Disco
A Modest Start: Disco
It is believed that disco was started by a New York City DJ, David Mancuso, in 1970. Mancuso started his own, members only, dance club in his house called The Loft. After this it is widely agreed that the first disco songs were released, in 1973.
An Explosion of Popularity: "Saturday Night Fever"
Disco took off with the release of the soundtrack and movie, Saturday Night Fever. It quickly became one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time. This massive eplosion of popularity lead record labels to sign disco artists and even lead non-disco artists to delve into the disco scene. Recor labels hoped for a sure fire hit to get the big money. The movie caused record labels to mass produce dicso hits and this in turn caused a "safe" product that was meant for the mainstream audience. This "safe" approach eventally lead to anti-disco sentiments.
The Start of Disco's Downfall
The downfall of disco was brought on by the music industry itself. Because of the large efforts to make disco mainstream, the rock groups and rock radio stations were faltering. The rock radio stations adopted a disco music line to keep up with the trend. Many if not all, rock fans did not agree with the new disco only music on the radio. Fans started to show strong disapproval through its hight of popularity, by adopting the slogan, "Disco Sucks". With this strong anti-disco feelings brewing in the air a baseball team owner came up with a marketing ploy.
"The Day Disco Died": July 12, 1979
Disco Demolition Night was origanaly a marketing ploy by the owner of the Chicago White Sox, Bill Veeck. He wanted it to be a anti-disco promotion night, but he had no idea that it would turn into what it did. It was scheduled to take place between a double header of the White Sox game but the second game was never played. During the event, which involved exploding disco discs, the raucous crowd tore out seats and damaged the field.
"While the players were anxious to get off the field as soon as possible, fans outside the stadium were dying to get in, and approximately 10,000 did, filling the stadium 20 percent beyond its capacity. Some snuck onto the external fire escapes and climbed to the upper deck, while others tied their shirts together as makeshift ropes to scale the walls and climb through the arches on the mezzanine concourse."
The first game finished with little fanfare -no one was really there to see baseball anyway."
-Swindle Magazine
Why Disco Disapeared
The disappearance of disco was the result of strong negative feelings. It fell from the mainstream eye of the public because of sever hatred. Sports have people who have their indiferences with a specific sport. Sports are here to stay because of their competitive nature and allure of great athletes, they stand the test of time.
