If you ever hear someone say the word “Disco,” you are most likely gonna think of two things: Saturday Night Fever and/or The Bee Gees.
November 15th will mark 43 years since the release of the iconic Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The album includes different songs you can dance to like “Night Fever”, “If I Can’t Have You”, and of course, “Stayin’ Alive”. It may also have that one song that makes you want to fall in love with someone. Yes, I’m talking about “How Deep Is Your Love”.
Even though I was born 20 years after the release of the soundtrack, it holds a special meaning to me. “Why?” You’re probably wondering. Well, let me explain...
This album is the reason why I am so passionate about music in the way that I am now. I had to be a year or two old when the soundtrack first came into my life, thanks to my mom. When I first listened to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, I immediately just wanted to have it played 24/7. I always demanded to have that album and only that album played.
This album is the reason why I am so passionate about music the way I am now.
According to my mom and cousin, my favorite song at the time was “More Than A Woman”. Whenever my cousin would babysit me and we would play with my dollhouse, I would always have the album playing on repeat on the boombox.
By the time I was two, I learned how to control the stereo, so because of that newfound skill, I would play the album constantly. Also because of my love for the album and my early love for 70’s music, I disliked almost every kind of music that came on the radio. In fact, my mom always says that I would cry whenever she would play Beyonce in the car.
It’s not like I hated all music on the radio. I did have my fair share of liking certain artists when I was little. Norah Jones, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Mandy Moore, Evanescence, Avril Lavigne, and more. Honestly, my being critical of some of the music that was being played on the radio should have been the first sign that I would become a music journalist one day.
When I was twelve, I saw the biopic about The Runaways at the movies. From that point on, I became more and more infatuated with 70’s culture. This was also when I revisited the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack for the first time in a long time, where I was once again reminded of how much I love the album.
As time went on and I began listening to The Bee Gees discography, the more I realized just how amazing they were are as songwriters. I found myself realizing how extremely underrated they were and that, in my opinion, don’t receive enough credit for their songwriting, especially the songs that have followed Saturday Night Fever.
Now, at 23, I still credit this soundtrack (and The Bee Gees) for making me fall in love with music the way I did. That soundtrack was my first favorite album, it had my first favorite song, my first favorite everything music wise.
It’s one of those albums that will forever hold a special place in my heart.