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113-495: The J.B.'s were formed in March 1970 after most of the members of Brown's previous band walked out on him over a pay dispute. (Brown's previous bands of the 1950s and 1960s had been known as The James Brown Band and The James Brown Orchestra.) The J.B.'s initial lineup included bassist William "Bootsy" Collins and his brother, guitarist Phelps "Catfish" Collins , formerly of the obscure funk band The Pacemakers ; Bobby Byrd (founder of

226-443: A horn section , a string orchestra , and a variety of " classical " solo instruments (for example, flute, piccolo, and so on). Disco songs were arranged and composed by experienced arrangers and orchestrators , and record producers added their creative touches to the overall sound using multitrack recording techniques and effects units . Recording complex arrangements with such a large number of instruments and sections required

339-627: A mahogany body and maple neck, white finish, and mirror pick guard. This is the Space Bass on the cover of 1976 album Stretchin' Out in Bootsy's Rubber Band . Collins's original Space Bass guitar was stolen, but it was later recovered at a Cincinnati pawn shop and returned to him. Another Collins signature instrument is a custom-built star -shaped bass guitar he also calls the Space Bass, built for him by Manuel "Manny" Salvador of GuitarCraft in 1998. In 2006 Collins made an agreement with Traben to make

452-443: A Dance Floor , Random Access Memories , Future Nostalgia , and Kylie Minogue 's album itself titled Disco . Modern day artists like Dua Lipa , Bruno Mars and Silk Sonic have continued the genre's popularity, bringing it to a whole new younger generation. The term "disco" is shorthand for the word discothèque , a French word for "library of phonograph records" derived from "bibliothèque". The word "discotheque" had

565-514: A European tour (during which they recorded the long-delayed live album Love Power Peace ), performed on the Sex Machine double LP, and released two instrumental singles , the much- sampled " The Grunt " and "These Are the J.B.'s". In December 1970, trombonist Fred Wesley rejoined James Brown's organization to lead the J.B.'s. Other former Brown sidemen, including Maceo Parker and St. Clair Pinckney , eventually followed his lead, while

678-626: A bass, gave the children a bass lesson, and rapped with them while they played the blues. He is now an honorary board member of the organization. Collins is an honorary member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. Disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines , string sections , brass and horns , electric piano , synthesizers , and electric rhythm guitars . Discothèques as

791-486: A beat (which in 4/4 time is 4 beats per measure). Disco is further characterized by a 16th note division of the quarter notes (as shown in the second drum pattern in the picture above, after a typical rock drum pattern). The orchestral sound usually known as "disco sound" relies heavily on string sections and horns playing linear phrases, in unison with the soaring, often reverberated vocals or playing instrumental fills, while electric pianos and chicken-scratch guitars create

904-441: A deeper understanding of funk. The curriculum is based on bass theory, history of funk, and Collins's own musical history given by Collins himself, augmented by lessons and exercises in bass and rhythm from guest bassist professors such as Les Claypool , Meshell Ndegeocello , John B (Williams) and Victor Wooten . As of 2021, Funk University is now defunct. He has been mentioned in the song " Genius of Love " by Tom Tom Club in

1017-509: A group billed as Bootsy's Sweat Band. He also was credited for co-producing the debut of P-Funk spinoff Zapp . In 1984, he collaborated with Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads to produce " Five Minutes ", a dance record sampled and edited from Ronald Reagan 's infamous " We begin bombing in five minutes " speech. The record was credited to "Bonzo goes to Washington" (also referenced in the 1985 Ramones song " Bonzo Goes to Bitburg ", derived from Reagan's starring role as Professor Peter Boyd in

1130-551: A group of accompanying musicians who were among the most dextrous, knowledgeable, and brilliant in all of popular music (Motown bassists have long been the envy of white rock bassists) and 7) a trebly style of mixing that relied heavily on electronic limiting and equalizing (boosting the high range frequencies) to give the overall product a distinctive sound, particularly effective for broadcast over AM radio." Motown had many hits with disco elements by acts like Eddie Kendricks (" Keep on Truckin' " in 1973, " Boogie Down " in 1974). At

1243-441: A key influence in the development of electronic dance music , house music , hip hop , new wave , dance-punk , and post-disco . The style has had several revivals since the 1990s , and the influence of disco remains strong across American and European pop music. A revival has been underway since the early 2010s , coming to great popularity in the early 2020s . Albums that have contributed to this revival include Confessions on

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1356-465: A key part of the disco club experience. The Loft party host David Mancuso introduced the technologies of tweeter arrays (clusters of small loudspeakers, which emit high-end frequencies, positioned above the floor) and bass reinforcements (additional sets of subwoofers positioned at ground level) at the start of the 1970s to boost the treble and bass at opportune moments, and by the end of the decade sound engineers such as Richard Long had multiplied

1469-641: A major trend in popular music in the United States following the infamous Disco Demolition Night on July 12, 1979, and it continued to sharply decline in popularity in the U.S. during the early 1980s ; however, it remained popular in Italy and some European countries throughout the 1980s, and during this time also started becoming trendy in places elsewhere including India and the Middle East , where aspects of disco were blended with regional folk styles such as ghazals and belly dancing . Disco would eventually become

1582-406: A merengue, are commonplace. The quaver pattern is often supported by other instruments such as the rhythm guitar and may be implied rather than explicitly present. Songs often use syncopation , which is the accenting of unexpected beats. In general, the difference between disco, or any dance song, and a rock or pop song is that in dance music the bass drum hits four to the floor , at least once

1695-489: A mixture of heavy funk tracks and some more jazz -oriented pieces. Nearly all of the J.B.'s recordings were produced by Brown, and most were released on his own label, People Records . The band scored a number of chart hits in the early 1970s, including " Pass the Peas ", " Gimme Some More ", and the #1 R&B hit, " Doing It to Death ". Credited to "Fred Wesley & the J.B.'s", "Doing It to Death" sold over one million copies and

