The Trammps | |
---|---|
Origin | Philadelphia, United States |
Genres | Disco, soul |
Years active | 1972–1980 |
Labels | Golden Fleece Records Atlantic Records Buddah Records Philadelphia International Records |
Website | Official website |
Past members | |
Jimmy Ellis Gene "Faith" Jones Dennis Harris John Hart Steve Kelly Ron Kersey Michael Thomas Stanley Wade Earl Young Robert Upchurch Harold Doc Wade Dave Dixon |
The Trammps were an American disco and soulband, who were based in Philadelphia and were one of the first disco bands. The band's first major success was with their 1972 cover version of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart". The first disco track they released was "Love Epidemic" in 1973. However, they are best known for their Grammy winning song, "Disco Inferno", originally released in 1976 becoming a UK pop hit and US R&B hit, then re-released in 1978 and becoming a US pop hit. The music journalist Ron Wynn noted "the Trammps' prowess can't be measured by chart popularity; Ellis' booming, joyous vocals brilliantly championed the celebratory fervor and atmosphere that made disco both loved and hated among music fans."[1]
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The seeds of the Trammps grew from the 1960s outfit, the Volcanos, who later became the Moods.[1] With a number of line-up changes by the mid 1970s the band membership included Jimmy Ellis, Barrington McDonald (guitarist and a founding member), Norman Harris and Earl Young with Stanley Wade plus Robert Upchurch joining later on. Their debut chart entry came via their upbeat cover version of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart", a Top 20 US R&B chart hit in 1972.[1][2]
Their single "Disco Inferno" (1976), which was included on the Grammy Award winning Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in 1977,[3] reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1978.[4]
Other major hits included "Hold Back the Night" (1975) (UK #5[5]) and "That's Where the Happy People Go" (1976). In late 1977, the Trammps released the song "The Night the Lights Went Out" to commemorate the electrical blackout that affected New York on July 13, 1977.
Their signature song, "Disco Inferno", has been covered by Tina Turner and Cyndi Lauper. In addition, Graham Parker covered "Hold Back The Night" on the "The Pink Panther EP" in 1977, and reached #20 in the UK Singles Chart,[6] and Top 60 in the US.
On September 19, 2005, the groups' signature record "Disco Inferno" was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in New York. During the ceremony, the original band members performed together for the first time in twenty five years.
Two versions of the group, with differing line-ups, currently tour the nostalgia circuit.[7]
On March 8, 2012, lead singer Jimmy Ellis died at a nursing home in Rock Hill, South Carolina, at the age of 74. The cause of death was not immediately known but he suffered from Alzheimers' disease.[2]
Year | Title | Label | US Billboard 200[8] | US R&B[8] |
---|---|---|---|---|
1975 | The Legendary Zing Album | Buddah Records | — | — |
1975 | Trammps | Golden Fleece Records | 159 | 30 |
1976 | Where the Happy People Go | Atlantic Records | 50 | 13 |
1976 | Disco Inferno | Atlantic Records | 46 | 16 |
1977 | The Trammps III | Atlantic Records | 85 | 27 |
1979 | The Whole World's Dancing | Atlantic Records | 184 | — |
1980 | Mixin' It Up | Atlantic Records | — | — |
1980 | Slipping Out | Atlantic Records | — | — |
Year | Title | Label | US Billboard 200[8] | US R&B[8] |
---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | The Best of the Trammps | Atlantic Records | 139 | 57 |
Year | Title | US Billboard Hot 100[4] | US R&B[4] | UK Singles Chart[5] |
---|---|---|---|---|
1972 | "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" | 64 | 17 | 29 |
1972 | "Sixty Minute Man" | — | — | 40 |
1973 | "Pray All You Sinners" | — | 34 | — |
1973 | "Love Epidemic" | — | 75 | — |
1974 | "Where Do We Go From Here" | — | 44 | — |
1974 | "Trusting Heart" | — | 72 | — |
1975 | "Hooked for Life" | — | 70 | — |
1975 | "Rubber Band" | — | — | — |
1976 | "Hold Back The Night" | 35 | 10 | 5 |
1976 | "That's Where the Happy People Go" | 27 | 12 | 35 |
1976 | "Soul Searchin' Time" | — | 67 | 42 |
1976 | "Disco Inferno" | 53 | 9 | 16 |
1977 | ""I Feel Like I've Been Livin' (On The Dark Side Of The Moon)" | — | 52 | — |
1977 | "The Night The Lights Went Out" | — | 80 | — |
1978 | "Disco Inferno" (re-release) | 11 | — | 47 |
1978 | "Seasons for Girls" | — | 50 | — |
1978 | "Soul Bones" | — | 91 | — |
1983 | "Up On The Hill" | — | — | — |
1992 | "Hold Back The Night" - (KWS features guest vocals from the Trammps) | — | — | 30 |
Stan Wade & Robert Upchurch Trammps
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"Disco Inferno" is a 1976 song by The Trammps from the album of the same name. With two other cuts by the group it reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in early 1977, but had limited mainstream success in the U.S. until 1978, after being included on the soundtrack to the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, when a re-release hit number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
It was also notably covered by Cyndi Lauper on the A Night at the Roxbury soundtrack and Tina Turner on the What's Love Got to Do with It soundtrack.
