A dancing dozen as twelve top classic rock acts deliver their disco strut

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The Rolling Stones

The band members may disagree on whether “Miss You” from the 1978 album Some Girls was written as a disco song from the start or ended up that way in the studio. Keith Richards reckons it was, Ronnie Wood and Mick Jagger felt differently and Charlie Watts was pretty cool either way. But let's not start another argument between the three remaining members while they are getting on well again.

Whatever the plan, “Miss You” having a disco base is undeniable. Sure there's some blues in there too, but that's the band's roots growing through. It‘s a fine example of a band adapting, or perhaps just spending too long hanging around nightclubs having fun.

Kiss

Perhaps it’s less of a shock that Kiss did the disco deed with their 1979 song “I Was Made For Loving You”.They covered a lot of genres in their time and with all that makeup and those heels, a move to the dance floor seemed inevitable. The song was a big chart hit and rated gold status. As released with its disco style it wasn't too popular with Kiss stalwarts. It is a firm favorite for live shows though where it often gets rocked and sped up for a truer Kiss treatment.

Dee Gees

The first of a couple of fun takes on hard rock meets disco. The Dee Gees were Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters having fun as they so often do. This time with a whole album of the songs, Hail Satin, in 2021. They crammed it with their own take on some floor fillers and especially Bee Gees numbers.

Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa’s song “Dancin’ Fool” from his 1979 album release Sheik Yerbouti was meant to be a parody. It was intended to poke fun at, rather than have fun with, disco music. Did that pay off? Well in one way perhaps, the whole album didn't have the best reception, but this song became one of Zappa’s top-selling singles. It was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Vocal. Quite an accolade even if it didn't win.

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