DISCO INFERNO

"Disco Inferno" is a song by The Trammps from the album of the same name. With two other cuts by the group it reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in early 1977, but had limited mainstream success in the U.S. until 1978, after being included on the soundtrack to the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, when a re-release hit number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1][2]

It was also notably covered by Cyndi Lauper on the A Night at the Roxbury soundtrack[3] and Tina Turner on the What's Love Got to Do with It soundtrack.[4]

Contents

Song information

The song was originally recorded by The Trammps in 1976 and released as a single. It was inspired by a scene in the 1974 blockbuster film The Towering Inferno in which a discotheque is caught in the blaze.[5] According to Tom Moulton, who mixed the record, the Dolby noise reduction had been set incorrectly during the mixdown of the tracks. When engineer Jay Mark discovered the error and corrected it, the mix had a much wider dynamic range than was common at the time. Due to this, the record seems to "jump out" at the listener. With "Starvin'" and "Body Contact Contract", it topped the U.S. Disco chart for six weeks in the late winter of 1977.[6] On the other US charts, "Disco Inferno" hit number nine on the Black Singles chart, but it was not initially a significant success at pop radio, peaking at number fifty-three on the Billboard Hot 100.[7]

"Disco Inferno" gained much greater recognition when the 10:54 minute album version was included on the soundtrack to the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever. Re-released by Atlantic Records, the track peaked at number eleven in the U.S. during the spring of 1978, becoming The Trammps' biggest and most-recognized single. Later, it was included in the Saturday Night Fever musical, interpreted by the 'DJ Monty' in the "Odissey 2001" discothèque.

0:00 - 3:13 Village People - YMCA 3:15 - 5:40 Lips INC - Funkytown 5:45 - 9:00 Donna Summer - Hard For The Money 9:02 - 11:34 Baccara - Yes Sir, I Can Boogie 11:35 - 14:16 Alicia Bridges - I love the night life 14:17 - 17:38 Chic - Le Freak 17:39 - 20:25 KOOL & The Gang - Celebration 20:26 - 23:46 - Boney M - Daddy Cool 23:47 - 27:13 - Boney M - Sunny

The song also became an unofficial theme song for former New York Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams. It was often played at old Yankee Stadium while the scoreboard and video systems displayed the phrase "Bern Baby Bern", a play on the song's refrain and Williams' first name.[8]

In 1996, "Disco Inferno" was included on the soundtrack to the cult comedy film Kingpin and featured in two pivotal scenes in which Roy Munson (played by Woody Harrelson) confidently strolls into a bowling alley. The song was also used in the trailer to the Adam Sandler comedy Bedtime Stories. In 2006, the extended version was featured on a remastered version of the Ghostbusters soundtrack.[9]

Santa Esmeralda - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
The Gibson Brothers - Cuba
Sister Sledge - We Are Family
Francesco Napoli - Balla Balla
B.N.Y.Feat Anita Ward - Ring My Bell
N-Trance Feat.Ottawan - D.I.S.C.O
Boney M. - Rasputin
Dan Hartman - Relight My Fire
Sylvester - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)
Chaka Khan - I'm Every Woman
Yarbrough & Peoples - Don't Stop The Music
Donna Summer - I Feel Love
The Real Thing - Can You Feel The Force
The Gap Band - Oops, Up Side Your Head
Chic - Good Times / Rapper's Delight
Mc Mickerg & Dj Sven - Holliday Rap
Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony - The Hustle
Barry White - You're The First, The Last, My Everything
Rose Royce - Car Wash

On September 19, 2005, "Disco Inferno" was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame.[10]