1808-474: A museum dedicated to Collins's musical career and Spanish, Central and South American cuisine. In June 2007, Collins, along with Catfish Collins , Clyde Stubblefield , John "Jabo" Starks , and Bernie Worrell , participated in the recording of the soundtrack for the movie Superbad . In December of that year they (without Worrell) went on to perform the first tribute concert remembering James Brown. In July 2007, Collins also told Billboard magazine that he

1921-462: A musical influence. In 2004 Collins was featured on the cover of " The Joker " on the Fatboy Slim album Palookaville . Collins served as Heineken's Amsterjam 2005 curator and master of ceremonies on Randall's Island , New York. On January 26, 2007, Collins gave the commencement address at the graduation ceremony at The Art Institute of Ohio – Cincinnati . Collins appeared with Toots &

2034-575: A new song with GRiZ. In January 2019, Collins announced on Facebook that he would be retiring from live performances for health reasons: Time has come for Me to tell all our Funkateers that I will Not be Playing Bass in Concerts anymore. I have decided to become a Coach for up & coming Musicians. I know u r Disappointed just think for a moment how I feel. Doc said to much pressure on my Inner-Ear & Right Hand. Yeah, I had to make up my Mind, so I did. 2019 Sheriff Ping Ping Ping will continue to Funk from

2147-428: A non-phallic full body eroticism. Through a range of percussion instruments, a willingness to play with rhythm, and the endless repeating of phrases without cutting the listener off, disco achieved this full-body eroticism by restoring eroticism to the whole body for both sexes. This allowed for the potential expression of sexualities not defined by the cock/penis, and the erotic pleasure of bodies that are not defined by

2260-666: A positive way. After parting ways with James Brown , Collins returned to Cincinnati and formed House Guests with his brother Phelps Collins, Rufus Allen, Clayton "Chicken" Gunnels, Frankie Waddy, Ronnie Greenaway and Robert McCullough. The House Guests released "What So Never the Dance" and another single on the House Guests label, as well as a third as The Sound of Vision on the House Guests label. Next Collins moved to Detroit , Michigan , after Philippé Wynne suggested joining The Spinners , for whom Wynne had been singing. However, following

2373-460: A prominent Moog synthesizer on the beat, was one of the first disco tracks to use the synthesizer. The rhythm is laid down by prominent, syncopated basslines (with heavy use of broken octaves , that is, octaves with the notes sounded one after the other) played on the bass guitar and by drummers using a drum kit , African/ Latin percussion , and electronic drums such as Simmons and Roland drum modules . In Philly dance and Salsoul disco,

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2486-498: A radio DJ in the 2013 video game, Grand Theft Auto V , in which several of his own songs were featured. Collins has also collaborated extensively with Bill Laswell , Buckethead , and also frequently collaborated with fellow bassist Victor Wooten . In 2018, Collins did a song with singer Kali Uchis called " After the Storm ". On December 14, 2018, Collins played a show with Detroit-based funk artist GRiZ , and also collaborated on

2599-495: A relationship to a penis. The sexual liberation expressed through the rhythm of disco is further represented in the club spaces that disco grew within. In Peter Shapiro 's Modulations: A History of Electronic Music : Throbbing Words on Sound , he discusses eroticism through the technology disco utilizes to create its audacious sound. The music, Shapiro states, is adjunct to "the pleasure-is-politics ethos of post- Stonewall culture." He explains how "mechano-eroticism", which links

2712-499: A separate touring unit of Clinton's P-Funk collective. The group recorded five albums together, the first three of which are often considered to be among the quintessential P-Funk recordings. The group's 1978 album Bootsy? Player of the Year reached the top of the R&;B album chart and spawned the #1 R&B single " Bootzilla ". Like Clinton, Collins took on several alter egos , from Casper

2825-695: A signature Collins model bass, the Bootzilla. During the 2010 NAMM Show , Collins's new signature bass was released by Warwick , a customized Infinity Bass called "Bootsy Collins Black Star Signature Bass" or "Bootsy Collins Orange Star Signature Bass", depending on the color of the stars on it. In July 2010, Collins, in partnership with former child actor Cory Danziger , launched Funk University ("Funk U"), an online-only bass guitar school in which he also serves as curator and lead professor. Funk University offers an intense curriculum tailored for intermediate to advanced bass players as well as anyone interested in

2938-401: A strong connection with Cincinnati. With his elder brother Phelps "Catfish" Collins , Frankie "Kash" Waddy, and Philippé Wynne , Collins formed a funk band, The Pacemakers , in 1968. In March 1970, after most of the members of James Brown 's band quit over a pay dispute, The Pacemakers were hired as Brown's backing band and they became known as The J.B.'s . (They are often referred to as

3051-399: A stronger effect. According to Peter Braunstein , the "massive quantities of drugs ingested in discothèques produced the next cultural phenomenon of the disco era: rampant promiscuity and public sex . While the dance floor was the central arena of seduction , actual sex usually took place in the nether regions of the disco: bathroom stalls, exit stairwells , and so on. In other cases

3164-480: A team that included a conductor , copyists , record producers, and mixing engineers . Mixing engineers had an important role in the disco production process because disco songs used as many as 64 tracks of vocals and instruments. Mixing engineers and record producers, under the direction of arrangers, compiled these tracks into a fluid composition of verses, bridges, and refrains, complete with builds and breaks . Mixing engineers and record producers helped to develop

3277-502: A variety of genres, including dance music ( Deee-Lite 's " Groove Is in the Heart "), electronic big beat ( Fatboy Slim 's " Weapon of Choice " and " The Joker "), and alternative metal ( Praxis ), among others. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , inducted in 1997 with 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2020, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Collins number 4 in its list of

3390-606: A venue were mostly a French invention, imported to the United States with the opening of Le Club , a members-only restaurant and nightclub located at 416 East 55th Street in Manhattan , by French expatriate Olivier Coquelin , on New Year's Eve 1960. Disco music as a genre started as a mixture of music from venues popular among African-Americans , Hispanic and Latino Americans , gay Americans , and Italian Americans in New York City (especially Brooklyn ) and Philadelphia during

