The Best of Friends (TBOF): Reclaiming Black Pioneers of Disco and Underground Dance Music

Queens, 1968 - Summer Night 

the summer heat lingers in the streets, but inside an unmarked building where The Best of Friends (TBOF) are hosting, the world outside disappears. A low hum of conversation, the clink of glasses, and the smell of fried chicken and sweet tea mix with the haze of cigarette smoke. The room is dimly lit by dangling bulbs and flickering candles; shadows stretch across the floorboards as dancers move in sync with the rhythm that already pulses through the walls.

At one end of the room, Noel Hankin, a founding member of The Best of Friends, cues records with deliberate care, adjusting the needle, listening closely to the room before letting the next groove drop. Around him, other TBOF members assist in the flow of the night: passing records, debating selections, watching the dancers more than the turntables. This is not a star system; it is a collective practice. The DJs and selectors operate as stewards of the space, shaping energy, protecting the crowd, and allowing the music to breathe. Records move from James Brown to Motown, from deep soul to funk, blended not for spectacle but for continuity. The goal is not attention, but immersion: to keep the floor unified, expressive, and safe.

This approach, later celebrated as “programming” or “journey mixing,” already existed here in 1968: rooted in Black social dance traditions, church rhythm, juke joint improvisation, and house-party etiquette. The DJ listens as much as they play; the room speaks, and the music answers.

Noel Hankin with Walt Frazier

Feet stomp, hips swivel, hands clap; circles form spontaneously; lines of dancers weave across the floor. Every movement is a dialogue with the music, a dynamic choreography between groove and body, DJ and crowd, friends and strangers. Near the back, a couple leans against the wall, sipping homemade cocktails, nodding along without breaking the spell of the floor. The room pulses with energy: a mix of community, freedom, and sheer joy, tempered by unspoken rules—respect the music, respect the people, look out for one another.

TBOF’s parties were sanctuaries long before “disco” became a mainstream phenomenon. Black and Brown patrons, queer individuals, students, and artists moved together under one roof, guided by music and social etiquette that prioritized freedom and expression. These gatherings were ephemeral: one night packed to capacity, the next by invitation only. Yet the lessons they imparted were permanent: how to feel the music, how to move with intention, how to build community where the world outside offered none.

Their nights were pre-commercial laboratories: continuous mixes of R&B, funk, soul, and early electronic

TBOF Crew - circa 1975

rhythms taught the crowd; and the DJs themselves—how to move as one, how to create momentum and release, how to read a room. Clubs like Leviticus, Justine’s, Bogard’s, Lucifer’s (later Trixx), and Brandi’s became the living, breathing archives of Black dance culture. Mancuso and Siano, often celebrated as founders of underground dance music, attended these parties, absorbing the techniques, social rules, and musical philosophies codified by TBOF; yet history has largely erased the architects themselves.

Step back for a moment and hear the laughter, the syncopated claps, the groove swelling from turntables into bodies. This is where disco was born: not in glossy magazines, not on the covers of lifestyle publications, but on floors curated, protected, and enlivened by Black visionaries. TBOF reminds us that underground dance music, disco, and house were never just about records spinning—they were about freedom, community, and joy. Every beat, every mix, every circle of dancers was a claim to space in a world that often denied it. As Black History Month begins, we celebrate TBOF and others like them: the architects, not just the iconic faces, of the dance music revolution.

Listen to FROM the UNDERGROUND with WAMPTRONICA

A mixshow inspired by this lineage: House Music blends R&B, jazz, soul, funk, Afrobeat, and Caribbean
sounds alongside classic and contemporary tracks for dancers and listeners who value culture, groove, and intention over hype:

Tuesdays at 8 PM (EST) on WNBOne.com, 

Fridays at 9 PM (EST) on Lemonadio.com, 

and on demand:
https://rss.com/podcasts/fromtheundergroundwith-wamptronica/2428862/ 

Suggested Reading & Listening: 

Hankin, Noel. After Dark: Birth of the Disco Dance Party.

Leon Niknah Publishing Company, 2021; Echols, Alice. Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture; “Leviticus Nightclub,” EverybodyWiki, https://en.everybodywiki.com/Leviticus_nightclub; 

“About Noel Hankin and TBOF Discotheque History,” DiscoAfterDark.com
, https://discoafterdark.com/about/; archival mixes from TBOF venues; early 1970s R&B, funk, and soul records frequently played in TBOF discotheques.

MLA Citations:
Hankin, Noel. After Dark: Birth of the Disco Dance Party. Leon Niknah Publishing Company, 2021.
“About Noel Hankin and TBOF Discotheque History.” DiscoAfterDark.com., https://discoafterdark.com/about/
“Leviticus Nightclub.” EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki., https://en.everybodywiki.com/Leviticus_nightclub
Hankin, Noel. “Leviticus Opened 50 Years Ago.” LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leviticus-opened-50-years-ago-noel-hankin-clh9e
“Noel Hankin: Celebrating Black Pride through Disco.” WFUV.org. https://wfuv.org/content/celebrating-black-pride-through-disco-0
LinkedIn post, “In 1971, a social club called The Best of Friends…” LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/noel-hankin-a0636a5b_in-1971-a-social-club-called-the-best-of-activity-7294827254809874432-Io-Q
“Recalling The Birth Of Black Discos.” 27East.com. https://www.27east.com/arts/recalling-the-birth-of-black-discos-1803376/