30 years before Lady Gaga, Grace Jones was making herself known with her striking presence, outrageous fashion sense, distinct singing voice and inventive performance videos.
Born and raised in Jamaica (birth name: Grace Mendoza), she moved with her family to the snowbelt city of Syracuse in New York state when she was in her teens. Before becoming a singer she was a model who became part of Andy Warhol's glam circle. To me she resembled an Amazonian version of Eartha Kitt.
Every year between 1977 and 1982 Grace released an album (and ten overall) but none became big commercial hits. Her highest charting LP, 1981's Nightclubbing, made it to only to #32 on Billboard's album chart. However, songs such as I Need a Man (her first); Do or Die; and Pull up to the Bumper were big club hits. Besides those, favorites of mine include La Vie en Rose;Nipple to the Bottle;Unlimited Capacity for Love; and Slave to the Rhthym. Her music style was hard to categorize - a bit disco, a bit new wave, a bit R&B.
In the 1980's, her Warhol years behind her, she tested her mainstream appeal by appearing in action movies such as Conan the Destroyer and was cast as the villain in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill. She also appeared in TV and print ads for Honda scooters.
Disco queen Donna Summer died on May 17, 2012, joining other beloved performers such as Sylvester and Loleatta Holloway on the great dance floor in the sky.
Simply put, Donna Summer = Disco. My coming out in the late 1970's paralleled the beginning of her ascent to superstardom. Her double-LP Once Upon a Time (pictured, right) was the first disco album I owned, bought during the summer of 1977. I remember watching her TV special in November 1979 that coincided with the release of the double LP Live and More which featured MacArthur Park. (Every time I've gone to the Monster on Tuesday's Classic Disco night they always play the entire 17-minute MacArthur Park Suite.)
Interestingly, Summer won a Grammy in the rock category in 1980 for Hot Stuff and received two other nominations in the category in 1982 and 1983. And on the same LP that had the rock song Protection on it she also had a gospel song titled I Believe in Jesus, which I actually liked. Besides these types of songs and her disco smashes she also had quite a few beautiful songs with slower tempos.
Even after her popularity began to wane in the mid-80's I enjoyed these later albums and their treasure trove of tuneful songs that were overlooked by many. In the summer of 1999 I saw her in concert at Jones Beach on a Friday night before heading out to my Fire Island share for the weekend. It was when she had a comeback hit with I Will Go With You (Con te Partiro).
I have 100 of Donna's songs on my iPod. It was quite a challenge to narrow them down, but here are my most favorite songs, most which weren't big hits:
Love to Love You Baby (16:44 12-inch version)
Try Me (18-minute version) - from the LP "A Love Trilogy"
The Saint was the nation's (perhaps the world's) premiere gay dance club during the 1980's and its closing party began on April 30 1988 - and continued until Monday morning, May 2. Although I love dance music I was never part of the Saint crowd; however, I'd go once or twice a year. My first time there was in June 1981 a few weeks before it closed for the summer; the last time was two weeks before the final weekend. And it was more than just a dance floor - there were a lot of other places to explore and "experience".
An ex-lover of mine, Rick, went to closing weekend in two shifts. During his second shift he got into a bit of medical trouble because he bought some bad GHB and collapsed on the dance floor. He woke up in the special triage unit set up at the club for these type of "situations".
Here are five songs I most fondly associate with the Saint:
Hills of Katmandu - This beautifully tribal song is the one I associate most with the Saint. The club's renowned planetarium projector that rose out of the middle of the dance floor projected images of stars that swirled on the circular scrim-like ceiling above the dance floor. To me, this effect along with the glow from the burnt orange lighting evinced a feeling of being out on the savannahs of East Africa. Such a gorgeous song.
Your Love - This was played during my first visit to the club. It was the group Lime's first hit. While we danced to it my boyfriend at the time passed out after taking a hit of poppers.
Dracula's Tango - A great dance song with a Halloween theme.
Eve of the War - This song is on par with the Hills of Katmandu in terms of its mystical/tribal vibe. What a beautiful orchestral opening. The only verse was, "Chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one he said. Chances of anyone coming from Mars are a million to one - but still, they come!". A number of years after the Saint closed I came across the 12-inch single among a pile of records someone was selling on Christopher St. What a find!
Tonight is What it Feels to be Young- From the soundtrack of the 1984 rock movie Streets of Fire.
The not-a-care-in-the-world vibe of the club was brought home to me during a visit in October 1983. It was a week after a truck bomb ripped apart a U.S. Marine barrack in Lebanon killing more than 250 servicemen. As I pranced on the dance floor at 3AM I thought of all the serious things going on in the world and how here on this fabulous dance flooor I was insulated from all of it.
A few months after rocker Rod Stewart succumbed to the disco fever sweeping the land in 1979 with his disco smash Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? (four weeks at #1), the world of rock capitulated further when Rolling Stone put the Village People on the cover of its April 19 issue (it went on newsstands today). The magazine had run earlier cover stories on the Bee Gees in 1977 (posing in their famous white disco suits) and Donna Summer in 1978, but the Village People cover was an indication of how gay culture was being slowly integrated into that of mainstream America. Soon their song YMCA would be played at wedding receptions and performed by field crews at baseball games. The commercial below for Old El Paso salsa was set to the song Macho Man:
Unlike most novelty groups, the Village People managed to chart three songs in the top 20 of Billboard's Hot 100: YMCA went to #2; In the Navy peaked at #3; and Macho Man topped out at #14.
