12 Likes
Sure, I suppose my reaction to the original post is that lots of people had reasons to hate disco other than racism and homophobia. The fact that the crowd that showed up to the event in question were mostly young white guys from NJ who happened to fit that stereotype doesn’t prove the thesis.
1 Like
Maybe you could elaborate? I have read only a little about this, but artists like Joni Mitchell, Mickey Dolenz, James Taylor, and Graham Nash talk about in the period from 1965/6 through the early 1970s, musicians wrote songs and handed them to each other–“This would be great for you, you should record it”–without a second thought. Examples I read included songs like “Wooden Ships” and teh stuff that McCartney wrote for various bands. Starting in the early 1970s, the “corporate suits” stopped them from doing that and the music became industrialized.
Is that the sort of thing you mean?
7 Likes
Disco also had a lot of connections to Hispanic and Italian communities.
11 Likes
More of those, please 
I’ll go look some up. I may be some time!!
9 Likes
I would agree, though the Motor City definitely has its own version of house music as well…
11 Likes
Here ya go:
12 Likes
Cool, thanks 
Never hurts to have a place to start looking 
9 Likes
The things I thought I could be at 14 - yeah - not so much.
But I’m not projecting that onto others who got to go there. I moved on and succeeded elsewhere.
As one rock star who was popular after 1972 says:
I had a friend was a big baseball player
Back in high school
He could throw that speedball by you
Make you look like a fool boy
Saw him the other night at this roadside bar
I was walking in, he was walking out
We went back inside sat down had a few drinks
But all he kept talking about was
Glory days well they’ll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl’s eye
Glory days, glory days
12 Likes
That YOUR personal reason wasn’t based in mindless bigotry does not automatically mean that was also the case for “lots of other people.”
Much of that hatred was indeed deeply based on prejudice against POC and Gay folks.
Once again, fish don’t see water.
12 Likes
Hey, that dude gave Patti Smith a song!!
8 Likes
And moved on after his career was over to become a very successful hitman.
Multi talented!
8 Likes
Disco had nothing to do with whether or not you became a rock star. At all. There are probably myriad reasons why things did not work out for you in that regard.
Racism and homophobia had a lot to do with the backlash against, especially in this specific instance at Comisky park, which is what this post is about. There is nothing wrong with not enjoying particular music - personal taste is just that. But blaming an entire genre of music for you not being a rock star and denying the facts of the disco backlash is just that - ignoring the facts.
Yeah, along those lines… By the late 60s, many of the independent rock labels of the 50s and 60s had pretty much gotten swallowed up in a new round of centralization during the late 60s. And you know when that happens, they tend to be less willing to take risks, but rather want to reproduce what previously worked. I know from looking at punk that the bands that wanted to get some attention from labels or even find places to play (this was a huge problem in LA, new bands getting an opportunity to play on the sunset strip, for example) had a hard time breaking through. That was the original reason for forming their own labels (Dangerhouse and Slash in the case of LA). The whole rejection of the mainstream music industry by punks for political or ideological reasons really only came later (with the HC wave in the 80s).
They were fab and often very queer… Ma Rainey
And Gladys Bentley are worth checking out…
13 Likes
I was also a teenager then and remember a robust universe of various musical genres available for all. Also, plenty of live music venues of every size (not everyone can fill a stadium, after all).
Makes me wonder where you grew up, that disco was the only game in town.
9 Likes
And we didn’t even grow up in the same part of the country!
10 Likes
That suit!! 
Ma Rainey I had heard of but not Gladys. Thanks
11 Likes
Yeah, she was very gender-bending and most definitely a lesbian!
9 Likes
Sadly, I grew up in a sizeable but deeply uncool western city. I suppose in retrospect that I could have switched to country music as that was, and remains, a thing that survived the disco era.
Reading the room here, I see lots of opposition to my reaction. Personally, I like live music and believe that the disco era was bad for it.
Dude. Rock music STILL exists. It did not go away. It’s STILL there. Disco did not kill anything. It just added more variety to the landscape of popular music. 
Lots of people do, but it’s not an either/or thing. There is room both for dancing music with djs and live music. We know because they both exist simultaneously today. I can go down to a local club playing any kind of music to dance, or I can go see a live show (although I probably wouldn’t do either right now, cause, you know pandemic is still on), but both things are possible to do.
12 Likes
I almost mentioned punk too. It’s fine if you want to dress that way, but when everyone dresses the same it just becomes a crowd mentality. Also, as I said I’m a pretty boring dresser - just never felt comfortable looking outlandish unless it was for comedic effect - hence some of the costumes I wore for father dance numbers at my daughter’s dance recitals.