The refrain is not to be confused with the saying "Burn, Baby, Burn" which was used to refer to the Watts Riots.
The song was originally recorded by The Trammps in 1976 and released as a single. It was inspired by a scene in the 1974 blockbuster film The Towering Inferno in which a discotheque is caught in the blaze. According to Tom Moulton, who mixed the record, the Dolby noise 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. On the other US 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 fifty-three on the Billboard Hot 100.
Glenn Gilbertti (born November 12, 1967) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Disco Inferno (later changed to Disqo). He is also a former road agent for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
During his six-year tenure with WCW, Gilbertti became a one-time Cruiserweight Champion, and a two-time Television Champion.
Gilbertti started wrestling in 1991 wrestling his first match on November 20, 1991. He wrestled on the Georgia independent circuit, where he was best known for his time with Great Championship Wrestling (GCW) where he won several titles. He also had short stints with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) in 1992.
Gilbertti made his name in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Disco Inferno, named after The Trammps' song and inspired by John Travolta's character Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever. Gilbertti credits Raven for the birth of the "Disco Inferno" character. He annoyed the audience with his disco dancer character, which included dancing on the way to the ring and during his matches, the punchline being that fans would chant "Disco sucks!".
"Disco Inferno" is a song by American rapper 50 Cent. It was released in November 2004 as the lead single from his second album, The Massacre. Although not as big as a global success as "In da Club", the lead single from his first album, "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'", it was still a success in America, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Released in November 2004, the single debuted at #54 and peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming 50 Cent's fourth solo top-ten song on the chart and sixth overall. "Disco Inferno" was certified Gold by the RIAA. The song was produced by C. Styles & Bang Out. The song was also nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the Grammy Awards of 2006, but lost to Kanye West's "Gold Digger". This song is featured in DJ Hero.
Burn baby burn! Burn baby burn! Burn baby burn! Burn
baby burn!
Burnin'!
To my surprise, yes! One hundred stories high
People gettin' loose y’all gettin' down on the roof -
Do you hear?
(the folks are flaming)Folks were screamin' - out of
control
It was so entertainin' - when the boogie started to
explode
I heard somebody say
Burn baby burn! - Disco inferno!
Burn baby burn! - Burn that mother down
Burn baby burn! - Disco inferno!
Burn baby burn! - Burn that mother down
Burnin'!
Satisfaction (uhu hu hu) came in the chain reaction
(burnin') I couldn't get enough, (till I had to self-
destroy)
so I had to
self destruct, (uhu hu hu)
The heat was on (burnin’), rising to the top, huh!
Everybody's goin' strong (uhu hu hu)
And that is when my spark got hot
I heard somebody say
Burn baby burn! - Disco inferno!
Burn baby burn! - Burn that mother down, yoh!
Burn baby burn! - Disco inferno!
Burn baby burn! - Burn that mother down
Burnin'!
Up above my head I hear music in the air - I hear
music!
That makes me know there's (somebody) a promise
somewhere
Satisfaction came in a chain reaction - Do you hear?
I couldn't get enough, so I had to self destruct,
The heat was on, rising to the top
Everybody's goin' strong
That is when my spark got hot
I heard somebody say
Burn baby burn! - Disco inferno! (Aah yeah!)
Burn baby burn! - Burn that mother down
Burn baby burn! - Disco inferno!, yeah!
Burn baby burn! - Burn that mother down x2 Burnin’!
MUSIC TURN AROUND (12 bars)
I just can't stop
When (till) my spark gets hot
Just can't stop
When my spark gets hot
MUSIC TURN AROUND (24 bars)