BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: NBC Sports/Calcaterra: Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Disco Demolition Night

Baseball Primer Newsblog
— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand

Thursday, July 09, 2009

NBC Sports/Calcaterra: Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Disco Demolition Night

Sunday is the 30th anniversary of the infamous “Disco Demolition Night.” For those unfamiliar, it went down like this: Doubleheader between the White Sox and Tigers. Disco backlash reaching its apex. Local DJ convinces the Sox to stage a promotion for which people bring unwanted disco records to the game in exchange for a 98 cent ticket, the records get collected, placed in center field, and blown up by the DJ during the intermission between the two games. Totally foreseeable, but seemingly unforeseen side effect: the cheap tickets and disco demagoguery draws lots of people who usually don’t go to baseball games, and those people proceed to use their tickets savings to buy lots of beer. Well, at least the people who weren’t baked out of their gourds did (I’m guessing nacho sales were pretty brisk). There’s no dispute, however, that it was a crazy scene that evening.

Then came the explosion, which tore a big chunk out of the outfield grass. Then thousands of fans rushed the field, lighting fires, throwing firecrackers, and making general asses of themselves. The batting cage was pulled down and wrecked, bases were ripped off the infield, and the place was generally torn to shreds.

Coot Veal and Cot Deal taste like Old Bay Posted: July 09, 2009 at 07:12 PM | 185 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: history, white sox

Reader Comments and Retorts

Go to end of page

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

Page 1 of 2 pages 1 2 >

1. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 07:33 PM (#3247635)

I don't mind Disco. The anti-Disco craze craze seems like one of pop culture's great over-reactions.

2. Tulo's Fishy Mullet (mrams) Posted: July 09, 2009 at 07:37 PM (#3247643)

some of the quotes in the SABR Research Journal article this month about this event were pretty hilarious.

I love the failed attempt by Harry Caray to distract the vandals by singing 'Take Me Out..' It didn't work.

3. aleskel

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 07:38 PM (#3247646)

The anti-Disco craze craze seems like one of pop culture's great over-reactions.

Seconded. Some disco was undeniably really good music. I think the backlash had a lot more to do with class economics than with the music itself (your standard outer borough tough wasn't getting into Studio 54).

4. ERROR---Jolly Old St. Nick

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 07:39 PM (#3247648)

Disco vs. most 70's rock music is like Peter Angelos vs. Dan Snyder. But Veeck's heart was in the right place.

5. aleskel

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 07:46 PM (#3247661)

I once had a professor in a 20th Century American history class pose a theory that disco represented some great cross-cultural coming-together happening (black and white, gay and straight, that sort of thing) that was broken up by both punk and hip-hop. I had to point out to her that the bassline from "Rapper's Delight" was lifted from Chic's "Good Times."

6. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 07:48 PM (#3247667)

I had to point out to her that the bassline from "Rapper's Delight" was lifted from Chic's "Good Times."

Chic did some good stuff!

7. Craig Calcaterra Posted: July 09, 2009 at 07:51 PM (#3247675)

Speaking of Chic, Nile Rogers had a great quote about Disco Demolition night making him and other disco people feel like they were watching a Nazi-style book burning.

As I mention in the post, there's almost something quaint about a riot over disco. Today everything is so fragmented -- a given act's perceived musical worth seems to be directly related to how obscure it is -- that it would be impossible for such an uprising, however misguided, to take place.

8. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 07:55 PM (#3247679)

Awwwwwwwww FREAK OUT!

9. Steve Treder Posted: July 09, 2009 at 07:56 PM (#3247680)

Seconded. Some disco was undeniably really good music. I think the backlash had a lot more to do with class economics than with the music itself (your standard outer borough tough wasn't getting into Studio 54).

For sure, not just class economics regarding who could afford to get into upscale discos, but also deeper cultural antagonisms that included more than a little homophobia, sexism and racism. The musical styles preferred by the anti-disco cheerleaders were invariably some variation on white male macho rock and roll.

10. 185/456(GGC) Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:00 PM (#3247685)

Disco still sucks. Josh Wilker's take on this.

