12 July 2026

12 July 1979 - The Disco Demolition

Quite a day in Chicago History. Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park - Chicago History Museum

OK, so the story is from a couple of years ago.

July 2024 marks 45 years since the infamous “Disco Demolition Night” promotional event at a July 12, 1979, Chicago White Sox twilight doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers that erupted into chaos. To encourage attendance, the White Sox hosted WLUP 97.9 rock DJ Steve Dahl, who was known for mocking disco and had been fired from a previous radio job when the station switched from rock to disco. They asked fans to bring a disco record to the ballpark in exchange for 98-cent admission, and those LPs were to be gathered and then blown up in a controlled explosion between games.

It was a great success and a great failure.

The stadium was full of people who didn't care about baseball. When Dahl blew up the records it damaged the field. The WLUP fans invaded the field. The White Sox ended up forfeiting the 2nd game of double header.

Disco, which was already declining in popularity by 1979, went on to influence house music, EDM, Europop, new wave, dance-punk, and hip-hop and has seen revivals in the 21st century.

Hat tip to EBL: Disco Inferno. Click thru for a musical interlude, and a brief video of the night in question.

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