The PopCulteer
October 14, 2022

Paul Jabara was an actor, singer, OSCAR-winning songwriter and one of the top composers of Disco music. He passed away due to complications from AIDS just over thirty years ago, and  some of his best-selling solo albums are just now being released digitally for the first time. Mel Larch is a big fan, and devotes the whole hour of MIRRORBALL to Jabara Friday afternoon on The AIR.  The AIR is PopCult’s sister radio station. You can hear our shows on The AIR website, or just click on the embedded player found elsewhere on this page.

Jabara won his OSCAR for the song “Last Dance,” performed in the movie, Thank God It’s Friday, by his friend, Donna Summer. Jabara is also in the movie as Carl, the nearsighted schlub looking for love. Later Jabara co-wrote “It’s Raining Men” with Paul Shaffer for The Weather Girls. and also had a string of club hits as a solo artist. Whitney Houston made her first recorded appearance on one of Jabara’s solo records when she was just 19 years old.

Because his work has just become available again after many years out of print, Mel decided to put together a collection to shine the Disco spotlight on this overlooked musical genius, who left us too soon.  Check out the playlist…

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Paul Jabara/Donna Summer “Shut Out”
Paul Jabara “Heaven Is A Disco”
The Weather Girls “It’s Raining Men”
Paul Jabara “Trapped In A Stairway”
Paul Jabara “Disco Queen”
Paul Jabara “One Man Ain’t Enough”
Paul Jabara with Donna Summer “Something’s Missing In My Life”
Paul Jabara “Dance”
Paul Jabara “Dancin'”
Paul Jabara “Pleasure Island”
Donna Summer “Last Dance”

You can hear MIRRORBALL every Friday at 2 PM, with replays Sunday at 11 PM, Monday at 9 AM, and Tuesday at 1 PM  exclusively on The AIR.

At 3 PM, we’ll be replaying Sydney Fileen’s a classic “Dance Mix” episode of Sydney’s Big Electric Cat. You can find the playlist and background info HERE if you scroll down a bit.

Sydney’s Big Electric Cat is produced at Haversham Recording Institute in London, and can be heard every Friday at 3 PM, with replays Saturday afternoon, Monday at 7 AM, Tuesday at 8 PM, Wednesday at Noon and Thursday at 10 AM, exclusively on The AIR.

Friday at 9 PM you can tune in for a three hours of humours music on The Comedy Vault, with Noel Coward, Flight of the Conchords and Spike Jones.