A Very Disco Christmas

Since it is Friday and the start of the pre-holiday weekend, I was looking to find some music that might propel us into the weekend and the holiday spirit, all at the same time. And I was lucky enough to find a track I didn't even know existed to kick off the proceedings. I thought I knew all the songs released by the Village People, and, in fact, had most of them. Well, they fooled me, for I was not aware of a Christmas release, and could only find a version of "Disco Santa Claus", a campy take on their hits "Y.M.C.A." and "Macho Man". After a bit of research, I discovered it wasn't the Village People at all, but a sound-alike group called Holiday Express. They have adapted the lyrics, and spell out "N.O.E.L.", although I am not sure I would know the arm motions to spell it out! Please enjoy the Village People singing "Disco Santa (Santa Claus/N.O.E.L.)".

My remaining selections for the come from bands not nearly as well known, but still making sparkling Disco nonetheless. The Roller Disco Orchestra take on a song written in 1934 by composer Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard B. Smith, "Winter Wonderland". The song has been sung by many, but none with quite the flair in this recording. I hope you enjoy the recording of "Winter Wonderland" by the Roller Disco Orchestra.

The Hit Crew was a name used by a record label who put out many sound-alike covers of songs, and released on cheaper albums of so-called hits. But they also seem to want to take advantage of more than just the summer hits, for they did some interesting holiday covers as well. They did a Disco cover of "Silver Bells", the holiday classic written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, and first introduced by Bob Hope in the 1950 film, 'The Lemon Drop Kid'. I hope you enjoy this cover of "Silver Bells" by The Hit Crew.

Finally, there is also a Disco version of the Rock=influenced "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree", a song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958. The song combined the sound and feel of Rock and Pop music, with a nod to the contemporary Christmas songs being made at the time. A couple of decades later, the holiday themed Mistletoe Disco Band added the song to their repertoire, and gave the Christmas classic a new sound. This is "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by the Mistletoe Disco Band.

Have a great weekend!

Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer • No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)

Written by Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts, "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" is a song that needed just the right voices. Luckily, in 1979, those voices were making music. The song was a perfect fit for Streisand's album 'Wet', and certainly made for an enticing new part of Summer's 'On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2'. Both ladies could sing, and when their voices came together, nothing could stop them. The song went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, and found it's way to the top of the charts worldwide. I mean, how could this not be a hit, with two incredible voices raising up with such grace and strength. Enjoy "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)"!

You can find Barbra Streisand's 'Wet' on iTunes and Amazon. You can find Donna Summer's 'On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2' on iTunes and Amazon. You could purchase both albums from Amazon for under $20.

Donna Sumer • Dance Tribute

There are something about certain singers and songs that can bring you back to a time, and for me, Donna Summer is one of those talents. After hearing about her passing yesterday after a long fight with breast cancer, I thought it would be a great time to revisit a few of my favorites of her songs from the era when Disco ruled the airwaves, as well as some great Pop song that still sound fresh and true. I'll start with what was an introduction of sorts, for it was the first time I heard of a talented singer named Donna Summer. She was somewhat unknown, an American in Europe appearing in some Broadway-style shows. She released an album in the UK, working with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, wünderkind of a new electronic sound. Summer wrote lyrics to the music of Moroder and Bellotte, and one of those songs was released in 1975. It went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, attracting some controversy. It seems an Urban legend was born when the BBC said while recording "Love To Love You, Baby," Ms. Summer had 23 simulated orgasms in the extended version of the song. Suddenly, both Summer and the song were notorious. And also helped with the sales, making it the song that everyone wanted to hear.



Out to prove she could handle more than moans and groans, Summer continued to record great music. This included a little song for a movie soundtrack that with a lesser talent, might have escaped notice. But place a song by the Paul Jabara in the hands of Moroder and Summer, and you can just imagine the fireworks. I can tell you, it was a song that pretty much closed out every dance I attended in my senior year of high school, and the early college years. It also was often the final song played at gay clubs through the early 1980s. In 1978, "Last Dance" made it to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, off the soundtrack album for the movie Thank God It's Friday.



"Last Dance" was not her only release in that year. In fact, it was not ever her most successful song of the year. Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte found an older song by Jimmy Webb, recorded in 1967 by actor Richard Harris, an odd combination of spoken word and song. "MacArthur Park" went to #2 on the chart in 1968, and went on to be covered by many. But in 1978, it went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, when "MacArthur Park" was sung by Summer like it had never been sung before, or likely every again. It was a track on the album, Live and More.



There are very few singers who could stand their ground with the voice of the great Barbra Streisand, and even fewer who could sing with her and still shine. In 1979, Summers did just that on the #1 Billboard Hot 100 hit, "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" There is such beauty in this song, as you can hear both Donna and Barbra raising the bar with amazing vocals. Sadly, I could not find any video of the two singing, so you just have this brilliant audio.



To enjoy more of her music, you can find The Journey: The Best of Donna Summer on iTunes and Amazon, or her Live And More album, on iTunes and Amazon. You can also find Donna Summer: The Dance Collection, a compilation of the eight top extended play versions of some of her most spectacular Dance hits, on iTunes and Amazon.

Dance Party • 1975

Clockwise: The O'Jays; Silver Connection; Shirley & Company; Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.

