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The 50 best disco songs of all time
From Quincy Jones to Donna Summer, all of our favourites from the classic disco era
Once upon a time, the funky bass lines, four-four beats, lush orchestration, galvanising lyricism and overall euphoria of disco music spilled out of the underground clubs and countercultural spaces from where it was born and sprung into the popular cultural limelight, dancing so tirelessly it threatened never to leave.
When disco went mainstream in the mid 1970s, filling the glamorous dance floors of clubs such as Studio 54 and Paradise Garage in New York (commonly considered disco’s birthplace), it simply dominated the charts to the point that pretty much every popular artist at the time had their go. The release of Saturday Night Fever in 1977 refined a basic image of disco – the bling, the polyester suits and big open collars, the platform shoes and colourful checkerboard dance floors – making it even easier for a global audience to grasp.
Though the disco ball’s sparkle would fade as the rockers and punks inevitably began to grow tired of the relentless positivity filling the airwaves, disco lived on through a new electrified post-disco, or Italo-disco over in Europe, while every decade thereafter would experience a disco revival of sorts. From Kylie Minogue, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Jungle and Jamiroquai to Daft Punk, Jessie Ware, Dua Lipa and Tame Impala, disco always finds a way to keep on dancing.
With Discos for Grown Ups popping up around the UK, we take a look back at 50 of the best from the original disco era.
50. Quincy Jones – ‘Ai No Corrida’
This cover of British New Wave songwriter Chas Junkel’s bubbly hit just has that sleek touch than can only come from Quincy.
49. Empress – ‘Dyin’ to Be Dancin”
Empress only released one album but deserve more flowers; the funky title track is heady and hypnotic but manages to keep grounded to the dance floor.
48. Universal Togetherness Band – ‘Ain’t Gonna Cry’
Another hidden gem from the era, Universal Togetherness Band took Chicago student parties by storm and were rediscovered by the crate digger scene in the last decade or so.
47. Aretha Franklin – ‘Get It Right’
This popping partnership between Franklin and Luther Vandross was never going to disappoint.
46. Inner Life – ‘Aint No Mountain High Enough’
A joyous New York disco cover of the soul classic.
45. Candido – ‘Thousand Finger Man’
A cosmic journey from the late percussion maestro, ‘Thousand Finger Man’ is gooey and irresistible. Close your eyes and let those congas pull you in.
44. Cerrone – ‘Supernature’
So called ‘dystopian disco’, this tale of the environment taking revenge on humankind is taste of the arpeggiated synths that would soon begin to dominate disco in the 80s and form a synth-pop monster of its own.
43. Ashford & Simpson – ‘It Seems To Hang On’
One of Gilles Peterson‘s favourite disco tracks, ‘It Seems To Hang On’ has necessary air and grace of a timeless disco classic. This musical and marital partnership also wrote some of the most popular songs from the era, not least Chaka Khan’s ‘I’m Every Woman’.
42. Cheryl Lynn – ‘Got To Be Real’
Such a loaded banger that it basically just switches between two choruses – who needs verses when there’s valuable boogying to be done?
41. Revanche – ‘You Get High In N.Y.C.’
An escapist ear-worm popular with today’s disco spinners, and for good reason.
40. Anita Ward – ‘Ring My Bell’
A saucy mid-tempo classic full of double entendre and fun synth sounds.
39. Change feat Luther Vandross – ‘The Glow Of Love’
Vandross’ voices is as velvety as ever on this 1980 single, but it’s all about that layered instrumental that was borrowed 20 years later by Janet Jackson on ‘All For You’.
38. Musique – ‘Keep On Jumpin”
A relentlessly energetic ripper that topped Billboard‘s Hot Disco Songs in 1978.
37. ABBA – ‘Voulez-Vouz’
Voulez-Vous was ABBA’s disco album, and with its title-track’s flirtatious instrumentation, funky rhythm and group Aha!s, its impossible to not get those disco fingers pointing. AHA!
