1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:11,559 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 1: a show that shines a light on the ups and 4 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:20,279 Speaker 1: downs of everyday history. I'm Gay Bluesier, and in this episode, 5 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: we're talking about one of the most outrageous and controversial 6 00:00:24,079 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 1: baseball games of all time, one that had very little 7 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 1: to do with the sport itself. The day was July twelfth, 8 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy nine, a promotional event at a Major League 9 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: baseball game devolved into a dangerous riot. The incident, known 10 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:54,560 Speaker 1: as Disco Demolition Night, was held at Chicago's Comiskey Park 11 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: during a double header between the Chicago White Sox and 12 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 1: the Detroit Tigers. As the name suggests, the event was 13 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:06,679 Speaker 1: a kind of anti disco demonstration. In exchange for a 14 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:11,320 Speaker 1: heavily discounted ticket, attendees were encouraged to bring a disco album, 15 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: which would then be added to a pile and blown up. 16 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: After the first game. The rowdy crowd got so swept 17 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:21,919 Speaker 1: up in the destructive spirit of the evening that thousands 18 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:25,400 Speaker 1: of fans later stormed the field and began laying waste 19 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: to the stadium. The free for all led to at 20 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 1: least nine injuries, thirty nine arrests, and the cancelation and 21 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:38,119 Speaker 1: forfeiture of the second scheduled game. Opinions vary on what 22 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: was the true cause of all the animosity on display 23 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: that night. Did baseball fans just really hate disco that much? 24 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 1: Or was their disapproval aimed not at the music itself 25 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: but at the minority groups who had popularized it. The 26 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: main drive behind Disco Demolition Night was said to be 27 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: the commercial dominance of disco music at the time. In 28 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 1: the late nineteen seventies, the popular dance music was inescapable. 29 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: In fact, in nineteen seventy eight, disco singles had claimed 30 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: the top spot on the Billboard Hot one hundred for 31 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: thirty seven weeks out of fifty two, and in the 32 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 1: first half of nineteen seventy nine it was on much 33 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: the same track. Thirteen out of the sixteen number one 34 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: singles were disco. The genre wasn't just the king of 35 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: the air waves and music charts either. Influential films like 36 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: Disco Godfather and Saturday Night Fever further extended the disco craze, 37 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 1: as did fashion trends like white three piece suits and big, 38 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 1: gaudy medallions. Not everyone was in on the fund, though 39 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,000 Speaker 1: fans of traditional rock music were especially upset the disco 40 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: had usurped the cultural spotlight from their preferred genre. By 41 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: the end of the decade, dozens of radio stations across 42 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 1: the country had ditched their usual rock centric programming in 43 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 1: her of an all disco line up in Chicago's w 44 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: d a I FM followed suit, switching from rock to 45 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,239 Speaker 1: disco and firing it's die hard DJ and the process 46 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,800 Speaker 1: that DJ Steve Doll quickly found a new gig at 47 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 1: the city's rival rock station w l u P, but 48 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: he carried a grudge against disco with him. Doll would 49 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: often start a shift by playing a few seconds of 50 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: a disco track on the air, before dragging the needle 51 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: across the record and playing a bunch of explosion sound 52 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: effects to make it seem like he'd blown up the 53 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: offending album. Plenty of Dolls listeners shared his disdain for 54 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:46,280 Speaker 1: the trendy genre, viewing disco as inauthentic and lacking in substance. 55 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: Doll felt emboldened by the feedback from his anti disco listeners, 56 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: a group he took to calling the Insane coho lips. 57 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: Soon he doubled down on his crusade against disco, calling 58 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: for quote the eradication and elimination of the dreaded musical disease. 