Anniversary of ‘The Day Disco Died’

Here's a question for you discerning music lovers. Have you ever disliked a particular kind of music so vehemently that it moved you to violence? Now, I'm a fan of pretty much all types of music, so I'm that rare breed that likes diverse genres from heavy metal, doo-wop, country, classic rock, soul, gospel, cajun and creole, dixieland jazz, blues, and on and on. When it comes to disco, there are some songs that I absolutely love, and plenty that I can do without. But that holds true for other styles of music as well. If I claim to love classic rock, that shouldn't imply that I like every single song in history that falls under that umbrella, right? Makes sense.

On this day 39 years ago, the infamous "Disco Demolition Night" took place at Chicago's Comiskey Park, where the White Sox call home. For the low price of 98 cents, baseball fans got in to see the game. Oh, I almost forgot. You had to bring a disco record to take advantage of the 98 cent deal. The plan? To put all the disco records in one big pile and blow them all up. Why? The popular opinion at that time was that "Disco Sucks!" And apparently, plenty of Sox fans agreed with that notion.

The event was hosted by Chicago's Classic Rock Station, WLUP. And it was to take place between games of a double-header. The album-burning went somewhat smoothly; until WLUP's D.J. left. Thousands of fans(of baseball, NOT disco) proceeded to storm the field and chuck more records on the big bonfire. There was such a melee, that the second game of the double header had to canceled before more violence and chaos ensued. And the final stroke? The White Sox never got to make up that second game. They were forced to forfeit.

Now admittedly, I sometimes have had to fight off waves of nausea, when I've heard, say, "I'm Your Boogie Man", but that's where the dislike ended. And thankfully, disco HASN'T died, which is great news. If you're a fan of a certain type of music, even if it's decidedly "UNpopular", you may have to search a little harder to find it, but it's out there.