11. Home Run Teal & Black Black Black Gone! Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:01 PM (#3247687)

Especially since in Europe, disco followed a natural progression into plenty of good electronic music.

12. Mr Dashwood Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:05 PM (#3247694)

I once had a professor in a 20th Century American history class pose a theory that disco represented some great cross-cultural coming-together happening (black and white, gay and straight, that sort of thing) that was broken up by both punk and hip-hop.

I don't see that. But I'm thinking punk preceded disco, and I'm not sure that's true. They may be exact contemporaries.

When disco started, I was living in a blue-collar Detroit neighbourhood, and we hated it. Then I moved to England, and almost immediately went to university, where my crowd were mostly heavy-metal enthusiasts (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Hawkwind) and we hated disco. There was some question over whether Abba, ELO and Genesis were acceptable. (No, not really and yes were my answers. Yes was a maybe.) Of course, I didn't care for any of this stuff all that much, and spent my time listening to BBC Radio 3, expanding my horizon from Mozart and Bach to Lassus and Palestrina. I still like a bit of Hawkwind now and then, though.

There's all this nonsense put about nowadays about disco 'threatening our sexuality', but we didn't see it that way. We just didn't like the music. We didn't care much for punk, either, and nowadays I detest punk with a rare passion, but that IS a more cultural thing. Trot music that bred the idea you can fight fascism by attending a concert. I ask you!

13. Coot Veal and Cot Deal taste like Old Bay Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:05 PM (#3247695)

Disco still sucks. Josh Wilker's take on this.

thanks, GGC... it's a fun piece.

14. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:07 PM (#3247698)

(your standard outer borough tough wasn't getting into Studio 54).

Even Chic couldn't get into Studio 54. Niles Rogers getting turned away at the door inspired Freak Out. The original version was F*** Off!

15. Dash Carlyle Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:07 PM (#3247699)

Yes was a maybe.

Who?

16. More Dewey is Always Good Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:08 PM (#3247703)

Speaking of Chic, Nile Rogers had a great quote about Disco Demolition night making him and other disco people feel like they were watching a Nazi-style book burning.

Now THAT's funny.

It didn't seem to take much to precipitate people rushing the field back in the 70s. I've mentioned this before, but the frequency with which baseball games descended into chaos due to fan activity in the 70s is pretty shocking from a modern perspective.

17. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:09 PM (#3247705)

We just didn't like the music.

But a lot of people didn't like Deep Purple or Black Sabbath but they didn't have riots about it.

18. RJ in TO Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:11 PM (#3247709)

But a lot of people didn't like Deep Purple or Black Sabbath but they didn't have riots about it.

Because the people who liked Deep Purple or Black Sabbath were much more likely to be capable of kicking the average Disco fans ass.

19. Dash Carlyle Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:12 PM (#3247710)

Which records would you burn today? I'll start:

"Sweet Home Alabama"
"Play That Funky Music White Boy"
"For What It's Worth" (Buffalo Springfield... There's somethin' happenin' here...)

20. Dash Carlyle Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:13 PM (#3247713)

Oh, and "Get Together" (C'mon people now...)

21. Steve Treder Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:14 PM (#3247717)

I've mentioned this before, but the frequency with which baseball games descended into chaos due to fan activity in the 70s is pretty shocking nowadays.

Yeah, it was a different era, that's for sure.

There have been only three MLB games forfeited due to fans storming the field in modern history. All three were in the 1970s: 1971 in Washington (the Senators' final game), 1974 in Cleveland (10-cent beer night), and 1979 in Comiskey (Disco Demolition night).

22. salvomania Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:14 PM (#3247718)

Not one mention of Steve Dahl?

He was huge in his time.

23. More Dewey is Always Good Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:14 PM (#3247719)

Pretty much the entire "Woodstock" soundtrack.

24. aleskel

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:16 PM (#3247722)

I've mentioned this before, but the frequency with which baseball games descended into chaos due to fan activity in the 70s is pretty shocking nowadays.

