| "Disco Lady" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Johnnie Taylor | ||||
| from the album Eargasm | ||||
| B-side | "You're the Best Girl in the World" | |||
| Released | January 1976 | |||
| Recorded | 1975 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:02 (Promo Version) 4:28 (Album Version) | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Harvey Scales, Albert Vance, Don Davis | |||
| Producer(s) | Don Davis | |||
| Johnnie Taylor singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Disco Lady" is a 1976 single by American singer Johnnie Taylor that went on to become his biggest hit. It spent all four weeks of April 1976 at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and six weeks atop the Billboard R&B chart in the U.S.[3] It was also the first single to be certified platinum by the RIAA;[4] ultimately it sold over 2.5 million copies.[5] Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song for 1976; Cash Box had it the year's No. 1 song[6]
The single was Taylor's first for Columbia Records, where he signed after his long-time label, Stax Records, went bankrupt. The song was produced by Taylor's long-time producer, Don Davis.[7] Among the guests on the song were four members of Parliament-Funkadelic: bassist Bootsy Collins, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, guitarist Glenn Goins, drummer Tiki Fulwood, and background vocals by BRANDYE (Cynthia Douglas, Donna Davis, Pamela Vincent).
"Disco Lady" was the first Hot 100 No. 1 hit with the word "disco" in the title (though the song was a ballad and not a disco record). The single also reached No. 25 on the UK Singles Chart.[8]
In the finale of The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, broadcast in October 1976, Paul Lynde and the entire cast sing Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady" (gender-neutralized to "Disco Baby").[9]
It earned Taylor his second Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
In 1998, a remake of the song "Disco Lady 2000" (along with a "radio slam" remix) can be heard on the album Taylored to Please released by Malaco Records.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (August 26, 2019). "The Number Ones: Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
But Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady" wasn't a disco song. Instead, it was a sweaty, swampy soul-groove.
- ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "Boogie Down: The Dawn of Disco". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 183. ISBN 031214704X.
- ^ Billboard Hot 100, Week of April 24, 1976 – Billboard.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "History Of The Awards". RIAA.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ George, Nelson (1988). The Death of Rhythm & Blues. New York, NY: Pantheon Books. p. 150. ISBN 0142004081. Retrieved 2015-06-10.
- ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1976
- ^ Disco Lady song review, Allmusic.com
- ^ "Official Charts - Johnnie Taylor". officialcharts.com. Official Charts Company. 1976-04-24. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
- ^ "Disco Baby - Paul Lynde Halloween Special". YouTube. 27 October 2015.