Party_Jams.html

12" DISCO SINGLES WERE POPULAR
(Oct. 2024) College students usually don't have a lot of
disposable income. The University Of Florida student
center music room had small, private listening cubicules.
You could pick out an album (The Eagles, Bread, The Doors,
K.C & The Sunshine Band, Diana Ross, etc.) and listen
on personal headphones. They also had the latest issue of
Billboard magazine and I was able to keep up with all the
current Disco releases. The only mall in Gainesville (it's
still there) had a record store chain that stocked the
new 7" vinyl debts on the Billboard Pop and R&B charts.
Many Disco artists were crossing over to those charts in
1979. The 7" single was more economical for me than the
12" versions. Often, they were simply the 12" release on
the A and B side. The record store would play a little of
a new track on their turntable to see if I liked it
enough to buy it. That was another way I was able to keep
up with the music and acquired most of my music during my
college years.////////////////////////////////////////////

DANCE SHOULD BE A MUSICAL ROLLER COASTER
(Sept. 2024) There have been too many SLOW dance releases
in the Summer of 2026. We're not here to be lulled to
sleep. We're here to DANCE! A boring nightclub DJ spins
almost identical tunes into one continuous TECHNO mess.
Dance music lovers perfer a musical joy ride with each
spin sounding different than the one before. Peaks and
valleys, highs and lows, those are the sounds that delight
us. And Dance is not a "mood" created by a DJ but a rocket
ship ride. A DJ should present variety in his playlist.
Who wants to binge watch (or listen to) Dance music that
all sounds alike. Variety is the spice of life and a good
DJ knows how to incorporate that into his presentation.///
I BROADCAST DISCO TO NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA
(Sept. 2024) That was one of my fondest memories from my
college days. U.F. had 2 commercial radio stations, unlike
most colleges that had non-commercial stations. There was
an AM Top 40 station and a 100,000 watt FM station that
played mostly Beautiful Music. A tenured individual at the
school (not a professor) began a weekend FM Disco show in
the Summer of 1979 when Disco was exploding and taking
over radio station formats nationwide. He was at least 15
years older than most students and unbeknownst to me was
looking for a student to take over the program. I lived on
campus and showed up for a broadcast. The next week the
show was mine! Surprisingly, I began pulling in many
listeners (#1 for my time periods of Friday and Saturday
nights when the Gainesville Arbitron ratings came out). In
the Spring of 1980 as Disco's popularity began to fade
(and pulled from many stations) the 10 months old program
was axed by university hierachy who weren't crazy about it
(or me either) and used that as a reason to justify ending
it.///////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I KNEW DISCO WAS MY THING
(Sept. 2024) In the early 70's (pre-disco) rhythmic songs
were very popular. Artists like The Supremes, The 5th
Dimension, Ohio Players, The Jacksons and the Temptations
were crossing over into the Pop charts and Top-40 radio.
They were the sounds of the times. FM radio started taking
off around that same time and my favorites sounded even
better on the FM dial. As a regular viewer of American
Bandstand and Soul Train I was prepared for Disco as it
slowly broke through (Summer of 1974). Disco spoke to me.
I could feel it in my soul. It made me want to dance and
sing along with the music. I started buying vinyl so I
could listen to my favorites over and over. When I turned
18 it got me out of the house and into the clubs. Discos
were a blast! Everyone couldn't wait until the weekend
when they could unwind and escape from their daily 9 to 5
grind. Now, I was around others who enjoyed the Disco
sound as much as I did. It felt like home. Long live the
Disco sound!//////////////////////////////////////////////SOME BLOGS ARE EASIER THAN OTHERS
(March 2024) It can be a challenge to come up with a blog
every two weeks. Sometimes I need time to recharge my
brain. Therefore, I take a break every year from April to
September. During that period I repeat and update previous
blogs. Only about 66% of those get a second life. I try to
recycle only the best of them. Just as television has a
rerun season, so do I. Im closing this one by reporting
that the U.K. recently decided to charge more for stream-
ing artist royalty payments. Our server (Live365) that
pays those fees for us has decided to pass that extra
charge on to their streaming stations. We don't have a lot
of listeners in the U.K. (maybe 4% or so) and have decided
that we are not paying an extra fee. Listeners in the U.K.
will have to find another way to listen to USA Dance Mix
(since Live365 has now turned off broadcasting there). I'd
suggest a VPN or incognito browsing to work around this
issue. Still waiting for Madonna or somebody to send me a
25K check which would make the past 40+ years of promotion
less expensive for me than it has been. Oh well.//////////

DANCE PROMOTION HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS
(March 2024) I started doing Dance music promotion in
1980. At that time club and radio DJs were my main focus.
In the early 2010's I began my streaming radio station. I
opened a Facebook page for USA Dance Mix which has grown
into a reputable site with over 800 followers. It compli-
ments my music charts. Often I contact the artists and
labels (usually on Facebook) to let them know their music-
al efforts are appreciated and supported. Many of the
artists I promote are well aware of my promotions. Some
also listen to the station. Many have their own radio show
or podcast, but none have gone as far as I have and broad-
cast 24/7 worldwide. Time changes and you either adapt
with it or get left behind.///////////////////////////////RAPPER'S DELIGHT & ROCK LOBSTER
(Feb. 2024) I played popular Disco tracks and R&B Cross-
over tunes on my 1979-80 Dance radio show at the Univers-
ity Of Florida. THEN came the Sugerhill Gang and the
B-52's. They both came out around the same time and were
unlike any other songs I was spinning at that time, yet I
liked them. Their unique sound and lyrics made them stand
out among the crowd. They were both slow to catch on but
they eventually did. College radio was where the B-52's
gained their initial footing. "Rapper's Delight" began at
Urban radio and then Disco stations and night clubs got on
board. I take great satisfcation in knowing I was not only
among the first DJs to air them but I was able to present
and introduce them to a larger audience.//////////////////

LOOK FOR REPRINTS AND UPDATES OF PREVIOUS BLOGS HERE UNTIL SEPTEMBER

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