However, the Rolling Stone cover may have been the straw that broke the camel's back as a backlash against disco among middle America soon began - culminating in the infamous "Disco Demolition Night" riot at Chicago's Comiskey Park in July. But 30+ years later the mention of the Village People is still likely to put a smile on most faces.
I bought the Village People's eponymous first albumwithout having heard any of its songs. I did so because their medley San Francisco/Hollywood had been high on Billboard's dance chart for months so I figured it was worth taking a chance on. I was in my junior year at Penn State and I bought the LP at the record store in State College. (The first disco album I bought was Donna Summer's double-LP Once Upon a Time the previous summer.)
The late 70's were my formative coming-out years and the songs on this album, e.g. Fire Island,Key West and San Francisco, provided me with somewhat of an education about gay life. I'd get a frisson of excitement listening to these songs' lyrics about places I'd yet to experience.
The dorm complex I lived in at University Park, West Halls (pictured), was where many members of the school's Nitany Lions football team lived; some players on my floor occasionally asked to borrow this LP for their parties. Despite the fact that the Village People were embraced by gay men and their song lyrics were filled with gay double entendres, they managed to cross over to the oblivious general market, who seemed to get a kick out of the group's "camp pop".
The first Village People song to chart was Macho Man, from their seconnd album,followed by the ubiquitous YMCA, which spent three weeks at #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 in the winter of 1979. Their third album Go West was released in the spring of 1979 and the single In the Navy went to #3. Rolling Stone Magazine even put them on its cover. However, overexposure soon ensued and the group "jumped the shark" in 1980 with their embarassingly bad movie Can't Stop the Music.
Other Village People-inspired posts found on ZeitGAYst:
Three years after their first hit single, Waterloo, ABBA got their one and only #1 hit in the U.S. this week in 1977 - Dancing Queen. Although it stayed on top for just one week - Thelma Houston's Don't Leave Me This Way was breathing down its neck - it became a beloved classic.
Despite their wild popularity worldwide, here in the U.S. ABBA managed to have just four top-10 hits. (They had ten other singles that peaked between #12-#32.) It was a similar fate met by other singers from foreign shores such as Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams and Boney M.
A few years after Dancing Queen, ABBA had a string of dance-oriented tunes that became big hits in gay clubs: Voluez Vous; The Visitors; Lay All Your Love on Me; On and On and On and Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight). A lasting memory of my first visit to Fire Island Pines, in July 1982, was dancing to The Visitors at the Pavilion.
Even if you find yourself strolling along Fire Island Boulevard today you're certain to hear Dancing Queen coming from at least a few of the houses in the Pines (or in Cherry Grove). At my house it was a tradition to play it whenever we celebrated a housemate's birthday after the cake was presented. But while the song's lyrics are certainly appropriate for "the gays", I never thought the beat was fast enough to make it particularly danceable (at least for my taste).
I planned to show a video of ABBA performing but, unfortunately, they're such wooden performers that instead I chose one of Kylie Minogue performing Dancing Queen at the closing ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
Glenn Hughes, the Village People's furry chested, handlebar-mustachioed leatherman died on March 4, 2001 from lung cancer at the age of 50. The other five members of the original group are still alive and range in age from 54 to 64. (The group's creator, Jacques Morali, died in 1991.) The following video clip of Hughes is from the Village People's awful 1980 movie Can't Stop the Music:
I thought about Hughes when watching the 2010 World Series because Giants relief pitcher, Brian Wilson, reminded me of him - except he doesn't have a hairy chest or naturally black hair (Wilson dyes it to give him an intimidating look).
Every Tuesday is "classic disco" night at the Monster, the famed West Village bar/piano bar/dance club - and it's heaven. Wonderfully danceable tunes are spun from disco's halcyon days (1977-1982), bringing back memories of carefree days when I was first coming out. Although detractors think disco music is no more than "thump thump thump" with bells and whistles thrown in, many songs have delightful lyrics. To pay tribute, here (in no particular order) are 15 of my favorite snippets of lyrics:
"How can you stop a trembling hand, reaching for another hand, even though it is - forbidden love?" (Forbidden Love - Madleen Kane, 1979) I first heard this song during a visit to the Gaiety Theater (long before Madonna discovered it) in Times Square shortly before I moved to NYC.
"We'll find a place for celebrations and dance and souvenirs and romance we'll keep on moving." (Souvenirs - Voyage, 1978-79)
"Let's fly away this golden day and magic songs are going to wake us." (Let's Fly Away - Voyage, 1978-79) Wow, two beloved classics on one album!
"Some people ask of me, what are you gonna do, why don't you go get a job?"All that I can say, I won't give up my music - not me, not now, no way, no how! (Lost in Music - Sister Sledge, 1984) The title of this post is also from a classic by these sisters (but you probably already knew that).
