Party_Jams.html

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.//////////////////

LONG TRACKS SHOULDN'T MEANDER
(Feb. 2024)Most Dance releases need a shorter radio edit.
A track of 4 to 7 minutes in length usually requires a
reduction to 3 1/2 minutes (ideal) for radio. It is frus-
trating to find a good release ruined because it tries to
be too much by including non-matching segments that
meander and drift off in various directions. Consistency
is a good thing in any production. Artists should only
be making an apple pie, not an apple, peach and blueberry
disaster. Too much crammed into a single track is not
appealing but rather confusing. Keep it simple and keep
it focused. A track doesn't need to be all encompasing
in order to be effective and become a hit. Listeners want
to be entertained not confused by needless clutter jammed
into a single production.////////////////////////////////1980 WAS SINK OR SWIM FOR DISCO
(Jan. 2024) Many assumed Disco was dead after the back-
lash of 1979. Some radio stations that had adopted the
new format suddenly said goodbye. Some independent record
labels operating on a shoestring budget also folded. The
artists themselves were the ones who saved the day for
Disco and proved that it was indeed here to stay. Artists
like Diana Ross ("I'm Coming Out" + "Upside Down") and
the S.O.S. Band "Take Your Time (Do It Right" could not
be stopped from climbing the charts. Then came "Celebra-
tion" by Kool & The Gang and "Behind The Groove" by
Teena Marie and they both kept the dancefloors packed.
Young & Company's "I Like (What You're Doing To Me" was
another hit that kept the genre alive in both the clubs
and on radio. LONG LIVE DISCO!///////////////////////////

WHY BILLBOARD'S 1976-1981 DISCO CHART FELL SHORT
(Nov. 2023) At best, Billboard did a B+ job with their
Disco & Dance chart and methodology. They seemed to be
good at tracking Crossover tracks (maybe too good). Often
R&B, Pop, Rock and New Wave songs that were not Dance
made it into the chart. They could have and should have
done a better job weeding those out. The result was often
a top 10 that had at least 2 complete duds in it. Their
reporting DJ panel was either too large or needed to be
tweaked. Other times the entire 5 or 6 debuts for any
given week were all pure garbage. Their resident DJ of
the time (Tom Moulton)often put the spotlight on weak re-
leases (just as the chart did) while overlooking many
stronger and more popular tracks. That may have been in-
tentional though. Billboard did their best but often that
effort came up short.////////////////////////////////////

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