9pm Wednesday THE WAR ON DISCO: American Experience Documentary - Exploring the cultural movement that aided disco's rise and the backlash that tried to destroy it.
The War on Disco explores the culture war that erupted over the spectacular rise of disco music. Originating in underground Black and gay clubs, disco had unseated rock as America’s most popular music by the late 1970s. Disco began taking over clubs, radio stations, and record sales. In the gay dance clubs where it first flourished, disco was much more than music — it was an expression of pride.
But many diehard rock fans viewed disco, with its repetitive beat and culture that emphasized pleasure, as shallow and superficial.
A story that’s about much more than music, The War on Disco explores how the powerful anti-disco backlash revealed a cultural divide that to some seemed to be driven by racism and homophobia. The hostility came to a head on July 12, 1979, when a riot broke out at “Disco Demolition Night” during a baseball game in Chicago.
Chicago DJ Steve Dahl gave voice to disco-haters by organizing "Death To Disco" rallies at neighborhood nightclubs. Dahl was fired from his job when the rock radio station he worked for switched to an all-disco format. When 5,000 people stormed the ballfield on July 12, 1979, the Chicago White Sox featured Dahl in a "Disco Demolition" event that turned violent, tearing up turf and starting fires. Chicago police in riot gear were called in to keep the peace. It was the first of several anti-disco gatherings that year across the nation.
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