The Best of Friends, Inc. Helped Launch the Disco Boom

When historians and writers talk about the start of disco, they often mention France during the 1940s occupation by Germany when swing bands were outlawed by Hitler who referred to the sound as “nigger music” and “degenerate music.”[1] With this ban, young people in France embraced the idea of dancing to records. However, those discotheques in Europe never took hold in America. After all, live bands were not outlawed here - and live bands were strongly preferred.

After WW II, technological advances made the concept of disco more attractive in the States. High quality, powerful speakers, turntables with earphones and sound mixers made it possible to create a musical experience that embraced people like never before and transported them. New York City was at the center of this new phenomenon.

In 1968, The Best of Friends (TBOF) was a group of young African American men with a strong following for the exciting dances they gave. In 1971, they discovered a new way to socialize by using the relatively new technology to create a transformative discotheque experience. The pulsating beat and chest-thumping sounds coming out of large, booming speakers, created a hypnotic intensity that was unique and exciting. Strobe lights and mirrored ball added to the hypnotic effect. When DJs like Danny and CP, both partners in TBOF, repeated the bridge of a song like “Theme from Shaft” by Isaac Hayes or “War” by Edwin Starr, you could hear the audible approval of the crowd. The music was mesmerizing. Starting in 1971, TBOF promoted discotheque events at the Ginza and La Martinique. The success of these clubs generated a powerful word of mouth that kept lines outside every night an event was scheduled.

Danny and CP pioneered the disco sound be curating up-tempo R&B, funk and soul songs in such a way that dancers didn’t want to leave the floor. With crystal clear powerful speakers and no break in the beat from one song to another, it made dancers feel liberated. Songs like “It’s Your Thing” by the Isley Brothers, “Get Up (I feel like being) A Sex Machine” by James Brown, and “Girl You Need a Change of Mind” by Eddie Kendricks became more important and enjoyable than ever.

There were discotheques in the gay community in NYC that preceded TBOF. The Sanctuary and the Loft were perhaps the most important. Both were small with fewer than 200 guests and they catered to a gay crowd. TBOF events, by comparison, were perhaps the most diverse social events in the city during that time and catered to well over a thousand guests each night.

The way Danny and CP played music, it increased the demand for more danceable recordings. TBOF patrons started calling WBLS and other radio stations, asking for songs that had never been played on the radio before. Nile Rodgers of Chic said: “We were typical R&B and funk musicians, and knew that if we could get people on the dance floor we could get a record deal. It was exactly that calculated.” [2]

Danny and CP were well versed in the music that was available so they selected songs with the right beat to keep people on the dancefloor. They also started getting promotional copies of new songs as record companies recognized the hit-making power of our clubs. The gradual increase in dance or disco music really gained momentum in 1974 and by 1975 disco recordings began taking over the Billboard charts.

In the early 70s, disco music grew out of a blending of R&B, soul and funk styles and by the mid-70s when disco blossomed, disco became a new genre with recordings such as “Disco Inferno” by the Trammps, “Turn the Beat Around” by Vickie Sue Robinson, “Boogie Oogie Oogie” by Taste of Honey and “Le Freak” by Chic. There were also popular songs that delivered messages relevant to the civil rights movement, like “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” by McFadden & Whitehead, and “Say It Loud, I’m Black And I’m Proud” by James Brown.

Starting in 1974, TBOF opened the first black-owned nightclub in midtown Manhattan. It was called Leviticus, which was on West 33rd Street between 5th Avenue and Broadway, followed by Justine’s (originally called Othello) on 8th Avenue off 38th Street and then Bogard’s on East 48th Street off 2nd Avenue. TBOF also built a club in Queens called Lucifer’s and a discotheque in Brooklyn called Brandi’s (originally called Orpheus.) With all five clubs open seven nights a week, TBOF attracted over a million guests a year during key years.

In May 1977, Studio 54 opened. And in December 1977, the movie “Saturday Night Fever” debuted. These events were six years after TBOF started the disco trend in New York City. Dr. Alice Echols, a noted historian, author, and Professor of History at USC wrote “Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager’s glam palace of disco, Studio 54, was reportedly meant to be a white, Hollywood version of the fashionable black Manhattan disco Leviticus….” [3]  Linda Tarrant-Reid, an author and expert on African American history in New York City, said: "Leviticus was more important and better known to black people than Studio 54 was to white people." Back in the 70s, that was certainly true. Since then, awareness of Studio 54 has skyrocketed while awareness of Leviticus, and the other TBOF clubs, has faded.

Today, the partners in TBOF and many of their guests, have fond memories of the fun times at these clubs and the many people we got to know. We’re all a little older now, but we're still dancing.

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