Watch a 1977 or 1978 World Series game sometime. Man, those Yankee Stadium crowds were riotous. The Bronx is Burning indeed.

25. Craig Calcaterra Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:16 PM (#3247723)

"Sweet Home Alabama"

Bullsh*t. Great song. Maybe overexposed, but a great little song. Skynyrd was misunderstood, even by its own fans.

/DBT told me so

26. winnipegwhip Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:16 PM (#3247725)

Awwwwwwwww FREAK OUT!

Whenever I hear that beginning I think of RIP TIDE hosting "Gotta Dance" on WKRP in Cincinnati. One of the funnier episodes in a great sitcom.

The only other sitcom situation which equaled this is when Alex Reiger visits the gay bar in Taxi. The music is played "Do the Boogaloo" by Quango and Sparky. (Also ironic in that Don Cherry used "Do the Boogaloo" when showing hockey hits on what of his hockey highlight tapes. Glenn Anderson is in those clips BTW)

27. More Dewey is Always Good Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:16 PM (#3247726)

There have been only three MLB games forfeited due to fans storming the field in modern history. All three were in the 1970s: 1971 in Washington (the Senators' final game), 1974 in Cleveland (10-cent beer night), and 1979 in Comiskey (Disco Demolition night).

And that doesn't count all the times the fans charged the field after the game was over, or during a big event (Hank Aaron's 715th).

It's like nobody cared about security.

28. RJ in TO Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:17 PM (#3247727)

Which records would you burn today? I'll start:

After the massive saturation campaign of the last week, everything that Michael Jackson ever recorded.

In terms of non-recent-events induced hatred, I'll have to go with anything by Jewel.

29. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:17 PM (#3247728)

Because the people who liked Deep Purple or Black Sabbath were much more likely to be capable of kicking the average Disco fans ass.

Really? There were plenty of blue collar toughs in my neighborhood that liked disco. I wouldn't be so sure of this.

30. Craig Calcaterra Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:17 PM (#3247729)

Not one mention of Steve Dahl?

It's not in the excerpt, but the whole point of my post was to link to a Steve Dahl interview in today's Chicago Tribune, conducted by . . . Steve Dahl.

31. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:18 PM (#3247732)

Oh, and I would burn that Hump song by Fergie. I hate that song. Also, anything by the Chipmunks. I mean, WTF people?

32. Craig Calcaterra Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:19 PM (#3247735)

One of the funnier episodes in a great sitcom.

Actually a two-parter. Rememeber: he lost his job on "Gotta Dance" and then came back to WKRP as the overnight DJ known as "Heavy Early" until the replacement morning guy was caught with cocaine and taking payola.

Wait, I may be conflating episodes here, but all of those things happened at some point.

33. Mr Dashwood Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:19 PM (#3247736)

Who?

The Who was a bit mod, and we were more akin to rockers. But we used to enjoy The Who on the sly.

34. RJ in TO Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:19 PM (#3247737)

Really? There were plenty of blue collar toughs in my neighborhood that liked disco. I wouldn't be so sure of this.

I'm going completely by the stereotyped portrayals in most popular media - for Black Sabbath, it's the somewhat burly guy, and for disco, it's the twig.

Reality is undoubtedly somewhat different.

35. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:20 PM (#3247738)

Actually a two-parter. Rememeber: he lost his job on "Gotta Dance" and then came back to WKRP as the overnight DJ known as "Heavy Early" until the replacement morning guy was caught with cocaine and taking payola.

Carlson is no fool. He's going to put it on his feet...

36. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:22 PM (#3247742)

I'm going completely by the stereotyped portrayals in most popular media - for Black Sabbath, it's the somewhat burly guy, and for disco, it's the twig.

Aha! You sly dog.

37. Dash Carlyle Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:23 PM (#3247746)

Maybe overexposed, but a great little song.

Maybe overexposed, Craig? Maybe?

That's like saying maybe I am a little bit handsome. (You can't see me right now, but rest assured, I am incredible looking.)

38. winnipegwhip Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:23 PM (#3247748)

Doug Winner was the replacement DJ. He was taking payola from Murray from Onslaught Records and the band was "The Soundtastics". The song was "Nowhere Band".

