DJ Tony Tone at the Disco Fever Photo Booth, Bronx, NY
Disco Fever was the famous South Bronx Hip Hop dance club. Opening in 1976 as a local bar, Disco Fever was operated by Allie Abbatiello, a local owner of several Bronx nightclubs. Disco Fever was a New York City dance club located in the South Bronx on Jerome Avenue and 167th street that operated until 1986. Abbatiello featured many popular Hip-Hop artists including Grandmaster Flash which helped increase the club’s popularity and fame. Hip Hop group Run-D.M.C. performed their first show at the club. The 1985 movie Krush Groove was filmed at Disco Fever and served as the final chapter of the nightclub. Abbatiello also started the popular record label—Fever Records—to introduce new Hip Hop artists; Producer Russell Simmons valued the Fever as an effective test market for new music and convinced Abbatiello to give his little brother Joseph, the "Run" in Run–D.M.C., a chance on stage; the result was that Run–D.M.C.'s first paying gig was at the Disco Fever.
Cold Crush Brother’s original lineup consisted of DJ Tony Tone (Angelo King), Easy AD (Adrian Harris), DJ Charlie Chase (Carlos Mandes, b. 1959), Grandmaster Caz (Curtis Brown, b. 1960), Almighty KG (Kenneth Pounder), JDL (Jerry Dee Lewis) and Money Ray (Eric Hoskins). Whipper Whip (James Whipper) and DotA-Rock (Darryl Mason) were original members, but eventually, Whipper Whip and Dot-A-Rock left and joined the Fantastic Five, which they considered to be a more established group at the time. Soon, the group brought in Grandmaster Caz (formerly DJ Casanova Fly) who is known to be one of the top 50 MCs of all Time, and an inductee into the Technics DJ Hall of Fame and the Bronx Walk of Fame. The Cold Crush Brothers were known for their remarkable routines which included harmonies, melodies, and stage-stomping performances. The Cold Crush Brothers set the standard for emceeing. They built the reputation as the Rolling Stones of Hip Hop. Because of the attention they began to attract, many groups would try to battle them to gain rap credibility and Hip-Hop superiority.