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Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970-1979
Opening with David Mancuso's seminal “Love Saves the Day” Valentine's party, Tim Lawrence tells the definitive story of American dance music culture in the 1970s—from its subterranean roots in NoHo and Hell’s Kitchen to its gaudy blossoming in midtown Manhattan to its wildfire transmission through America’s suburbs and urban hotspots such as Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Newark, and Miami. Tales of nocturnal journeys, radical music making, and polymorphous sexuality flow through the arteries of Love Saves the Day like hot liquid vinyl. They are interspersed with a detailed examination of the era’s most powerful djs, the venues in which they played, and the records they loved to spin—as well as the labels, musicians, vocalists, producers, remixers, party promoters, journalists, and dance crowds that fueled dance music’s tireless engine. Love Saves the Day includes material from over three hundred original interviews with the scene's most influential players, including David Mancuso, Nicky Siano, Tom Moulton, Loleatta Holloway, Giorgio Moroder, Francis Grasso, Frankie Knuckles, and Earl Young. It incorporates more than twenty special dj discographies—listing the favorite records of the most important spinners of the disco decade—and a more general discography cataloging some six hundred releases. Love Saves the Day also contains a unique collection of more than seventy rare photos.
528 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
January 22, 2008
As a young club kid going out at the Paradise Garage during the summer of 1986 I didn't care two hoots about the deep background of Disco or house or Garage music movement. All I cared about was the music. Anybody who was there will tell you that larry Levan was one of the best DJs in the business.
One of my most vivid memories was my first night there listening to a song entitled '7 Ways (to make you Jack)' by a guy named Hercules. The song wasn't sung, it was spoken in a deep, husky, almost sibilant hiss. There were 7 directions the dancers were to follow. I'm dancing with my then boyfriend, really freaking out over the music, the sheer numbers of people on the dance floor and the just the whole outrageous vibe of the place. When I notice that next two us was this lesbian couple. They were both tall, gorgeous, wearing black catsuits and following the directions of the song. When Hercules got to number 7 Lose complete mental control and begin to Jack, the two women did exactly that. It remains probably the stand-out moment in my young, club going life. And from there I was completely hooked into the Paradise Garage experience.
Now years later, I am older, married and with two children, I see that this book has been written that talks about the back history of not only the whole disco movement but includes its outgrowth into House Music and Garage music. Sadly, the garage closed its doors a year later and Larry Levan has passed away. But it is gratifying to read and learn about the history of the music I adore, the people who were responsible for it and to revisit, through the pages of the book a place and an experience of an entire summer more than 20 years ago when I had probably the best time of my young life.
One of my most vivid memories was my first night there listening to a song entitled '7 Ways (to make you Jack)' by a guy named Hercules. The song wasn't sung, it was spoken in a deep, husky, almost sibilant hiss. There were 7 directions the dancers were to follow. I'm dancing with my then boyfriend, really freaking out over the music, the sheer numbers of people on the dance floor and the just the whole outrageous vibe of the place. When I notice that next two us was this lesbian couple. They were both tall, gorgeous, wearing black catsuits and following the directions of the song. When Hercules got to number 7 Lose complete mental control and begin to Jack, the two women did exactly that. It remains probably the stand-out moment in my young, club going life. And from there I was completely hooked into the Paradise Garage experience.
Now years later, I am older, married and with two children, I see that this book has been written that talks about the back history of not only the whole disco movement but includes its outgrowth into House Music and Garage music. Sadly, the garage closed its doors a year later and Larry Levan has passed away. But it is gratifying to read and learn about the history of the music I adore, the people who were responsible for it and to revisit, through the pages of the book a place and an experience of an entire summer more than 20 years ago when I had probably the best time of my young life.
July 15, 2011
As a child of four to the floor and an unabashed dance music lover, this book covered a lot of territory about the roots dance culture my younger knees loved so much. If you're not a real dance music fan, it can be a little inside baseball. It's also a great snapshot of how what we know as "disco" emerged and what that looked like to the underground dance scene. It also has some great gems for the Chicago house contingent and for those who remember hearing about the Loft in its heyday in NYC. There are some small fails with regard continually referring to the "tribal" experience of dance and some other weird moments of exotic othering, but aside from that it's a solid work of dance music history.