....a shame what useless stuff is taking up space in my brain.

BTW...

The six songs in the WKRP Music Contest (another episode)

Straight On by Heart
Danke Schoen by Wayne Newton
To Wild to Tame by The Boyzz
YMCA - Village People
Tumbling Dice - Stones
Star Spangled Banner - Francis Scott Key.

39. Moses Taylor loves a good maim Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:23 PM (#3247749)

Really? There were plenty of blue collar toughs in my neighborhood that liked disco. I wouldn't be so sure of this.

They work hard, they play hard.

40. Mr Dashwood Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:24 PM (#3247753)

But a lot of people didn't like Deep Purple or Black Sabbath but they didn't have riots about it.

They did in the music press. The NME hated our music. But I can't remember if they liked disco.

If there was a cultural bias, it was London vs the Provinces. Disco found acceptance in 'London' (which in England is not entirely a geographical location in the cultural sense). More Metropolitan Media Class snobbery dumped on the rest of us. Of course, they won the culture war in the end.

41. Steve Treder Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:24 PM (#3247754)

It's like nobody cared about security.

Yes. I mean there was no stadium security, effectively. It was nothing at all like it is today.

And count me as one old fart who prefers the modern-day family-friendly stadium environment to the way it was back then. Night games at Candlestick Park in the '70s/early '80s, especially games against the Dodgers, were remarkable exhibitions of drunkenness, vulgarity, and violence. It wasn't a good thing.

42. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:25 PM (#3247757)

They work hard, they play hard.

Ha! Love that episode!

I think it was more the Disco clubs were where you could score drugs and get laid.

43. SoSH U at work Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:26 PM (#3247759)

Really? There were plenty of blue collar toughs in my neighborhood that liked disco. I wouldn't be so sure of this.

From my recollection, and I was fairly young at the time, disco left the white, blue-collar American male types on the outside culturally, perhaps for the first time. The reaction against it, I would guess, stemmed from that.

I wasn't a disco fan. And while I'll take Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive over Cake's cover, 30 years hasn't really altered my perspective of most of the music.

44. aleskel

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:27 PM (#3247760)

"Sweet Home Alabama"

Bullsh*t. Great song. Maybe overexposed, but a great little song. Skynyrd was misunderstood, even by its own fans.

it was well before my time, but what was the deal with that "Watergate does not bother me/ does your conscience bother you?" lyric?

45. Craig Calcaterra Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:28 PM (#3247763)

Doug Winner was the replacement DJ. He was taking payola from Murray from Onslaught Records and the band was "The Soundtastics". The song was "Nowhere Band".

I bow in reverence to your clearly superior KRP-fu.

46. Dash Carlyle Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:28 PM (#3247764)

it was well before my time, but what was the deal with that "Watergate does not bother me/ does your conscience bother you?" lyric?

Not to mention that ENTIRE VERSE about Neil Young. Criminy.

47. Swedish Chef Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:29 PM (#3247765)

I'm in for Rap Metal Demolition Night.

48. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:29 PM (#3247767)

I'll take 70s Disco over the crap they play on the radio today. And I hate 70s disco.

AND STAY OFF MY LAWN!

it was well before my time, but what was the deal with that "Watergate does not bother me/ does your conscience bother you?" lyric?

Not to mention that ENTIRE VERSE about Neil Young. Criminy.

The Neil Young verse is in response to "Southern Man". But contrary to popular belief, Young and Ronnie Van Zant were actually friends and it was not meant to be antagonistic. I'm not sure what they meant by the Watergate line although I had read that Van Sant supported Jimmy Carter.

49. aleskel

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:29 PM (#3247770)

Not to mention that ENTIRE VERSE about Neil Young. Criminy.

I think that was kind of an in-joke, since Neil discovered the band and helped them get signed (really)

50. winnipegwhip Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:30 PM (#3247771)

The Who was a bit mod

The Small Faces were the true mod band. The Action and The Creation were also worthy.

