
Thoroughly agree, and that was pretty obvious to me in the 90s, which was about the first time I’d thought about disco for more than 5 minutes. And while those positions were more acceptable then, they were likely to have tried to legitimise racist-sexist-homophobic attitudes to disco and all it represented in some higher moral purpose, such as biblical injunctions against strobing dance floors… Although I don’t think it aspired to being a documentary, and was flawed even for him, Barry Luhrmann’s [The Get Down](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4592410/), looked at the start of hip-hop and disco in New York as being embedded in racism, political disenfranchisement and urban politics. Probably worth a second look with this discussion in mind. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/87 "2022-01-03T11:33:36Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > make-out bait like Yes/America You were getting busy to Yes and America? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/88 "2022-01-03T12:26:07Z")
… in a roundabout way, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/89 "2022-01-03T15:02:49Z")
Yeah, in high school (78 grad) I owned my share of crap albums from Styx, Kansas, etc. But also Genesis, Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult …, and my 3 fave bands were Rush, Queen, and (less proud of) ELP. The problem was that top-40 AM radio was playing Journey, Foreigner, etc. In Chicago, you had to tune into XRT - before it turned into classic rock - to hear anything other than the top singles. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/90 "2022-01-03T15:03:26Z")
Apparently my problem was that I liked all those bands and couldn’t understand the freaking controversy if you liked one versus the other. Disco didn’t suck. ‘Disco sucks’ people sucked. As my ‘Classical is the ONLY music’ uncle sucked. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/91 "2022-01-03T15:28:10Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > designed for dancing, not for listening Yep. And, I hate dancing. The lyrics of most disco songs were repetitive and empty. > Shake shake shake, shake shake shake > Shake your booty, shake your booty > Oh, shake shake shake, shake shake shake > Shake your booty, shake your booty or this gem: > That’s the way, aha, aha > I like it, aha, aha > That’s the way, aha, aha > I like it, aha, aha > That’s the way, aha, aha > I like it, aha, aha > That’s the way, aha, aha > I like it, aha, aha Here’s another > get up and boogie > Get up and boogie > (That’s right) get up and boogie > Get up and boogie > Boogie > Boogie > That’s right > Boogie > Boogie > That’s right > Get up and boogie > Get up at boogie I rest my case. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/92 "2022-01-03T15:28:37Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > I don’t think the basic conventions of disco music are unreconcilable with good music. Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” has already been mentioned, and I’ll add Alan Parsons Project’s “In the Real World” as another example. [“I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOwFVowEugQ) is the Alan Parsons Project song that springs to mind as having some disco flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/93 "2022-01-03T16:14:39Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I rest my case. Don’t forget that classic that had only four words. Do. The, Hustle. It. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/94 "2022-01-03T16:39:24Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Yep. And, I hate dancing. The lyrics of most disco songs were repetitive and empty. And I sure hope you like dancing, because they’re usually repetitive and _about dancing_. I’m not one of the “disco sucks” camp, but those lyrics are even more vapid than a square dance caller - at least the square dance calls are providing instructions on how to do the dance (well, if you know the language). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/95 "2022-01-03T16:52:33Z")
Fortunately, we will always be allowed to loathe the Bee Gees without accusations of bad thinking. And Andy too. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/96 "2022-01-03T16:57:22Z")
It seemed only natural that Todd Rundgren, who dipped his toe into a whole range of styles, would offer up a disco tune: Rock Love [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g621LhVnjG4/hqdefault.jpg "Rock Love") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g621LhVnjG4) And who can forget the big disco hit by Kiss, [I Was Made For Lovin’ You](https://youtu.be/ZhIsAZO5gl0) ? , ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/97 "2022-01-03T17:10:37Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > And who can forget the big disco hit by Kiss, [I Was Made For Lovin’ You](https://youtu.be/ZhIsAZO5gl0) ? See post 84. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/98 "2022-01-03T17:14:28Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > See post 84. Oops 🙃 ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/99 "2022-01-03T17:27:01Z")
It wasn’t just rock stars who went disco. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NYwyUMk_ofo/maxresdefault.jpg "Dolly Parton - Baby I'm Burnin' (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYwyUMk_ofo) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QgIMkWeWLRY/maxresdefault.jpg "Aretha Franklin - La Diva (1979) | Aretha's Disco Record") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgIMkWeWLRY) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070/100 "2022-01-03T17:31:07Z")
Of course not. Even Mickey Mouse went disco. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bDDN7YAESv0/hqdefault.jpg "Walt Disney Productions Mickey Mouse Disco 1979") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDDN7YAESv0) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-disco-not-have-been-so-hated-had-so-many-rock-stars-not-gone-disco/957070.md?page=6)