Well, well, well, wasn't this a long time ago. Way back when, in 1975, I was turning fifteen, and attending Smyrna High School. While I remember it as a much simpler time, when I really give it some thought, I know that is far from the truth. I was a teen in search of so much - my identity, my place in the world, what I was going to do with my life, what I was going to wear, how to do my hair... You know, the general teen angst material. And to escape it, I did what many other teens did when we could, and that was to go to the Teen Dances at the VFW from time to time. A group of us could go, forget the worries that plagued us for the rest of the week, and just get on the dance floor, and work up a sweat. And i certainly remember doing just that to the song Shame, Shame, Shame by Shirley & Company. The bouncy song was #1 for four weeks in the beginning of the year. The groups was fronted by Shirley Goodman, and the "Company" was Jesus Alvarez, Walter Morris, Bernadette Randle, Seldon Powell, Jonathan Williams and Clarence Oliver.



And how could a teen growing up in Delaware not dance to great songs by Philadelphia's own Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes back then? Nope, it wasn't possible, for the group was recording with the great Gamble & Huff, And while you might think that Harold Melvin was the most famous member of the group, you would be mistaken. From 1972 to 1977, the group had a different lead singer, once you might know. He was Philadelphian Teddy Pendergrass. Yes, I thought you'd remember him. In 1975, the group had the #1 song on the dance chart for eleven weeks, from March until May. Give a listen to Bad Luck, a song reportedly written as a commentary about the Watergate scandal, which unfolded in the few years before.



The next song held the top spot on the Dance chart for three weeks in the fall. The Silver Convention was a trio of ladies brought together by Munich-based producers/songwriters Sylvester Levay and Michael Kunze. Linda G. Thompson, Penny McLean, and Ramona Wulf lent their talents to the recordings, including for Fly, Robin, Fly. This might be most memorable for the fact the song utilizes only six words for the length of the song, Fly, Robin, Up, To, The, Sky. But the baseline, that was something else.



Finally, the O'Jays were a group that began in 1963, laying down some very old school R&B. They were perhaps best known for their 1972 hit Backstabbers, or the 1973 #1 song Love Train, in 1975 they had a great song by Gamble & Huff that finished out the year on top of the Dance chart. I Love Music held the #1 position for eight straight weeks at the end of the year.

Friday Night Disco Christmas

The Hit Crew made a name for themselves making sound-alike versions of hit songs in the 90s and 2000s. They also made some specialty albums, like the Christmas Disco Party album, with a relatively generic disco sound, taking some traditional Folk and Pop classics to a new genre, Disco. The first to sample is "We Wish You A Merry Christmas".



Who hasn't wanted to get their groove on to the Irving Berlin song, "White Christmas". Sure, it was made famous by Bing Crosby, and sung by countless others, but this is unlike any of the others.



It is interesting, but no one had heard of Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer until he appeared as a poem by Robert L. May in 1939. His brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, enjoyed it so much, he put it to music in 1949. It became a big hit for Gene Autry, and, several years later, by Burl Ives. In 1972, it became the center of a holiday special, using stop-action. And now, it can also be a disco song! Here is "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer".



Silver Bells is a song by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans and first performed by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell in the motion picture "The Lemon Drop Kid", released in 1951. It was written as a slow ballad, and quickly became a standard during the holidays.



You can find these great disco Christmas favorites on iTunes, and on Amazon.

RightOut TV Awards - Best Dance/Electronic (Pro) Video

RightOutTV announced their first winners in the inaugural awards to celebrate the depth and diversity of the music in the LGBT community. The results reflect an impressive array of talent in 13 different categories. Winning artists represent the United States, Israel, Australia, England and Austria, making this a truly global contest. Next I will feature the winner of the Best Dance/Electronic (Pro) Video category.



The award was given to The Young Professionals for the video, D.i.s.c.o. The video was directed by Guy Sagy and was featured on this blog in September. The Young Professionals is a new band featuring Yonathan Goldshtein and the amazing Ivri Lider.



Ivri Lider is an out and proud performer, making brilliant music since releasing his debut album in 1197 in his native Israel. In 2002, he released Bo as part of the soundtrack to the Israeli film Yossi & Jagger, still one of my favorites. You can find out more about the sexy Ivri on his official website here. You can also visit the online home of The Young Professionals here. You can find the album 9:00 to 17:00, 17:00 to Whenever featuring the song D.i.s.c.o. on iTunes here, and on Amazon here. You can find that playing all the time in my iTunes! You can watch the music of RightOut TV online here.

RIP Andrea True

I just learned that on November 7, 2011, Andrea True, the singer behind the Andrea True Connection, passes away. She was 68. Andrea True first came to the public eye as an actress in the 70s. Well, that is only part of the story. Ms. True was an actress who was featured in adult films, and a successful one at that. As legend has it, she was acting successfully in adult films, and was brought to Jamaica to appear in some real estate commercials. While there, new leadership took over, and people could not leave with money. So she called a record producer, and spent her money to make an album, and fulfill a dream she had, and not have to leave the money behind. The producer showed up to Jamaica with a song ready for her. The result was the Andrea True Connection hit song, More More More. If the story is true, it is a great one!



In 1976, the song made it to #4 on the billboard Hot 100 in the US, and in the Top 10 in both the UK and Germany. It was also a staple in every disco out there, and they were plenty around, as it was the height of the Disco era. And Ms. True did not stop there. In 1977, she followed that hit up with N.Y., You Got Me Dancing, another great club hit. The song made it to #27 on the US Billboard Hot 100.



That was pretty much it for True, who returned to her previous job, staring in adult films. That didn't last long, and as she had a growth on her vocal chords, she could not try music again. So True retired from public life to live a more private one. Rest in peace, Andrea True.