Posted on 05/02/2021 4:40:14 PM PDT by SamAdams76
This historical disco recording is referred by some to be "the apotheosis of the dance" and is considered a landmark musical achievement of the disco era.
"Let's All Chant" is basically an uptempo disco song with Baroque overtones, driven by a repetitive bass line, handclaps and numerous vocal hooks (such as "Ah-ah, eh-eh, let's all chant" and some more complex lyrics such as "Your body, my body, everybody work your body").
Without wanting to get into too much detail for laypeople, these lyrics are essentially about dancing and working one's body. The song's instrumentation also includes Afro-Cuban drums, a rollicking piano line and an ensemble of wind instruments, marked by a piccolo trumpet solo which sounds like it's straight out of a JS Bach ricecar fugue.
Yet this quirky and infectious song almost never happened. Composer Michael Zager was at first embarrassed at the concept when offered a commission to create a catchy "danceable" song that incorporated the "Ooh-ah, Ooh-ah" chants that were popular on dance floors at the time. Zager consoled himself by adding in a piccolo trumpet and other wind instruments to lend the composition some classical chops and the rest is musical history.
I think you may be correct. Ugh. Just got caught up the article about this great disco song. Die disco Die! Haha.
Sam writes some good, droll and funny commentary. After you read his offbeat pieces enough, you get to know his sense of humor.
Okay, I'll keep a look out for his dry humor. My bad for making a thing about his article. I just chime in on music articles since I know a little about popular music. Yes, I love the classics, especially Strauss waltzes. Also enjoy Beethoven, Mozart, and Wagner.
1975?
yeah, the band called Chic
I recently discovered I could listen to their song called Le Freak several times in a row because of the cool guitar riff heheh
Anybody remember Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman) by Joe Tex?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkb6OpoL6Z8
Bay City Rollers.
I’m not going to criticize anyone’s’ music tastes. UNLESS it is rap, hip hop, or whatever that crap is. Me? Early on... Eagles. Still love it.
No, he died several years ago. The estate battle between his kids and his Swedish(?) trophy wife became quite nasty.
His Top 40 countdown shows from the 1970s and 1980s have been in syndication for years. A land station that airs them on weekends (and can be accessed online) is KOKZ out of Cedar Rapids.
That said, about disco:
*There was FAR better disco music than what was on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Ironically, some of the best actually came out after the infamous Disco Demolition event in Chicago.
*In its intended element (dancing and trying to pick somebody up), disco music is to the dance floor what Muzak was to the department store...if you’re actually *listening* to it, you’re doing something wrong....
Okay, I'm getting your humor now.
Perfect.
It can be a bit subtle.
Who doesn't love the Eagles? I also started with their early country rock and also enjoy their later music. Hotel California is a major classic rock song. Used to get a kick how everyone had different takes on the meaning.
I saw a 2 part documentary of the Eagles and Glen Fry (I think) said it had no meaning and they just put the words together to rhyme. I highly doubt that. It was obviously about the decadence of the LA lifestyle. It is still listenable today. I prefer it over Stairway to Heaven.
That's why I probably didn't catch it. Now I know. With the replies here, and your Bay City Rollers as a rock group, I'm convinced. "Keep on Trickin" - you're good.
You really are clever. I just watched a couple YouTube videos of them. They were the Partridge Family in better costumes. Ha! Even the bubblegum Monkees had a couple songs that were okay.
Did you agree with my opinion of the classic rock bands in the 70's that ran circles around the boring continuous beat of Disco? What were your favorite rock bands, if any?
Partridge Family was all for show and other than a tambourine or cowbell here and there, did not play any instruments at all. But David Cassidy did have some real vocal talents and as you probably know, went on to have a significant solo career with a few Top 40 hits.
Interesting trivia about Partridge Family, the TV show they ended up starring in was actually inspired by an actual family band called The Cowsills. Now the Cowsills were a genuine band with three Top 10 smashes under their belts before the TV show based on them was created.
But alas, The Cowsill family were not considered "telegenic" enough for a national TV show. So the Partridge Family as we know them today was assembled from scratch and musical talent was not required as all their songs were recorded by session musicians (with Shirley and David providing some real vocals).
As for the classic rock bands you mentioned, yes, I know and appreciate all of them. It's hard to pick favorites from all those diverse artists but I guess I should mention Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Fleetwood Mac, Rickie Lee Jones, Linda Ronstadt, Pink Floyd and Rolling Stones who have put out consistently high quality music over a very long period of time (many of those mentioned are still active today).
Don Henley and Glen Frey BOTH went on to make some good tunes. I loved “Dirty Laundry” and “Smugglers Blues”. Among many others. They were talented. There is NO denying that. Hey I’m glad that you appreciate good music too! My regards.
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