3503-493: A young reporter, who happened to be covering the opening of the club, impulsively took control of the record player and introduced the records that he chose to play. Klaus Quirini later claimed to thus have been the world's first nightclub DJ. During the 1960s, discotheque dancing became a European trend that was enthusiastically picked up by the American press. At this time, when the discotheque culture from Europe became popular in

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3616-464: Is Cheap . In 1989, Collins played bass on and produced several tracks of Malcolm McLaren 's album Waltz Darling , credited to Malcolm McLaren and the Bootzilla Orchestra. In 1990, Collins collaborated with Deee-Lite on their biggest hit " Groove Is in the Heart ", and he contributed additional vocals. Although he also appeared in the music video playing the bass, the bassline in the song

3729-588: Is achieved by lightly pressing the guitar strings against the fretboard and then quickly releasing them just enough to get a slightly muted poker [sound] while constantly strumming very close to the bridge." Other backing keyboard instruments include the piano , electric organ (during early years), string synthesizers , and electromechanical keyboards such as the Fender Rhodes electric piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, and Hohner Clavinet . Donna Summer 's 1977 song " I Feel Love ", produced by Giorgio Moroder with

3842-563: Is actually a sample of a Herbie Hancock song called "Bring Down the Birds". Bootsy's Rubber Band became the de facto backing musicians for Deee-Lite during a world tour. The Rubber Band also recorded the EP Jungle Bass , their first recording in 11 years. In 1992, he joined with guitarist Stevie Salas and drummer Buddy Miles to form the funk-metal fusion group Hardware . The trio released one album, Third Eye Open , before disbanding. In

3955-501: Is an American bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s before joining the Parliament-Funkadelic collective, Collins established himself as one of the leading names and innovators in funk with his driving basslines and humorous vocals. He later formed his own P-Funk side project known as ' Bootsy's Rubber Band '. He was a frequent collaborator with other musicians from

4068-453: Is encountered on the other 1974 album, Damn Right I Am Somebody , where that album have been spliced onto the beginnings of most of the other songs. Under the name A.A.B.B., the group released a single, "Pick up the Pieces One by One", which reached #108 on the U.S. chart in 1975. Both the song and the name—which stood for "Above Average Black Band"—were a tribute to and tongue-in-cheek reply to

4181-454: Is played for dancing, typically equipped with a large dance floor, an elaborate system of flashing coloured lights, and a powerful amplified sound system. " Its earliest example is use as the name of a particular venue in 1952, and other examples date from 1960 onwards. The entry is annotated as "Now somewhat dated". It defines Disco as "A genre of strongly rhythmical pop music mainly intended for dancing in nightclubs and particularly popular in

4294-693: The Cincinnati Marshals indoor football team and debuted the song in 2006 at half time of the April 29 Marshals home game against the West Palm Beach Phantoms. In 2006, ABC Entertainment /A Charly Films Release released a DVD and CD from Collins and the New Rubber Band's concert at the 1998 North Sea Jazz Festival . Soon after the release, Collins split from long-time friend and guitarist Odhran "The Bodhran" Rameriz, citing creative differences as

4407-730: The GrooveGrass Boyz . They produced a fusion of bluegrass and funk. Collins provided lead vocals for the Fatboy Slim song " Weapon of Choice " from his 2000 album Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars . Collins vocals quote the book Dune ("Walk without rhythm and you won't attract the worm"). The song won multiple MTV Video Music Awards and a Grammy Award for Best Music Video . In 2004 Collins contributed to Christian rap artist TobyMac 's Welcome to Diverse City album, collaborating on

4520-520: The Step By Step disco dance TV show was launched with the sponsorship support of the Coca-Cola company. Produced in the same studio that Don Cornelius used for the nationally syndicated dance/music television show, Soul Train , Step by Step' s audience grew and the show became a success. The dynamic dance duo of Robin and Reggie led the show. The pair spent the week teaching disco dancing to dancers in

4633-539: The hippies informed proto-disco music like MFSB 's album Love Is the Message . Partly through the success of Jimi Hendrix , psychedelic elements that were popular in rock music of the late 1960s found their way into soul and early funk music and formed the subgenre psychedelic soul . Examples can be found in the music of the Chambers Brothers , George Clinton with his Parliament-Funkadelic collective, Sly and

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4746-490: The recording studio . Larry Levan, for example, was a prolific record producer as well as a DJ. Because record sales were often dependent on dance floor play by DJs in the nightclubs, DJs were also influential in the development and popularization of certain types of disco music being produced for record labels. In the early years, dancers in discos danced in a "hang loose" or "freestyle" approach. At first, many dancers improvised their own dance styles and dance steps. Later in

4859-637: The "Diverse City" track, a song praised as one of the best on the album. The album won the 2005 Dove Award for Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year. In October 2005, Collins co-wrote a song celebrating the resurgence of his hometown team, the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League called "Fear Da Tiger" which features "raps" written and performed by several Bengals players, including defensive end Duane Clemons, offensive tackle Stacy Andrews, and center Ben Wilkerson. An edited version of

4972-468: The "disco sound" by creating a distinctive-sounding, sophisticated disco mix . Early records were the "standard" three-minute version until Tom Moulton came up with a way to make songs longer so that he could take a crowd of dancers at a club to another level and keep them dancing longer. He found that it was impossible to make the 45-RPM vinyl singles of the time longer, as they could usually hold no more than five minutes of good-quality music. With

5085-441: The "original" J.B.'s to distinguish them from later line-ups that went by the same name.) Although they worked for Brown for only 11 months, the original J.B.'s played on some of Brown's most intense funk recordings, including " Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine ", " Bewildered (1970)", " Super Bad ", " Soul Power ", " Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing ", and two instrumental singles, the much-sampled " The Grunt " and "These Are

5198-751: The "special guest host" of An Evening with Silk Sonic , the first studio album from Silk Sonic , a collaboration between Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak . He was the one who came up with the band's name (much like he did with Babyface ), and acts as the album's narrator, "threading" the songs together. On July 7, 2022, Collins served as emcee for the opening ceremony for the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama . Collins has owned many basses, several of which are custom made. His original Space Bass and its first replacement were made in Warren, Michigan by Larry Pless of Gus Zoppi's music store. The first Space Bass had

