Originally from Brooklyn New York, Lisa has been in love with house music since the days when house was disco. In the midst of all the technical mumbo-jumbo in today’s digital age, she brings a wealth old school knowledge to the forefront. Like many, Lisa loves to write about what she’s passionate about, and we’re thrilled she’s inspired by House Music! Having written articles in college and for The Examiner, iLHM is proud to have her onboard as a Editor where her writings abouts house music culture can take full stage.

Do you remember the days when disco was hot?  Afros and platforms shoes were the norm and line dances such as the “Hustle” and the “Electric Slide”swept across the nation.  Some well-known disco artists throughout the late 1970s  that shaped our perception of disco included Gloria Gaynor, Donna Summer, The Bee Gees, KC and the Sunshine Band, Chic, The Village People and yes people, The Jacksons. Donna Summer reigned supreme during the disco era given the title “The Queen of Disco” in which she helped pioneer the grassroots of electronic sounds that became the basic element of disco. Other factors that contributed to the rise of disco's  popularity were films such as “Thank God It's Friday” and “Saturday Night Fever”.  These movies help to pump of the vibe and raised disco up well into the mainstream.

History of Disco 1966 -1978

Disco is a subcatagory or genre of dance music and the word “discotheque” began in Europe; it was used to describe clubs that did not play live music. During the 1960s, fad dances  such as the “Twist,” the “Watusi,” the “Swim” and the “Mash Potato” can all be traced to the roots of Disco.  In the late 1970s disco's popularity had peaked to its prime with most of its support coming from the clubs that catered to African Americans, Latino and Gay Communities in New York City and Philadelphia.  If you examine the disco era very closely, you will notice several traits that were adopted from the hippies and psychedelia.  Traits such as free-form dancing, extravagant customing, trippy lighting and hallucinogenics. Soul Psychedelic groups like Sly and The Family Stone and the Chamber Brothers influenced new age disco artists such as Willie Hutch, Isaac Hayes , Philadelphia Sound and M.F.S.B.'s (Mother, Father, Sister, Brother) “Love Is the Message”.  The “Philly” sound played a prominant part in disco songs during the 1970s and most of these artists that have made songs including elements of disco came from Motown. If you are old enough, you might remember these popular songs such as, “You Keep Me Hangin'On” (The Supremes, 1966), “Bla, Bla Diddly” (Giorgio Moroder,

1966), “Only the Strong Survive” (Jerry Butler, 1968), “Soul Makossa” (Manu Dibango, 1972), “The Love I Lost” (Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, 1973) and “Keep on Truckin”, (Eddie Kendricks, 1973) ; record labels included SalSoul Records, West End Records, Casablanca and Prelude, just to name a few. Women also played a significant role in disco's history. Karen Cook was the first female disco dj in the United States.  Her dj career dated from 1974 to 1977 at  'Elan, Houston, TX, and she also programmed for clubs owned by McFaddin Ventures.