36. MSFB feat The Three Degrees – ‘TSOP’
Pure instrumental, and one of the best at that.
35. Patrice Rushden – ‘Forget Me Nots’
No, not the Men In Black theme tune, but a 1982 slap-bass banger that perfectly exemplifies the disco double-clap.
34. Kleer – ‘Keep Your Body Working’
You heard ’em. A sleek and sexy number with elegant strings and rousing percussion.
33. Diana Ross – ‘It’s My House’
A breezy, slowed down bop that brings the disco to your living room; there really is no better song for doing chores to.
32. KC & The Sunshine Band – ‘That’s The Way (I Like It)’
Featuring one of the catchiest hooks in this list, KC & The Sunshine Band weren’t fooling around with this flirtatious, no, downright raunchy anthem.
31. David Joseph – ‘You Can’t Hide (Your Love From Me)’
By 1983 the instrumentation of disco became more electrified as strings were swapped for synthesizers and the genre began to be known more as ‘post-disco’. But underneath this new sheen on this hit from David Joseph are all the components of a top disco track, from its sultry bass line to its lush layers of catchy vocals.
30. George Benson – ‘Give Me The Night’
From the off, the simple little guitar hook pokes you in the side like a friend or lover beckoning you to dance. A timeless, gorgeous track with Benson at his best.
29. Kool & The Gang – ‘Get Down On It’
If you haven’t noticed already, a lot of disco song titles are demands, telling you straight to give yourself to the boogie and let go of whatever’s holding you back. This one takes this notion to the extreme, all of us hypnotised as we move and shake to Kool’s cult-like power.
28. First Choice – ‘Let No Man Put Asunder’
One of New York’s influential disco record labels was Salsoul Records, who helped popularise the 12″ single format. Philadelphia trio First Choice were one of their best signings, with this particular soulful smash standing the test of time.
27. The Whispers – ‘And The Beat Goes On’
Though Will Smith used the instrumental of this track for his 1998 hit ‘Miami’, one of the best recorded songs known to man, The Whispers were actually showing what West Coast disco had to offer.
26. Boney M – ‘Rasputin’
Remember that double-clap Patrice taught you? Get ready to go again…
25. Baccara – ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’
There’s a kind of playful novelty to ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’, which is perhaps why it didn’t land in the US. It caused a frenzy in Europe, though, and Baccara became the first Spanish act to land a UK No.1.
24. Diana Ross – ‘The Boss’
A euphoric track with sweeping strings and slappin’ bass about accepting that love calls the shots.
23. Prince – ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’
For all his lifetime of hits, Prince’s breakout song happened to be a disco track, a galvanising groover lead by that simple, repeated guitar line.
22. CHIC – ‘Le Freak’
Aaaaah, freak out! Pretty much any CHIC song could make this list, no ifs buts or maybes.
21. Patrice Rushden – ‘Haven’t You Heard’
It’s the unrelenting pulse and pace of that bass drum on ‘Haven’t You Heard’ that gives it its dizzying vitality.
20. Richie Havens – ‘Going Back to My Roots’
Another fast-paced belter, here it’s the urgency behind the piano playing and Havens’ trademark frenzied strumming that make this song a purging experience.
19. Odyssey – ‘Native New Yorker’
There’s just something about that sultry saxophone and strings intro that whisks you wistfully away to 1977. Ironically, they would become far bigger in the UK than at home stateside.
18. CHIC – ‘I Want Your Love’
‘I Want Your Love’ supposedly came to Nile Rodgers in a dream – note for note. There are wedding bells in the chorus, but there’s something bittersweet in the melodies that threaten to interrupt the party.
17. Michael Jackson – ‘Rock With You’
At the peak of disco’s reign in 1979, MJ threw his hat in the ring and delivered this slick and airy hit. It’s all about that formless, pan pipe-esque synth line.
16. Thelma Houston – ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’
‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ builds up perfectly from Houston’s powerful hum in the opening moment to a full-bellied chorus charged with passion and soul.