51. Swedish Chef Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:30 PM (#3247772)

Not to mention that ENTIRE VERSE about Neil Young. Criminy.

He wrote some anti-redneck song.

52. aleskel

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:30 PM (#3247773)

I'm in for Rap Metal Demolition Night.

Oh god, yes. I'll cop to liking Rage Against the Machine back in my younger, more vulnerable days, but that #### was awful.

53. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:31 PM (#3247775)

I bow in reverence to your clearly superior KRP-fu.

I get no love for quoting the best line of the episode? I didn't even google that!

54. RJ in TO Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:31 PM (#3247776)

He wrote some anti-redneck song.

Southern Man. Not surprisingly, southern men didn't appreciate it.

55. Flynn Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:32 PM (#3247777)

I feel like disco was the reaction of people to self-indulgent music who hadn't yet discovered punk. I like disco but it's unquestionably self-indulgent - that's its whole ethos.

56. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:32 PM (#3247778)

He wrote some anti-redneck song.

Southern Man

edit: Ryan. Coke. Etc.

57. Steve Treder Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:33 PM (#3247780)

it was well before my time, but what was the deal with that "Watergate does not bother me/ does your conscience bother you?" lyric?

Not to mention that ENTIRE VERSE about Neil Young. Criminy.

The song combines staggeringly inane lyrics with a numbingly stupid, childlike melody. It's pretty special.

58. Shooty would run in but these bone spurs hurt!

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:34 PM (#3247781)

I feel like disco was the reaction of people to self-indulgent music who hadn't yet discovered punk.

But a lot of the people who hated Disco loved Kiss. Kiss!

59. aleskel

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:34 PM (#3247783)

I feel like disco was the reaction of people to self-indulgent music who hadn't yet discovered punk.

But a lot of the people who hated Disco loved Kiss. Kiss!

two words:

Ted

Nugent

60. SoSH U at work Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:35 PM (#3247789)

I'm sure Tommy E. appreciates you guys filling him in on the Neil Young backstory.

61. RJ in TO Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:36 PM (#3247791)

two words:

Ted

Nugent

Speaking of records I'd like to burn....

62. Mr Dashwood Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:37 PM (#3247792)

Night games at Candlestick Park in the '70s/early '80s, especially games against the Dodgers, were remarkable exhibitions of drunkenness, vulgarity, and violence

Steve's comments, and memories of how soccer fans were regarded in England during the late 1970s, do make me wonder what would have happened if it was possible for American fans to travel to almost any away game and back home in a single day. We probably need some East Coast reminiscences to weigh in here, although it is certainly the case that some English teams were more notorious than others. philistine used to tell me about when he used to frequent The Shed in the 1970s. Wow!

I'm all nostalgic for pre-Thatcher Blighty, now - British Rail, Routemaster buses, newspaper strikes. Sigh.

63. Flynn Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:37 PM (#3247793)

And count me as one old fart who prefers the modern-day family-friendly stadium environment to the way it was back then. Night games at Candlestick Park in the '70s/early '80s, especially games against the Dodgers, were remarkable exhibitions of drunkenness, vulgarity, and violence. It wasn't a good thing.

How were the mid-80s? It seems like the mid-80s had enough unrestrained atmosphere without bordering on the criminal. It'd be cool if when a team won something you could run on the field to celebrate. I honestly don't feel like that's such a bad thing, as long as it's not destructive. Heck, the fans pay for the field in all parks, even San Francisco.

I feel like we're at a point where we can pull back from the tight security a little bit without letting it turn into Animal House.

64. Craig Calcaterra Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:38 PM (#3247794)

I get no love for quoting the best line of the episode? I didn't even google that!

Shooty: I give you a bow as well, and props for literally making me laugh out loud when I read it.

65. winnipegwhip Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:38 PM (#3247795)

Wow this thread is coming full circle. It is now a discussion about a guy who grew up in my neighborhood. Last year the present owner of Neil Young's boyhood home had a guy standing in front of it and admiring it. He invited the visitor and in and had a pleasant time hosting Bob Dylan.

