Disco Years [Hardcover]

Ron Galella (Photographer), Michael Musto (Afterword), Anthony Haden-Guest (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2006

The definitive visual diary of the New York club scene in the seventies, Disco Years presents an astounding collection of photographs from AmericaÂ’s premier nightlife photographer, Ron Galella. His candid shots of the eraÂ’s fabulous fashionistas, indulgent rock idols, outlandish artists, mystical muses, jet-setting socialities, and fantastic freaks reveal the delicious decadence that defined the decade.

Disco Years brings us the high life, literally and figuratively. Featuring unforgettable photographs of Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor, Halston, Steve Rubell, Ian Schrager, Liza Minnelli, Grace Jones, Madonna, Diane von Furstenberg, Mick and Bianca Jagger, Keith Richards, Truman Capote, Gloria Vanderbilt, Dolly Parton, Brooke Shields, Cher, Raquel Welch, David Bowie, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Jackson, and John Belushi, among countless others, Disco Years takes us back to a time when skiing was an indoor activity, velvet ropes were high security, and incredible style was the only requirement.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Illuminated by Galella's paparazzi flashbulb, or maybe just the drugs, these photos of Grace Jones, Mick Jagger, Liza Minnelli and other instantly recognizable faces mythologize the New York club scene. Everyone's young (Brooke Shields, Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart), and there's plenty of skin, glitter and sizzle—but the sense of nakedness comes from the stars' unmasked elation, confidence and desire. Many of the photos were taken at Studio 54 in the late '70s; a few look back to 1967, when Andy Warhol presented Nico and the Velvet Underground at Gymnasium; others spin ahead to the late '80s. Regardless of era, nearly every picture demands a double take. (Oct. 22)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Widely acknowledged as the most controversial celebrity photographer in the United States, Ron Galella has been lauded as "the godfather of American paparazzo culture" by Time, and "Paparazzo Extraordinaire" by Newsweek. A native New Yorker, Galella earned a degree in photojournalism from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. He began his career as a freelance magazine and newspaper photographer in 1955, and has since been sued by Jacqueline Onassis, punched by Marlon Brando, and hosed down by friends of Brigitte Bardot. Galella’s previous books include Jacqueline (Sheed & Ward, 1974), Offguard: A Paparazzo Look at the Beautiful People (McGraw-Hill, 1976), The Photographs of Ron Galella 1965–1989 (Greybull Press, 2003), and Ron Galella: Exclusive Diary (Photology, 2005). His most recent shows were held at the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; the Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York; the Holt Renfrew Flick Exhibition, Toronto; and his latest, Superstar, at Kunstforum Wien, Vienna.

Anthony Haden-Guest is a writer, reporter, and cartoonist. He was born in Paris, grew up in London, and now lives mostly in New York. He won a New York Emmy for writing and narrating a program about the coming of Eurotrash to Manhattan. His books include True Colors: The Real Life of the Art World (Grove Atlantic, 1996), The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco, and the Culture of the Night (Morrow, 1997), and The Chronicles of Now (Allworth, 2002), a book of cartoons. He publishes in many magazines and writes a weekly column about the art world for the Financial Times.

Michael Musto is the writer of "La Dolce Musto" for The Village Voice. He has written for The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Interview, and TV Guide, among others. He was a correspondent on E!Â’s The Gossip Show and is a commentator on channels like MSNBC, AMC, TV Land, and VH1. Musto is the author of Downtown (Vintage, 1986), a nonfiction guide to Gotham happenings, and Manhattan on the Rocks (Henry Holt & Co., 1989), a docu-novel about New YorkÂ’s levels of social strata.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: powerHouse Books; First edition (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576873250
• ISBN-13: 978-1576873250
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Photojournalism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disco inferno still burning after all these years, December 13, 2006

By 

Glenn Belverio "Author of Confessions from th... (New York City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Disco Years (Hardcover)

"[Galella's] strongest period was the 1970's when his reality-based photography style was in perfect sync with that decade's gritty approach to filmmaking, a time when Hollywood had largely discarded the sugar-coated schmaltz of 50's and 60's artifice....Here is a startled Bette Midler looking behind her shoulder at the Grammy Awards, her askew tiara making her look like a lost, overgrown trick-or-treater. Alfred Hitchcock at the premiere of his film Family Plot wearing a stony, zombie-like expression that recalls Tor Johnson's performance in Plan 9 From Outer Space. A pre-Saturday Night Fever John Travolta already basking in fame, a crowd of fans restrained mere inches away and behaving as if Travolta's then unadulterated charisma had driven them to fits of ecstasy. And a miniscule Herve Villechaize ducking under a velvet rope at the Golden Globe awards like a mischievous gremlin hell-bent on carrying out acts of sabotage on the glamorous proceedings. Despite Galella's cinema verite hand, there is a persistent dream-like quality that emerges throughout the book. There are moments when the images almost threaten to tumble into a vortex where reality and fantasy merge - like the spiraling narrative of the amnesiac actress in Mulholland Drive, David Lynch's savagely surreal commentary on Tinseltown. Of all the visions in Galella's work, however, the most sobering seems to be the reminder of the ephemeral nature of fame and flesh."

-From my essay on Galella's work that accompanied an exhibition of his photos

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great review, January 9, 2010

By 

Larry Warshauer "Larry Warshauer" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Disco Years (Hardcover)

Great book. Amazing phots of all the beautiful people when they were beautiful indeed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As the Disco Turns, November 10, 2009

By 

stefreed "a randomely discerning consumer" (East Coast) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Disco Years (Hardcover)

I love this book...outrageous photos and lots of current celebs in their younger days. Its great for anyone who wants to have a disco party- good idea to get costume looks. In fact, its kind of it's own party. Sit down...have a cocktail and page through it. You'll feel like you were there- and why not, everyone in the tri-state area of a "certain age" claims to have been a regular at 54.