Disco Orchestration - Decreasing Use of Orchestras in The Early 1980s

Decreasing Use of Orchestras in The Early 1980s

The transition from the late-1970s disco styles to the early-1980s dance styles can be illustrated best by analysis of the work of specific artists, arrangers, and producers within each region, respective to the time periods. For example, Patrice Rushen, whose major works - Haven't You Heard from 1979 and Forget-Me-Nots from 1982 - contrast sharply to demonstrate emphatically the changes from the 1970s to the 1980s.

The orchestral elements of Haven't You Heard, from rhythms and woodwinds to horns and strings, were co-arranged by Patrice Rushen, who also arranged the near-minute-long extravagant string arrangements for the introduction of the song, whose 100-piece Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Charles Mimms, Jr. and Reggie Andrews, with Charles Veal, Jr., concertmaster. In stark contrast, however, Forget-Me-Nots uses a synthesizer to produce a single, sustaining string-like sound.

As the disco scene began to fade in mainstream popularity, with large labels rejecting disco albums and much of the public turning once again to the rock sound, there was much less room in disco production budgets for the high-cost of professional orchestras.

Electronic instruments like the Arp Solina string ensemble began to replace the large orchestras of the 1970s.

Thousands of examples illustrate the change from the luxuriant disco sound to the minimalist and electronic dance sound occurring from 1979 to 1980, just a few of which are:

• Madleen Kane
  • Forbidden Love/Thunder in My Heart (1979); orchestrations arranged, produced, and conducted by Thor Baldursson and Michaele Lana, with Fritz Sonnleitner, concertmaster of the Munich Symphony Orchestra
  • Cherchez Pas (1980); orchestrations: none
• Grace Jones
  • Don't Mess with the Messer (1979); orchestrations arranged, produced, and conducted by Tom Moulton and John Davis, with Don Renaldo, concertmaster of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra
  • Pull up to the Bumper (1981); orchestrations: none
• Kleeer
  • Winners (1979); orchestrations arranged, produced, and conducted by Dennis King and Woody Cunningham, with Gene Orloff, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Get Tough (1981); orchestrations: none
• Aretha Franklin
  • Ladies Only (1979); orchestrations arranged, produced, and conducted by Van McCoy, with Gene Orloff, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Jump, Jump, Jump to It (1981); orchestrations: none
• The Whispers
  • And the Beat Goes On (1979); orchestrations arranged, produced, and conducted by Dick Griffey and Leon Sylvers III, with Janice Gower, concertmaster of the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra
  • It's a Love Thing (1980); orchestrations: none
• Evelyn Thomas
  • My Head's in the Stars (1979); orchestrations arranged, produced, and conducted by Ian Levine and Fiachra Trench, with David Katz of the London Symphony Orchestra
  • High Energy (1981); orchestrations: none
• Stacy Lattisaw
  • When You're Young and in Love (1979); orchestrations arranged, produced, and conducted by Van McCoy, with Gene Orloff, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Jump to the Beat (1980); orchestrations: none
• Miquel Brown
  • Symphony of Love (1979); orchestrations arranged, produced, and conducted by Alan Hawkshaw and Don Ray, with David Katz, concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, and Albert Speguel, concertmaster of the Paris Symphony Orchestra
  • So Many Men, So Little Time (1982); orchestrations: none
• Vicki Sue Robinson
  • What's Happening in My Life (1979); orchestrations arranged, produced, and conducted by Warren Schatz, T. Life, George Andrews, and Sam Peake, with Gene Orloff, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Hot Summer Night (1981); orchestrations: none
• Billy Ocean
  • American Hearts (1979); orchestrations arranged, produced, and conducted by Ken Gold and Lynton Naiff, with Harry Bluestone, concertmaster of the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra
  • One of Those Nights (Feel Like Gettin' Down) (1981); orchestrations: none
• Angela Bofill
  • Angel of the Night (1979); orchestrations arranged, produced, and conducted by David Grusin and Larry Rosen, with David Nadien, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Too Tough (1982); orchestrations: none
• Earth, Wind and Fire
  • Boogie Wonderland (1979); orchestrations arranged, produced, and conducted by Maurice White and Al McKay, with Janice Gower, concertmaster of the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra
  • Let's Groove (1981); orchestrations: none.