66. Swedish Chef Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:38 PM (#3247796)

Didn't Kiss make a disco album?

67. winnipegwhip Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:39 PM (#3247797)

I'm all nostalgic for pre-Thatcher Blighty, now - British Rail, Routemaster buses, newspaper strikes. Sigh.

Time to listen to "The Redskins" Fra?

68. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:40 PM (#3247799)

Reading online, some theories posit that they were suggesting the south was not the only place with political scandal and corruption and by saying it didn't bother them, they were saying political scandal was old hat to them, and that everyone has scandals ("Does your conscience bother you? Tell the truth.") Another theory is that the outrage over Watergate was more over was more about our nation's internal struggle with our conscience than the actual breaking in of the DNC headquarters. Who knows.

The entire song seems pretty misunderstood with some people misinterpreting "Montgomery's got the answer" as supporting Jim Crow laws, when in fact they are referencing sit-ins and boycotts in support of integration, and their line about Governor George Wallace as an endorsement of segregation when they are in fact, denouncing him "In Birmingham they love the Governor/boo, boo, boo" and "we all did what we could do" meaning "we tried our best to vote him out."

69. tribefan Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:41 PM (#3247800)

Didn't Kiss make a disco album?

Yep, Dynasty. "I Was Made For Loving You" was the single. Although some of the garbage on the solo albums might classify as disco also.

70. Craig Calcaterra Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:41 PM (#3247801)

Didn't Kiss make a disco album?

There were some disco hooks in "I was made for loving you," and maybe some other stuff. The Rolling Stones even did a little disco on "Some Girls."

Edit: I owe tribefan a Tab. The old school cola kind since this is a 70s thread.

71. More Dewey is Always Good Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:41 PM (#3247803)

He invited the visitor and in and had a pleasant time hosting Bob Dylan.

And now you know... the rest of the story.

72. Tracy Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:42 PM (#3247804)

And count me as one old fart who prefers the modern-day family-friendly stadium environment to the way it was back then. Night games at Candlestick Park in the '70s/early '80s, especially games against the Dodgers, were remarkable exhibitions of drunkenness, vulgarity, and violence. It wasn't a good thing.

Most of the kids at Disco Demolition were stoned, so that wasn't so violent in terms of fistfights, but night games in general at Comiskey Park in the 1970s were pretty scary.

(I wasn't at the DD itself, but watched it at home. The best part was listening to Jimmy Piersall freak out.)

73. vortex of dissipation Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:42 PM (#3247805)

A good read on the relationship between Neil Young and Lynyrd Skynyrd:

http://www.thrasherswheat.org/jammin/lynyrd.htm

74. Tracy Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:43 PM (#3247806)

Oh, and 1970s disco music had no redeeming qualities at all.

75. OCF Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:43 PM (#3247807)

I'm not from Chicago, and neither is my wife, but most of her family, many aunts, uncles, and cousins, were from there. One side of her family is Irish, South Side, and has multiple cops in the family. Several of those cousins, who were in their 20's at the time, say they were at that 1977 game. I'm a little hazy on the details of what they were doing there, but I think that "up to no good" is a fairly safe bet.

76. Flynn Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:43 PM (#3247809)

But a lot of the people who hated Disco loved Kiss. Kiss!

Maybe, but everyone? I think a lot of people hated disco because they hated music disappearing into its own bunghole and wanted something more straightforward and hardworking. Blue-collar tones, but didn't roots-rock experience a surge in popularity at the same time?

77. aleskel

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:44 PM (#3247810)

The entire song seems pretty misunderstood with some people misinterpreting "Montgomery's got the answer" as supporting Jim Crow laws, when in fact they are referencing sit-ins and boycotts in support of integration, and their line about Governor George Wallace as an endorsement of segregation when they are in fact, denouncing him "In Birmingham they love the Governor/boo, boo, boo" and "we all did what we could do" meaning "we tried our best to vote him out."

I knew that part, and certainly Lynyrd Skynard were no knee-jerk redneck reactionaries (I seem to remember them having a pro-gun control song). The Watergate lyric is still a head-scratcher

78. Andere Richtingen

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:45 PM (#3247815)

I never rioted on a MLB field because of it, but I hated disco at the time. Not so much the music, which I then considered to be innocuous, but because of the banal disco culture that surrounded it. It was really dumb.

Once it was in the past, I could appreciate that some of it was just good R&B;music with an exaggerated four-on-the-floor beat and heavy orchestral arrangements. Once the 1990s came along, it became fun to do the dancing, because the cultural aspects of disco were dead, and what replaced it (hip-hop) made disco look pretty good to me.

79. Mr Dashwood Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:45 PM (#3247817)

Kiss!

Oh, yuck...

Bunch of poseurs.

The Small Faces were the true mod band.

We didn't listen to them. I can't remember if that was bias against or just, y'know, carelessness.

Jethro Tull was another big favourite. Actually, I should get a hold of some of Jethro Tull and see if I still like it. Haven't heard any in years. That may tell one something.

I'm supposed to be working, not going on a nostalgia trip! Thanks, people.

80. Dash Carlyle Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:48 PM (#3247822)

I'm sure Tommy E. appreciates you guys filling him in on the Neil Young backstory.

I sure do! No, I knew it was a response to "Southern Man." I guess what I really wanted to know is, "can you believe how terrible the lyrics are?" Admittedly, it is the best song that name drops Neil Young three times. In a row.

81. winnipegwhip Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:48 PM (#3247823)

Didn't Jethro Tull write a song about Mel Hall called Aqualung?

82. aleskel

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:49 PM (#3247825)

#75 - thanks for the link, that's good stuff. Neil apparently wrote "Powderfinger" for Lynyrd Skynyrd to record!

83. Andere Richtingen

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:49 PM (#3247826)

How were the mid-80s? It seems like the mid-80s had enough unrestrained atmosphere without bordering on the criminal. It'd be cool if when a team won something you could run on the field to celebrate. I honestly don't feel like that's such a bad thing, as long as it's not destructive. Heck, the fans pay for the field in all parks, even San Francisco.

It waned in the mid-80s, but some places could still get pretty rowdy.

I remember going to Angels and Cubs games in the 80s, and it was not at all unusual for people to blatantly pass a joint around.

84. Steve Treder Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:49 PM (#3247827)

I knew that part, and certainly Lynyrd Skynard were no knee-jerk redneck reactionaries (I seem to remember them having a pro-gun control song). The Watergate lyric is still a head-scratcher

Strikes me if you write and record a politcal/cultural song, and no one, not even your fans, can figure out what the hell you're trying to say, you've committed a rather blatant failure. It's one thing to be controversial, it's quite another to be incoherent.

85. Mr Dashwood Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:50 PM (#3247828)

I think the song inspired Mel, not the other way round.

86. Craig Calcaterra Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:51 PM (#3247832)

The Watergate lyric is still a head-scratcher

Maybe worth noting that the song was written in 1973, and that at the time it wasn't yet clear that Watergate was as bad as it truly was, at least among members of rock bands. I always took that as a mild dismissal of impassioned political positions ("Look, you want me to be all defensive about my politics? Well, I'll admit that we did all we could about our dumb governor (boo, boo, boo to him) but Watergate simply doesn't bother me like it bothers you, and if you think it's something I should apologize for, sorry").

But I could be overthinking that.

87. Stop Oppressing Zonk by Investigating His Heroes Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:51 PM (#3247833)

I can find things I like in virtually any genre - hell, even in the kiddie band set, Hanson knew a harmony when their producers found 'em one - but disco is most certainly where I'd find the least I like.

Most of the standards - at least, most of the one hit wonders standards, I have zero use for (I've always had a soft spot for the BeeGee's Jive Talking).

As for the Nuge -- I give him a pass because of Stranglehold - which is just a kick ass riff. Not a lot of use for the rest of his catalog, but that's a worthy cut.

88. Steve Treder Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:53 PM (#3247836)

I feel like we're at a point where we can pull back from the tight security a little bit without letting it turn into Animal House.