5311-496: The 1951 comedy film Bedtime for Bonzo ). After a nearly five-year hiatus, he had a comeback in 1988 (with some help from producer Bill Laswell ). What's Bootsy Doin'? flaunted a new sound that foreshadowed the 1990s, such as the dance floor smash "Party on Plastic". Laswell introduced Collins to Herbie Hancock, resulting in Perfect Machine (1988). The techno-funk they recorded featured turntables for scratch appeal, and

5424-521: The 1960s, the Motown record label developed its own approach, described as having "1) simply structured songs with sophisticated melodies and chord changes, 2) a relentless four-beat drum pattern, 3) a gospel use of background voices, vaguely derived from the style of the Impressions , 4) a regular and sophisticated use of both horns and strings, 5) lead singers who were half way between pop and gospel music, 6)

5537-480: The 50 greatest bassists of all time. Collins was born in Cincinnati , Ohio , on October 26, 1951. He said that his mother nicknamed him "Bootsy". "I asked her why", he explained to a journalist, "and she just said, 'Because you looked like a Bootsy.' I left it at that." His brother Phelps "Catfish" Collins (1943–2010) was also a musician. He and Bootsy were once part of The Pacemakers . Collins has maintained

5650-695: The Collins brothers and most of the rest of the "original" J.B.'s left Brown to join George Clinton 's Parliament-Funkadelic collective. Wesley and Parker left in 1975 . Brown continued to bill his backing band as the J.B.'s into the mid-1980s, when he changed their name to the Soul Generals, or Soul G's. In addition to backing Brown on stage and on record during this era, the J.B.'s also recorded albums and singles on their own, sometimes with Brown performing on organ or synthesizer . Their albums were generally

5763-473: The Funky Ghost to Bootzilla, "the world's only rhinestone rockstar monster of a doll", all as parts of the evolving character of an alien rock star who grew gradually more bizarre as time went on (see P-Funk mythology ). He also adopted his trademark "space bass" around this time. Collins released two 1980 albums, his first "solo" album Ultra Wave , and Sweat Band , on George Clinton's Uncle Jam label with

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5876-573: The Gang , and Village People . While performers garnered public attention, record producers working behind the scenes played an important role in developing the genre. By the late 1970s, most major U.S. cities had thriving disco club scenes, and DJs would mix dance records at clubs such as Studio 54 in Manhattan , a venue popular among celebrities . Nightclub-goers often wore expensive, extravagant outfits, consisting predominantly of loose, flowing pants or dresses for ease of movement while dancing. There

5989-508: The Guinness Book of World Records. He danced for 205 hours, the equivalent of 8½ days. Other dance marathons took place afterward and Roberts held the world record for disco dancing for a short period of time. Some notable professional dance troupes of the 1970s included Pan's People and Hot Gossip . For many dancers, a key source of inspiration for 1970s disco dancing was the film Saturday Night Fever (1977). Further influence came from

6102-420: The J.B.'s". In regards to his tenure working for James Brown , Collins stated: He treated me like a son. And being out of a fatherless home, I needed that father figure and he really played up to it. I mean, Good Lord. Every night after we played a show, he called us back to give us a lecture about how horrible we sounded. [Affects James Brown voice] "Nah, not on it, son. I didn't hear the one. You didn't give me

6215-848: The Maytals on the album True Love that won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2005. In October 2010, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Bass Player magazine at the Key Club in Los Angeles. Collins was inducted in 2016 into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. On July 22, 2023, Bootsy Collins was inducted into the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame. In March 2011, Collins and his wife visited Franklin L. Williams M.S #7's Little Kids Rock program, donated

6328-462: The Stonewall riots. As New York state had laws against homosexual behavior in public, including dancing with a member of the same sex, the eroticism of disco served as resistance and an expression of sexual freedom. He uses Donna Summer's singles " Love to Love You Baby " (1975) and " I Feel Love " (1977) as examples of the ever-present relationship between the synthesized bass lines and backgrounds to

6441-561: The Studio but Not Live playing Bass on Stage. I know u got question & I don't have answers, maybe one day u to will understand. Just remember; That This Year will be the Funkiest Year of them All. Watch for it. Bootsy baby!!! He wrote that he would be releasing a new album that year, and that he would continue to work in the studio and mentor young musicians. On February 25, 2021, it was announced that Collins would be making an appearance as

6554-446: The United States, several music genres with danceable rhythms rose to popularity and evolved into different sub-genres: rhythm and blues (originated in the 1940s), soul (late 1950s and 1960s), funk (mid-1960s) and go-go (mid-1960s and 1970s; more than "disco", the word "go-go" originally indicated a music club). Musical genres that were primarily performed by African-American musicians would influence much of early disco. Also during

6667-534: The advice of singer and future Parliament member Mallia Franklin , Collins made another choice. Franklin introduced both Collins brothers to George Clinton , and in 1972, both of the Collins brothers, along with Waddy, joined Funkadelic . Collins played bass on most of Funkadelic and Parliament albums through the early 1980s, garnering several songwriting credits as well. In 1976 Collins, Catfish, Waddy, Joel Johnson (1953–2018), Gary "Mudbone" Cooper, Robert Johnson and The Horny Horns formed Bootsy's Rubber Band ,

6780-416: The background "pad" sound defining the harmony progression . Typically, all of the doubling of parts and use of additional instruments creates a rich " wall of sound ". There are, however, more minimalist flavors of disco with reduced, transparent instrumentation. Harmonically, disco music typically contains major and minor seven chords, which are found more often in jazz than pop music. The "disco sound"

6893-460: The bass guitar "like some kinda delirious funky priest", as well as the ability to see around corners. Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea , who cited Collins as one of his primary influences, appeared in unmistakably Collins-style clothing in the video for RHCP's " Dani California ", and Collins's "What's a Telephone Bill?" was sampled for 2Pac 's "Str8 Ballin'" track from his Thug Life: Volume 1 album. Les Claypool has also cited Collins as

