"Disco Clone"
Single by Cristina
Released1978 (1978)
RecordedMay–June 1978
StudioBlank Tape Studios
GenreDisco
Length4:07
LabelZE
Songwriter(s)Ronald Melrose
Producer(s)John Cale
Cristina singles chronology
"Disco Clone"
(1978)		 "Is That All There Is?"
(1980)

"Disco Clone" is a song by American singer Cristina and written by Ronald Melrose. It was released as a single on ZE Records in 1978.

Background

John Cale produced the original version of "Disco Clone".

"Disco Clone" was written by Ronald Melrose, a classmate of Cristina's from Harvard University.[1] Her boyfriend Michael Zilkha wanted to take advantage of the disco boom and record the song.[2] She called it "the worst song I have ever heard" and decided to perform it as a "Brechtian pastiche".[3]

Tony de Portago, a friend of Cristina's, was the first to record the male vocals for "Disco Clone", but his were thrown out as sounding "too foreign" and "insufficiently jaded". Anthony Haden-Guest recorded the part in both English and French, which appear on song's first release. Kevin Kline, a little known actor at the time, appears on the re-release.[4][5] Tom Moulton was approached to mix the track, but he did not want to be involved with something that mocked disco. Island Records founder Chris Blackwell mixed it instead.[6]

The song's writer, Ronald Melrose, later became an arranger and musical director on Broadway shows, including Jersey Boys.[7][8]

Composition

"Disco Clone" uses a common disco rhythm, with a four-on-the-floor bass drum pattern and prominent hi-hat. It features a large string section, with 24 violinists double tracked.[6] The song's lyrics poke fun at the idea of men wanting to hook up with attractive women who look alike.[9]

Release

The original version of "Disco Clone" had a limited release of 1,500 twelve-inch singles, the first release by Zilkha's fledgling label ZE Records.[10] It received a re-release shortly after. The re-release includes a remix that was later retitled "The Ballad of Immoral Manufacture", in reference to "The Ballad of Immoral Earnings" from Brecht's The Threepenny Opera.[11] The single was not commercially successful.[12]

Track listings

  • Original 12" release
  1. "Disco Clone" (English Version) – 4:13
  2. "Disco Clone" (French Version) – 4:03
  • 12" re-release
  1. "Disco Clone" (Disco Mix) – 7:43
  2. "Disco Clone" (Single Version) – 4:07
  3. "Disco Clone" (Clone Instrumental) – 8:14

References

  1. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Cristina | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  2. ↑ Vincentelli, Elisabeth (November 2004). "Queen Cristina". Time Out New York. No. 476.
  3. ↑ Frere-Jones, Sasha (December 13, 2004). "Disco Retro". The New Yorker. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  4. ↑ Haden-Guest, Anthony (1997). The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night. William Morrow and Company.
  5. ↑ Haden-Guest, Anthony (April 23, 1984). "Les Enfants Terribles de Rock'n'Roll". New York. Vol. 17, no. 17. p. 56.
  6. 1 2 Lawrence, Tim (2016). Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor, 1980–1983. Duke University Press. pp. 93–97.
  7. ↑ Program, A Bronx Tale, p.9. Retrieved 7 April 2020
  8. ↑ Ben Neutze, "Ron Melrose: making the Jersey Boys sing", Daily Review, August 15, 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2020
  9. ↑ Powell, Mike (August 14, 2009). "Various Artists: Ze 30: Ze Records Story 1979-2009 Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Cristina". ZE Records. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  11. ↑ Wolk, Douglas (December 7, 2004). "Doll Parts". The Village Voice. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  12. ↑ FitzGerald, Helen (September 8, 1984). "Funny Girl". Melody Maker. p. 11.
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