Giorgio Moroder: The disco pioneer who “could sue the whole world for infringement of copyright”
When looking back at all movements across history, it’s possible that disco might be one of the most divisive there ever was.
One of the features that makes it one of the biggest forces is also the fact that some innovators at the forefront of the whole movement hadn’t really known that that’s what they were doing, blind to their own excellence, until afterwards, when the reaction to what they’d created made them realise that maybe they had something that not everybody did.
At least, this was the case with one of the biggest groups of the entire genre, the Bee Gees. In fact, while creating their magnum opus, Saturday Night Fever, contributing to the movement was the furthest thing from their minds. As Barry Gibb once explained, they never did specific styles because they were trying to master one specific thing; they just followed their R&B influences to create music they enjoyed.
At the same time, many who were involved didn’t see things like Saturday Night Fever as a disco trigger, but something that perfected the entire idea. As Bill Oakes once said, “Fever is credited with kicking off the whole disco thing – it really didn’t. Truth is, it breathed new life into a genre that was actually dying.”
Disco wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea. In fact, many in the rock circles hated it, including the Eagles legend Don Henley. He even wrote a song about it once, specifically, about how he felt it was the scourge of the earth that killed all roots of creativity. However, much like many genres taking flight, there were many unsung heroes of the entire era that are still considered legends all the same.
Especially when you consider the lasting impact and those whose work and innovations ended up impacting an entire goddamn generation of musicians. Giorgio Moroder, for instance, might have been labelled as the ‘Father of Disco’, but his legacy runs far deeper and into the fabrics of house, techno, new wave, and more.
Most people will recognise the lingering effects of Moroder’s magic touch through hits like Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ and ‘Love to Love You Baby’, crediting him as one of the best and most notable masterminds when it comes to the revolutionisation of modern disco. In the 1980s, he shifted his gift to the world of cinema, scoring mega titles like Top Gun and Scarface.
Much like the Bee Gees, therefore, Moroder’s capabilities run far and wide. However, the quintessential touchpoints of his legacy remain clear. As he put it himself while reflecting on the countless songs that have copied or sampled his iconic ‘I Feel Love’ notes, “Sometimes I think I could sue the whole world for infringement of copyright, but I’m happy if they like the sounds and the melodies.”
It’s difficult to claim that anybody across music history simply invented anything, especially when most of their work – innovative or otherwise – often built upon the work laid out by previous geniuses in the field. Even The Beatles borrowed from others in the beginning, and their later experimentation came from the diverse array of music they were into at the time.
However, with Moroder’s deep-rooted influence, it would be easy to make a case for him establishing modern disco as we know it today, or, at the very least, setting the bar for what it could become – a unifying force that meant everybody could get involved, regardless of background.
