The Making Of "Last Dance" or how an encounter in the toilets led to an iconic disco hit

The Twelve Inch 102 : "Last Dance" (Donna Summer)

Introduction

Dance music, between 1975 and 1995, was defined by the twelve-inch format. This newsletter, The Twelve Inch, delves into the extended mixes that shaped dance floors and tells the stories behind these tracks, their artists, and the cultural backdrop of their era. This week, we explore Donna Summer's iconic "Last Dance," a track that encapsulates the disco phenomenon and its enduring impact.

The Era of the Twelve Inch

The twelve-inch format became a commercial success in the late seventies, offering DJs extended versions perfect for the dance floor. Its popularity waned with the rise of the CD in the late eighties and early nineties, marking the transition from disco to house music. In our previous newsletter, we discussed Shep Pettibone's remixes of "Express Yourself," highlighting (what would become) the twilight of the twelve-inch era. This week we’ll zoom back to the start.

Disco…