4 Disco Hits From the 1970s That Make Life Worth Living

Even if only for a brief moment, disco ruled the music scene in the mid to late 70s in America. Here are some of the best hits of this era that introduced new sides to artists and served as the background for urban nightlife.

Videos by American Songwriter

“Night Fever” by The Bee Gees

If you’ve never heard the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, you’re missing out. Hits from the album included “How Deep Is Your Love”, “Stayin’ Alive”, and, of course, “Night Fever”, which stayed at No. 1 longer than any other single the year it came out. 

If you really want to feel like you’ve been swept away into the 70s, Saturday Night Fever is the perfect introduction for anyone looking to get into disco music.

“Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” by Michael Jackson

Before Michael Jackson changed his image with Bad and became a worldwide sensation with Thriller, he released an album called Off The Wall, which was intended to position him as a solo sensation. The album was not only a great success but also a good reintroduction for Jackson, who had released four solo projects under the Jackson 5 franchise before that. “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” serves as a peek into Jackson’s later, more evolved sound while also being a great representation of the kind of groovy music that was popular at the time.

“Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer

Although “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer sings of a woman who wants to  “bring a wild man back home”, her husband Bruce Sudano actually admitted to Songfacts that Summer was putting on a character when she sang the song.

“She knew immediately what the character of the song was, because she was an actress who sang. She just jumped right on that and injected it with the rock and soul that that song required, quite naturally.”

It’s fitting that Summer was trying to act out a character in this song, because it’s one of those that makes you feel like the most confident version of yourself, even when you’re not.

“Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” by Rod Stewart

This one is just straight-up fun. It’s got a beat that’s just so addictive, and the lyrics are perfect to yell at the top of your lungs in the most unserious way possible. Even rocker Rod Stewart, who penned the 1978 hit, can agree that the song was perfect for the times, even if it was outside his typical wheelhouse. 

“When I recorded ‘Do You Think I’m Sexy?’,” he told AXS TV, “They thought I’d left rock and roll. I was a traitor to rock and roll because I recorded a disco song. Was I jumping on the bandwagon? Yes. And what’s wrong with that?”

Photo by: Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images