When the shame prompt was announced, I couldn’t get the disco beat of Shirley & Co.’s “Shame, Shame, Shame” out of my head. The song was written by Sylvia Robinson and sung by blues vocalist Shirley Goodman paired with singer Jesus Alvarez. Their recording became an international disco hit in the mid-1970s. The song reminded me of a time gone by, a time when I was transitioning from adolescent to adult, when disco was raging in dance halls across the country.

Disco started as a mixture of music from African American, Latino and gay cultures during the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was a progressive, democratic scene that accepted people from all walks of life – a glimpse of tolerance and diversity on the dance floor. The music captured the energy and color and pulse of a generation of young adults eager to change the world.

Disco’s glory years are inseparable from my memories of high school and college. We would gather at the Rainbow Ranch to dance the night away. We were transported by the beat, syncopation, horns and synthesizers of the disco anthems. It wasn’t just the music. The clothes, the makeup, the politics, were all a part of that experience. It was an era of platform shoes, metallic jumpsuits, Saturday Night Fever, Stayin’ Alive, and Dance, Dance, Dance. And that’s what we were doing — the hustle, electric slide, the bump. Disco balls were spinning and neon lights were flashing.

“Shame, Shame, Shame” stayed at number one on the disco/dance charts for four weeks and has been my earworm for the last four weeks. Here’s a detail from the finished quilt to be revealed at the end of the month.