GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
US Library of Congress celebrates disco with Gloria Gaynor performance
The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. turned back the clock and celebrated disco with a unique event called "Bibliodiscotheque" on Saturday (May 6). The program featured Grammy-winning disco legend Gloria Gaynor headlining a dance party in the Library's Great Hall.
Bibliodiscotheque is a series of collective programs memorializing the influence of disco on society and has been running since April 12. It celebrates disco as a force that "changed American art, fashion, language and sound" beyond the 70s and 80s, organizers said.
The Library of Congress called it an "unprecedented exploration of disco culture." It culminated on Saturday with Gaynor's performance of "I Will Survive" in the Great Hall of the Library. Earlier on Saturday, the program included a so-called "silent dance party" in the Library's Reading Room, where disco fans donned wireless headphones while listening to music played by live DJs in ambient "silence."
Security guards at the event said they had never seen anything like it performed at the Library of Congress.
A post shared by Library of Congress (@librarycongress) on
A post shared by Library of Congress (@librarycongress) on
A post shared by Library of Congress (@librarycongress) on
In 2016, Gaynor's song "I Will Survive" was inducted into the Library's National Recording Registry, something the icon of the 70s said was a humbling experience in an interview with Reuters. She won the Grammy for best disco song in 1980.
The event was co-organized by Brightest Young Things, The Recording Academy, Capital Pride, and others. Now that she's made her mark in history, Gaynor said she hopes her enduring legacy will be to "to uplift, to encourage, to inspire, [and] to empower people." — Reuters