"Late night flight, LAX, limousine and you're all set on Sunset." (Sunset People - Donna Summer, 1979)
"It's a nightmare, it's a daymare, it's an every-which-way-mare." (Faster and Faster to Nowhere - Donna Summer, 1977) I could easily write a post devoted just to Summer's songs.
"Your body, my body, everybody move your body." (Let's All Chant - Michael Zager Band, 1978) This was the first 12-inch single I purchased. It was also featured in a scene in the movie The Eyes of Laura Mars, starring Faye Dunaway:
"Baby, my heart is full of love & desire for you. Now come on down & do what'cha gotta do. You started this fire down in my soul. And now it's burning out of control." (Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston, 1977) This song is distinguished by its beautifully plaintive opening.
"Now there's no need for me to eat an apple every day, oh he's all I ever need to take any pain away." (Dr. Love - First Choice, 1977) Whenever I hear this song I think of a former roommate whose disdain for disco music began after hearing the lyrics of this song.
"And when she's sweet sixteen she packs her things and leaves with a man she met on the street. Carmen starts to bawl , bangs her head to the wall - too much love is worse than none at all." (There But for the Grace of God - Machine, 1979) A "message" song that you can dance to! Radio stations often played a more "listener friendly" version which replaced the phrase "no blacks, no Jews and no gays" with "where only upper class people stay".
"You're too much for me, there's a fire in me, DAMN YOU sinner man!" (Sinner Man - Sarah Dash, 1978) Dash is a former member of the group Labelle.
"Blow horns, you sure sound pretty, your violins keep moving to the nitty gritty. When you hear the sound of the guitar scratchin', then you know that rhythm carries all the action." (Turn the Beat Around - Vicki Sue Robinson, 1976) An early crossover hit, recently its melody was used in a commercial for "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter", starring Will & Grace's Megan Mullally.
"Better think - what it's like to be all alone. Better think - what it's like in an empty home. Better think - cause I'm willing to forgive and forget. Better think - about the love that you ain't gonna get - oooh!" (Think it Over - Cissy Houston, 1978) Cissy Houston is Whitney's mother and, in fact, 15-year old Whitney provided background vocals. The following video clip has high camp value - a dance instruction video for white middle America overlaid with Cissy's song.
"How many times have your feelings been ignored and you say to yourself "this is it!" Here it comes again, you've got love again, just when you thought you had yourself together." (In the Name of Love - Sharon Redd, 1982) Redd was one of Bette Midler's back-up singers in the 1970's known as the Harlettes. She died of AIDS in 1992.
"Sweet sensation, I can’t find the words to explain. You're such a hot temptation, you just walk right in and take me away." (Love Sensation - Loleatta Holloway, 1980) With Holloways's growlingly passionate voice, can you imagine anyone else singing this fierce classic?
The mainstreaming of gay culture began on the afternoon of January 6, 1979 when the Village People performed their hit song YMCA on American Bandstand (the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for pop music). Then in April they would crash that bastion of rock'n roll, Rolling Stone magazine, by appearing on its cover.
Having the Village People embraced by the general public was similar to when Wonder Bread came out with a line of whole wheat bread. Indeed, their Bandstand appearance may have been the beginning of gay culture infiltrating the mainstream - the song made it all the way to #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Such acceptance by the masses was what conservative politicians and the religious right feared (and was one of the driving forces behind the rise of the "Moral Majority").
Was the public so benighted that the innuendo-laden message of this and other VP songs such as Macho Man and In the Navy completely eluded them? (Then again I was also surprised that the "milk moustache" campaign took off because from the very start I thought it had a pornographic connotation.) Or had they suddenly developed an appreciation of "camp"? Whatever was behind it, their fascination faded the following year when the Village People "jumped the shark" by appearing in the dreadful movie Can't Stop the Music. (Overexposure - the American way!)
Regardless of this fiasco, it can't take away from the accomplishment of our merry band of troubadors in introducing some gay culture into that of the mainstream zeitgeist.
One of the shining lights of disco, Sylvester, died on Dec. 16, 1988 from AIDS complications. He was 41. Best known for one of the biggest dance anthems of the disco era, the joyous You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), Sylvester also had a string of other dance floor favorites (all featuring his captivating gospel-tinged falsetto), including I Need You;Do You Wanna Funk? (the song of summer 1982); Take Me to Heaven; and Lovin' Is Really My Game. (The book The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, the Music, the 70's in San Francisco pays tribute to the performer as well as the early years of disco.)
Other celebrated names in the world of disco to die from AIDS include Patrick Cowley (pictured, near left), producer of some of Sylvester's biggest hits (died in 1982 at age 32; Jacques Morali, who wrote a number of songs for the Ritchie Family and created the Village People (1991, age 44); Paul Jabara (pictured, far left), who wrote Last Dance (1992, age 44); Sharon Redd, who sang the classic In the Name of Love (1992, age 46); and Dan Hartman, who had two huge hits with Instant Replay and Vertigo/Relight My Fire (1994, age 44)