November 30, 2021
I give this five stars although I don’t like 99% of disco music! This book provides an in-depth history of the genre that includes the social and political influences of the time focusing on the development in NYC. The genre began in the early 70’s as a simplified form of funk. Dance music.
What fascinates me about the music is the culture within it. It began in underground gay clubs and naturally expanded to include people from all walks of life. In many cases the clubs were safe havens for that wanted to be part of a community outside of the mainstream. The book has several first hand accounts of how great and very popular dj ’s engaged the audience by “reading” the dance floor. There had to be great song segues, edits, and the ability to build the room energy. And, a great sound system is essential.
Record sales initially depended on club play although there NY/NJ area lsoon had the advantage of two radio stations playing the music. Of course, as it grew in popularity, well financed clubs and major labels got involved. That signalled the beginning of the end.
I recall reading an interview with The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts where he’s asked if the band was selling out with their new single at the time “Miss You” which was made for the format. Charlie replied, “Every drummer wants his audience to dance”.
What fascinates me about the music is the culture within it. It began in underground gay clubs and naturally expanded to include people from all walks of life. In many cases the clubs were safe havens for that wanted to be part of a community outside of the mainstream. The book has several first hand accounts of how great and very popular dj ’s engaged the audience by “reading” the dance floor. There had to be great song segues, edits, and the ability to build the room energy. And, a great sound system is essential.
Record sales initially depended on club play although there NY/NJ area lsoon had the advantage of two radio stations playing the music. Of course, as it grew in popularity, well financed clubs and major labels got involved. That signalled the beginning of the end.
I recall reading an interview with The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts where he’s asked if the band was selling out with their new single at the time “Miss You” which was made for the format. Charlie replied, “Every drummer wants his audience to dance”.
January 16, 2014
This is a 500-page history of dance music by an Englishman, mainly about New York in the 70s, with particular emphasis on the DJs and where they played, interestingly structured in 10 chapters, one per year of the decade. The cut-off is not abrupt or arbitrary; there is some great stuff about the rise of the Chicago House scene and even Detroit techno is a glimmer in its parents' collective eye.
Covering the earliest underground loft parties to the ascendance of the giant disco club (exemplified by Studio 54) as a worldwide economic juggernaut, the book has all the scholarly apparatus (end-notes, bibliography) of the PhD thesis that it may have been, but is stylistically very accessible.
A certain number of books about this era are somewhat self-serving autobiographies by record company executives (Mel Cheren's Keep On Dancin' comes right to mind). This one by contrast is focused on the DJs and clubs. There is plenty of analysis of the evolution of recorded dance music itself, but the innovations of DJs as remixers and live performers is central and the design and aesthetics of the actual clubs has probably never been so well examined. There are certainly points where the welter of detail is a bit overwhelming - the exact type of speakers and amplifiers used at various places, the constantly changing home base of a dozen peripatetic freelancers, and the internal politics of the first couple of DJ record pools.
There's also a useful amount of sociological and economic analyis - DJs as frequently exploited entrepreneurial free agents who displaced the unionized musicians who might have been found in a New York nightspot a decade earlier, plus the uneasy alliances of Italian- and African-Americans, gay and straight crowds and so on.
The book comes with an extensive discography, though a couple of CDs full of the actual music, especially rare remixes, would be fantastic but presumably the copyright licensing hurdles would have been insuperable.
Covering the earliest underground loft parties to the ascendance of the giant disco club (exemplified by Studio 54) as a worldwide economic juggernaut, the book has all the scholarly apparatus (end-notes, bibliography) of the PhD thesis that it may have been, but is stylistically very accessible.
A certain number of books about this era are somewhat self-serving autobiographies by record company executives (Mel Cheren's Keep On Dancin' comes right to mind). This one by contrast is focused on the DJs and clubs. There is plenty of analysis of the evolution of recorded dance music itself, but the innovations of DJs as remixers and live performers is central and the design and aesthetics of the actual clubs has probably never been so well examined. There are certainly points where the welter of detail is a bit overwhelming - the exact type of speakers and amplifiers used at various places, the constantly changing home base of a dozen peripatetic freelancers, and the internal politics of the first couple of DJ record pools.
