The danger in disparaging entire music genres is that you just might miss some good stuff. Case in point, the Trammps’ Top 40 hit, “Hold Back the Night,” which is one of my favorite singles of all time.
The Trammps of course enjoyed their greatest success as a disco band, courtesy of their 1977 hit “Disco Inferno,” which was included on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. But before you dismiss them as “disco,” consider “Hold Back the Night,” released by the fabled Buddah Records in 1976, which is a good, old-fashioned soul classic.
The Philadelphia-based Trammps, led by lead vocalist Jimmy Ellis, had their first success in 1972 with the single “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart.” The next year they cemented their place in disco history with “Love Epidemic.” Other hits included “That’s Where the Happy People Go,” which the band released in 1976, and of course “Disco Inferno” the following year.
In 1977, no less than Graham Parker & the Rumour released a torrid cover version of “Hold Back the Night,” recorded live at the Palladium in New York City.
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