59 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: The rise in both the love and hate of disco 60 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: happened to coincide with a sharp decline in Major League 61 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: Baseball attendance. Things were especially dire in Chicago, where in 62 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy nine the underperforming White Sox typically played for 63 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: a crowd of just ten thousand or so fans, about 64 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: a quarter of the capacity of Comiskey Park. The team's owner, 65 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 1: Bill Veeck, and the promotions director, his son, Mike Vick, 66 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: tried all sorts of promotions to boost their low attendance, 67 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: but nothing seemed to work. They had seen modest success 68 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: when the team hosted a disco night two years earlier, 69 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: but if DJ Dolls tirades were indicative of Chicago residents, 70 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,560 Speaker 1: it seemed like public opinion had shifted. With this in mind, 71 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: the vik's approached Doll with the idea of holding an 72 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:00,120 Speaker 1: anti disco promotion at the ballpark, and of cour Or 73 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: Stall jumped at the chance. He and his team at 74 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: w l u P spent the next several weeks promoting 75 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: Disco Demolition Night all across the state of Illinois. The 76 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:14,599 Speaker 1: promise of a fiery spectacle between games was enough to 77 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,919 Speaker 1: peak many fans interest, but the real clincher was the 78 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:20,599 Speaker 1: promise that anyone who brought a disco record to the 79 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:25,479 Speaker 1: stadium would be admitted for just eight cents. The original 80 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: plan was to collect the records as fans entered the gates, 81 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 1: but when the turnout proved much larger than expected, the 82 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:36,160 Speaker 1: collection bins filled up quickly. This resulted in many fans 83 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: taking their records with them to their seats, thus arming 84 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:43,279 Speaker 1: them with the perfect projectile for when the evening's chaos began. 85 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 1: That didn't take long either. The first game had to 86 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:50,680 Speaker 1: be stopped several times due to fans throwing their records 87 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,919 Speaker 1: onto the field, along with empty bottles, firecrackers, cherry bombs, 88 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,560 Speaker 1: and whatever else was handy. The distraction may have been 89 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: to the away team's advantage, as the Detroit Tigers beat 90 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,599 Speaker 1: the White Sox four to one in the first game. 91 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,279 Speaker 1: Once the players left the field, it was finally time 92 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:11,360 Speaker 1: for what many in the crowd considered the main event. 93 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,560 Speaker 1: An enormous dumpster full of thousands of Disco Records was 94 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,799 Speaker 1: placed in the outfield and rigged with explosives. Steve Doll 95 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:23,359 Speaker 1: stood next to it, wearing an army jacket and combat helmet, 96 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: a nod to the insane Coho Lips his army of 97 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 1: disco haters, Doll led the unruly crowd in chance of 98 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,360 Speaker 1: Disco sucks and death to Disco, and then he blew 99 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 1: up the crate. The blast sent pieces of shattered vinyl 100 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,600 Speaker 1: soaring high into the air and left a large crater 101 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: in the field. At that point all hell broke loose. 102 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: The official attendants that night was said to be just 103 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:53,119 Speaker 1: under forty eight thousand, a complete sellout for the park, 104 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: but some estimate the true size of the crowd to 105 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: be about sixty thousand, as many people who had been 106 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,720 Speaker 1: turned away wound up scaling the gates and running past 107 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: the ushers without a ticket. From that massive crowd, roughly 108 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 1: seven thousand fans swarmed the field after the explosion. They 109 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: destroyed the batting cage, stole all the bases, and even 110 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: tried to break into the sky box where the team 111 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: manager's family was sitting. Meanwhile, the bonfire continued burning and 112 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: was stoked higher and higher by fans who fed it 113 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 1: more records along with general debris. Officials from both teams 114 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: tried to calm the crowd, but to no avail. Shortly after, 115 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 1: Chicago police arrived on the scene in full riot gear 116 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 1: and began making arrests for disorderly conduct. They were able 117 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,080 Speaker 1: to disperse the crowd eventually, but by that point the 118 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: field had been so badly damaged that it was impossible 119 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:51,600 Speaker 1: for the second game to be played. As the home team, 120 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: the White Sox were forced to forfeit the second game 121 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,560 Speaker 1: to the Tigers. It was the first forfeit by a 122 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: Major League team in five years, and only the fourth 123 00:08:01,040 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: in baseball's modern era. For many fans of rock and roll, 124 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 1: the incident was seen as no big deal. Sure things 125 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: had gotten out of hand, but they argued it was 126 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 