Take a look back at the record-breaking tour
Sylvester’s gender was somewhat ambiguous at a time when we didn't have words like transgender or non-binary, but there’s no doubt he was one of the greatest disco divas of the era. He moved to San Francisco in his youth and joined a group of outrageous hippy drag artists called the Cockettes. He started out performing by impersonating blues singers like Billie Holiday and Diana Ross.
Summer left her Christian neighborhood and moved to New York in 1968, during the "Summer of Love." She came up with the incredibly intimate song ‘Love to Love You Baby,’ during a playful recording session. Apparently, Summer was just going with the flow and never expected the song to be released to the public.
As you might imagine, her live shows were the most sensational performances anyone had ever seen. She remained an underground star until she got paired up with two reggae artists, who worked with her to create the album ‘Nightclubbing.’ It included the hit song 'Pull Up to the Bumper.’ Jones felt this was when she truly discovered her musical style, as it brought her back to her Jamaican roots.
His talents made him stand out, and he soon formed his own group. He found two female backup singers, who would go on to become The Weather Girls. Sylvester had a voice like the other great female singers of the 1970s, hitting the falsetto high notes just as well as any of them! One of his biggest early hits was ‘You Make Me Feel.’
Grace Jones was one of the original regulars at Studio 54 before she started her music career. She was an iconic, androgynous model whose powerful style and self-expression made her the queen of disco before she even opened her mouth.
Gloria Gaynor was born in New Jersey in the 1940s, and raised by a single mother along with her six siblings. It was a religious family, and she started out singing in the church choir. She even said that her gift for song felt like a divine appointment.
She started working as a session singer in the early '70s, and was quickly offered record deals. She was one of the first singers to appear on an extended mix record–the kind of upbeat disco track that could be played continuously in a club. Her song ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ was the first disco record to make it onto the pop charts.
However, Gaynor experienced a great deal of hardship on her road to success. Her mother died, her sister died, and two of her brothers died. In 1978, she suffered a spinal injury that left her temporarily paralyzed after a fall on stage. But she made her comeback with the perfect song, and the all-time disco anthem: ‘I Will Survive.’ No wonder she sang with such conviction!
To her shock, it became a number one hit record. This terrified and overjoyed her. She was a worldwide success, but she was also suffering from a deep depression. In the late 1970s, she was inches away from jumping out the window of her hotel room, when the maid interrupted her. This brush with death was a sort of rebirth. She felt that God had intervened and she went on to create incredible hits like ‘I Feel Love’ and ‘Bad Girls.’
Donna Summer is another disco legend who started out singing in choirs, but her upbringing was even more religious. Summer was a born-again Christian who went on to become the most overtly sensual singer of the ‘70s.
Diana Ross was an international superstar long before disco came around. It’s well known that she got her start in the Motown group The Supremes. They were hugely successful throughout the 1960s, but Ross left the group in 1970 to pursue a solo career.
Ross came out with the album ‘Diana,’ which included classic anthems like ‘Upside Down’ and ‘I’m Coming Out.’ It sold 10 million copies worldwide, and those songs are still sampled by artists today.
She created a mix of Motown and disco hits, including ‘Ain't No Mountain High Enough‘ and ‘Love Hangover,’ but towards the end of the 1970s she was in need of another reinvention. She swapped out her usual collaborators and called in a member of the disco band Chic to help her out. What followed was a totally new sound that put her back on top of the world.
Chaka Khan experienced great success, but she struggled with a drug problem for a couple of decades that many say held her back from her true potential. That being said, she’s still an icon to this day and releasing fantastic new music.
Chaka Khan grew up in Chicago, surrounded by some of the best jazz and blues singers in the world. She gained the name Chaka Khan after joining up with the Black Panthers for a short period, but her music and style returned to mainstream disco afterward.
She dropped her first record in 1977, and, naturally, she went to her locals to promote it: New York’s most fashionable gay discos. With her music, her fashion, and her persona, she was a piece of living performance art everywhere she went.
