Grown-ups had their discos, bars and pool halls, but the children of the 70s had the roller skating rink. Many of them are still around today, but their day in the sun has long since past. Major cities with a large enough population to support them have impressive rinks; however, most cities and towns across America have rinks that haven't been remodeled in thirty years. Many of them are long since closed - vacant and tattered reminders of a distant time.
The roller skating rink was around long before the 70s - they were often enormous with live organ music. In the 70s they metamorphized into a disco themed haven for teens. They had everything you could want - loud music, poor lighting (all the better to get away with stuff), an equal measure of girls and boys, pinball machines and, later, a video arcade.
There was also the infamous "couple skate". Woe betide the boy or girl stuck on the fringes of the rink with no one to skate with. Torture defined is being forced to watch happy couples jaunt by over and over again to the sound of "Joanna" by Kool & the Gang.
If I had to pick the ultimate skate song - a song that just seems tailor made for roller skating - it would, without hesitation, be "Apache" by The Sugarhill Gang. The initial notes sounded the alarm to put down your hot dog and get your ass on the rink and have a good time.
