LOLLIPOP’S ROLLER DISCO ARMAGEDDON MIX

Before drum machines, before MIDI, and before samplers there were beautiful records created by talented musicians. 

 During the period of ’78-’79, the foundation for the soon to emerge Hi-NRG, Boogie & House genres were being laid. Lollipop’s Roller Disco Armageddon is a musical snapshot of this period - taken just barely before “cool” became cliché. This mix perfectly captures the glossy, last gasps of a genre soon decimated by commercialization.

Of course, no official roller disco soundtrack would be complete without soaring, symphonic strings, scratchy guitar, plucky bass and sexy, growling horns. The unique experience of the amplified disco sound in the roller rink is also accurately re-created with the assistance of a custom-programmed acoustic reverb mirror. This podcast mix faithfully highlights songs that packed the skating rink floor and raised the energy level through the roof. 

With an incredible playlist mostly exiled from pop-disco radio programs, many of these “one hit wonders” and the rare 12 inch versions had to be lovingly transferred from my personal vinyl collection to authentically recreate a magical Saturday night at the legendary Hub Axle Roller Rink.

I know you’ll enjoy this mix. For some of you, it’ll bring back heart-warming memories and for those who missed it, here is your contextually-correct opportunity to experience it for the first time. Lace 'em up tight – it’s an “All Skate Armageddon!”

LOLLIPOP’S ROLLER DISCO ARMAGEDDON

Hub Axle Roller Rink Intro

Tuxedo Junction - Chattanooga Choo Choo

Bryan Adams - Let Me Take You Dancing

Peaches & Herb - Roller-Skatin' Mate

Isaac Hayes - Don't Let Go

Lipps Inc. - Rock It

Cheryl Lynn - Star Love

Amii Stewart - Knock On Wood

Leon Haywood - Don't Push It Don't Force It

The Brothers Johnson - Stomp

The Spinners - Working My Way Back To You

Dan Hartman - Vertigo

Dan Hartman ft Loleatta Holloway - Relight My Fire

Debbie Jacobs - High On Your Love

Deniece Williams - I've Got the Next Dance

Don Ray - Got To Have Love

Bonnie Pointer - I Can't Help Myself

Bonnie Pointer - Heaven Must Have Sent You

Voyage - From East To West

Michael Jackson - Working Day And Night

Debbie Jacobs - Hot Hot (Give It All You Got)

Front Page ft Sharon Redd - Love Insurance

La Flavour - Mandolay

Evelyn Champagne King - Shame

The Isley Brothers - It's A Disco Night

Edwin Starr - H.A.P.P.Y. Radio

Kat Mandu - The Break

Freddie James - Get Up And Boogie

Uncle Louie - Full Tilt Boogie

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LOLLIPOP’S POST-DISCO FUNK EXPLOSION

School is in session... old skool that is. The legendary DJ Lollipop invites you to reminisce in the distinct sound of the Post-Disco era. 

If these joints are new to you, here are the original club jams that ushered in a new era - the DNA of hip-hop. If you know these artists, press play on Lollipop's Post-Disco Funk Explosion and fall in love with these favorite classic rare funk gems all over again.

Post-Disco is the significant period in popular music history that followed the "death" of commercial disco during late 1970s. The anti-disco sentiment that proliferated at the time was partially due to the over-saturation and the big-business mainstreaming of disco. As a result of the "Disco Sucks" movement and the July 12th 1979 “Disco Demolition Night”, disco records & artists were rejected from airplay and their promotions dropped literally overnight. The face of pop radio changed following this backlash which social critics have described as “a bigoted, macho, attack on non-white and non-heterosexual cultures”. Top 40 radio stations avoided playing music by black artists in an effort to prevent their stations from being labeled with the dreaded "disco" tag.

It was the dawn of a new decade and a sonically edited, more stripped-down sound was emerging as a reaction against what was seen as the over-indulgence of disco. Thanks in part to advances in technology, the over produced, melodically complicated "disco sound" was passé, and a simplified sound driven by synthesizers accompanied by rhythm guitar moved dance music toward ever splintering genres. This drift from the original disco sound has been labeled “Post-Disco”. In this music scene are the roots of dance music sub-genres that evolved into Italo-Disco, Boogie, Hi-NRG, Electro, New Wave and early Alternative.

