The song was originally recorded by the Trammps in 1976 and released as a single. It was inspired by the 1974 blockbuster film The Towering Inferno, in which a party in a top floor ballroom is threatened by a fire that breaks out below.[5] According to Tom Moulton, who mixed the record, the Dolbynoise reduction had been set incorrectly during the mixdown of the tracks. When engineer Jay Mark discovered the error and corrected it, the mix had a much wider dynamic range than was common at the time. Due to this, the record seems to "jump out" at the listener. With "Starvin'" and "Body Contact Contract", it topped the U.S. Disco chart for six weeks in the late winter of 1977.[6] On the other U.S. charts, "Disco Inferno" hit number nine on the Black Singles chart, but it was not initially a significant success at pop radio, peaking at number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7]
However, some radio stations, especially the AM, banned the song from the airwaves due to the repeated line "burn baby burn", which reminded people of the Watts riots in 1965.[citation needed]
"Disco Inferno" gained much greater recognition when the nearly 11 minute album version was included on the soundtrack to the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever. Re-released by Atlantic Records, the track peaked at number 11 in the U.S. during the spring of 1978, becoming the Trammps' biggest and most-recognized single. Later, it was included in the Saturday Night Fever musical, interpreted by 'DJ Monty' in the "Odissey 2001" discothèque. A cover version of the track was issued by the group Players Association in March 1978 on the Vanguard record label both in 7" and 12" format. It was produced by Danny Weiss and also issued as a track on their 1979 LP Born to Dance.
In 2004, a 12" version with the 10:54-minute version and "Can We Come Together" (from the album Where the Happy People Go) on the B side was released in the UK.[8] This version was certified Silver in 2021 by the British Phonographic Industry.[9]
In 2009, the song was featured in Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony, the second downloadable content pack for 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV, on the in-game disco radio station "K-109: The Studio". Also in 2009, at the same time as the release of The Ballad of Gay Tony, it and Grand Theft Auto IV's first downloadable pack, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned were packaged and released together through physical media under the title Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, in which the song appears in both episodes on the same radio station (the song was not present in the initial downloadable release of The Lost and Damned).
American singer and actress Tina Turner covered "Disco Inferno" for the What's Love Got to Do with It soundtrack. Released as a single in August 1993 by Parlophone, it was produced by Turner with Chris Lord-Alge and Roger Davies. It charted at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, and reached the top 20 also in Belgium, Iceland, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The single included remixes by the Beatmasters.
Critical reception
In a 1998 retrospective review of What's Love Got to Do with It, the Daily Vault felt "Disco Inferno" "has a dated title to begin with and the arrangement's enthusiasm doesn't live up to Turner's singing".[17] Upon the release, Alan Jones from Music Week gave the song four out of five, writing, "From the woman whose interpretations are often a million miles away from the original, this is a disappointingly standard interpretation of the old Trammps hit. Having said that, it is a highly commercial song and Tina's one-of-a-kind voice has many admirers, so another big hit is in prospect."[18] A reviewer from People Magazine noted its "dance dramaturgy" and the "characteristic flair and energy that have made Tina the envy of every singer this side of Aretha."[19] Sam Wood from Philadelphia Inquirer found that the "joyous, over-the-top treatment" of the disco classic "reeks of campy white polyester suits and oily sweat under a dance-floor glitter ball."[20]Toby Anstis reviewed the song for Smash Hits, giving it four out of five. He said, "Tina pulls off this cover really well. It's nice hearing a rauchy female rock voice like that. I think I prefer this version to the original. I'd boogie to that any time at a party. I think I'd go and see the film about her soon too. Yeah, she's great."[21]
Track listings
UK 7-inch and cassette; Australian cassette single
American singer and songwriter Cyndi Lauper performed this song live for the first time at New York, Bryant Park on June 21, 1998.
In the Billboard magazine dated May 16, 1998, in the "Dance Trax" column, there was a story on remixers Bobby Guy and Ernie Lake, aka Soul Solution: "They are working with Cyn on a chest-pounding rendition of 'Disco Inferno'. The cut will be featured on the forthcoming soundtrack to A Night At Roxbury."
Although the original release date of the maxi single was August 3, 1999, it was distributed from July 24 in some regions. The single was officially released in the U.S. in August 1999. Lauper performed it at many shows, including her Summer Tour '99, around the time of its release. The song was nominated for a Grammy in the category of 'Best Dance Recording' for the 1999 awards.
