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Disco Inferno
The disco era caught fire in 1977 with the film "Saturday Night Fever." It ended two years later with a crazed bonfire at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. Today: how "Disco Demolition Night" changed pop music. And, we debate the music and legacy of disco in a Soundcheck Smackdown. Later: tenor Lawrence Brownlee talks about tackling roles in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore and Rossini's Semiramide.
Disco Demolition Night
Thirty years ago this week, a Chicago DJ organized an anti-disco rally that took place between games of a White Sox doubleheader at Comiskey Park. But "Disco Demolition Night" turned into a riot fueled by anti-black and anti-gay sentiments. Steve Greenberg, CEO of S-Curve Records and a former president of Columbia Records, joins us to trace the impact of that night through Michael Jackson's Thriller, African American and gay culture, and more.
Soundcheck blog: "From Comiskey Park to Thriller " by Steve Greenberg
Soundcheck blog: John Schaefer on Disco
Smackdown: Disco
Born in underground music clubs and raised on dancefloors, disco hit the mainstream in 1977 with the film Saturday Night Fever. Soon, it seemed that anything could be "disco": clothes, furniture, or even a Rolling Stones hit. But two years later, a cultural backlash booted disco from the pop charts and replaced it with the likes of The Knack's "My Sharona." Today: a debate on the legacy of disco with guests Eric Deggans, media and TV critic for the St. Petersburg Times, and Dave Thompson, author of I Hate New Music: A Classic Rock Manifesto.
Weigh in: Did disco really suck? What is its legacy?
Lawrence Brownlee
Tenor Lawrence Brownlee is a growing presence at the Metropolitan Opera. This summer, he'll appear in new roles at the Caramoor Festival in Westchester: Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and Idreno in Rossini’s Semiramide. But the rise to fame for this African-American singer hasn’t always been easy, being met with entrenched prejudices in the field. He joins us to talk about his busy career.
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