Jimmy Somerville had the first disco hit of the 1990s with his 1989 remake of "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)", which soared to number 5 on the British Pop chart in mid-January 1990.
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There are no disco songs listed under 1990, because I am unaware of
any...yet. It turns out the live album that Frankie Valli and the Four
Seasons put out in CD form in 1990 was first released as an LP in 1981. So
the contest is back on! If you find a qualifying song for the year
1990, you will
get cash or merchandise as a thank you gift!
I will award $100 to the first person who can prove to me that
there was a real disco song released during 1990.
The criteria are as follows: 1. Its initial commercial release in any format (including an LP, CD, audiotape, or single) must have been in 1990, and not in an earlier or later year. Promotional releases sent only to DJs and radio stations in 1990 do not count, unless there was no subsequent commercial release. Video releases do not count; it must be audio only. 2. The song cannot include samples. 3. The song can be a cover version of an older song. 4. The song may be either a live concert recording or a studio recording. 5. The song cannot be in the "electro" category, but must rather meet the criteria for what disco is that are outlined here and must in my judgment have a disco sound. Usually at a minimum this requires a true disco bassline and fairly constant disco beat around 120 bpm, and the sound will trend towards disco rather than house, techno, electro, etc. where if someone heard it it would be clear there is a disco flavor somewhere in it. 6. The song cannot be so spare in sound that it has only drum beats and nothing else. 7. At least some lyrics must be sung, as opposed to spoken. Rap-disco hybrids where there's switching back and forth are acceptable. 8. You must supply an MP3 of at least a minute of the song to me, or show me a place on the Web where I can hear it, and provide documentation of its release date if I cannot find it myself. 9. No one is disqualified just because I already know you. An American winner can elect either to receive a check (or perhaps a postal money order) in the amount of $100.00 *or* music-related merchandise (including shipping costs) worth up to $100.00. A winner outside of the U.S. should receive music-related merchandise worth up to $100.00, though I can also send a check in American dollars if you can process it in your country with little or no cost at your bank. A winner in a country that has unreliable postal mail service (example: Mexico) will have to choose some reliable method of receiving money like Western Union. Any merchandise would be ordered by me according to your wishes, from any reputable dealer(s) including Juno.co.uk, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Alapage.com, Tunes.co.uk, Buy.com, MusicStack.com, or GEMM.com (if the seller has high enough service ratings), etc. and all costs would be borne to me, and the items would be shipped to you at whatever address you choose. $50 will be awarded for information about a SECOND disco song, if any, and $25 for a third or fourth song. Please note that this is not a contest or sweepstakes or any other form of giveaway, but a song search, where something is awarded in exchange for your help. If you think you know a song that will qualify for inclusion under 1990 please contact me by email at: 
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"To the Rock Groove" by Karen Jones is a discoesque house track with what
sound like horns.
The '70s nostalgia trip "Step
Back in Time" by Kylie Minogue is a dance-pop song which is backed by
a synthesizer rather than strings. It reached #5 Pop in the U.K.
"Groove is in the Heart" by Deee-Lite is house.
"Electric Boogie" by Marcia Griffiths is electro/reggae.
"Everybody, Everybody" by Black Box is electro/italo-house.
"Don't Worry" by Kim Appleby is electro.
Laura Branigan released an electro-dance version of the Vicki Sue
Robinson disco classic "Turn the Beat Around".
Oli Max and DJ Snapps Introducing Lorna Stucki and Eusebe remade Indeep's
"Last Night A DJ Saved My Life" in electro-dance style with a bit of rap;
the beat is erratic and almost everything is electronic.
"Footsteps Following Me" by Frances Nero is electro-soul-dance with
electronic imitations of bass and horns.
"Ty nye angel" by Aleksey Glyzin is Russian electro-dance.
"Dzhuliya" by Sherif is Russian electro-dance with guitar and castanets.
"Siniye lebedi" by Natasha Korolyova is Russian electro-dance with a rock
guitar segment.
"Do You Want My Love? (Disco Radio Mix)" by The Rock Posse featuring Fonda
Rae is electro-dance/house with an erratic beat, but does feature a real
trumpet.
"Where's the Love (Waitin' for the Love Remix a.k.a. Fresh Mix 90)" by
Delegation is electro-dance with real rhythm guitar and some flute note
samples played with a keyboard.
Barry White performed his disco hit "You're the First, the Last, My
Everything" at a live concert backed by full orchestration at the "Best of
the Proms" at Flanders Expo Hall in Gent, Belgium in 1990.
The Rolling Stones brought back the 1970s disco groove in a small way by releasing a live rendition of their fabulous "Miss You" in April 1991. But a disco revival only got into full swing starting around 1993 or 1994.
Hall and Oates covered "Philadelphia Freedom", but their version lacks the violins of the original. Samantha Fox released an electronic "More, More, More/Love to Love You Baby Medley". "You Called and Told Me" by Jeff Redd is electro-R&B-dance/New Jack Swing. "Ring My Bell" by DJ Jazzy Jeff is an electro-rap song based on the 1979 Anita Ward disco hit. "Soita kelloain" by Kikka is a Finnish non-disco cover of "Ring My Bell".
The Brand New Heavies, a British band, brought back the concept of a disco-styled remix, with the "Disco 2000 Mix" of "Dream Come True '92". Chic came out with a pair of new disco songs that didn't get much attention outside of nightclubs.
Giorgio Moroder released techno versions of "Boogie Oogie Oogie", "Born to be Alive", "That's the Way (I Like It)", and "Don't Leave Me This Way". Evelyn King released "Shame '92", a house version of her 1977 hit "Shame". Take That released an electronic dance version of the Tavares disco perennial "It Only Takes a Minute", and it became a Pop hit in the U.K.
