Twenty-one floor-filling funk and disco classics and their stories, starring James Brown, Prince and more

More from this Series

• YMCA — how The Village People’s anthem went global

  The band have been credited with helping integrate gay culture into the mainstream, while the song’s dance routine spread like wildfire

  
• Yes Sir, I Can Boogie — cheesy Eurodisco hit adopted by Scottish football fans

  Baccara’s 1977 track was covered by dance-pop acts such as Goldfrapp — and will be belted out during this summer’s Euro 2024 tournament

  
• Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag — how James Brown invented funk

  The singer’s 1965 hit brought a new kind of music to the charts

  
• Chic’s Good Times was a last-gasp salute to disco

  Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards’ song was inspired by the Great Depression and the Harlem Renaissance

  
• How Donna Summer made history with I Feel Love

  Disco became dance music overnight with Giorgio Moroder’s 1977 fusion of European and US styles

  
• Heart of Glass — when Blondie went disco

  The New York band’s 1979 breakthrough hit caused disquiet among fans and band members; years later, all is forgiven

  
• Prince’s 1999 was a bracing blast of apocalyptic funk

  The 1982 track reflected a time when fear of nuclear war was in the air

  
• Boney M’s Rasputin caused a stir behind the iron curtain

  The group’s 1978 tribute to ‘Russia’s greatest love machine’ was a Soviet dancefloor hit and has continued to travel well

  
• Going Back to My Roots — when Lamont Dozier came out of the doldrums

  The songwriter’s 1977 track was a triumph, though its meaning was widely misunderstood

  
• I’m Every Woman — Chaka Khan struggled to embrace this anthem to female empowerment

  Over the years, the singer has revisited a song whose lyrics were mostly written by a man

  
• Atomic Dog — how George Clinton relaunched his career with the funk classic

  The reverberations from this seismic 1982 track are still being felt today

  
• September — a cosmic-disco celebration of love and happiness

  As darker days and longer nights return, Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1979 track brings light and life

  
• Kung Fu Fighting — Carl Douglas’s 1974 hit capitalised on the martial arts craze

  
• Pull Up to the Bumper — a turning point for Grace Jones

  With its lascivious lyrics, the track proved a hit in clubland and became one of the singer’s signature songs

  
• Night on Disco Mountain — when Mussorgsky met the dancefloor

  David Shire’s version of the Russian composer’s piece was written for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack