Musical movements never happen overnight. Before a new style catches popular attention, it's typically spent years growing and developing under the cover of darkness until it's ready to take its moment in the spotlight. The early 1970s were a potent incubation period, with genres like punk, hip-hop, and funk all taking shape. But nothing lit up the dance floor like one sound that briefly seized the cultural moment so tightly that it has become inextricably linked to the decade. That sound was disco.
Disco has no identifiable birth date, but one can follow its development from earlier decades. One huge step in the sound coming to life was taken in 1970 when New York D.J. David Mancuso started hosting an ongoing slate of private parties at his home, which was known as The Loft. Mancuso's Loft emerged as the center of a new dance culture that would spread out into more parties before taking hold in the clubs. The philosophy behind The Loft was one of inclusivity; the audience was blended, in terms of both ethnicity and sexuality. In that spirit, Mancuso focused on playing music that was celebratory and, more importantly, danceable.
As for what constituted the actual sound of disco, it was a brew pulled from a variety of regions and styles. Certainly
Motown R&B was a predecessor. R&B's cousin soul played a part, especially Philadelphia
