On Dec. 14, 1977, a little movie called “Saturday Night Fever” enjoyed its world premiere, making a star out of a 23-year-old John Travolta and launching a soundtrack into music history. The movie’s pulsing music was so popular that it breathed a second life into disco, which had been around since the early 1970s. The soundtrack won a Grammy for Album of the Year and soon became an international sensation.
In case you’ve been living in a cave for the last 37 years, Travolta played Tony Manero, a 19-year-old Brooklyn native who lives for Saturday nights at the local disco. It’s only there that this working-class teen comes alive, surrounded by women as he brilliantly dances to (now infamous) songs by the Bee Gees. The film was hailed by critics as a beautifully told emotional story of a downtrodden young person trying to strike it big. Gene Siskel, for example, watched “Saturday Night Fever” 17 times, calling it his all-time favorite movie.
Music-wise, “Saturday Night Fever” propelled disco into the mainstream, with an album that produced a rash of hit singles, everything from “Stayin’ Alive” to “Night Fever.”
So break out the bell bottoms and enjoy a trip down memory lane by watching the mashup we put together in honor of the 37th anniversary of the iconic film’s premiere. We know you won’t be able to stay still.