There's also a useful amount of sociological and economic analyis - DJs as frequently exploited entrepreneurial free agents who displaced the unionized musicians who might have been found in a New York nightspot a decade earlier, plus the uneasy alliances of Italian- and African-Americans, gay and straight crowds and so on.
The book comes with an extensive discography, though a couple of CDs full of the actual music, especially rare remixes, would be fantastic but presumably the copyright licensing hurdles would have been insuperable.
January 13, 2024
I was reading this on the subway a few months ago when an older guy saw what I was reading, locked eyes with me, gave me a knowing smile, bumped his chest with his fist and said to me:
“Wish you could’ve been there, it was a beautiful time.”
I’m not super into disco but this was a great read full of and largely told by the characters who made the scene what it was in the 70s. The first-hand accounts and anecdotes really make the scene come to life throughout the volume and remain balanced, always offering dissenting opinions among otherwise mega-reverential passages.
I found myself bothered by the latter sentiments more than a few times though, and thought the excess of misty-eyed musings from DJs, promoters, and revelers through which we see this history could be overkill at times.
However thinking back to my friend on the subway and reading the epilogue gives me pause. There really was no-precedent for this kind of underground, dance-centric, club
culture beforehand. And, given the myriad of technological and cultural developments that have followed in dance music, the essence of these times, spaces and places have an aura that cannot be recreated, but only merely approximated today.
Since first hearing about spaces like The Loft and The Paradise Garage, among others, I’ve always been curious how it must have felt being involved with the scene and attending these spaces in their heyday. Certain clubbing experiences I’ve had on my own have given me an idea, but I’m happy that Love Saves The Day has added an additional dimension to my understanding to help me approximate in my mind more closely just what it must have been like to revel back then.
“Wish you could’ve been there, it was a beautiful time.”
I’m not super into disco but this was a great read full of and largely told by the characters who made the scene what it was in the 70s. The first-hand accounts and anecdotes really make the scene come to life throughout the volume and remain balanced, always offering dissenting opinions among otherwise mega-reverential passages.
I found myself bothered by the latter sentiments more than a few times though, and thought the excess of misty-eyed musings from DJs, promoters, and revelers through which we see this history could be overkill at times.
However thinking back to my friend on the subway and reading the epilogue gives me pause. There really was no-precedent for this kind of underground, dance-centric, club
culture beforehand. And, given the myriad of technological and cultural developments that have followed in dance music, the essence of these times, spaces and places have an aura that cannot be recreated, but only merely approximated today.
Since first hearing about spaces like The Loft and The Paradise Garage, among others, I’ve always been curious how it must have felt being involved with the scene and attending these spaces in their heyday. Certain clubbing experiences I’ve had on my own have given me an idea, but I’m happy that Love Saves The Day has added an additional dimension to my understanding to help me approximate in my mind more closely just what it must have been like to revel back then.
April 13, 2021
4.5 As a lover of dance music, this is definitely the definitive history of dance music in New York City in the 1970s. Loved it and discovered many excellent artists and dj personalities.
April 16, 2022
Mandatory reading for anyone interested in the history of dance music and DJ culture (or 20th century popular culture in general, for that matter). This book (along with Last Night a DJ Saved My Life, by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton) transformed my understanding of disco.
Read this if you want a fuller understanding of:
– the evolution of the artistry, technology, and cultural significance of DJing
– the long-standing relationship between dance music and LGBT culture
– how disco began not as a specific genre, but as a way of experiencing a broad variety of music (rock, funk, jazz, soul, Latin, African, electronic) – which only ossified into a formulaic sound when it was co-opted by commercial interests
– disco's role as a melting pot of different races and sexualities
– how the evolution of recording technology over the years has changed the way that people make, distribute, consume, and understand music
– underground clubs and parties as sites of liberation and refuge (political and spiritual) for marginalized communities
– how the rise of the DJ and the remix, challenged conventional notions of musical authorship (when a DJ or remixer transforms material that was previously recorded by another musician, who is the artist?)
It's a damn good book. If you've read this far, you should probably just buy it.
Read this if you want a fuller understanding of:
– the evolution of the artistry, technology, and cultural significance of DJing
– the long-standing relationship between dance music and LGBT culture
– how disco began not as a specific genre, but as a way of experiencing a broad variety of music (rock, funk, jazz, soul, Latin, African, electronic) – which only ossified into a formulaic sound when it was co-opted by commercial interests
– disco's role as a melting pot of different races and sexualities
– how the evolution of recording technology over the years has changed the way that people make, distribute, consume, and understand music
– underground clubs and parties as sites of liberation and refuge (political and spiritual) for marginalized communities
– how the rise of the DJ and the remix, challenged conventional notions of musical authorship (when a DJ or remixer transforms material that was previously recorded by another musician, who is the artist?)
It's a damn good book. If you've read this far, you should probably just buy it.
September 11, 2019
Si intentara imaginar el libro perfecto sobre la música disco, sería diez veces peor que Love Saves the Day. El recorrido que hace el autor desde las primeras fiestas en Nueva York hasta que el género se empieza a disolver en distintos subgéneros electrónicos es apasionante y vibrante. Los protagonistas aparecen continuamente para dar su versión de los hechos, y dan diversas playlists para poder escuchar lo que podría escucharse en el Loft o el Sanctuary. Es un documento que no solo es capaz de narrar la historia, si no prácticamente sitúa al lector en la pista de baile. No hay aspecto que no se trate: la tecnología, las listas de éxitos, los DJs, los clubs, las discográficas, y por supuesto la música. Más que genial.
September 26, 2007
Detailed, but readable count of the origination of NY Disco. Proves that Disco was indeed an organic phenomenon with roots in Motown & Philly soul and underground dance clubs--not a deviant musical aberration or the disposable pop trend that it is often remembered as. The end of the book begins to show how the disco culture traveled to Chicago and morphed into what is known as House. I can't wait for Tim Lawrence's follow-up volume which will delve into the more electronic evolutions of Acid House and Detroit Techno.
March 25, 2011
Really fantastic chronicle of the rise of nightclub culture and the "disco" sound. Disco in quotes because, as this book explains, the sound is much more than a 4/4, strings and cheesy hooks. Commendable in it's breadth, particularly the compilation of playlists for each club/dj/year. And, it's on Duke University Press, but Lawrence keeps the Levi-Strauss references to a bearable minimum.
January 29, 2022
I thought I hated disco...
This book does a great job of linking the hippie movement to go-go clubs to the disco. Deep dive into the rise of dj culture and how disco made queer (and cocaine) more mainstream.
The music sucks, but this book doesn't. If anyone out there wants my copy, I'd love to share and discuss.
This book does a great job of linking the hippie movement to go-go clubs to the disco. Deep dive into the rise of dj culture and how disco made queer (and cocaine) more mainstream.
The music sucks, but this book doesn't. If anyone out there wants my copy, I'd love to share and discuss.
August 6, 2025
Super interesting! Thoroughly recommend to anyone interested in this period of time and culture.
Also watch ‘54’ Ryan Philippe plays a great twink and also it’s got Mike Myers as a coke addled maniac club owner what more could you want
Also watch ‘54’ Ryan Philippe plays a great twink and also it’s got Mike Myers as a coke addled maniac club owner what more could you want
October 31, 2022
wonderful book that you can read in snips. great perspective on the era and the music
March 17, 2020
I think I have read every book on disco and the history of dance music now, and this is definitely the best and most thorough of the lot. I also appreciate that it talks about some areas out of New York City, but than again you can't talk about the development of dance music culture without talking about Frankie Knuckles and Chicago. I also appreciate the books' examination of race and gender and class in the different clubs and how that was hugely important for the development of different clubs. Some broader historical context would have helped this book further, as larger societal forces are mentioned only in passing.
April 16, 2025
'Love Saves the Day' has its moments, but falls flat as a whole text because at times it reads like a gossip newspaper. The best sections focus on music and event production (the Philadelphia sound, the Loft), while the parts that drag focus on the interpersonal relationships between the DJs and clubs. I love to hear DJ stories but so many of the excerpts were centered on the competing personalities (over and over) instead of the music and events themselves. The second half of the book picks up the pace and was a breeze to get through, but I almost stopped completely half way through. Important text but be prepared to skim some parts.
June 5, 2022
Brilliant. I appreciated the sociological considerations and the colorful anecdotes of the DJs and key figures of nightworld alike. The playlists were spectacular and really showcased the evolution of the musical landscape. The parts on the intricate relationships on the business end of things were a little bit more dense, but they didn’t detract from the atmosphere of the book.
