Boogie nights: 'Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution' tackles the surprising and overlooked history of the genre

Nicky Siano is an integral part of the disco scene.

He began playing clubs in 1971 and by the end of the decade, he was one of the major figures in the New York scene.

“I’m very glad to be part of it,” he says. “This was a time in our history where there was social upheaval. From Vietnam to Stonewall, they captured the struggles.”

Siano is featured in the American Experience series, “Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution.”

Boogie nights: 'Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution' tackles the surprising and overlooked history of the genre

It airs at 7 and 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1.

The first two parts air at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday, June 7, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.4. The third part airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 2, channel 5.1. The three episodes are also available to stream on the PBS app.

In the three-part series, PBS tackles the surprising and overlooked history of disco — the preeminent popular music of the 1970s.

The docuseries captures the story of disco: its rise, its fall, and its legacy.

From the basement bars of ’70s New York City to the peak of the global charts, along with iconic tracks and remarkable footage, the docuseries offers a powerful, revisionist history of the disco age.

The series is told by the original musicians, promoters and innovators — as well as modern-day musical icons .

Disco embodied the height of 1970s glamour: a dance floor culture born in New York City that went on to take over the world.

But its success also obscured its wider significance. Inextricably bound up with the major liberation movements of the 1970s, disco speaks to some of the biggest issues of today: LGBTQ+ identity and female empowerment.

“Charting disco from its inception and global domination to the violent attempts to end the genre, ‘Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution’ reclaims its roots,” says Sylvia Bugg, chief programming executive and general manager, general audience programming at PBS. “Before commercialization, discotheques belonged to the marginalized and the dispossessed, who tapped into the beat-driven music and the disco scene in a battle for community, identity and inclusivity.”

The first episode is called “Rock the Boat” and looks at the roots of disco — how it emerged from a basic desire for inclusion, visibility, and freedom among persecuted Black, gay, and minority ethnic communities of New York City.

It tells the remarkable story of how a global phenomenon began in the loft apartments and basement bars of New York City, where a new generation of DJs and musicians, like David Mancuso, Nicky Siano, Francis Grasso and Earl Young (The Trammps), pioneered a distinct sound and a new way of spinning records.

“Back then, there was David Mancuso who started it all,” Siano says. “I partied at his place until I was 15. Then I opened the club. David’s ideas worked for a very tight-knit group of people. I opened up the scene wider because it was a club. I tried to create a bigger community.”

The second episode is called “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now,” and is set against the backdrop of Black power and sexual liberation. As disco conquers the mainstream, it turns Black women and gay men into superstars and icons. It is a world where the drag queen Sylvester was king, and Black women found a powerful new voice — one that fused Black Power with a call for sexual freedom. It was the birth of the “disco diva” from Gloria Gaynor and Candi Staton to Donna Summer and Thelma Houston.

The final part is called “Stayin’ Alive” and documents the wellspring of resentment from white, straight, male-dominated, rock-loving middle Americans, as they targeted disco for its hedonism, femininity and queerness.

“They couldn’t cover everything,” Siano says. “I think they could expand on how the equipment we used as DJs developed during this time. I had the first crossover built for me because I wanted to control the sound of the music throughout the club. We were working with records and really busting our behinds. My first booth was on the dance floor, and that was a big decision for me. I would never put my DJ booth above the dance floor. I always wanted to hear the music the way people at the club would hear it.”