Various Artists – Funky Disco: A Celebration Of The 12” Single 1976-1982 

The 12” single is a curious beast. The first commercially released single* in that format was “For Once In My Life/Glad Rag Doll’, by jazz guitarist Buddy Fite. The numbers pressed were quite small and only available at two Tower Records sites in California. The label proudly boasted that this was ‘The World’s First 12 Inch Single’. It was pressed to play at 33rpm which meant that there was a lot of dead space on the disc. It also took away one of the main selling points of the 12” single but I will come back to these two points later. More were to follow but these tended to be promotional items. It would take until the early days of the disco era for the format to really take off. 

This could arguably be down to one man, Tom Moulton. Inspired by DJ’s who would mix between the instrumental and vocal side of Ultra High Frequency’s single, “Walk On The Right Track” as well as other singles were an instrumental version of the title track was included, Moulton managed to pursued the Sceptre Record label to experiment with an already released song. This was “Dream World” by Don Downing. Moulton took the track and extended it to almost twice its original length. The single was re-released with the extend mix as the A-Side with the subheading, Disco Mix Version. Could this be the first disc designated as such? It was not released on 12” though. 

The disco mix on the longer form single would be a happy accident. Moulton wanted to test a mix he had completed of “I’ll Be Holding On” by Al Downing. As there wasn’t any 7” acetates available, it was decided to use a 10” instead. Moulton felt that there would be a lot of wasted space pressing this if this was for a 7” so he asked mix engineer Jose Rodriquez to cut it with the grooves more spread out. To do this, Rodriquez needed to increase the sound level which made the sound ‘hotter’ . This was due to the wider grooves allowing an overall wider range which went down well with the DJs. This also gave Moulton the idea to test run his remixes in the clubs before they were let loose on the public. 

Other labels took note and throughout 1975, several 12” singles were made for promotional use only. These were designed to help sales of the 7” as they were thought of as not being commercially viable. However, pressure from record shops to have these mixes released to the public eventually lead to the first commercial released 12” of the disco era. That being, “Ten Percent” by Double Exposure. The era of the 12” single had begun. 

What I have looked to do is compile some of these 12” mixes from he disco era, so from 1976 until 1982. By the early 80s, disco was all but dead but other genres such as rap were also using the format so I have included some of these pioneers as well. I have also tried to put them in as close to chronological order as possible.

The 12” single is till produced today but it is nowhere near as popular as once it was. It might be time to re-evaluate the format. 

Disc 1

1. Ten Percent (Special 12” Disco Mix) – Double Exposure
2. Space Age (12’ Promo Mix) – The Jimmy Castor Bunch
3. Gotham City Boogie – Ultra Funk
4. Brick House (Original 1977 12” Special Length Disco Version) – The Commodores
5. Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman) (Original 1977 12” Full Version) – Joe Tex
6. You Should Be Dancing (Special Disco Version) – The Bee Gees
7. Everybody Dance (Original 1977 12” Single Mix) – Chic
8. Devil’s Gun (12” Tom Moulton Mix) – C.J. & Co. 
9. Shame (12” Disco Mix) – Evelyn “Champagne” King
10. Got To Give Up, Pts 1 & 2 (Original 1977 12” Full-Length Promo SingleVersion) – Marvin Gaye
11. Native New Yorker (Original 1977 12” Disco Version) – Odyssey

Disc 2

1. Le Freak (Original 1978 12” Single Version) – Chic
2. Contact (UK 12” Edit) – Edwin Starr
3. Running Away (Original 1977 12” Long Version) – Roy Ayres feat. Ubiquity
4. Rasputin (12” Single Version) – Boney M
5. Got My Mind Made Up (German 12” Mix) – Instant Punk
6. In The Bush (Original 12” Special Disco Francois K Mix) – Musique
7. Risky Changes (Original 12” Promo Mix) – Bionic Boogie
8. I Want Your Love (12” Promo Mix) – Chic
9. If I Can’t Have You (Extended) – Yvonne Elliman
10. I Feel Love (12” Version) – Donna Summer
11. Love Hangover (Original 12” Promo Mix) – Diana Ross

Disc 3

1. Good Times (Original 1979 US 12” Single Mix) – Chic
2. Got To Be Real (Original 12” Version Single Version) – Cheryl Lynn
3. Blame It On The Boogie (John Luongo Disco Mix 12” Version) – TheJacksons
4. Street Life (12” Full Length French Disco Mix) – The Crusaders feat. Randy Crawford
5. Funkytown (Original 1979 12” Single Mix) – Lips Inc
6. Can’t Live Without Your Love (Original 12” Mix) – Tamiko Jones
7. Boogie Wonderland (Special Disco Mix) – Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions
8. Let’s Start The Dance (Original 12” Promo Mix) – Hamilton Bohannon
9. Boogie Oogie Oogie (Original 1978 12” Single Mix) – A Taste Of Honey
10. Rivers Of Babylon (Original US 12” Single Version) – Boney M
11. I Will Survive (12” Version) – Gloria Gaynor

Disc 4

1. Is It Love You’re After (US 12” Promo Version) – Rose Royce
2. Flashlight (Extended 12” Mix) – Parliament
3. The Boss (Original 12” Mix) – Diana Ross
4. He’s The Greatest Dancer (12” Mix) – Sister Sledge
5. Spacer (12” Full Length Disco Mix) – Sheila & B. Devotion
6. Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now (12” Mix) – McFadden & Whitehead
7. Love Sensation (Tom Moulton Long Remix) – Loleatta Holloway
8. Rappers Delight (Long Version) – The Sugarhill Gang
9. Rapture (12” UK Special Disco Mix) – Blondie

Disc 5

1. Super Freak (Original 1981 12” Disco Mix) – Rick James
2. Jump To The Beat (Original 1980 12” Single Version) – Stacey Lattisaw
3. Need Your Lovin (12” Version) – Teen Marie
4. Pull Up To The Bumper (Original 12” 1981 12” Long Version)
5. The Message (Original 1982 12” Single Version)
6. Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag (Original 12” Single Mix) – Pigbag
7. You Got The Floor (12” Version) – Arthur Adams
8. Sexy Dancer (UK 12” Long Version) – Prince
9. Last Night A D.J. Saved My Life (Original 1982 12” Single Version) – Indeed
10. Going Back To My Roots (Original 1981 12” Extended Version) – Odyssey
11. Forget Me Nots (Original 1982 12” Special Dance Mix) – Pattrice Rushen
12. Dance Freak (Original Club 12” Mix) – Chain Reaction

*There was a 12” single released by Old Town Records in 1966. This was Betty Lou & Bobby Adams with their song, “Soul Stirrer”. This was a promotional item with the same song on both sides. Being a promo, it was not available for commercial release.