The Priests of the Discotheque: The DJs

In the early ‘70s in the United States, discotheques became Temples, and DeeJays were their Priests.

DJs became the undisputed protagonists of the discotheque. They did not simply play records but, as the famous New York DJ Bobby Guttadaro said, they were “half masters of ceremonies and half psychologists.” They had to use their sensitivity and skill to understand the mood of the crowd and choose the right tracks to make the evening take off. The DJ was therefore the centerpiece of the club, the artist who performed by creating the right atmosphere and ensuring the success of the venue. Thus, a synergistic relationship was born between the DJ and the audience in which nothing was left to chance. While it is true that DJs had to understand the crowd’s state of mind on the fly, navigating by sight, they also had to be able to guide them with the right musical choices, the result of prior preparation. “Being a DJ is much more than simple, while mixing the music of two records is a true art that requires a musical ear, technique, and a certain ability to entertain people,” Guttadaro said at the time. “The secret lies above all in mixing the records together so as to link the rhythms of individual tracks, forming a sort of uniform musical carpet intended to keep people dancing without ever stopping between one record and the next.”

WHO WERE THE FIRST DJs?

In New York, in the early ’70s, the best-known DJs were of Italian origin: Francis GRASSO, Michael CAPPELLO, Steve D’ACQUISTO, David MANCUSO, Bobby GUTTADARO, Tom SAVARESE, and Nicky SIANO, a group entirely composed of second-generation Italian-Americans born to immigrant parents. As such, they knew how to manage the insecurities and unstable balances of the world around them. Italian-Americans and the mafia managed most of the clubs at that time.

The figure of the DJ was born at The Sanctuary in New York thanks to Francis Grasso, famous for his very particular musical combinations. Nicky Siano, later a resident DJ at Studio 54, proposed innovative music, such as “Love’s Theme” by the Love Unlimited Orchestra and “T.S.O.P.” by Mother, Father, Sisters & Brothers (M.F.S.B.), while David Mancuso was highly skilled at creating atmospheres with unique sounds. Two of the best DJs of the time were Tom Savarese and Bobby DJ Guttadaro. “I am a performer!” said Savarese. “I put on a show and that is exactly what people expect from me: to have fun and be entertained by my performance.” From 1976 to 1977, Savarese and Guttadaro shared the top spot in Billboard’s special ranking of the best American DJs. In addition to working as DJs, Savarese and Guttadaro also handled mixing in recording studios. The former mixed the Chic hit “Dance, Dance, Dance,” while the latter mixed all the music for the soundtrack of the film “Thank God It’s Friday.” Thanks to DJs, disco music became a mass phenomenon that allowed singers like George McCrae, Hues Corporation, and Barry White to climb the charts worldwide. After New York, DJs in other American cities, such as Philadelphia and Miami, launched numerous disco artists who later became very famous. However, for some time, their musical tastes were ignored by the charts and snubbed by record labels until, in 1974, they imposed the success of “Love’s Theme” by the Love Unlimited Orchestra, produced by Barry White and excluded from the radio, which was then the sole undisputed ruler of the music market.

LITTLE DJs GROW UP

New York DJs were successful and became enlightening guides for the newborn dance industry. The radio monopoly was further challenged when “Rock Your Baby” by George McCrae and “Rock the Boat” by the Hues Corporation reached the top of the charts, and Barry White went to Le Jardin to thank Bobby DJ Guttadaro for his contribution to “Love’s Theme.” In 1975, on Mancuso’s initiative, all the DJs from emerging New York clubs, who struggled to buy every new release, gathered for the first time in a union called the Record Pool. That’s right: the records belonged to the DJs and not to the clubs; those who didn’t have them couldn’t do the job! The first DJ Union gained the advantage of receiving ‘new releases’ in preview, but nothing more. The DJs were happy to have free records and earn money for their sets, but they did not care about having formal contracts, nor did they realize they were a vital part of a mechanism that, in just a few years, would focus the interest of all record labels on disco music. What was the innovation that emerged at that time? The length of singles was extended and, thanks to Tom Moulton who invented the first studio ‘break,’ special mixed versions were born: the famous Disco mixes. In January 1976, Billboard magazine, recognizing the success of disco, organized the FIRST ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL DISCO FORUM. Disco was becoming a world-famous pop music, and the music industry took advantage of it to create a global economic empire.

THE QUOTES

DJ Tom Savarese: “A DJ cannot just be a technician; they must be an open, lively, musically gifted person. Above all, they must love what they do, love all music, not just disco but everything from pop to rock.” DJ Tom Moulton: “I feel and distinguish the tension in the bodies of the audience waiting for the next track, and I observe how their bodies react to the breaks and changes in the rhythm of the music. […] People react to the sound of the cymbals like an electric shock; when you bring them down, with a break played only by the drums or congas, it’s as if you’re holding them suspended on the edge of a precipice. Then, with the tension of the music resuming, you catch them and bring them back to solid ground, only to let them drop again until they float in the air, free once more, safe again. People don’t notice these sensations, but they love them.” Vince Aletti: “To those outside the club circuit, the idea that someone playing records is considered a sort of musician—capable of creating their own tracks based on someone else’s—may seem a bit excessive. But there is no doubt: a true DJ can bring a night of music to life with their personality, style, and spirit, transforming a sequence of records into a spontaneous symphony.”