Disco came back to life in the United States and United Kingdom this year with Tina Turner's "Disco Inferno" (released June 15, 1993) and Biz Markie's "Let Me Turn You On" (released June 22, 1993).
"Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" by Sub Sub featuring Melanie Williams was a dance-pop song that reached #3 Pop in the U.K. "Turn the Beat Around" by Lil Suzy was a freestyle/dance remake of the 1976 Vicki Sue Robinson disco original. The #1 U.K. Pop hit "Relight My Fire" by Take That featuring Lulu was an electronic dance remake of the 1979 disco classic by Dan Hartman. Sam Black Church remade "Disco Inferno" into a heavy metal song. "Revelation (Discostrip Mix)" by Dayeene and "Love Infinity (Greg's Full on Disco Mix)" by Greg Fenton presents Silver City are disco-flavored dance songs. A popular dance tune this year was "Hey Mr. DJ" by Zhané, which samples 1982's soul groover "Looking Up to You" by Michael Wycoff and therefore has touches of violins. (Point of interest: the "Soulchild Remix" of Brandy's "Full Moon" from 2002 also samples the same part of "Looking Up to You")
Ava Cherry released a house cover of "Forget Me Nots" in 1994. Luther Vandross released (on his album Songs) an electro-R&B remake of the 1979 McFadden and Whitehead classic "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". Gloria Estefan remade "Cherchez La Femme" in a jazzy electro style. Björn Again remade Baccara's "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" in electro-dance style. "Disco is Back" by Hustlers Convention is disco-influenced house. "Disco Strut" by Booker T. Laury is a blues song.
Babes in Toyland performed on a rock-dance cover of Andrea True Connection's "More, More, More". The Bucketheads' house song "Got Myself Together" samples GQ's "Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)". "Disco's Revenge" by Gusto (which samples "Groovin' You" by Harvey Mason) and "Disco Blu" by Disco Blu are techno songs. "Rollerskate Disco" by Ian Pooley is house. Hermes House Band's remake of "I Will Survive" reached #1 Pop in the Netherlands this year. Pauline Henry made a house version of "Love Hangover". Diana Ross released an electro-dance version of "I Will Survive".
Patrick Juvet's disco song "I Love America" was sampled on the house track "America (I Love America)" by Full Intention. "Let's All Chant" by Michael Zager Band was sampled in the 1996 dance song "Let's All Chant" by Gusto. Todd Terry released a new house version of the Musique classic "Keep on Jumpin'" featuring Martha Wash and Jocelyn Brown on vocals. Terrence Parker's "Pure Disco" is actually pure house music.
Lisa Stansfield released a dance/soul cover of Phyllis Hyman's "You Know How to Love Me". Dr. Delite and His Funky Band released a house cover of K.C. and the Sunshine Band's "Get Down Tonight". "Together Again" by Janet Jackson is electro-dance. "Yukarin' Disco" by Yukari Fresh is electro-pop. "Soap Disco" by Kara's Flowers is rock. "Alright" by Jamiroquai is a great funk song.
"Haven't You Heard" by Patrice Rushen was sampled on 1998's disco-house track "I Feel Good Things for You" by Daddy's Favourite. A Taste of Honey's "Boogie Oogie Oogie" was sampled throughout Pure Sugar's house track "Delicious". 1981's "Fate" by Chaka Khan was sampled on Stardust's monster house hit "Music Sounds Better With You". Ann Dennison's 1998 album "When You're in Love" featured non-disco-styled remakes of disco classics "Don't Leave Me This Way", "Boogie Oogie Oogie", "Love to Love You, Baby", and "You're the First, the Last, My Everything". The Weather Girls' 1998 album "Puttin' on the Hits: The Ultimate Hitparty" had electro/house remakes of "Carwash", "Celebration", "We Are Family", "Lady Marmalade", "That's the Way I Like It", and "Ain't Gonna Bump No More with No Big Fat Woman". "Disco Inferno" by Cyndi Lauper is a techno version of the Trammps disco classic. "Disco Babes from Space" by Babe Instinct is house.
On December 31, 1999, less than half an hour before midnight, Barbra Streisand recorded a live rendition of her 1979 #3 Pop hit "The Main Event" before an audience of 13,000 people at MGM Grand Las Vegas. It wasn't the last disco release of the 1990s, since it came out in September 2000, but it was certainly the last disco song recorded during the 1990s.
Carrie Lucas's 1979 disco song "Dance With You" was sampled in the house track "You Don't Know Me" by Armand Van Helden featuring Duane Harden. Delegation's 1979 disco song "Heartache No. 9" was sampled in the house track "Tonite" by Phats and Small. B.T. Express's 1980 disco song "Does It Feel Good to You" was sampled in the house track "Feel Good" by Phats and Small. "Love Liberty Disco" by the Newsboys is dance-pop. "Disco Countdown" by Conga Squad is disco-influenced house. "(I'm the) Disco Dancing" by the Jones Machine is electro. "Do You Like Disco" by Lexy is techno. "Turn On Disco" by Lexy and "At the Disco" by City Slickers are house. The remake of "If You Could Read My Mind" by Amber is disco-influenced electro-dance-pop. Edson Cordeiro released electro-dance versions of "Hot Stuff", "Night Fever", and "Don't Let Me be Misunderstood". Paula Cole Band's "I Believe in Love" is soul. "Ring My Bell" by Ann Lee is an electronic cover of Anita Ward's disco hit.
If you want to suggest an additional entry, write to
Disco Music released before the 1990s:
Disco Music released after 1999:
