Love Saves the Day: A History of American Dance Music Culture, 1970-1979

I did it all and loved it all! also got paid for all of it....LOL! - Billy Smith (NYC) still hanging out and traving the world! 3/17/07

Thank you Tim Lawrence. This book is the antedote to all the haters out there who still believe that "Disco Sucks" after the post-Comiskey Park backlash. This book is such an amazing and wonderfully readable document that I would recommend anyone interested in 20th century American musical history, or the [...]/black urban experience of the 1970's, or relatively recent New York history read it. Of course if you're interested in disco music or dance music the book is absolutely essential.

This book goes much deeper than the usual Studio 54 cliches that people associate with the genre (although Studio 54 is included, of course) and discusses the origins of the sound and the largely unhearalded people who made this scene happen. David Mancuso is described as a pivotable person here, and the folks who were there will confirm it. The book begins in his legendary club, The Loft, and lovingly details his obsession with sound and the disco experience. Other innovators from the early 70's are also featured including Francis Grasso, Steve D'Acquisto, Bob Casey, and many more. The scene is chronicaled from humble beginnings through the glory years of the mid 70's and ends the decade with the backlash in full swing in mainstream culture but continuing to thrive in clubs like Paradise Garage and Better Days. Along the way you meet producers like Walter Gibbons and Tom Moulton who made some of the classic recordings of the era, and Lawrence takes the time to explain what is so remarkable about their work. You also get delightfully naughty stories about some of the key players in the scene including DJ's, artists, and of course, the patrons that illustrate some of the excesses of the time . Personally, I think that it's this superb combination of detailed research and bitchy gossip that makes the book so thoroughly readable and fun.

I loved reading this book; the only drawback for me was that I couldn't help pining for the days when New York club culture was this incredible before AIDS and Rudy Guilliani conspired to very nearly kill it off (fortunately they weren't entirely successful).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Lawrence is an academic, and he did not experience the 1970's himself, but he interviewed everyone still alive who did. He concentrates on the DJ's and clubs in New York City, rightly so, but he does branch out to the rest of the U.S. as disco did the same. Of special note are the great discographies in each chapter, presenting the club hits played by the DJ's in each particular year. He proves that disco is not a four letter word!

This is a really fun book to read while also being informative.

Over the years I've read very many articles & books on the 70's disco & underground dance scene,
along with seeing quite a few documentaries & movies in the same vain.
I started DJing in NYC in 1971 & this is a subject that I lived & breathed.
"Love Saves The Day" is without a doubt the very first to tell the real story,
& accurately chronicle that entire decade year by year.
I found it easy to read, & without blurring the facts, very entertaining.
When it comes to "The Loft", "Paradise Garage" & the rest of this subject,
I consider this book a 'must read', & highly recommend it!
Danny Krivit