Despite the controversy generated by an openly gay star, Sylvester insisted on being unapologetically himself. He would go on talk shows and talk about his husband, wear outrageous dresses, jewelry, makeup, and wigs, and never tried to hide his fabulous self.
By 1979, the world was crying out “disco sucks!” For Madonna, this was an invitation. She was drawn to anything that went against the mainstream. At this time, disco was evolving into another kind of dance music. She was part of the movement that created the disco of the 1980s.
Sister Sledge is one of the greatest disco ensembles that ever existed. The group was made up of four sisters: Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy. And Sledge is really their last name! Their song 'We Are Family' was one of their biggest hits and earned them a Grammy nomination.
The sisters released their first single in 1971 and are still performing today, having appeared at festivals like Glastonbury and Tramlines. Sadly, Joni passed away in 2017 at the age of 60, but the other sisters continue to perform.
They won a Grammy for their song 'Fairytale' in 1975, and two more Grammys in 1984 for their songs 'Automatic' and 'Jump (For My Love).'
The Pointer Sisters are another disco group made up of real-life sisters! They grew up in a large religious family with many sisters and brothers. Over the years, at least six different Pointer women have entered and left the band at various times, including the original sisters and some of their daughters and granddaughters.
It's hard to talk about disco without mentioning ABBA. The Swedish group typified everything that was most loved and most hated about the genre, from the cheesy costumes and dancing to the incredibly catchy lyrics.
Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad were the two women of the group, and were married to the other two members, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. Mixing business with pleasure was ultimately the cause of their downfall, but there's no doubt that ABBA have remained one of the most iconic bands in history.
Her hit song 'Ring My Bell' topped the Billboard 100 charts and stayed there for five months. Ward has continued to produce music and perform for decades, releasing a new single in 2011.
These days, Anita Ward is one of the lesser-known names on the list. However, back at the height of the disco era, she was one of the queens.
Her first solo hit in 1978, ‘I’m Every Woman,’ was an instant anthem. The liberating song combined with her incredible vocals established her as a disco diva. And fun fact: a 14-year-old Whitney Houston sang backup on the record, and went on to make it her own more than a decade later
Madonna made music for clubs, the places she loved. She launched her first record at Studio 54. Disco was morphing into pop, and Madonna enlisted the producer of the band Chic to help her create something new. He helped her create the song ‘Like A Virgin.’ Songs like ‘Holiday’ were the first disco dance anthems that could be accepted by an ‘80s audience.
Sources: (NewsOne) (Dig!)
Madonna, often called the Queen of Reinvention, started out with disco. She came to New York to be a dancer and found her family away from home in the gay clubs of New York. Her first musical endeavors were in rock and roll, but that path didn’t work out for her.
For many, the 1970s were a non-stop party. Women’s liberation was gaining ground among Black women, giving birth to many of the 20th-century’s greatest divas. A turning point for the struggles of the gay community and the empowerment of Black women coincided in perfect harmony, and the two communities came together to create the best nightlife scene the world has ever known. Hello, Studio 54!
Disco may have hit a rough patch in the 1980s, when many cried out "disco sucks," but the genre has remained relevant to this day and has experienced many revivals. The women of disco are remembered as some of the great female icons of the 20th century, lifting up women of color, the LGBTQ community, and anyone who hears their music.
Click through the following gallery to look back at some of disco's most beloved queens and divas.
Remembering the queens of disco in all their glory
An ode to the most joyful genre in music history, and the women who made it
MUSIC Genres
For many, the 1970s were a non-stop party. Women’s liberation was gaining ground among Black women, giving birth to many of the 20th-century’s greatest divas. A turning point for the struggles of the gay community and the empowerment of Black women coincided in perfect harmony, and the two communities came together to create the best nightlife scene the world has ever known. Hello, Studio 54!
Disco may have hit a rough patch in the 1980s, when many cried out "disco sucks," but the genre has remained relevant to this day and has experienced many revivals. The women of disco are remembered as some of the great female icons of the 20th century, lifting up women of color, the LGBTQ community, and anyone who hears their music.
Click through the following gallery to look back at some of disco's most beloved queens and divas.