Now that I’ve written about Donna Summer and Chuck Brown, I would be remiss not to mention the passing of Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. Far better known than Washington D.C’s Go Go Music, which was popular during the 70s and 80s but remained a more regional genre, the Bee Gees–formerly a blue-eyed soul trio called the Brothers Gibb–skyrocketed to stardom, along with John Travolta, because of their soundtrack to Saturday NIght Fever. The Bee Gees are up there with Donna Summer in being the biggest stars of disco music. And just like Donna Summer’s famous dance songs, songs like “Stayin’ Alive” still get plenty of rotation on dance floors around the world and will never be forgotten.
Punk didn’t kill disco. Neither did the closing of Studio 54. Au contraire. disco foreshadowed electronica, production values, and modern dance music everywhere. In this photo Robin is on the left.