Here you can find clips gathered from various genres in the 1970s, 1980s, and even in contemporary music to compare the different beats and trace where disco influence affected American music. The below categories are, in order: Disco Songs, Rock Songs, Rock Artists Doing Disco, and Disco Merges into 1980s Pop + Beyond.

Disco Songs:

“Soul Makossa” is said to be the origin of the disco beat that came to be used as the backdrop for many disco songs, even when disco music became synthesized and less cultural.

“Night Fever” is one of many disco hits from the Bee Gees, who also did the soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever. Here you can see the disco beat from “Soul Makossa” translated into a more “pop” beat.

Donna Summer was, and still is, one of the big faces for disco. She first gained fame in Europe and then brought her music to America.

Rock Songs:

Although Queen came to incorporate many far-and-wide genres into their discography, their early hits like “Seven Seas of Rye” embody the rock music scene of the mid-1970s.

The Rolling Stones, a trademark of rock music, were known for a certain rock sound like in their songs “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” and “Paint It Black” (below).

 

Rock Artists Doing Disco:

Many rock fans were surprised and upset when they felt their rock idols were selling out to disco. Below are some examples of rock artists who tried doing disco-influenced songs. They were often criticized for selling out to what seemed popular instead of staying true to their rock roots.

Again, Queen poses an exception because their music was not strictly rock, but an eclectic mix. However, it is interesting to see that even a song like “Another One Bites the Dust” had disco influences while being extremely popular as a rock song.

Many might not realize that The Rolling Stones “Miss You” has a disco beat behind it, but audiences at the time certainly noticed. You can compare this clip to the above disco songs to see and hear the similarity.

One of the artists who was most criticized for “doing disco” was Rod Stewart, whose song provided the background for Steve Dahl’s parody song “Do You Think I’m Disco.”

Disco Merges into 1980’s Pop + Beyond:

Can you hear the disco influence in Michael Jackson’s 1979 song “Rock With You”? Already Michael Jackson’s music was redefining disco into what would become true pop music.

Diana Ross’s song “Upside Down,” released in 1980, still maintained a disco sound but you can hear how the beat is more varied compared to earlier disco songs in the late 1970s.

Olivia Newton-John similarly took the disco beat and varied it into pop songs like “Magic.”

Jesse Saunders’ 1984 song “On and On” is considered to be one of the first house songs. Can you hear the disco influence in this clip? House music kept the beat of disco and made that the focus while it limited the vocals except as an almost percussive element to the songs. This is the aesthetic that house music is largely known for.

Even modern house music still maintains disco influences. However, it’s no coincidence that many of the most popular contemporary house artists are not American: Daft Punk are a French duo, Calvin Harris is Scottish, and Avicci was a Swedish house artist.