Grammy Award For Best Disco Recording - Award

Award

In 1979, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences decided to add a Best Disco Recording category for the 22nd Grammy Awards, just as disco was "preparing to die". Nominated works for the award included "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" by Michael Jackson, "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" by Rod Stewart, and "Bad Girls" by Donna Summer. On February 27, 1980, during a live telecast from Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Gaynor was presented the award for Best Disco Recording. Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren also received awards as the producers of the track.

However, because of the decreasing popularity of disco, the Academy eliminated the award category before the 1981 ceremony was to be held. According to the organization, disco was "no longer a readily definable separate music form", although its influence had "permeated all types of pop music". Despite the award's short span, the award helped solidify Gaynor as one of the best-known female disco artists from the 1970s and the song "I Will Survive" as one of the most recognized and top-selling songs from the genre.

Another dance category did not emerge until 1998 when the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording began to honor vocal or instrumental dance tracks, though there were concerns that the award would be short-lived much like the disco category. In 2003, the Academy moved the category from the "Pop" field into a new "Dance" field, which currently contains the category Best Electronica/Dance Album as well.