“I Feel Love” by Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder is the Disco anthem from 1977. At the same time, the song sent a clear signal towards electronic dance music. The production, which consists almost entirely of synthetic sounds four on the floor-Kick, Donna Summer’s soaring vocals – perfect ingredients for a dance track that is particularly hypnotizing through its repetitions. “I Feel Love” is a song that illustrates the influence of disco on pop music like no other. Not just through the sound and structure, but also through a vinyl format that was new at the time and gave it a natural home: the 12-inch single.
Singles as the natural law of pop music
The little 7-inch single dominated popular music since the early days of rock ‘n’ roll. Jukeboxes were fed with it, which was an absolutely fundamental factor in the musical socialization of millions of young people, especially in the 1950s. The affordable and durable discs also ended up on home turntables. Above all, radio DJs designed their shows with them. At 45 revolutions per minute, they offered just enough space for three and a half minutes of good sound quality music to fit on each side.
Beginning in the 1950s and continuing through the 1960s, the average length of a number one hit in the United States was between two and a half and three and a half minutes. This dictate was ultimately dictated by the limitation of the playing time of the 7-inch singles. No 7-inch, no radio – no radio, no (financial) success. Either you bowed to this maxim or you didn’t find it in the mainstream. Similar traits can also be observed with the establishment of streaming. On Spotify, only a playback time from the 31st second counts as a stream that brings in money. Pop songs these days have to grab listeners immediately so that they don’t click on them. No room for experiments, longer intros or escapes from the pop industry’s formula.
Something is happening underground: a disco revolution
A musical revolution developed in New York in the early 1970s: dance clubs were founded. Before disco was used synonymously with Saturday Night Fever, it was an underground movement driven by the innovations of young DJs in search of the most exciting party. Their influence quickly became noticeable on the surface. A handful of unconventional disco songs landed at the top of the Billboard charts – without ever getting any real attention on the radio.
DJs like Nicky Siano played by completely different rules than their colleagues at the radio stations. If the clubgoers were supposed to dance, no change of record was allowed to interrupt the flow. With all the 7-inch singles, this was obviously quite a challenge. Selected breaks in songs were played alternately on two, sometimes three turntables in a continuous loop in order to lay the foundation for legendary nights with their grooves.
Disco was hard work
The constant back and forth, the necessary attention to every single second and the omnipresent pressure to keep the club-goers on the dance floor sometimes came very close to competitive sports. It’s hardly surprising that disco DJs were looking for a solution. One of these solutions was Eddie Kendrick’s “Girl You Need A Change Of Mind” from 1973. After its release, the song became an integral part of New York clubs. The main reason for this was the extended break lasting two minutes, which was perfect for the DJs’ purposes. However, due to the total length of over seven minutes, the song could only be heard in its entirety as a single if you turned the 7-inch over. So long hits like “Girl You Need A Change Of Mind” had to be played from LPs to get around the original problem.
If you press a song with a longer playing time onto a 7-inch, the sound quality will deteriorate significantly. Logically, the longer a song on one side of a single, the closer together the grooves in the vinyl have to be. The result is increasing compression, which reduces the audible frequency response – i.e. less bass and less treble. An absolute fiasco for a record that was supposed to have an impact in the clubs of New York City.
Disco DJs and their influence
As the 1970s progressed, more and more disco hits found their way onto the Billboard charts. “Girl You Need A Change Of Mind” by Eddie Kendrick was far from an isolated incident. Manu Dibango’s “Soul Makossa” was one of those songs that was re-released by labels due to its popularity in the clubs. The same was true for “Love Theme” with an arrangement by Barry White. “Love Theme” even climbed to the top of the charts, even though it was a purely instrumental song. An absolute sensation. They didn’t want to miss out on this potential from the record companies in the USA, who increasingly targeted their releases at clubs in metropolises like New York City. They lengthened the mixes of the songs and invited the most respected DJs to the studio to hear their opinions.
However, there was still the dilemma with the playback time on a 7-inch single. Furthermore, with single releases you had to choose between shorter mixes, splitting them into two sides or worsening the audio quality.
The gold is right under your nose
The way out of the unfortunate situation was ultimately simple. Producer Tom Moulton opened the door for the 12-inch single. He transferred a disco remix from tape to a 12-inch record because he didn’t have 7-inch acetate available. Now a single song was given the same amount of physical space on the record as was normally the case with multiple songs. The audio quality has been extremely improved, because the negative principle on a 7-inch single naturally also applies the other way around. More frequency response, more life, more impact on the listener.
The advantage for the disco DJs was obvious. Suddenly they had a lot more time available to prepare the next steps within their sets – or to simply go to the toilet every now and then. Literally, the transition from 7-inch singles to 12-inch singles happened overnight. A debate quickly broke out in the industry as to whether the demand among average listeners justified the production costs. The success of “Ten Percent” by Double Exposure ended the discussion impressively.
From the underground to the mainstream
Starting with club visitors, the popularity of 12-inch singles spread rapidly. The night owls also wanted to buy the music that they had previously heard in the discos. “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder ultimately owed its enormous success to this fact. The song was originally a B-side on a 7-inch single. In 1977 it had already been released on several formats, but the mix as a 12-inch single eclipsed all others.
The 12-inch single was unstoppable. It dominated almost every genre in the late 1970s and especially in the 1980s. Not only because the release of a 7-inch version and a 12-inch version in the record companies’ meticulously planned release strategies offered unimagined revenue potential and thus placed the respective songs in the charts for longer.
Aside from the economic advantages, the musicians also benefited artistically from the development. Exploring new possibilities for sound design through extended frequency response was the fuel for numerous hits of the 1980s. Songs were created that didn’t end up on a 12-inch single as remixes, but were written for them from the start. The best example of this is and remains “Blue Monday” by New Order from 1983. “Blue Monday” is the most commercially successful 12-inch single of all time.
Disco changed the music industry
During the 1970s and 1980s, the average length of a number one hit on the Billboard charts doubled. The origins of this revolution lay in the clubs of New York City. It wasn’t the big record bosses who controlled the events, but rather experimental DJs and visionaries outside of the industry mechanisms. It laid the foundation for the production of music that was primarily electronic in nature and had an experimental side. The fact that the groundbreaking format change was not initiated by the large and influential record companies also fits into the dynamics of the industry – and this has applied to the entire period of its existence to date.