Agreed. The anecdotes we read about in recent years of fans being ejected for wearing the wrong t-shirt or failing to stand for the national anthem, or whatever, pretty much cross some sort of jack-booted thug line. But Animal House wasn't a good ballpark environment.

89. Stop Oppressing Zonk by Investigating His Heroes Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:56 PM (#3247838)

There were some disco hooks in "I was made for loving you," and maybe some other stuff. The Rolling Stones even did a little disco on "Some Girls."

There was some disco influence to Some Girls - but the dreadful, Mick and Keith should have been flogged for it, god awful, even the Spice Girls would laugh at it, Emotional Rescue for true Stones disco.

Is there nothing I can say, nothing I can do...

Not on this album, Mick.

90. Steve Treder Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:56 PM (#3247839)

91. aleskel

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 08:57 PM (#3247840)

so ... is this a first in BBTF history? An off-topic thread devoted entirely to the 70s?

92. Dash Carlyle Posted: July 09, 2009 at 09:00 PM (#3247844)

For me, country is where I'd find the least I like, but I fully agree that every genre has good stuff in it.

Smooth jazz?

93. Stop Oppressing Zonk by Investigating His Heroes Posted: July 09, 2009 at 09:01 PM (#3247846)

Agreed. The anecdotes we read about in recent years of fans being ejected for wearing the wrong t-shirt or failing to stand for the national anthem, or whatever, pretty much cross some sort of jack-booted thug line. But Animal House wasn't a good ballpark environment.

It's funny - some friends and I were just discussing this...

Like all frat boys, we liked to consider ourselves the campus Animal House - and were forever complaining about the oppressive atmosphere of the heavy-handed administration that refused to see the logic in our "look, college kids are going to drink..." Some of us are still involved in the alumni association and frat housing corp -- and boy did we ever have it good... Campuses - at least ours - dry as a bone now. Not on paper dry, but literally hard to find a beer anywhere on campus.

Speaking of crap music... Don't Know You Got, Till It's Gone...

94. aleskel

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 09:03 PM (#3247849)

the dreadful, Mick and Keith should have been flogged for it, god awful, even the Spice Girls would laugh at it, Emotional Rescue for true Stones disco.

well, to be fair, they were doing a LOT of drugs at the time.

95. Stop Oppressing Zonk by Investigating His Heroes Posted: July 09, 2009 at 09:06 PM (#3247853)

well, to be fair, they were doing a LOT of drugs at the time.

Not a good excuse. Keith was probably at the height of substance abusing during Exile, and that's a spectacular album.

96. Steve Treder Posted: July 09, 2009 at 09:11 PM (#3247857)

For me, country is where I'd find the least I like, but I fully agree that every genre has good stuff in it.

Smooth jazz?

The pickings are thin, no argument, but there's something to be said for the right elevator-music ditty.

97. cHiEf iMpaCt oFfiCEr JE

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 09:13 PM (#3247860)

Disco was not just for the "Studio 54" types. While "Saturday Night Fever" may have featured fictitious characters, any middle-class or even working-class guy or girl in Brooklyn or dozens of other cities could go out to a disco on the weekend without breaking the bank.

98. aleskel

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 09:17 PM (#3247863)

Not a good excuse. Keith was probably at the height of substance abusing during Exile, and that's a spectacular album.

I think Keith's peak drug years were closer to 1974-79, but it hardly matters, since he's an inner-circle Drug HOFer for career value.

99. Flynn Posted: July 09, 2009 at 09:24 PM (#3247865)

Keith was very strung out during Exile, there's no question about it.

100. Backlasher

Posted: July 09, 2009 at 09:36 PM (#3247875)

Really? There were plenty of blue collar toughs in my neighborhood that liked disco. I wouldn't be so sure of this.

Isn't the the whole premise of Saturday Night Fever.

Page 1 of 2 pages 1 2 >

You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.

<< Back to main

Thursday, July 09, 2009

NBC Sports/Calcaterra: Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Disco Demolition Night

Reader Comments and Retorts

BBTF Partner

Support BBTF

Hot Topics