This.

They don’t play this stuff at the roller rinks anymore, though. :)

I’d been rollerskating since a young kid in the late 70’s up through the mid 80’s. There was always a combo couple of hours before midnight when the rink closed and they open up the middle of the floor for dancers and everyone could keep skating. It was a lot of fun.

Speed skating music was likely Cat Scratch Fever or Detroit Rock City.

Couples skates were really sappy, Magnet and Steel, Three Times a Lady or Sailing.

Fun songs your friends would all go crazy on the floor with you were, Fame, Flashlight or Chase Me.

I really believe it was the music of the mid 80’s that killed roller skating. That’s when my friends and I stopped listening to the radio, stopped by stacks of 45’s to dance to during sleepovers. That’s when some of us started “hanging out” which meant bumming around with friends in search of people to buy us liquor, sell us clove cigarettes or drugs.

Hey Nineteen by Steely Dan
They knew their music was being played in roller rinks One line from the song is “Skate a little lower now”

Also, Dire Straits Skateaway

There’s a rollar rink about 40 minutes away and sometimes me and my friends will go for an evening. But here, there’s alot more ice skating and hockey than rollar skating.
Last time we went they played a bunch of pop music and had us do the Soulja Boy.
I like the disco stuff better.
This thread reminds me of this clip from Malcolm in the Middle. I would skate to that. Or this , from the same episode.

@TheIntern55: has it! Yeah, rink rats had two categories for the cool kids, you were either on a speedskating or figure skating team. Everyone else would just buy their own skates to not look like “rentals”.

This is a great question! When I read it, all of these “rink” songs popped back into my head. These songs are all from the era when I both roller skated and ice skated in rinks, from around 1975 to 1980. Thanks for the memories : )

Rock the Boat by Hues Corporation

Wildfire by Michael Murphy

You Can Do Magic by America

Listen to What the Man Said by Paul McCartney and Wings

Just Remember I Love You by Firefall

The Hustle by Van McCoy

Sweet City Woman by The Stampeders

Yellow Brick Road by Elton John

Crocadile Rock by Elton John

Lying Eyes by The Eagles

I Feel Love by Donna Summer

Pop Muzik by M

Disco Duck by Rick Dees

Convoy by CW McCall

I Can’t Go for That Hall and Oates

How Deep is Your Love? by The Bee Gees

Saturday Night by The Bay City Rollers

Hot Child in the City by Nick Gilder

Take a Chance on Me by ABBA

Kiss You All Over by Exile

Magnet and Steel by Walter Egan

Year of the Cat by Al Stewart

@Kardamom You just gave me a whole playlist. Thanks!

ROFLLL!!! Before I opened this I was going “KOOL AND THE GANG!!!”

Rick sz Hokey Pokey! Duh!

A lot of roller rink music experience here.

Songs that have a medium beat that you can keep up with, with one roller skate. Also, waltz music is great for roller rinks.

My band played music for many roller rinks in the early 60s. The type music above is what was most requested at that time.

Songs with a fast beat tend to cause skating accidents.

Most of Kardamom’s suggestions are middle of the road songs with a medium beat.

@john65pennington What you said about the medium beat is what leads me to believe that funk and disco beats are very likely to be the best music for skating.