Was wondering as I heard the Grateful Dead song Shakedown Street the other day after a long while. Was wondering if that particular track was the Dead’s attempt at producing a disco or dance song like The Rolling Stones done with Miss You?
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Would you settle for some non-disco versions of disco songs?
I am pretty sure that Bill Shatner did at least a dozen.
I am pretty sure that the quintessential non-disco artist doing a disco song, that, if I have read the thread correctly so far, has been missed: Joe Tex (and his Sex-o-Let) with "Get Dancin'". Beat that DeVito! Beat that BonJovi!
What may easily be missed here was that many, if not most, disco songs were recorded by no-account artists often groups thrown together with session musicians (some of which were well known session musicians in the session musician circles, but not at all known to outsiders) . This produced a large number of "One Hit Wonders" in the era. Laura Branigan (and even, to a certain extent Yvonne Elliman and Donna Summer), for example. There is a reason that Donna Summer was the Queen of Disco: She was the only artist to get more than one or two hits out of the era and was sufficiently bankable that even such singers as Barbara Streisand tried to cash in on her perceived prowess. Yeah, Elliman got occasional airplay with her Broadway Cast version of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar, but that song was really a hit for Helen Reddy way after the fame of JC Superstar had faded.
