Dance (Disco Heat)

Last updated
"Dance (Disco Heat)"
Single by Sylvester
from the album Step II
B-side "Was It Something That I Said"
ReleasedAugust 1978
RecordedMarch 1978
Genre Disco
Length5:46
Label Fantasy
Songwriter(s)
Eric Robinson [1]
  • Victor Orsborn
Producer(s)
Sylvester singles chronology
"Over and Over"
(1977)
"Dance (Disco Heat)"
(1978)
"You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)"
(1978)

"Dance (Disco Heat)" is a song by American singer Sylvester and his backup vocalists Two Tons O' Fun. The song appears on his 1978 album, Step II .

Contents

Chart performance

The song was Sylvester's first Top 40 hit in the United States, where it peaked at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the fall of 1978, [2] it also reached #29 on the UK Singles Chart. [3] A 12" single was released in 1978, with "Dance (Disco Heat)" as the A-side and "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" as the B-side, and these two extended dance mixes proved to be very popular in the dance clubs at the time. The two songs held down the top spot on the Billboard Dance/Disco chart for six weeks in August and September of that year [4] and helped to establish Sylvester's career as a noted disco and dance music performer, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Weather Girls</span> American female musical duo

The Weather Girls are an American female duo whose best-known line-up comprised Martha Wash and Izora Armstead. Formed in 1976 in San Francisco, California, The Weather Girls members began their musical career as Two Tons O' Fun, the female backup duo for disco singer Sylvester. After years of limited success singing background for Sylvester, the duo was signed in 1979 to Fantasy Records. The Weather Girls were launched into mainstream recognition following the release of their best-selling single, "It's Raining Men" (1982), which became their first number-one dance song. Despite critical and commercial success, the duo struggled to repeat the success of "It's Raining Men" and ultimately disbanded after the release of their self-titled fifth album The Weather Girls in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Izora Armstead</span> American singer-songwriter (1942–2004)

Izora Rhodes-Armstead was an American singer-songwriter. Known for her distinctive alto voice, Armstead first achieved fame as one half of the successful act Two Tons O' Fun who sang backup vocals for American disco singer Sylvester. After gaining their own record deal, they released three consecutive commercially successful songs which all peaked at number 2 in the dance charts. The duo was renamed The Weather Girls in 1982 after they released the top-selling single "It's Raining Men", which brought the duo to mainstream pop attention. As a duo, The Weather Girls released five albums and were heavily featured on Sylvester's albums.

Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as the Disco Action Top 30 chart on August 28, 1976, and became the first chart by Billboard to document the popularity of dance music. The first number-one song on the chart for the issue dated August 28, 1976, was "You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gees, spending five weeks atop the chart and the group's only number-one song on the chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martha Wash</span> American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer

Martha Elaine Wash is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer. Known for her distinctive and powerful voice, Wash first achieved fame as half of the Two Tons O' Fun, who sang backing vocals for the disco singer Sylvester including on his signature hit "You Make Me Feel ". After gaining their own record deal, they released three consecutive commercially successful songs which all peaked at number two in the dance charts. The duo was renamed The Weather Girls in 1982 after they released the top-selling single "It's Raining Men", which brought them to mainstream pop attention. The Weather Girls released five albums and were heavily featured on Sylvester's albums.

Byron Stingily is an American R&B and house-music singer born in Chicago, Illinois, known for his falsetto voice. He is now a part-time principal at a school in Chicago while still performing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Be Near Me</span> 1985 single by ABC

"Be Near Me" is a song by English new wave and synth-pop band ABC. It was released in April 1985 as the second single from their third studio album, How to Be a ... Zillionaire! It peaked at No. 26 on the UK Singles Chart in 1985, and was the only single from the album to reach the UK top 40. It was more successful in the United States where it reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also went to number-one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart in September of that year, remaining on top for two weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She's So Cold</span> 1980 single by the Rolling Stones

"She's So Cold" is a song recorded by the Rolling Stones, released in September 1980 on the Emotional Rescue album. It was also issued as the second single from the album, with "Send It to Me" as the B-side. Due to the song's lyric "she's so goddamned cold", the promotional copy sent to radio stations had a "cleaned up version" on one side, with the "God damn version" on the other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fly, Robin, Fly</span> 1975 single by Silver Convention

"Fly, Robin, Fly" is a song by the German disco group Silver Convention from their debut studio album Save Me (1975). Sylvester Levay and Stephan Prager wrote the song, and the latter produced it. "Fly, Robin, Fly" was released as the third single from Save Me in September 1975, peaking at number one on the United States Billboard Hot 100. Thanks to the success of "Fly, Robin, Fly", Silver Convention became the first German act to have a number one song on the American music charts. The song received a Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance in 1976.

