"Disco Lady" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Johnnie Taylor | ||||
from the album Eargasm | ||||
B-side | "You're the Best Girl in the World" | |||
Released | January 1976 | |||
Recorded | 1975 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:02 (Promo Version) 4:28 (Album Version) | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Harvey Scales, Albert Vance, Don Davis | |||
Producer(s) | Don Davis | |||
Johnnie Taylor singles chronology | ||||
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"Disco Lady" is a 1976 single by American singer Johnnie Taylor that went on to become his biggest hit. It spent all four weeks of April 1976 at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and six weeks atop the Billboard R&B chart in the U.S. [3] It was also the first single to be certified platinum by the RIAA; [4] ultimately it sold over 2.5 million copies. [5] Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song for 1976; Cash Box had it the year's No. 1 song [6]
The single was Taylor's first for Columbia Records, where he signed after his long-time label, Stax Records, went bankrupt. The song was produced by Taylor's long-time producer, Don Davis. [7] Among the guests on the song were four members of Parliament-Funkadelic: bassist Bootsy Collins, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, guitarist Glenn Goins, drummer Tiki Fulwood, and background vocals by BRANDYE (Cynthia Douglas, Donna Davis, Pamela Vincent).
"Disco Lady" was the first Hot 100 No. 1 hit with the word "disco" in the title. The single also reached No. 25 on the UK Singles Chart. [8]
In the finale of the 1976, The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, Paul Lynde and the entire cast sing Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady" (gender-neutralized to "Disco Baby"). [9]
It earned Taylor his second Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
In 1998, a remake of the song "Disco Lady 2000" (along with a "radio slam" remix) can be heard on the album Taylored to Please released by Malaco Records.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
All-time charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [21] | Gold | 75,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [22] | Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Johnnie Harrison Taylor was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. He was initially successful at Stax Records with the number-one R&B hits "Who's Making Love" (1968), "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" (1971) and "I Believe in You " (1973), and reached number one on the US pop charts with "Disco Lady" in 1976.
"Dream Weaver" is a song by the American singer Gary Wright, released as the first single from his third studio album The Dream Weaver in December 1975.
"I Write the Songs" is a popular song written by Bruce Johnston in 1975 and released on his album Going Public in 1977. Barry Manilow's version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1976 after spending two weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart in December 1975. It won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and was nominated for Record of the Year in 1977. Billboard ranked it as the No. 13 song of 1976.
"You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" is a song written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and performed by R&B singer Lou Rawls on his 1976 album All Things in Time. The song proved to be Rawls' breakthrough hit, reaching number 1 on both the R&B and Easy Listening charts as well as number 4 on the dance chart and number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100. This was the first and only time that one of Rawls' records reached Billboard's pop Top Ten.
"Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" is a song written by Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, and Stevie Wonder. The song was originally recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1967, but his version was not released as a single and did not appear on an album until 1977's anthology Looking Back. The best-known version of this song is the 1973 release by Aretha Franklin, who had a million-selling top 10 hit on Billboard charts. The song reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100 chart in 1974. It became an RIAA Gold record.
"Moonshadow" is a song written and performed by Cat Stevens, first released as a single in the UK in 1970 on the Island label and in the US in 1971 on the A&M label. It also appears on Stevens' 1971 album Teaser and the Firecat.
"Smokin' in the Boys Room" is a song originally recorded by Brownsville Station in 1973 on their album Yeah!. It reached number 3 in Canada and on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was later certified by the RIAA.
"I Love Music" is a song by American R&B group The O'Jays. It was written by production team Gamble and Huff. The song appeared on The O'Jays 1975 album, Family Reunion. The single reached number five on the US US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the soul singles chart. In the UK, the song peaked at number 13 in the Top 40 singles charts in March 1976. The single spent eight weeks at number one on the US Disco File Top 20 chart.
"Kiss and Say Goodbye" is a 1976 song by American R&B vocal group The Manhattans. It was written by group member Winfred Lovett, the bass singer and songwriter of the group, who did the song's spoken introduction. The song was recorded for the album The Manhattans, released in 1976 by Columbia Records, and was released as a single in March of the same year. "Kiss and Say Goodbye" became a worldwide success, appearing in the musical charts of countless countries, a Top 10 hit in many countries, including No. 1 in the US, Belgium, Netherlands, New Zealand, and in Europe (European Hot 100 Singles). With the exception of the Adult Contemporary Chart, "Kiss and Say Goodbye" was ranked number 1 in the US on all pop and R&B singles charts. The song was one of the biggest hits of 1976 and of the 1970s.
"Boogie Nights" is a 1977 single by international funk-disco group Heatwave. It was written by keyboardist Rod Temperton and was included on Heatwave's debut album, Too Hot to Handle. Harpist Carla Skanger played harp and American actor and singer Clarke Peters performed backing vocals on the recording.
"Best of My Love" is a song by American band the Emotions from their fourth studio album Rejoice (1977). It was composed by Maurice White and Al McKay of Earth, Wind & Fire, and produced by White and Clarence McDonald.
"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" is a song written by the premier Motown songwriting/production team of the 1960s Holland–Dozier–Holland. The first hit recording was sung by Kim Weston in 1965. It was most popular in 1975 when it was recorded by the Doobie Brothers.
"I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" is a song written by Parker McGee and recorded by England Dan & John Ford Coley from their 1976 album Nights Are Forever. It eventually peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks, behind Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music" and No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 21 song for 1976. It also reached No. 26 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Lowdown" is a song originally recorded in 1976 by Boz Scaggs from his album Silk Degrees. The song was co-written by Scaggs and keyboardist David Paich. Paich, along with fellow "Lowdown" session musicians bassist David Hungate and drummer Jeff Porcaro, would later go on to form the band Toto.
"Everybody Plays the Fool" is a 1972 song first recorded by American R&B group The Main Ingredient, and written by J. R. Bailey, Rudy Clark and Ken Williams. It was the first single released from the group's album Bitter Sweet, released with the B-side "Who Can I Turn To ". "Everybody Plays the Fool" was the group's highest charting hit single, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the fall of 1972. It also peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart and at No. 25 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart. It was certified gold by the RIAA.
"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 3 December 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.
"How Much I Feel" is a 1978 song by American rock band Ambrosia. The song, written by the band's guitarist/vocalist David Pack, was released in the summer of 1978 as the lead single from their third album, Life Beyond L.A., peaking at position three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number two for three weeks on the Cash Box Top 100.
"On and On" is a song by American singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop. The song, from his debut album Careless, became a major hit, peaking at number 11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and spending 28 weeks on the chart. In Canada, the song peaked at number 6.
"Money Honey" is the title of a 1975 international hit single by the Bay City Rollers, taken from their album Rock n' Roll Love Letter and in the UK on their album Dedication. The power-pop recording was issued in the US as the album's lead single in January 1976, reaching number nine on the Hot 100 in Billboard magazine that March. "Money Honey" was the Bay City Rollers' second US Top 10 hit. It reached number seven on the Cash Box chart. The follow-up single was the album's title track, "Rock and Roll Love Letter". In the UK, "Money Honey" was released in November 1975 and reached number three, becoming the group's ninth Top 10 single.
"Get Up and Boogie" is a song by German disco act Silver Convention from their 1976 second album of the same name. The song was written and composed by Sylvester Levay and Stephan Prager, and produced by Prager. The song was released as the lead single from the album Get Up and Boogie in 1976.
But Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady" wasn't a disco song. Instead, it was a sweaty, swampy soul-groove.