1: just a case of drunken revelers letting off a bit 127 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: too much steam about the state of popular music. However, 128 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: several minority groups believed something far more insidious was at play. 129 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: To them, it was no coincidence that the early adopters 130 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:32,080 Speaker 1: and main drivers behind the disco trend were African Americans, Latinos, women, 131 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: and gay people. They believe that the anger of the 132 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:39,040 Speaker 1: mostly white crowd was really directed at them, and that 133 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: the disco albums they destroyed were a stand in for 134 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:47,040 Speaker 1: their own bodies. Steve doll In White Sox officials rejected 135 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: that notion, and to this day they maintained that there 136 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: was no racial or social hostility behind the event, just 137 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: a simple disdain for disco. That said, some my witness 138 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: reports from that evening suggest otherwise. For example, stadium ushers 139 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 1: later told the press that many fans had turned in 140 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,400 Speaker 1: albums that weren't disco. Jazz, soul, R and B and 141 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:13,520 Speaker 1: other genres were popular targets that night, and what was 142 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 1: the one thing they all had in common? They were 143 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:20,439 Speaker 1: the works of black artists. Vince Lawrence, a young black 144 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:24,560 Speaker 1: usher at Comiskey Park, even became a target himself. In 145 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:28,160 Speaker 1: in twenty nine interview, he recalled the scene saying, quote, 146 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:31,760 Speaker 1: people started running up on me yelling disco sucks in 147 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: my face, getting in my face, confronting me as a 148 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,360 Speaker 1: person that represents disco, and there were thousands of people 149 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,840 Speaker 1: running around in this stadium. Buck wild I started going, 150 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:46,560 Speaker 1: wait a minute, why am I disco? It's a valid question, 151 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 1: as there was nothing about Lawrence's appearance or behavior that 152 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: would suggest he listened to disco. In fact, he was 153 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 1: actually wearing a shirt promoting Dolls Radio station, the sponsor 154 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: of the Disco demolition. Regardless of the true motivation for 155 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: the event, Disco Demolition Nights sent a powerful message to 156 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,280 Speaker 1: the public and is often described as the day the 157 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: disco died. That may be an exaggeration, but there was 158 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,320 Speaker 1: a steep decline in the genre's popularity following that night. 159 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 1: Several radio stations that had made the jump to disco 160 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:23,520 Speaker 1: transition back to rock and roll. Before the end of 161 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 1: the year, record companies began downplaying the term disco as well, 162 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:32,040 Speaker 1: opting instead for the more generic label of dance music. 163 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: Disco's popularity continued to sink in the years that followed, 164 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:41,559 Speaker 1: but the genre never truly died. Instead, it just went underground, 165 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:44,880 Speaker 1: only to emerge a few years later under the name 166 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,200 Speaker 1: of house music. One of the pioneers of that do 167 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,760 Speaker 1: it yourself genre was none other than Vince Lawrence, the 168 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:55,080 Speaker 1: usher turned DJ who had been accosted by rock fans 169 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:57,959 Speaker 1: a Dolls event. He made a name for himself in 170 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: the Chicago music scene in the early nain teen eighties 171 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:03,320 Speaker 1: and wound up co writing the hit song On and 172 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,400 Speaker 1: On with fellow d J Jesse Saunders. Released in nine 173 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 1: that track became a staple of Chicago clubs and parties 174 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: and was the first recording officially classified this house music. 175 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:19,719 Speaker 1: It's a nice reminder that although tastes may change as 176 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 1: years go by, no one can ever really stop the music, 177 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: not even with a riot. I'm gay, Bluesier and hopefully 178 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 1: you now know a little more about history today than 179 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep up with 180 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 1: the show, consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram 181 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:43,360 Speaker 1: at t d i HC Show, and if you have 182 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:46,280 Speaker 1: any comments or suggestions, you can always send them my 183 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:50,160 Speaker 1: way at this Day at I heeart media dot com. 184 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:53,160 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thanks 185 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,680 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 186 00:11:55,720 --> 00:12:01,760 Speaker 1: tomorrow for another day in History class at the