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Song: Please Don’t Go 
Artist: KC and the Sunshine Band 
By Dr. Bruce L. Thiessen, aka Dr BLT, psychologist 

Please Don’t Go 
Dr BLT cover of KC and the Sunshine Band classic 
http://www.drblt.net/music/PleaseDontDemom.mp3 

You know what they say about disco.  I don’t happen share that sentiment.  I believe that disco’s received a bit of a bad rap (no pun intended).  In addition to the whole “disco sucks,” sentiment, more (ostensibly) sophisticated “critics” in the '70s pined about the days when music used to tell a story.  Weren’t they paying attention to the story told in "Stayin’ Alive" by the Bee Gees?  Weren’t they paying attention to the story told by Gloria Gaynor in "I Will Survive?"

In addition to “sucking,” and failing to tell stories, disco was accused of being heartless and soulless.  Enter "Please Don’t Go" by KC and the Sunshine Band.    

Babe, I love you so
I want you to know
that I'm going to miss your love
the minute you walk out that door 

The lyrics are not brilliant or profound, but they do tell a story.  It is a love story, which is universal, so anybody that has been in and/or out of love, should be able to relate on some level.  

In addition to telling a story, "Please Don’t Go" is soulful, and has a heart.  Pleading is pleading whether it’s "Ain’t to Proud to Beg" or "Please Don’t Go."   Synthesizers and/or drum machines can’t eradicate the pleading or pining in a song, and in some cases, they may even add to it.  True, a mechanical sound is not always conducive to certain, romantic, reflective moments, but they are great for dancing.  

"Please don’t Go" is a pretty good song for dancing.  It is a nice contrast to "That’s the Way I Like It" and "Boogie Man."  It is what it is.  Bob Dylan makes poetry that confronts conformity and addresses social issues of vital importance.  

By it’s very nature, "Please Don’t Go" doesn’t set out to meet such high aspirations, and so it succeeds in its own way.  It surpasses the relatively low bar it sets out for itself.  It is better than mediocre.  “I love you.  Please don’t go.”  It is a simple, honest, direct message.  And it may not touch your heart, but there’s got to be somebody out there whose heart has been touched by it, some abandoning spouse who had a change of heart on the way out the door as the song broke out on the radio.  

So while the rest of the world is burning disco records like this one, I’m holding on to them, especially love songs like this one.  It is a time capsule, and it is a moment of quietness and a much-welcome cause for pause, in between "Shake Your Boot" and "Fly, Robin, Fly."  It is a romantic moment of tenderness and quiet reflection in the midst of a perpetually throbbing disco beat---a chance for flashing lights to fade and sweaty bodies to cool off.  No, coming to think of it, it just is what it is---a disco man begging for his disco girl not to let this be his last chance and their last dance.  The catchy melody will carry him, and the simple message will carry her back to the man she threatened to leave for some revolting John Travolta wannabe.