1/3 - Disco Demolition Night "The Day After" with Steve Dahl & Garry Meier - July 13, 1979

http://www.Dahl.com/podcasts
http://www.Dahl.com/iTunes
http://www.Dahl.com/store

Here is part one of three from the partial recording that I have from the day after Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

Initially Steve Dahl was told by the station management not to talk about what happened, but as the story became larger and larger Steve decided that it needed to be addressed. Steve, along with then newsman Garry Meier discuss the evenings events in their usual free-form style.

Contrary to the (sadly popular) inaccurate mythology of today Disco Demolition was not a riot, and it definitely wasn't a 'hate' event, it was just a big party for rock & rollers that were tired of the disco fad, and it got a little out of control. But to call it a 'riot' is a real stretch, it was an uncontrolled crowd, there was some vandalism (lots of drinking and weed smoking!), but there was no fighting or killing, and really no hatred (beyond the obvious loathing of disco).

It is sad that it needs to be explained, but it should be noted, for those that claim that Disco Demolition was racist or homophobic (I've heard it said many times, including right here on You Tube), that the event was based on COMEDY, and that most people didn't even considered those prejudicial notions at the time (certainly not most fans, and definitely not the people that orchestrated the event). It wasn't meant to be Nazi 'book burning' (I've actually heard people make that comparison! Ridiculous.) or anti-anything-else, it was just anti-disco, which by 1979 had become a corporate, watered-down sound that was stolen from funk and R&B. (Come on, The BeeGees and Disco Duck, it doesn't get much lamer or white-bred than that!) It had become a formulaic sound that also, in many people's minds, represented a fairly narcissistic, snobbish lifestyle and 'scene' (for many though not necessarily all in the disco scene).

My thanks to outernetweb.com for the kind permission for the use of some of the images. Visit their excellent "Disco Demolition Memories" page at the following link:

http://www.outernetweb.com/focal/disco/index.html

And of course many, many thanks go to The Coho Commander, Mr. Steve Dahl! You still rock and disco still sucks!!!

http://www.Dahl.com

Also, I just noticed that there is a more complete version of this audio (better quality too!) at The Stever Vault, commemorating the anniversary of Disco Demolition. Check it out here:

http://www.thestevervault.com/blog/2010/07/100708/

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5cBo1AltCg
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSbtlJ-ett4
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phhAWki0scs

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• Steve
• Dahl
• Garry
• Meier
• WLUP
• FM
• 98
• Chicago
• Illinois
• Disco
• Demolition
• Night
• original
• shock
• jock
• talk
• radio
• free-form
• pioneer
• Major
• League
• Baseball
• MLB
• White
• Sox
• Comiskey
• Park
• Detriot
• Michigan
• Tigers
• crowd
• control
• security
• promotion
• vandalism
• Harry
• Carey
• Jimmy
• Piersall
• Bill
• Mike
• Veeck
• Gleason
• Mitch
• Micheals
• disc
• jockey
• DJ
• Opie
• Anthony
• O&A
• Howard
• Stern
• Don
• Imus
• shock-radio

[dlovett32]

I was an Andy Frain Usher and there was NOT MUCH I remember from that night that had anything to do with comedy.

[TheOriginalShockJock]

@dlovett32

No one is denying it was crazy and out of control, but the heart of the 'bit' was comedy, and it was hardly a riot as there weren't any major injuries, no fighting and so on. But again, anyone that was there or saw how it all went down can't deny it was a crazy night, even Steve Dahl himself admitted it was pretty insane. But those people that want to claim that it was a 'hate' event, or that it was racists or prejudicial are missing the point of the satirical comedy nature of it.

[tiggerburberry]

The irony of this whole event is it took place in the city (Chicago) that is widely known for House Music (an updated version of disco)!!! So Dahl didn't really kill the sound, he just helped to move it underground.

[TheOriginalShockJock]

@tiggerburberry It was never meant to be taken too seriously anyway, it was comedy, and the real emphasis was on the fad aspect of what disco had become, not so much the music (though some artists probably suffered because people didn't always make the differentiation). Disco by 1979 was no longer relegated to black artists or underground clubs; it was a full-fledged fad, the BeeGees and Disco Duck, all that crap, homogenized, commercial pap for the masses.

Thanks for listening and commenting!

[Lashid4u]

@TheOriginalShockJock You say it was not to be taken seriously, but you hafta understand that many music careers were destroyed, considering that these artists (i.e. Gloria Gaynor & KC & tSB) could no longer get the airplay (and respect as musicians) that they had, prior ...This lead to many great bands disbanding (and ANYTHING that was too black and funky was marked "disco", like Earth Wind & Fire), and many DJs loosing gigs ...So, this shows how one dumbass act can affect an entire genre

[TheOriginalShockJock]

@Lashid4u Maybe true in retrospect, but there was certainly no way for anyone to have predicted that, and as it was a fad it was bound to change for some reason or another (namely the over-commercialization) In the context of the late 70's it was just comedy focused on popular culture, as it so often still is, Steve Dahl and Disco Demolition just happened to hit at the right time to help (fad) disco's demise along!

[TheOriginalShockJock]

@Lashid4u Comedy is an effective form of social criticism, rightly or wrongly (which is subjective) but that doesn't necessarily mean that it was 'mean-spirited' or whatever, it is just an amplified opinion (for comedic purposes) as well as being satirical, parodying and expounding on real life. And again, in the context of the times it was a somewhat valid criticism shared by many. (Now I'm over-analyzing it, it was COMEDY and SATIRE!)

[GeoLayered]

LOL I WAS THERE and I can say it was without question , done in the name of comedy -but when u add alcohol and other things and people goin nuts havin a good time- this is what CAN happen lol OK NOW WHERE IS the insane coho lips song!

[UniQueLyEviL]

@rspwner14 I *knew* I was going to find a comment like this somewhere. Hah!

[johnthejeweler]

whatever he did it was amazing!!!

[TheOriginalShockJock]

@GeoLayered Cool, check it out at The Stever Vault link I posted (you'll have to insert the w's and the .'s since You Tube won't let us post links in comments).

Plus, if you haven't already checked out The Stever Vault you'll really enjoy it. Later.