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7006-649: The beginning of another song using the DJ mixer's crossfader. Notable U.S. disco DJs include Francis Grasso of The Sanctuary, David Mancuso of The Loft , Frankie Knuckles of the Chicago Warehouse , Larry Levan of the Paradise Garage , Nicky Siano of The Gallery , Walter Gibbons , Karen Mixon Cook , Jim Burgess , John "Jellybean" Benitez , Richie Kulala of Studio 54 , and Rick Salsalini. Some DJs were also record producers who created and produced disco songs in

7119-535: The capital area's gay and straight college students in the late '70s. By 1979 there were 15,000-20,000 disco nightclubs in the US, many of them opening in suburban shopping centers, hotels, and restaurants. The 2001 Club franchises were the most prolific chain of disco clubs in the country. Although many other attempts were made to franchise disco clubs, 2001 was the only one to successfully do so in this time frame. Powerful, bass-heavy, hi-fi sound systems were viewed as

7232-560: The cha cha ". The pioneer of disco dance instruction was Karen Lustgarten in San Francisco in 1973. Her book The Complete Guide to Disco Dancing (Warner Books 1978) was the first to name, break down and codify popular disco dances as dance forms and distinguish between disco freestyle, partner, and line dances. The book topped the New York Times bestseller list for 13 weeks and was translated into Chinese, German, and French. In Chicago,

7345-557: The chest. Men often wore Pierre Cardin suits, three piece suits with a vest, and double-knit polyester shirt jackets with matching trousers known as the leisure suit . Men's leisure suits were typically form-fitted to some parts of the body, such as the waist and bottom while the lower part of the pants were flared in a bell bottom style, to permit freedom of movement. During the disco era, men engaged in elaborate grooming rituals and spent time choosing fashion clothing, activities that would have been considered "feminine" according to

7458-418: The dance and fashion aspects of the disco club scene, there was also a thriving club drug subculture , particularly for drugs that would enhance the experience of dancing to the loud, bass-heavy music and the flashing colored lights, such as cocaine (nicknamed "blow"), amyl nitrite (" poppers "), and the "... other quintessential 1970s club drug Quaalude , which suspended motor coordination and gave

7571-413: The dancers wanted, transitioning from one song to another with a DJ mixer and using a microphone to introduce songs and speak to the audiences. Other equipment was added to the basic DJ setup, providing unique sound manipulations, such as reverb , equalization, and echo effects unit . Using this equipment, a DJ could do effects such as cutting out all but the bassline of a song and then slowly mixing in

7684-482: The dancing, sex, and other embodied movements that contributed to the corporeal vibrations within the Sanctuary. It supports the argument that disco music took a role in facilitating this sexual liberation that was experienced in the discotheques. The recent legalization of abortion and the introduction of antibiotics and the pill facilitated a culture shift around sex from one of procreation to pleasure and enjoyment. Thus

7797-415: The disco became a kind of 'main course' in a hedonist's menu for a night out." At The Saint nightclub, a high percentage of the gay male dancers and patrons would have sex in the club; they typically had unprotected sex , because in 1980, HIV-AIDS had not yet been identified. At The Saint, "dancers would elope to an unpoliced upstairs balcony to engage in sex." The promiscuity and public sex at discos

7910-571: The disco clubs. The instructional show aired on Saturday mornings and had a strong following. Its viewers would stay up all night on Fridays so they could be on the set the next morning, ready to return to the disco on Saturday night knowing with the latest personalized steps. The producers of the show, John Reid and Greg Roselli, routinely made appearances at disco functions with Robin and Reggie to scout out new dancing talent and promote upcoming events such as "Disco Night at White Sox Park". In Sacramento, California, Disco King Paul Dale Roberts danced for

8023-675: The disco era, popular dance styles were developed, including the "Bump", "Penguin", "Boogaloo", "Watergate", and "Robot". By October 1975 the Hustle reigned. It was highly stylized, sophisticated, and overtly sexual. Variations included the Brooklyn Hustle, New York Hustle , and Latin Hustle . During the disco era, many nightclubs would commonly host disco dance competitions or offer free dance lessons. Some cities had disco dance instructors or dance schools, which taught people how to do popular disco dances such as "touch dancing", "the hustle", and "

8136-515: The effects of these innovations in venues such as the Garage." Typical lighting designs for disco dance floors include multi-colored lights that swirl around or flash to the beat, strobe lights , an illuminated dance floor , and a mirror ball . Disco-era disc jockeys (DJs) would often remix existing songs using reel-to-reel tape machines , and add in percussion breaks, new sections, and new sounds. DJs would select songs and grooves according to what

8249-450: The end of the 1960s, musicians, and audiences from the Black, Italian, and Latino communities adopted several traits from the hippie and psychedelia subcultures. They included using music venues with a loud, overwhelming sound, free-form dancing, trippy lighting, colorful costumes, and the use of hallucinogenic drugs. In addition, the perceived positivity, lack of irony, and earnestness of

8362-441: The entire body rather than the obvious erotic parts of the body. The New York nightclub The Sanctuary under resident DJ Francis Grasso is a prime example of this sexual liberty. In their history of the disc jockey and club culture, Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton describe the Sanctuary as "poured full of newly liberated gay men, then shaken (and stirred) by a weighty concoction of dance music and pharmacoia of pills and potions,

8475-571: The first discotheque and to have been the first club DJ in 1953 in the "Whisky à Go-Go" in Paris. She installed a dance floor with colored lights and two turntables so she could play records without having a gap in the music. In October 1959, the owner of the Scotch Club in Aachen, West Germany chose to install a record player for the opening night instead of hiring a live band. The patrons were unimpressed until

