now... ordinarily, i like to have a bit of variety to these. part two wound up being nothing but early punk bands, but that wasn't intentional... until #4 or so... i just happen to like early punk bands more than most. but this one is special, a throw-down to mobius' contention that "all disco sucks".

most disco sucks, sure. most everything sucks. but for some reason... disco doesn't inhabit the grey area in which most music lives. very few people are ambivalent about disco. you love it or you hate it.

furthermore, disco is unlike most other forms of music in that it's an individual music. most of the great under-known disco acts are the producers: giorgio, cerrone, sylvester... & because true "disco" only ruled the airwaves for a few years (1975-81), the bands that had lasting hits tend to be well known today (abba, boney m, chic).

with the advent of mtv (& muchmusic up here in canada), disco lost its stranglehold on pop music radio to the "new wave" of british invaders: duran duran, adam & the ants, the eurythmics... & while there have been a handful of disco revivals over the years, you'll be pleased to hear that disco itself is as dead as grunge... or surf rock... or any of the other musical fads of the past few centuries.

here, in alphabetical order, are 5 bands that managed both to put out some kick-ass disco records while also managing to fly under the radar of the revivalists. so the next time someone's waxing on about disco... you can drop a name or two that will make you look like an authority on the subject.

1. aalon
one of the best disco shoulda-beens, this group was the project of frontman aalon butler. butler, a native of los angeles, was a soul-funk guitarist-songwriter who released an obscure single ("getting soul pts 1-2") in 1973 before joining ex-animal & war singer eric burdon's backing band. in 1977, his new band, "aalon", released their debut album, "cream city". to my knowledge... this is disco's only "concept album", set in a futuristic world where steven baine's electric train plays saturday nights at earth's hottest disco... the jungle desire. the album went nowhere sales-wise & aalon never released another, though they gigged around southern california for a few more years. why disco-funkers like prince & rick james went on to greatness & aalon didn't will never be clear to me. i'll speculate that in 1977, audiences weren't ready for aalon's use of early techno electronica... but i'll bet they would be today!!

2. b.t. express
you've probably heard their hit, "do it ('til you're satisfied)". but this is the prototypical disco band in a great many ways... in 1972, the studio musicians at king davis records began gigging around brooklyn as the "king davis house rockers". they soon changed their name to the brooklyn transit express, solidified their lineup at nine members [horns, keys, guitar, bass, drums, chyck singer] & released their first record ("do it") in 1974. a few hits through 1977, then a slump during the first anti-disco backlash, then a comeback in 1980 & then it was over. keyboardist michael jones (now known as "kashif") went on to become a songwriter & producer for the new breed of r&b singers in the early 1980s, best known for his work on whitney houston's first two records... so you know what HE'S up to... but for fans of rufus... or any of the dozens of early 70s funk bands that rode the disco gravy train... you can't do better than the express.

3. dr. buzzard's original savannah band
it's strange that this gang isn't better known today. after all, their debut album was the biggest disco album of 1976. blending the dancefloor beats of disco/funk with the dress & sass of early swing bands (their primary influence was the great cab calloway), dr buzzard's was easily the most "fun" disco band out there. however, after their 2nd & 3rd albums failed to click, the group splintered up. frontman stony browder carried on with "dr buzzard's savannah band" (not the "original"), while his brother (august darnell) took fellow buzzard andy hernandez with him & the two men hit the charts again fronting "kid creole & the coconuts" (endicott is one of my favourite songs in any style of any time...).

4. rose royce
like b.t. express, this west-coast group was another soul-funk session band that hit a new level when disco came along. trumpeter kenny copeland & drummer henry garner met in high school & decided to give music a try, adding another trumpeter (freddie dunn) & a sax (michael moore... no, not THAT michael moore!) & setting off as "total concept unlimited". their big break came when soul legend edwin starr ("war. HOOH. good god y'all. what is it good for? absolutely nothing, say it again...") hired them to be his backing band. through starr, they met motown producer norman whitfield who began using them for sessions w/ the likes of yvonne fair & the temptations. in 1975, mca was looking for artists to contribute to the soundtrack for their upcoming disco movie, "car wash". whitfield got his boys the gig, added chyck singer rose norwalt & convinced them to change their name (by this time... they were "magic wand"...!). the title song is a disco standard & rose royce landed a few more singles on the charts through 1978. at which point... they headed overseas, & are apparently still packing 'em in over in england. just in case yer interested...

5. the salsoul orchestra
what? you didn't realize that disco artists didn't just spring out of nowhere in the mid-1970s only to vanish into oscurity by 1981?... then let me introduce you to one of the great unknown heroes of disco... vince montana jr. back in the 1950s, montana played vibes (vibraphone... fancy sorta xylophone) in his native new york backing jazz greats like charlie parker, stan getz, clifford brown... he spent several years gigging around las vegas in the 1960s, before returning to new york. eventually, he was hired as the bandleader on the "mike douglas show", playing paul schaeffer to the future 60 minutes man. the show was taped in philadelphia, & after leaving douglas, montana joined the legendary philly international house band mfsb. there, he sessioned on records by most of the great soul acts of the early-70s... the o'jays, stylistics, wilson pickett, harold melvin & the blue notes, the jackson 5... grace jones... anyways, in 1974, montana met the cayre brothers, who operated caytronics out of nyc... a small record label distributing latin music in the northeast. montana convinced them to let him front a new kind of band for a then-underknown style of music. he coined the term "salsoul" as a blend of "salsa" & "soul" & put together an old-school big band which, at its peak, featured up to 50 musicians on stage at a time. the idea of the disco big band went on to spur a spate of imitators, from barry white's "love unlimited orchestra" to meco (you know... the disco star wars). & the blending of salsa rhythms with pulsing dancefloor beats went on to produce the likes of the truly horrible "miami sound machine", fronted by my arch-enemy gloria estefan. but the salsoul orchestra... w/ songs like "nice 'n' naaasty" & album covers featuring a sexy latin lady wearing perilously close to not much... DAMN, that's spicy!

so there you go, disco lovers & haters alike... five bands that the dj SHOULD be playing every time he's playing "dancing queen" or "heart of glass" or "you make me feel like dancing" or any of the other dead horses beaten into pulp every chance they get.