Various Greatest Soul/Funk & Disco 12" Singles (4-CD Box)

(Robinsongs) 42 tracks, Papersleeves + Booklet in slipcover box.

First foray into the compilation market for Robinsongs.

- The Greatest Soul / Funk & Disco 12" Inch Singles of The 70s & 80s is packed with some of the best 12 inch releases from that era.
- A vivid snapshot of this golden era.
- With liner notes by journalist Charles Waring on each track in the booklet.

Like many crucial inventions, the 12" single was born out of necessity. Although widely regarded as a disco-era innovation designed to help DJs get people dancing by stretching songs out much longer than the conventional three-minute mark of the 7" single, the very first 12" single appeared back in 1970. It was a novelty that didn't catch on, but a few years later, in 1974, an innovative New York producer named Tom Moulton resurrected the 12" single format as a vehicle for extended mixes of dance tracks.

This innovation helped fuel the disco inferno and introduced the concept of instrumental breakdowns or "breaks."

Originally, the 12" pressings were intended for DJs and used only for promotional purposes, but they were in such demand that it wasn't long before record companies made them commercially available; the first pressing sold to the public was "Ten Percent" by Double Exposure in 1976, which is included in this package. Their success opened the floodgates, and from that moment on, the 12" single became the format that defined the glory years of disco.