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Disco Inferno

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For other uses, see Disco Inferno (disambiguation).

"Disco Inferno"
Song
B-side"You Touch My Hot Line"

"Disco Inferno" is a 1976 song by The Trammps from the album of the same name. With two other cuts by the group it reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in early 1977, but had limited mainstream success in the U.S. until 1978, after being included on the soundtrack to the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, when a re-release hit number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1][2]

It was also notably covered by Cyndi Lauper on the A Night at the Roxbury soundtrack[3] and Tina Turner on the What's Love Got to Do with It soundtrack.[4]

The refrain is not to be confused with the saying "Burn, Baby, Burn" which was used to refer to the Watts Riots.

Song information

The song was originally recorded by The Trammps in 1976 and released as a single. It was inspired by a scene in the 1974 blockbuster film The Towering Inferno in which a discotheque is caught in the blaze.[5] According to Tom Moulton, who mixed the record, the Dolby noise reduction had been set incorrectly during the mixdown of the tracks. When engineer Jay Mark discovered the error and corrected it, the mix had a much wider dynamic range than was common at the time. Due to this, the record seems to "jump out" at the listener. With "Starvin'" and "Body Contact Contract", it topped the U.S. Disco chart for six weeks in the late winter of 1977.[6] On the other US charts, "Disco Inferno" hit number nine on the Black Singles chart, but it was not initially a significant success at pop radio, peaking at number fifty-three on the Billboard Hot 100.[7]

"Disco Inferno" gained much greater recognition once it was included on the soundtrack to the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, this time in extended form, running nearly 11 minutes.[8] Re-released by Atlantic Records, the track peaked at number eleven in the U.S. during the spring of 1978, becoming The Trammps' biggest and most-recognized single. Later, it was included in the Saturday Night Fever musical, interpreted by the 'DJ Monty' in the "Odissey 2001" discothèque.

The song also became an unofficial theme song for former New York Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams. It was often played at old Yankee Stadium while the scoreboard and video systems displayed the phrase "Bern Baby Bern", a play on the song's refrain and Williams' first name.[9]

In 1996, "Disco Inferno" was included on the soundtrack to the cult comedy film Kingpin and featured in two pivotal scenes in which Roy Munson (played by Woody Harrelson) confidently strolls into a bowling alley. The song was also used in the trailer to the Adam Sandler comedy Bedtime Stories. In 2006, the extended version was featured on a remastered version of the Ghostbusters soundtrack.[10]

On September 19, 2005, "Disco Inferno" was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame.[11]

Chart performance

Chart (1977) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1
Chart (1978) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 11
UK Singles Chart 16

Tina Turner version

"Disco Inferno"
Song
B-side"I Don't Wanna Fight" (Single edit)

Tina Turner covered the song in 1993 for the What's Love Got to Do with It soundtrack and it charted at number twelve in the UK Singles Chart, 4 places higher than The Trammps' version (number 16). The single included remixes by The Beatmasters.

Formats and track listings

UK CD single

  1. "Disco Inferno" (Album Version) – 4:03
  2. "I Don't Wanna Fight" (Single Edit) – 4:25

UK 12" single

  1. "Disco Inferno" (12" Version) – 5:33
  2. "Disco Inferno" (12" Dub) – 6:57
  3. "Disco Inferno" (Album Version) – 4:03

UK CD single

  1. "Disco Inferno" (Album Version) – 4:03
  2. "I Don't Wanna Fight" (Single Edit) – 4:25
  3. "Disco Inferno" (12" Version) – 5:33
  4. "Disco Inferno" (12" Dub) – 6:57

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[12] 56
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 10
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[14] 38
Ireland (IRMA)[15] 13
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 16
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 25
UK Singles (OCC)[18] 12

Year-end charts

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[19] 143

Cyndi Lauper version

"Disco Inferno"
Song

Cyndi Lauper performed this song live for the first time at New York, Bryant Park on June 21, 1998.

In the Billboard magazine dated May 16, 1998 in the "Dance Trax" column, there was a story on remixers Bobby Guy and Ernie Lake, aka Soul Solution: "They are working with Cyn on a chest-pounding rendition of 'Disco Inferno'. The cut will be featured on the forthcoming soundtrack to A Night At Roxbury."

Although the original release date of the maxi single was August 3, 1999, it was distributed from July 24 in some regions. The single was officially released in the U.S. on December 16, 1999. Lauper performed it at many shows around the time of its release.

Official versions

[21]

  1. Boris & Beck Roxy Edit Dub
  2. Boris & Beck Roxy Dub
  3. Club Mix
  4. Rescue Me Mix
  5. Soul Solution A Capella
  6. Soul Solution Drumapella
  7. Soul Solution Mix
  8. Soul Solution Radio Edit

Accolades

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1999 "Disco Inferno" Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording Nominated

Chart performance

Chart (1999) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 8
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales 12

Other cover versions

Sampling

  • Fast Eddie sampled "Disco Inferno" on his "I Want You, Girl"
  • Madonna performed her vocals from "Music" over an instrumental version of this song on her 2006 Confessions Tour creating the mash-up "Music Inferno".
  • In August 1998 UK dance act Baby Bumps released their song "Burning", essentially a modern remake of "Disco Inferno" which covers that song's intro riff and chorus looped over a modern house beat, although the recorded vocals were much more in the style of Tina Turner's version. It reached No.17 on the UK Top 40.
  • Punk icon John Otway and Steps songwriter Barry Upton used the song as the backing for John's 2nd Top Ten Hit Bunsen Burner.

Appearances in other media

References

  1. ^ "The Trammps Billboard singles". AllMusic. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
  2. ^ Dys, Andrew (March 8, 2012). "'Disco Inferno' singer Jimmy Ellis of Rock Hill dies at 74". The Herald. Rock Hill, SC. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  3. ^ "Disco Inferno Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper - Night At The Roxbury Soundtrack Lyrics". Lyricsondemand.com. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  4. ^ "Disco Inferno Lyrics - Tina Turner". Sing365.com. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  5. ^ "DeepSoul: The Trammps - "Disco Inferno"". DeepSoul.com. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 263.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 587.
  8. ^ Video on YouTube
  9. ^ "Bern Baby Bern: Bernie Williams' Burning Desire for Baseball Relit". Bleacher Report. March 28, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  10. ^ "Ghostbusters: Alternative Rock Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  11. ^ "Trammps Frontman Jimmy Ellis of Disco Inferno Fame Dies | E! Online UK". Eonline.com. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  12. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  13. ^ "Tina Turner – Disco Inferno" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  14. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. September 25, 1993. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Disco Inferno". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 47, 1993" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  17. ^ "Tina Turner – Disco Inferno". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  18. ^ "Tina Turner: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  19. ^ "Jaarlijsten 1993" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  20. ^ "Disco Inferno by Cyndi Lauper | MTV". Vh1.com. August 3, 1999. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  21. ^ http://www.discogs.com/Cyndi-Lauper-Disco-Inferno/master/121767
  22. ^ "Age Of Chance - Beneath The Pavements The Dancefloor (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  23. ^ "Age Of Chance - Crush Collision at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
Preceded by
"Don't Leave Me This Way" / "Any Way You Like It" by Thelma Houston
 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single (with "Starvin'" and "Body Contact Contract")
February 5, 1977 - March 12, 1977 		Succeeded by
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