Who knew that disco would ever become respectable enough for a wave of books about it? By the time disco had transitioned from minor club scene to worldwide phenomenon in the late `70s, punk had also arrived, and the two styles were like armed camps, with disco dissed as "gay music" (like that's a bad thing) and punk extolled as raw and real. I guess those sad, grim, grungy straight punks couldn't stand the image of all those queer party boys, mindlessly writhing on the dance floors of every major urban center with their black brothers and sisters, dressed in chiana and sequins and waving fans and feathers while the fog machines cranked and huge speakers thumped out trancelike beats and diva shrieks at earsplitting levels. Punks declared "death to disco" and mounted record-burning campaigns but could do little to stop their least favorite musical form.
Author Peter Shapiro, who appears to be straight, seems to know more than any non-queer should about disco, and says it with panache in what is probably the best of the recent slew of books on the subject. Shapiro expertly ties the emergence of the form to the new gay freedom mixed with an increasingly empowered African-American community - the perfect musical marriage between queers and blacks as both consumers and creators of the joyous soundtrack to liberation. The author has obviously done deep research to uncover the personalities behind all those obscure sounds. The dates, personnel, even studio locations are all here. This was no small task; no musical genre has ever been as faceless as disco, with many of the "groups" simply studio musicians hired for a session or two by the real creator, the producer. But Shapiro casts his net much wider, weaving such elements as DJ culture and its superstars, disco's influence on hip hop, legendary venues like Studio 54 and the Paradise Garage and even gay bathhouses, and much more into this rich portrait of a music-based culture pulsing with creativity. A detailed discography, an amusing photo section of period disco performers and fashions, a useful song index, and a notes section round out this wonderful read.