Would have been five stars if not for the cringy puns. Reading about “the blacklash organized by African American community” really did take me out of the element. Please Tim, no more puns.
Would have been five stars if not for the cringy puns. Reading about “the blacklash organized by African American community” really did take me out of the element. Please Tim, no more puns.
September 2, 2020
This is a great book. It takes you through the whole club scene in NYC starting in the early 70s through and including the death of disco in great detail.
The epilogue was amazing....It basically tied everything together and how the music and club scene was formed and continued from the 70s basically through the 80s.
Highly recommend reading this if you are into 70s, clubbing, disco music.
The epilogue was amazing....It basically tied everything together and how the music and club scene was formed and continued from the 70s basically through the 80s.
Highly recommend reading this if you are into 70s, clubbing, disco music.
March 29, 2022
I wish I could’ve taken a course on this book in college. I love disco and the club scene and this book has infinite information on the origins of so many things like the 12’ mix, house music, record pools, studio 54, and teaches you about what paved the way for those more widely known things to exist - the loft, the gallery, memberships, etc. I treasure this book and everything I’ve learned from it. It read a bit like a text book in a few places but that brief tedium was well worth it.
September 15, 2017
An essential disco anthropology for anyone who wants to learn more about the original 'back in the day' at Paradise Garage, The Loft, Studio 54 et al. Features the origins of DJ and club culture and the emergence of house, thoughts from pioneers such as David Mancuso, Francois K, Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles and peppered with frequent discographies throughout...
June 15, 2018
A bit long-winded for my interest in music of the period. Too much ends up being an encyclopedic digest of period publications. Thanks, Tim , for the musical digest though - to get an idea of the less commercial hits of the period.
March 7, 2021
A must-read if you're keen to know about the DJ culture that flourished during the disco era. I fell down many listening rabbit holes while reading this. It is somehow an exhaustive volume without being exhausting.
June 27, 2025
They might have had the rise of dance culture but they will never have the Tumblr and YouTube of 2010
For real though a very wonderful and informative recounting of a very singular time and place in American History…very cool…had some minor issues with certain verbiages used but alas
For real though a very wonderful and informative recounting of a very singular time and place in American History…very cool…had some minor issues with certain verbiages used but alas
January 3, 2026
Interesting topic but it read too much like a Wikipedia article. Was way too long for what it said. I wish there had been more analysis; way too much copy-pasting of people’s quotes. The epilogue was good though
May 20, 2017
Fantastic look at the dual rise of disco and punk in NYC in my personal favorite era of music
October 14, 2017
A fantastic and engrossing dive into (mostly) New York 1970s club culture.
August 1, 2018
Long AF but a great history of disco music. Worth reading for the playlists alone.
April 6, 2019
Must read for every historically interested dance music lover.
February 16, 2021
Long live disco
April 25, 2021
Essential read if you like dancing
October 6, 2021
Given that this book is about 1970s dance culture I feel obliged to say that it's not about disco, at least not exclusively. Studio 54 was highest visibility example of a subculture of late night dance parties that were at once more widespread but more intimate than the glitter of disco.
It would have been easy to reduce this book to a list of clubs, nightlife personalities, and playlists, but Lawrence goes into the importance of the dance scene both to the participants, emphasizing the dancefloor dynamic between the DJ and the crowd - it's not just about spinning records, it's about responding to and leading the crowd.
Loft DJ David Mancuso's was active for all of the 1970s and his story is the throughline for the entire book. Forget big, glittering, and celebrity filled: then as now, a good scene comes down to "...a simple story:...hold a party, play some good music, dance with his friends, and meet new people". Fifty years on this still holds true.
It would have been easy to reduce this book to a list of clubs, nightlife personalities, and playlists, but Lawrence goes into the importance of the dance scene both to the participants, emphasizing the dancefloor dynamic between the DJ and the crowd - it's not just about spinning records, it's about responding to and leading the crowd.
Loft DJ David Mancuso's was active for all of the 1970s and his story is the throughline for the entire book. Forget big, glittering, and celebrity filled: then as now, a good scene comes down to "...a simple story:...hold a party, play some good music, dance with his friends, and meet new people". Fifty years on this still holds true.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews