Tunes At The Roller Skating Rink Quiz

"ABC" was released by The Jackson 5 in February of 1970 and famously knocked The Beatles' "Let It Be" off the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It is the title track to the group's second album and sold two million copies within the first week of its release in the US. The song uses school-related metaphors such as "ABC" or "123" to describe the simple nature of love. This made it relatable to the group's massive teenage and pre-teen fan base. (Who were often found in the roller rink)

At just 11 years old, Michael Jackson displayed incredible vocal control during his parts of the song. Michael and the rest of the band performed the song during their legendary appearance on "American Bandstand" in 1970. Dick Clark later remarked that he had never seen a reaction like the one the Jacksons received.

"Brand New Key" was released by Melanie, a folk music singer, in 1971 and soon it was known also as "The Rollerskate Song" due to its chorus. She released the song on her own label, Neighborhood Records, which she founded with her husband. The song had an interesting origin. Melanie had been on a 27-day water fast for spiritual reasons. Immediately after breaking the fast by eating a McDonald's meal, she felt a sudden "blast" of energy and nostalgia and wrote the song in less than an hour.

For those that aren't sure what a key has to do with roller skates, in the 1970s (and earlier), many roller skates weren't boots with wheels; they were metal plates that clamped onto your regular shoes. To make them stay on, you needed a small metal "skate key" to tighten the clamps.

Released in early 1972, "I'll Take You There" was performed by American soul/gospel family band the Staple Singers. It spent 15 weeks on the charts and reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 that year as well. While the Staple Singers were from Chicago, this song was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama with the backing track provided by the famous Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section.

The song was written by Al Bell, the head of Stax Records. He wrote it in the wake of his brother's funeral, envisioning a place where "ain't no smiling faces, lying to the races". While Mavis Staples' gospel roots make it sound like she's singing about Heaven, it is also interpreted as a call for a better, more unified America. The tune's rhythm and structure have an ideal roller skating beat.

Released in 1973, "Keep On Truckin'" was the massive solo breakout for Eddie Kendricks after he left The Temptations in a bitter breakup. It reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Singles Chart upon its release. The song blended both soul and disco and the album version was a full eight minutes long. "Keep on truckin'" is a phrase of encouragement meaning to stay focused regardless of circumstances or setbacks.

Ironically, truckin' (or trucking) in roller skating is a stylish, relaxed, beginner-friendly move often used in rhythm or shuffle skating to cruise around the rink. So the song's title and beat, plus the fact of its long length, allowed the DJ to let the "All-Skate" really get into a flow.

Released in May of 1974, "Rock Your Baby" by George McCrae was often credited as the first true number one disco hit. It was an international blockbuster hit and featured all the defining elements of disco, including a pulsating electronic beat, falsetto vocals, and a production style geared toward clubs. The song was originally offered to Gwen McCrae (George's wife), but she was late to the session and then found the key too high. George was in the studio, stepped up to the microphone to record a "scratch" vocal to show her how it went, and his high, soulful falsetto was so perfect they kept his version instead.

The mid-tempo beat of the song made it an ideal couples skate song in the roller rinks. Outside of the rink, John Lennon was a fan. He famously cited "Rock Your Baby" as one of the inspirations for the rhythmic feel of his own song "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night."

"The Hustle", by Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony, was released in April of 1975 and went to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts that very summer. The dance called the hustle was created by Puerto Rican teenagers in the South Bronx, blending salsa and mambo with swing. Van McCoy's business partner saw the dance, described it to McCoy, and the song was written to "match" the dance.

"The Hustle" helped popularize line dancing on skates. The song's structure, with its 4-count beat, made it easy for a whole rink of skaters to stop, do a choreographed step-touch, turn 90 degrees, and keep going. This is the ancestor of what would become "The Electric Slide" dance.

Wild Cherry released "Play That Funky Music" in April of 1976 and the song hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in September of that year. The band was originally a hard rock group. By 1976, disco was taking over and the band found it harder and harder to book rock gigs. While they were playing a set of rock songs at a club called 2001, a group of black patrons reportedly shouted at them: "Are you white boys gonna play some funky music?!". The song was written during the next break. While the band never had another hit of this magnitude, the song has been sampled and covered by everyone from Vanilla Ice to Prince.

In many 70s rinks, this was the song where skaters would try to do their most athletic moves, like the "Speed Slide" or jumping the "coffin" (skating low to the ground).

"Best of My Love" was composed by Maurice White and Al McKay of Earth, Wind & Fire and was released by the female band the Emotions in 1977. White wanted to give the three sisters in the band the same sound and feel as his group. It hit number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B charts, staying at the top of the pop charts for five weeks, and would later go on to win a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

In the 70s, it was common for the entire rink to clap along in unison during the chorus: "Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh, you've got the best of my love!"

"I Will Survive", by Gloria Gaynor, was released in the fall of 1978. The writer of the song, Dino Fekaris, created it after being let go from Motown Records after many years on the job. Interestingly, the song was originally released as the B-side to a song called "Substitute". DJs at the disco clubs flipped the record over, realized "I Will Survive" was the real hit, and the rest, as they say, is history. It won Best Disco Recording at the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards, and also received nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

The official music video actually features a segment filmed at a roller rink (The Empire Roller Disco in Brooklyn), showing a skater performing intricate moves, and solidifying its place as a skating classic.

Donna Summer's song "Bad Girls", from the album of the same name, was released in the spring of 1979. Having made her name in the preceding years as "the queen of disco", Summer wanted to add in some more rock sounds to her newer songs. Summer was inspired to write this song, with its disco and rock mix, after one of her assistants was offended by a police officer who mistook her for a sex worker outside a Los Angeles office building. She added the famous car-honking vocal cues to mimic the sound of traffic in the city at night.

The song features a loud, piercing police whistle throughout the track. In a rink setting, this was a signal. Every time the whistle blew, skaters would often switch directions or slingshot their partners forward.