8588-662: The gender stereotypes of the era. Women dancers wore glitter makeup, sequins , or gold lamé clothing that would shimmer under the lights. Bold colors were popular for both genders. Platform shoes and boots for both genders and high heels for women were popular footwear. Necklaces and medallions were a common fashion accessory . Less commonly, some disco dancers wore outlandish costumes, dressed in drag , covered their bodies with gold or silver paint, or wore very skimpy outfits leaving them nearly nude; these uncommon get-ups were more likely to be seen at invitation-only New York City loft parties and disco clubs. In addition to

8701-414: The help of José Rodriguez, his remaster/mastering engineer, he pressed a single on a 10" disc instead of 7". They cut the next single on a 12" disc, the same format as a standard album. Moulton and Rodriguez discovered that these larger records could have much longer songs and remixes. 12" single records , also known as " Maxi singles ", quickly became the standard format for all DJs of the disco genre. By

8814-601: The late 1960s to the mid-to-late 1970s. Disco can be seen as a reaction by the 1960s counterculture to both the dominance of rock music and the stigmatization of dance music at the time. Several dance styles were developed during the period of 70s disco's popularity in the United States, including "the Bump ", "the Hustle ", "the Watergate", and "the Busstop". During the 1970s, disco music

8927-466: The late 1970s, Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan was arguably the best-known nightclub in the world. This club played a major formative role in the growth of disco music and nightclub culture in general. It was operated by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager and was notorious for the hedonism that went on within: the balconies were known for sexual encounters and drug use was rampant. Its dance floor

9040-806: The late 1970s, most major US cities had thriving disco club scenes. The largest scenes were most notably in New York City but also in Philadelphia , San Francisco , Miami , and Washington, D.C. The scene was centered on discotheques , nightclubs and private loft parties. In the 1970s, notable discos included " Crisco Disco ", "The Sanctuary", "Leviticus", " Studio 54 ", and " Paradise Garage " in New York, "Artemis" in Philadelphia, "Studio One" in Los Angeles, "Dugan's Bistro" in Chicago, and "The Library" in Atlanta. In

9153-796: The line "Clinton's musicians such as Bootsy Collins raise expectation to a new intention", while "Got more bass than Bootsy Collins" is a line in the song " Rumble in the Jungle " by the Fugees . His influence in popular culture is seen in that he has been referenced by a number of television series. In The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode "Sooooooul Train", Geoffrey sneaks into the Soul Train tapings posing as Collins, while in The Mighty Boosh episode " The Legend of Old Gregg " an alien creature named "The Funk" lands on Collins's house, giving him his ability to play

9266-555: The mid to late 1970s.", with use from 1975 onwards, describing the origin of the word as a shortened form of discotheque . In the summer of 1964, a short sleeveless dress called the "discotheque dress" was briefly very popular in the United States. The earliest known use for the abbreviated form "disco" described this dress and has been found in The Salt Lake Tribune on July 12, 1964; Playboy magazine used it in September of

9379-799: The music and dance style of such films as Fame (1980), Disco Dancer (1982), Flashdance (1983), and The Last Days of Disco (1998). Interest in disco dancing also helped spawn dance competition TV shows such as Dance Fever (1979). Disco fashions were very trendy in the late 1970s. Discothèque-goers often wore glamorous, expensive, and extravagant fashions for nights out at their local disco club. Some women would wear sheer, flowing dresses, such as Halston dresses, or loose, flared pants. Other women wore tight, revealing, sexy clothes, such as backless halter tops , disco pants , "hot pants", or body-hugging spandex bodywear or "catsuits". Men would wear shiny polyester Qiana shirts with colorful patterns and pointy, extra wide collars, preferably open at

9492-468: The off-beat, and a heavy, syncopated bass line. A recording error in the 1975 song " Bad Luck " by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes where Earl Young 's hi-hat was too loud in the recording is said to have established loud hi-hats in disco. Other Latin rhythms such as the rhumba, the samba, and the cha-cha-cha are also found in disco recordings, and Latin polyrhythms , such as a rhumba beat layered over

9605-543: The one." He would tell me this at every show. One night, we knew we wasn't sounding really good – we were off – and he calls us back there and said, "Uh huh, now that's what I'm talkin' about. Y'all was on it tonight. Y'all hit the one." My brother and I looked at each other like, "This mother has got to be crazy." We knew in our heart and soul that we wasn't all that on that show. So then I started figuring out his game, man. By telling me that I wasn't on it, he made me practice harder. So I just absorbed what he said and used it in

9718-514: The original Famous Flames singing group) (organ), and John "Jabo" Starks (drums), both holdovers from Brown's 1960s band; three inexperienced horn players, Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells, Darryl "Hasaan" Jamison, and Robert McCollough; and conga player Johnny Griggs. This version of the J.B.'s played on some of Brown's most intense funk recordings, including " Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine ", " Super Bad ", " Soul Power ", and " Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing ". They also accompanied Brown on

9831-524: The reason. Later that same year, Collins released the holiday album Christmas Is 4 Ever . This represents the first Christmas-themed album made by a member of the P-Funk musical collective. The album features re-workings of Christmas standards as well as original compositions. In April 2007, Collins announced plans to open Bootsy's, a restaurant/club with Cincinnati area restaurateur Jeff Ruby. The venue operated from 2008 to 2010. It featured live musical acts,

9944-690: The recorded output of the J.B.'s has been heavily mined for samples by hip hop DJs and record producers. During the 1980s and 1990s, Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley intermittently toured under the name The JB Horns , sometimes with other former Brown sidemen such as Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis . The JB Horns recorded several albums for the Gramavision label, which were later reissued by Rhino Records . They also recorded an album under this name with producer Richard Mazda called I Like It Like That . The JB Horns are also associated with The Horny Horns , staple members of P-Funk and Bootsy's Rubber Band , which

10057-565: The remake of Jimi Hendrix 's " If 6 Was 9 ", for Axiom Funk, a Funkadelic-like one-off supergroup produced by Bill Laswell and featuring (Funkadelic members) George Clinton, Bernie Worrell, Collins, (the guitar of the late) Eddie Hazel, Gary Shider and Laswell. The group released only one album ( Funkcronomicon ), and the song also appeared in the soundtrack of the movie Stealing Beauty . He also featured on Jon B's song "Simple Melody" from his debut album, " Bonafide ". Collins collaborated with Del McCoury , Doc Watson and Mac Wiseman to form

