American Songwriter has put together a shortlist of some of the standout debut No. 1 hits from the disco era of the 1970s, celebrating the genre's brief but joyful chart dominance. The feature highlights three tracks that each achieved chart-topping success in different ways, alongside anecdotes about their creation and reception at the time.

Chic's "Le Freak", released in 1978 by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, initially left their record label unimpressed but went on to reach No. 1 three separate times. Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive", written by Dino Fekaris and Freddie Perren in 1979, spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy for Best Disco Recording in 1980. The Village People's "Y.M.C.A." topped charts internationally in the 1970s but only reached No. 2 in the US at the time, finally claiming the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 spot in 2024, some 46 years after its release.