15. Earth, Wind & Fire – ‘Boogie Wonderland’
There’s no building up on this one: ‘Boogie Wonderland’ announces itself with five full-band punches to the face. In fact, the song is musically so impactful and controlling that it’s easy to miss the darkness in its lyrics, a train not often associated with the genre and certainly not with Earth, Wind & Fire.
14. Van McCoy – ‘The Hustle’
This song was based on a dance move developed by the Puerto Rican community in the Bronx in the mid-70s, both popularising and bastardising the original into a new viral dance altogether. Winning Best Pop Instrumental at the 1976 GRAMMYs, it’s just impossible to hate.
13. Diana Ross – ‘Upside Down’
Ross was simply on fire by the end of the 70s, so when Nile Rodgers joined her in the studio to lend a hand, you know they’d leave it armed with an era-defining doozy. Always The Boss, however, Ross remixed the whole of Diana herself to further spotlight her voice. Fair play.
12. CHIC – ‘Good Times’
Featuring one of the best bass lines in pop history thanks to Bernard Edwards, ‘Good Times’ is perhaps the best example of disco’s outlet for pure elation and positivity.
11. ABBA – ‘Dancing Queen’
One of ABBA’s most beloved hits is also of course a disco favourite, calling out directly to those lost in dance floor reveries and anointing them royalty for the night. Big up another timeless bass line from Rutger Gunnarsson.
10. Sister Sledge – ‘We Are Family’
With a drum opener that’s a sure-fire point on the intros round at your next pub quiz, ‘We Are Family’ zooms out from the individualism of ‘Dancing Queen’ and reminds you that you’re here having fun with friends, or strangers that are ultimately just like you.
9. Diana Ross – ‘I’m Coming Out’
Disco was always meant to be a space to express your true identity, but on ‘I’m Coming Out’, an ultimate gay anthem, Diana put this ethos outright.
8. Donna Summer – ‘Bad Girls’
Summer’s most successful song, spending all of the summer of 79 at the top of the charts, by which time she was already known as the Queen of Disco.
7. Chaka Khan – ‘I’m Every Woman’
Another anthem of female strength and empowerment, ‘I’m Every Woman’ was Chaka Khan’s first single as a soloist, having left the funk group Rufus. What a way to announce yourself.
6. Gloria Gaynor – ‘I Will Survive’
With cascading pianos and atmospheric cymbals, the melodrama behind the opening of ‘I Will Survive’ sets you up to give your most extra rendition of Gaynor’s classic; as one of the ultimate divas, it’s what she would have wanted.
5. Bee Gees – ‘Night Fever’
First appearing on Saturday Night Fever, Robert Stigwood and John Badham’s 1977 ode to disco culture, Bee Gee’s ‘Night Fever’ was so influential it cemented the associations of the genre that we still have today – the hair styles, the outfits, the dancing.
4. Sister Sledge – ‘He’s The Greatest Dancer’
Released a couple of years after the release of Saturday Night Fever, many have drawn parallels to the handsome dancer at the heart of this Sister Sledge hit and John Travolta’s Toney Manero: “The champion of dance, his moves will put you in a trance / And he never leaves the disco alone.”
3. Earth, Wind & Fire – ‘September’
The purists might call it funk, but if you asked Earth, Wind & Fire if ‘September’ is a disco song or not they’d most likely say it’s whatever you want it to be. This spiritual band are all about the good vibes, and few songs capture the essence of good vibes like ‘September’.
2. Donna Summer – ‘I Feel Love’
An ecstatic odyssey with Giorgio Moroder and his Moog synthesizer at the helm, Donna summer must have truly blown minds with a vision of the future on ‘I Feel Love’, somehow released in 1977 despite sounding decades younger.
1. Candi Stanton – ‘Young Hearts Run Free’
Simply one of the most gorgeous songs of the 70s, if not all time, there’s just a trace of sadness that hints at Stanton’s difficult personal life and somewhat betrays the song’s emancipatory message, and yet makes it even more powerful and genuine.
Image credit: Dennis Hallinan / Getty