Funk music is sometimes overlooked and usually lumped with disco music. However, Funk has its own style, culture and was here before disco's birth. It was born in the mid-'60s by the legendary James Brown. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground. It usually is heavily syncopated with polyrhythmic rhythms, horn and percussive sections featuring rhythm guitar. Brown had the most outspoken voice in soul music and a groove that would prove to be the future of Funk music.

Many of James Brown’s band members such as Bootsy Collins would go on to funk with many other bands like Parliament and Funkadelic which were both created and lead by George Clinton. Parliament had emphasis on horns while Funkadelic had emphasis on psychedelic guitars. Both had a deep, rhythm filled groove that had elements of several genres of music all rolled into one. Clinton had successfully fused together these types of music to create what he called “P-Funk”. The success of Parliament’s "Flashlight" would greatly influence not only funk music, but also New Wave and Hip-Hop.

Lollipop’s Post-Disco Funk Explosion celebrates this exact time in musical history when horn sections were replaced by synthesizers and the horns that remained were given simplified arrangements. The classic keyboards of funk, like the Hammond B3 organ and Fender Rhodes piano began to be replaced by new analog synthesizers like the MiniMoog and Yamaha DX7.

In the Post–Disco era between 1979 and 1981, bands that began during the P-Funk era incorporated technological developments to continue to craft funk hits. The magical formula of classic funk guitar and rhythmic horn hits combined with thumping synthesized bass lines became a club phenomenon. Groups such as Cameo, Zapp, Lakeside, The Gap Band, the Bar-Kays, all found their biggest hits during this period, but as styles evolved, funk had lost its commercial impact by the latter half of the 1980’s. This time period witnessed many jazz funk artists like Tom Browne, Lenny White, Don Blackman (Twennynine) and Harvey Mason dip their toes into the post-disco funk pool to create their most successful hits.

Join Lollipop and the legions of counterculture groove disciples in enjoying this sonic slice of historic funk cake. To quote George Clinton – “Free your mind and your ass will follow.”

LOLLIPOP’S POST-DISCO FUNK EXPLOSION

DJ Lollipop Intro

Zapp - More Bounce to the Ounce

Cameo - Keep It Hot

Yarbrough & Peoples - Don't Stop the Music

The Bar-Kays - Move Your Boogie Body

Vaughn Mason & Crew - Bounce Rock Skate Roll

Tom Browne - Funkin' For Jamaica

One Way ft Al Hudson - Pop It

Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio - It's Your Night

Raydio ft Ray Parker Jr. - For Those Who Like To Groove

Lakeside - Fantastic Voyage

Gap Band - Burn Rubber on Me

Twennynine ft Lenny White - Peanut Butter

Prince - Controversy

Frankie Smith - Double Dutch Bus

Rick James - Give It to Me Baby

Harvey Mason - Groovin' You

The Jacksons - Can You Feel It

Latoya Jackson - If You Feel the Funk

Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove

Parliament - Flashlight

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LOLLIPOP'S ROLLER DISCO SKATING MIX '78-'79

The local teenage haunt in Norridge Village, Illinois was the Hub Axle. Known by most as the BEST ROLLERSKATING RINK EVER! To this day, I've never seen a rink that could compare to it's size. It was twice as big as it's closest competitor (Chicago's Rainbow Roller Rink on Clark Street) and it is missed and mourned by everyone who was a regular.

This mix reflects the most magical time in my life. This was when the seeds of the realization that I could mix records for a crowd were planted. Weekdays existed to only fill the void between my next visit to the rink for a speedy whip around it's glorious wood floor. We waited in long lines in 3 feet of snow to get into the Hub's disco rollerskating on Friday nights and Saturday nights. What a thrill! The energy and heat that radiated from that place literally steamed up all the windows. The fantastic lighting - awesome sound system. Brilliant!!

LOLLIPOP'S ROLLER DISCO SKATING MIX '78-'79
The Second Time Around – Shalimar

Ain’t No Stopping Us Now – McFadden & Whitehead

He’s The Greatest Dancer – Sister Sledge

Dancer – Gino Soccio

Vertigo – Dan Hartman

Funkytown – Lipps Inc.

Boogie Oogie Oogie – Taste of Honey

Macho Man – Village People

Souvenirs – Voyage

Born To Be Alive – Patrick Hernandez

Get Off – Foxy

Move On Up - Destination

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