The disco sound, style and ethos has its roots in the late 1960s. Psychedelic culture's overwhelming sound, trippy lighting, and hallucinogens would influence the disco scene.  Psychedelic Soul groups like the Chambers Brothers and especially Sly and The Family Stone influenced proto disco acts such as Isaac Hayes, Willie Hutch and the Philadelphia Sound .

The disco sound was also shaped by Tom Moulton who wanted to extend the enjoyment of the music — thus single-handedly creating the "Remix" which has influenced many other latter genres such as hip hop, techno, and pop. DJs and remixers would often remix (i.e., re-edit) existing songs using reel-to-reel tape machines. Their remixed versions would add in percussion breaks, new sections, and new sounds.

Also significant during this early disco period was Miami's KC and the Sunshine Band. Formed by Harry Wayne Casey ("KC") and Richard Finch.  KC and the Sunshine Band had a string of disco-definitive top-five hits between 1975 and 1977, including "Get Down Tonight", "That's the Way I Like It", "Shake Your Booty", "I'm Your Boogie Man" and "Keep It Comin' Love".  The Bee Gees used Barry Gibb's  falsetto to garner hits such as "You Should Be Dancing", "Stayin' Alive", "Night Fever" and "More Than A Woman".

In 1975, hits such as Van McCoy's "The Hustle" and Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby" and "Could It Be Magic" brought disco further into the mainstream.  Other notable early disco hits include The Jackson's "Dancing Machine" (1974),  Barry White's "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" (1974),  LaBelle’s "Lady Marmalade" (1975),  Silver Convention’s "Fly Robin Fly" (1975),   Chic's "Le Freak" (1978),   Blondie's ""Heart of Glass" (1979) and Steely Dan's "Kid Charlemagne" (1976).

Disco hit the airwaves with "Soul Train" in 1971 hosted by Don Cornelius, then Marty Angelo's "Disco Step-by-Step" Television Show in 1975, Steve Marcus'  "Disco Magic/Disco 77",  Eddie Rivera's  "Soap Factory" and Merv Griffin's, "Dance Fever", hosted by Deney Terrio.  Terrio is credited with teaching actor John Travolta to dance for his role in the hit movie  "Saturday Night Fever".  As one of the first movies to be scored with disco music before Saturday Night Fever, the James Bond film  "The Spy Who Loved Me"  garnered great popularity from composer Marvin Hamlisch's score, especially the disco-flavored Bond 77 opening track

The  disco sound  was much more costly to produce than many of the other popular music genres from the 1970s. Unlike the simpler, four-piece band sound of the funk and soul of the late 1960s, disco music often included a large pop band, with several chordal instruments (guitar, keyboards, synthesizer), several drum or percussion instruments (drum kit, Latin percussion, electronic drums), a horn section, a string orchestra, and a variety of "classical" solo instruments (e.g., flute, piccolo, etc.).

Disco songs were arranged and composed by experienced arrangers and orchestrators, and producers added their creative touches to the overall sound. Recording complex arrangements with such a large number of instruments and sections required a team that included a conductor, copyists, record producers, and mixing engineers. Mixing engineers had an important role in the disco production process, because disco songs used as many as 64 tracks of vocals and instruments. Mixing engineers compiled these tracks into a fluid composition of verses, bridges, and refrains, complete with orchestral builds and breaks. Mixing engineers helped to develop the "disco sound" by creating a distinctive-sounding disco mix.

By the late 1970s many major US cities had thriving disco club scenes which were centered around discotheques, nightclubs and private loft parties where DJs would play disco hits through powerful PA systems for the dancers. The DJs played a smooth mix of long single records to keep people dancing all night long. Some of the most prestigious clubs had elaborate lighting systems that throbbed to the beat of the music.

Some cities had disco dance instructors or dance schools which taught people how to do popular disco dances such as "touch dancing", "the hustle" and "the cha cha." There were also disco fashions that discothèque-goers wore for nights out at their local disco..

In addition to the dance and fashion aspects of the disco club scene, there was also a thriving drug subculture, particularly for drugs that would enhance the experience of dancing to the loud music and the flashing lights.

Some historians have referred to July 12, 1979 as "the day disco died" because of an anti-disco demonstration that was held in Chicago. Rock station DJs Steve Dahl and Garry Meier, along with Michael Veeck, son of Chicago White Sox owner Bill Veeck, staged  "Disco Demolition Night", a promotional event with an anti-disco theme, between games at a White Sox doubleheader for disgruntled rock fans. During this event, which involved exploding disco records, the raucous crowd tore out seats and turf in the field and did other damage to Comiskey Park. It ended in a riot in which police made numerous arrests. The damage done to the field forced the White Sox to forfeit the second game to the Detroit Tigers who won the first game. The stadium suffered thousands of dollars in damage.

On July 21, 1979  six days after the riot the top six records on the U.S. music charts were of the disco genre. By September 22, 1979  there were no disco records in the top 10. The media in celebratory tones declared disco dead and rock revived.

( Courtesy of Wikipedia)