What many people don’t remember about the disco era, which spanned 1975 until the early 1980s, was that there was really a lot of good music in there, and every bit of it danceable. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=877746 So, if you’re in the mood for a mirror ball and The Hustle, you might want to know how to plan a disco theme party.

in 1975, “Fly Robin Fly” by Silver Convention and the Bee Gees tune “Jive Talkin’’” were instrumental in launching disco. The word is short for discotheque, which is really 3 words glued together – musical record library. http://www.discomusic.com/forums/disco-music-70s-80s/7739-origin-meaning-word-discoteque.html

If you want to have a really comprehensive disco party, it would be great to start from the beginning in the mid-seventies and hit some of the disco stars. Saturday Night Fever was when disco was in its prime in 1979. You can find lists of the best disco songs ever (one has 700) and really pick your music. http://www.discomusic.com/charts-more/2664_0_8_0_C/

One of the signatures of disco was the flawless “segué” used by disco DJs to transition seamlessly from one song to the next, matching beats per minute, so that dancers were not really aware of where one song ended and the other began. This was accomplished with two turntables and a “cross-fade.” For this reason, you might want to find some disco mix CDs that feature this element, to get the true feeling of the disco. Be sure to read the titles of the songs and the artists, to determine is it’s the real thing.

Look for artists’ names like this: Thelma Houston (Don’t Leave Me This Way), Chic (Good Times), Diana Ross (Love Hangover), Donna Summer (I Feel Love), Cheryl Lyn (Got to be Real), The Trammps (Disco Inferno), McFadden & Whitehead (Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now), Musique (In the Bush), Bee Gees (You Should Be Dancing), Lipps Inc. (Funky Town). These were big disco hits, and that’s what you want for your party – the real thing. http:// www.discomusic.com/charts-more/2664_0_8_0_C/

Invitations: With a theme as popular as disco, you have a wide variety of invitations and party supplies to choose from. For the invitation, it can be home made, bought from a party store, or custom designed just for your event. http://www.scribetime.com/Adult-Party-Invitations_c_118-3-1.html

If you do want to make your own invitation, here’s a fun idea. Take small black paper cake plates, create round labels giving your party information for the middle, punch a hole in the center and mail them out in the right sized envelope. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGrh_NCns14&feature=PlayList&p=CE6D6EE5D0F8E497&index=2

Food and Drink: If you plan to serve cocktails, you can have some fun researching some of the drinks what were popular in the seventies. Harvey Wallbangers, the Tequila Sunrise, and Piña Coladas were among them. http://www.reasontoparty.com/retroparty.htm

You can carry the theme through to the food and serve items that became popular in that era. Fondue, although it existed long before, gained popularity in the seventies with people hosting fondue parties. You might want to follow a seventies food timeline, complete with signs and dates next to the food items. 1970: Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn, Hamburger Helper 1972: Celestial Seasonings herbal teas, Snapple, Zucchini Bread 1973: Egg McMuffins, Cup O'Noodles 1974: Yoplait yogurt, Miller Lite, Mrs. Field's Cookies, Mr. Coffee 1975: Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies, Country Time lemonade 1976: Pop Rocks, Starburst Fruit Chews, Perrier Water 1977: Twix Cookie Bars 1978: Ben & Jerry's homemade ice cream, Reese's Pieces, Arby's Beef'n'Cheddar Sandwich 1979: Paul Proudhomme ignites Cajun/blackened food The Century in Food:America's Fads and Favorites, Beverly Bundy [Collector Press:Portland 2002] (p. 157-159); The Food Chronology, James Trager [Henry Holt:New York] 1995.

Decorations: A key feature for a disco party is the mirror ball. You can rent or buy them for future use. You have a variety of options of you search “mirror ball.” Other items from back in the seventies are beaded curtains, black lights, and a lava lamp, which are not hard to find. Neither are many black light items, to have fun in the dark with color. Blacklight disco posters and a black light will certainly accent the scene with authenticity. http://www.party411.com/theme122.html

It’s hard to remember when it all started, but the Smiley Face buttons took the Smiley Face to the peak of its popularity in 1971. 50 million were sold. http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/smileyface.htm There are several Smiley Face items available at party stores, in case you want to pin one on everybody. There are Smiley Face posters as well, if you want to add one to the décor – perhaps near the lava lamp. http://www.glow.co.uk/acatalog/HISTORY_OF_LAVA_LAMPS.html

If you can, get beanbag chairs for seating. They are comfortable and decorative.

Costumes: For the guys especially, “Saturday Night Fever” provides some great costume ideas, just by looking at what they were wearing back then. You can invite your guests to arrive in “loud” garments, perhaps mis-matched colors. http://www.perfect-party-planning.net/articles/cool-disco-party-at-home.html

Popular in the mid seventies were spandex pants. Also platform shoes. Scarves, gold chains, and unbuttoned shirts to expose chest hair. White belts, white shoes and a polyester suit are all good.

If at all possible, see if you can find an old-school DJ with all the songs we’ve referred you to (plus many more) and have them DJ the party. Ask if the DJ can pull off those flawless segués, even if he or she is using two CD players instead of turntables. If DJs make reference to BPMs, that’s “beats per minute” and a good indication that they know what they’re talking about. http://www.discomusic.com/101-more/8767_0_7_0_C/

Also in 1975, a group called Van McCoy released a song called “The Hustle.” It is primarily an instrumental, and “Doing the Hustle” became a disco sensation. http://www.last.fm/music/Van+McCoy/_/Do+the+Hustle A fun thing to do at a disco theme party is get an instructional video and have everyone learn it, at least the basic steps. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAQ30qUJtxo It’s sort of like country music line dancing, but there were often dozens of people on the floor at the same time. Make sure you have space for everyone. Think “Electric Slide” only with a different rhythm.

Later, this evolved into more of a couples’ ballroom dancing style, with dance competitions for the “New York Hustle.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqyChXoglek&translated=1 It involved elaborate “lifts” and “drops,” rather like ice dancing on wood. The Hustle you’re looking for is where everyone looks like they’re in a big block, doing the same steps. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-FhczpCZ84

For the more ambitious who do remember the New York Hustle with flare, you might put on a song like “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor and give you an little exhibition. (The tempo of this particular song is ideal – not too fast, not too slow.) You could hand them a little trophy afterwards. Of course if several couples remember this version of the dance, you could hold your own dance competition.

If you feel like getting a copy of “Saturday Night Fever,” and playing it at some point during the party, this was the height of disco. It makes for a good backdrop when people aren’t actually dancing, or you can dance to some of the songs while you’re watching. http://www.flixster.com/movie/saturday-night-fever John Travolta does some great freestyle dancing along with the partner dancing.

For a humorous note, play The Village People and have everyone do the YMCA dance moves. Any preschool teacher or parent of young kids will be able to give a demonstration. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awl-nZnYcOU