Shorts: Disco Demolition!

Rock N Roll Archaeology

RNRA Shorts: Disco Demolition!

Take us back to the Distant Days of Disco, Summer of 1979. Steve Dahl, a brash young DJ at WLUP- FM (“Chicago’s Best Rock!”), has declared war on Disco.

On July 12, 1979, he took the fight to Comiskey Park, in between games of a doubleheader between the home-team Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Things…got out of hand.

Since then, the “Disco Demolition” at Comiskey has achieved no small amount of notoriety, and at least according to Steve Dahl, it was a turning point, the beginning of the end for Disco.

Was it really? Well, yes and no. In our view, the Disco trend was already on the decline; it had pretty much run its course. But there was a powerful backlash to Disco, that’s undeniable. What motivated that backlash? And what was the fallout from the actual event?

Let’s discuss! For sources and show notes, visit rocknrollarchaeology.com !

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