What was the name of the 1979 anti-disco event held at Chicago’s Comiskey Park?

Disco Demolition Night was the 1979 anti-disco event held at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.

The promotion took place on July 12, 1979, between games of a Chicago White Sox doubleheader. Rock radio disc jockey Steve Dahl and promoter Michael Veeck organized the event, inviting fans to bring disco records to be destroyed in an on-field explosion.

Thousands of records were collected and detonated. Afterward, a large crowd entered the field, damaging parts of the playing surface and forcing the cancellation of the second game. Police were called to clear the stadium, and the White Sox forfeited the scheduled game.

The event is often described as the moment disco “died,” but that slogan oversimplifies what happened. Disco music remained popular in clubs and continued influencing house, pop, funk, and electronic dance music. Historians also debate the roles of rock-radio competition, backlash against commercial disco, racism, homophobia, and sexism in the protest. The event remains one of the most famous turning points in American popular-music history.