10170-524: The result is a festivaly of carnality." The Sanctuary was the "first totally uninhibited gay discotheque in America" and while sex was not allowed on the dancefloor, the dark corners, bathrooms. and hallways of the adjacent buildings were all utilized for orgy-like sexual engagements. By describing the music, drugs, and liberated mentality as a trifecta coming together to create the festival of carnality, Brewster and Broughton are inciting all three as stimuli for

10283-596: The same meaning in English in the 1950s. "Discothèque" became used in French for a type of nightclub in Paris, after they had resorted to playing records during the Nazi occupation in the early 1940s. Some clubs used it as their proper name. In 1960, it was also used to describe a Parisian nightclub in an English magazine. The Oxford English Dictionary defines Discotheque as "A dance hall, nightclub, or similar venue where recorded music

10396-618: The same year to describe Los Angeles nightclubs. Vince Aletti was one of the first to describe disco as a sound or a music genre. He wrote the 13 September 1973 feature article Discotheque Rock '72: Paaaaarty! that appeared in Rolling Stone magazine. The music typically layered soaring, often- reverberated vocals, often doubled by horns, over a background "pad" of electric pianos and "chicken-scratch" rhythm guitars played on an electric guitar . Lead guitar features less frequently in disco than in rock . "The "rooster scratch" sound

10509-532: The same year, Collins played bass guitar on the first Praxis album (produced by Laswell): Transmutation , alongside fellow Parliament-Funkadelic member Bernie Worrell, Bryan Mantia and Buckethead . Bootsy's New Rubber Band formed in 1994, releasing Blasters of the Universe and also put forth the following live release " Keepin' dah Funk Alive 4-1995 ", recorded over two nights in Tokyo. In 1995, Collins played in

10622-401: The sensation that one's arms and legs had turned to ' Jell-O . ' " Quaaludes were so popular at disco clubs that the drug was nicknamed "disco biscuits". Paul Gootenberg states that "[t]he relationship of cocaine to 1970s disco culture cannot be stressed enough..." During the 1970s, the use of cocaine by well-to-do celebrities led to its "glamorization" and to the widely held view that it

10735-452: The simulated sounds of orgasms. Summer's voice echoes in the tracks, and likens them to the drug-fervent, sexually liberated fans of disco who sought to free themselves through disco's "aesthetic of machine sex." Shapiro sees this as an influence that creates sub-genres like hi-NRG and dub -disco, which allowed for eroticism and technology to be further explored through intense synth bass lines and alternative rhythmic techniques that tap into

10848-408: The smoothly-stylized vocals of Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner of chart-topping Ohio Players . These were the first of many collaborations between Laswell and Collins on many albums and projects, with the prolific producer using Bootsy mainly as a bassist but sometimes as a rhythm guitarist . In 1988, Collins appeared as a guest artist to play bass on Keith Richards and The X-Pensive Winos album Talk

10961-475: The song was made into a music video which features cameos by many other Bengals players. Collins appeared with Little Richard, Bernie Worrell , and other notable musicians as the band playing with Hank Williams, Jr. for the Monday Night Football opening during for the 2006 season. Collins was the only all star to return with Williams for the 2007 season. He also sings "Marshal Law", the theme song of

11074-468: The sound was enriched with solo lines and harmony parts played by a variety of orchestral instruments, such as violin , viola , cello , trumpet , saxophone , trombone , flugelhorn , French horn , English horn , oboe , flute , timpani and synth strings , string section or a full string orchestra . Most disco songs have a steady four-on-the-floor beat set by a bass drum, a quaver or semi-quaver hi-hat pattern with an open hissing hi-hat on

11187-522: The technology used to create the unique mechanical sound of disco to eroticism, set the genre in a new dimension of reality living outside of naturalism and heterosexuality. Randy Jones and Mark Jacobsen echo this sentiment in BBC Radio's "The Politics of Dancing: How Disco Changed the World," describing the loose, hip-focused dance style as "a new kind of communion" that celebrates the sparks of liberation brought on

11300-588: The then-popular Scottish funk group the Average White Band (also known as AWB) and its #1 hit single "Pick Up the Pieces". The J.B.'s final single for Brown's People label, 1976's "Everybody Wanna Get Funky One More Time", features a rare hornless arrangement. As funk music gave way in popularity to disco in the 1970s, the group's material and arrangements changed accordingly, but their chart success declined along with Brown's own. Like most of James Brown's music,

11413-448: Was a "soft drug". LSD , marijuana , and "speed" (amphetamines) were also popular in disco clubs, and the use of these drugs "...contributed to the hedonistic quality of the dance floor experience." Since disco dances were typically held in liquor licensed - nightclubs and dance clubs , alcoholic drinks were also consumed by dancers; some users intentionally combined alcohol with the consumption of other drugs, such as Quaaludes, for

11526-571: Was also a thriving drug subculture in the disco scene, particularly for drugs that would enhance the experience of dancing to the loud music and the flashing lights, such as cocaine and quaaludes , the latter being so common in disco subculture that they were nicknamed "disco biscuits". Disco clubs were also associated with promiscuity as a reflection of the sexual revolution of this era in popular history. Films such as Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Thank God It's Friday (1978) contributed to disco's mainstream popularity. Disco declined as

11639-528: Was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in July 1973. Some of the J.B.'s releases have unusual characteristics. The 1974 album Breakin' Bread is unique in that most of the songs have a Fred Wesley spoken reminiscence dubbed onto the beginning of the song, each time over a canned backing track. It is in sharp contrast to James Brown's real-time dominance of the proceedings on the classic Doing It to Death LP. A similar oddity

11752-522: Was decorated with an image of the " Man in the Moon " that included an animated cocaine spoon . The " Copacabana ", another New York nightclub dating to the 1940s, had a revival in the late 1970s when it embraced disco; it would become the setting of a Barry Manilow song of the same name . In Washington, D.C. , large disco clubs such as "The Pier" ("Pier 9") and "The Other Side", originally regarded exclusively as " gay bars ", became particularly popular among

