Moroder was one of the pioneers of the disco sound, sowing the seeds of what would evolve directly into house and techno music, with songs that were among the earliest to prominently feature electronic keyboards, drum machines, and vocoder technology. Giorgio is probably most famous as the production half of the disco phenomenon that was Donna Summer. Moroder wrote the music for Summer, including their 1975’s hit “Love to Love You Baby” and the breakout hit “I Feel Love” in 1977. More hits followed, with 1979’s “Hot Stuff” and  “Bad Girls” (from the album of the same name) spelling massive success for Summer and Moroder.

Moroder also became famous for scoring films, starting with 1978’s soundtrack to the film “Midnight Express” for which Moroder won an academy award. Other films that were either scored by Moroder or included several of his songs included Flashdance, The Neverending Story, American Gigolo, the 1984 restoration of Fritz Lang’s previously silent film Metropolis, Top Gun, and the gangster epic Scarface.

Moroder’s most recent work includes a slew of remix projects, showing his allegiance to the world of dance music. Moroder has remixed songs by the Eurythmics, Heaven 17, KMFDM, Blondie, and Enrique Eglasias.

Moroder’s influence on modern music is extremely significant. Like his contemporaries (groups like Can, Kraftwerk, and Yellow Magic Orchestra), he inspired musicians who would go on to develop the sound of House and Techno, with direct influence on people like the Bellville Three, a group of young black high school students who would go on to create what we now know as Techno. But that’s another story, one we’ll tell on a future installment of Tech School.