Belle Epoque was the name of a female vocal trio, based in Paris, France. The group first rose to popularity during the late 1970s with a disco remake of the song "Black Is Black", originally a hit in 1966 for the Spanish group Los Bravos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)</span> 1978 single by Sylvester

"You Make Me Feel " is a 1978 song by American disco/R&B singer Sylvester. It was written by James Wirrick and Sylvester, and released as the second single from Sylvester's fourth album, Step II (1978). The song was already a largely popular dance club hit in late 1978, as the B-side of his previous single "Dance ", before it was officially being released in December. Music critic Robert Christgau has said the song is "one of those surges of sustained, stylized energy that is disco's great gift to pop music".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">How to Dance</span> 1990 single by Bingoboys

"How to Dance" is a song by Austrian house music trio Bingoboys from their debut studio album, The Best of Bingoboys. The song features American female rapper Princessa. The song was first released in the United States in 1990 and was given a European release in March 1991. "How to Dance" peaked at number two in Austria and reached the top 10 in Australia, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands. In the US, it climbed to number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for one week in March 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shame, Shame, Shame (Shirley & Company song)</span>

"Shame, Shame, Shame" is a 1974 hit song written by Sylvia Robinson, performed by American disco band Shirley & Company and released on the Vibration label. The lead singer is Shirley Goodman, who was one half of Shirley and Lee, who had enjoyed a major hit 18 years earlier, in 1956, with the song "Let The Good Times Roll" for Aladdin Records. The male vocalist is Jesus Alvarez. The saxophone solo is by Seldon Powell, whose instrumental version, "More Shame", is the B-side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Come Go with Me (Exposé song)</span> 1987 single by Exposé

"Come Go with Me" is a song by American girl group Exposé from their debut studio album Exposure (1987). Composed and produced by Lewis A. Martineé, the song was released in January 1987 as the third single from Exposure. The group’s second lineup recorded "Come Go with Me", with Jeanette Jurado singing lead vocals, and Gioia Bruno and Ann Curless singing backup. Some vocals from the original lineup of Exposé remain in the released track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let Me Be the One (Exposé song)</span> 1987 single by Exposé

Let Me Be the One is a single by Exposé, released on May 15, 1987. It was written and produced by Lewis Martineé and appears on their debut album, Exposure. The lead vocals on the song were performed by Gioia Bruno.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tell Me Why (Exposé song)</span> 1989 single by Exposé

"Tell Me Why" is a single by Exposé, released on December 9, 1989. It was written and produced by Lewis Martineé. The song was included on Exposé's second album, What You Don't Know. Lead vocals on "Tell Me Why" were sung by Gioia Bruno.

"Mighty High" is 1975 disco/R&B single by Los Angeles-based gospel group, Mighty Clouds of Joy written by David Crawford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keep On Dancin' (Gary's Gang song)</span> 1979 single by Garys Gang

"Keep on Dancin'" is a 1979 single by Gary's Gang, a disco group, from Queens, New York. Their debut release of "Keep on Dancin'" was their most successful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Always and Forever (Heatwave song)</span>

"Always and Forever" is an R&B song written by Rod Temperton and produced by Barry Blue. It was first recorded by the British-based multinational funk-disco band Heatwave in 1976. Released as a single on December 3, 1977, the song is included on Heatwave's debut album Too Hot to Handle (1976) and has been covered by numerous artists, becoming something of a standard.

"Lovin' Is Really My Game" is a 1977 song by American group Brainstorm, and is the lead single from their debut album Stormin'. The song was written by lead singer, Belita Woods along with Trenita Womack "Bongo Lady Way".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Fuqua</span> American musician, record producer

Harvey Fuqua was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter, record producer, and record label executive.

References

  1. Gamson, Joshua (2005). The Fabulous Sylvester. Picador, Henry Holt and Company, New York. p. 144.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 619.
  3. Official Charts Company info OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco 1974-2003, (Record Research Inc.), page 252.