11865-412: Was described as having a " pansexual attitude [that] was revolutionary in a country where up until recently it had been illegal for two men to dance together unless there was a woman present; where women were legally obliged to wear at least one recognizable item of female clothing in public; and where men visiting gay bars usually carried bail money with them." Disco was mostly developed from music that

11978-579: Was developed further, mainly by artists from the United States as well as from Europe . Well-known artists included the Bee Gees , ABBA , Donna Summer , Gloria Gaynor , Giorgio Moroder , Baccara , The Jacksons , Michael Jackson , Boney M , Earth Wind & Fire , Rick James , ELO , Average White Band , Chaka Khan , Chic , KC and the Sunshine Band , Thelma Houston , Sister Sledge , Sylvester , The Trammps , Barry White , Diana Ross , Kool &

12091-595: Was fostered a very sex-positive framework around discotheques. Further, in addition to gay sex being illegal in New York state, until 1973 the American Psychiatric Association classified homosexuality as an illness. This law and classification coupled together can be understood to have heavily dissuaded the expression of queerness in public, as such the liberatory dynamics of discotheques can be seen as having provided space for self-realization for queer persons. David Mancuso's club/house party, The Loft ,

12204-505: Was led by Fred Wesley and included Maceo, as well as Rick Gardner and Richard "Kush" Griffith on trumpets. A version of the J.B.'s including Fred Wesley, Bootsy Collins, Pee Wee Ellis, Bobby Byrd, and Clyde Stubblefield assembled to record the 1999 "reunion" album Bring the Funk on Down , dedicated to the memory of St. Clair Pinckney. The album was released in Japan by P-Vine Records , and in 2002 it

12317-404: Was much more costly to produce than many of the other popular music genres from the 1970s. Unlike the simpler, four-piece-band sound of funk , soul music of the late 1960s or the small jazz organ trios , disco music often included a large band, with several chordal instruments (guitar, keyboards, synthesizer), several drum or percussion instruments (drumkit, Latin percussion, electronic drums),

12430-473: Was part of a broader trend towards exploring a freer sexual expression in the 1970s, an era that is also associated with " swingers clubs , hot tubs , [and] key parties ." In his paper, "In Defense of Disco" (1979), Richard Dyer claims eroticism as one of the three main characteristics of disco. As opposed to rock music which has a very phallic centered eroticism focusing on the sexual pleasure of men over other persons, Dyer describes disco as featuring

12543-468: Was popular on the dance floor in clubs that started playing records instead of having a live band. The first discotheques mostly played swing music . Later on, uptempo rhythm and blues became popular in American clubs and northern soul and glam rock records in the UK. In the early 1940s, nightclubs in Paris resorted to playing jazz records during the Nazi occupation. Régine Zylberberg claimed to have started

12656-2298: Was reissued in the U.S. by Instinct Records. A reunion of the original J.B.'s rhythm section, with Bootsy and Phelps Collins, Clyde Stubblefield, and Jabo Starks, and supplemented by Bernie Worrell , recorded the Superbad movie soundtrack . They went on to perform the first tribute concert remembering James Brown. Fred Wesley (1968–1975, 1983) Maceo Parker (1964-1969, 1973–1975, 1984–1988) Jimmy Nolen (1965-1969, 1972–1983) Fred Thomas (1971–1975, 1980-1983, 1993–2006) John "Jabo" Starks (1966–1975) Clyde Stubblefield (1966-1970) Bootsy Collins (1970–1971) Phelps Collins (1970–1971) St. Clair Pinckney (1962–1999) Johnny Griggs (1971–1979, 1984-1988) Sweet Charles Sherrell (1969-1979, 1983-1997) Pee Wee Ellis (1965-1969) Bernard Odum (1959–1968,1994-1997) Hearlon "Cheese" Martin (1970–1975) Darryl "Hassan" Jamison (1970–1971, 1972–1975) Jerone "Jassan" Sanford (1971–1975, 1978–1983) Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells (1970–1971) Robert "Chopper" McCollough (1970) Jimmy Parker (1971–1975) Ike Oakley (1972–1974) Russel Crimes (1971–1978) Robert Lee Coleman (1971, 1976) Bobby Roach (1970–1972) John Morgan (1971–1975) Hollie Farris (1976–1994, 2001-2006) Joe Poff (1976-1981, 1986, 1991) Melvin Parker (1964-1969, 1976-1977) Tyrone Jefferson (1976–1980,1984, 1991-2006) Tony Cook (1976–1993, 2005–2006) David Weston (1976–1982) Keith Jenkins (1994-2006) Jeff Watkins (1994-2006) Arthur Dickson (1978– 1998) Ron Laster (1978–2006) Robert "Mousey" Thompson (1993–2006) Aaron Purdie (197?–198?) Erik Hargrove (1998-2005) Jerry Pondixter (1978-1983, 1992-2005) George "spike" Nealy (1991-2006) Ray Brundidge(1998-2006) Damon Wood (1999-2006) Robert "The plaster"(2006) Jimmy Lee Moore (1984-2001) Joe Collier (1981-2000) Larry moore (1984-1992) Todd owens(1992-2001) Leroy Harper Jr(1991-1993, 1997-2006) Sir Waldow weathers (1993-2006) George 'Haji Ahkba' Dickerson (1984-1988) Tony Jones (1984-1988, 1994, 1997-2001) J? Jackson (1991-1994) Darryl Brown (1999-2006) Bootsy Collins William Earl " Bootsy " Collins (born October 26, 1951)

12769-501: Was working on a project named Science Faxtion and an album called Living on Another Frequency in which he serves as bassist and co-producer along with his lead vocalist Greg Hampton . The band also features guitarist Buckethead and drummer Brain . The album was released in November 2008. Collins promoted Rock the Vote for its 2008 campaign together with Buckethead. Collins portrayed

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