Sometimes it was 5 a.m.—and sometimes it was 10 a.m.—but regardless, it was a slowed down, emotional and communal groove that was unique to each DJ, each club, each morning. If you felt the magic of 5 a.m. just once…you never forgot it.

Guaranteed to leave you desperate for access to a time machine, 5 a.m. Ago is a record of one man’s experiences partying in clubs in NYC, LA and San Francisco from 1977 to 1987. The author, who’s 1st name is only revealed once via a scan of his SoCal Disco DJ Association membership card, created the documentary site in a quite successful attempt to share with us the magic of the 5 a.m. moment described above.

The site includes eloquent tributes to his two favorite DJs of the day, Bobby Viteritti and Larry Levan, and photos and descriptions of eight superclubs of the era, including well-known and documented venues like Paradise Garage and even some lesser-known (to me at least) hotspots like the exclusive and oh-so-80s private dance and video club, Private Eyes, where Steve played the role of both DJ and VJ as early as 1983. The photograph of the famous Trocadero mirror ball “cluster” (ha!) at Trocadero Transfer in San Francisco just about brings a tear to my eye, and I’m still reeling at the planetarium star projection and dome ceiling at the Saint.

The best part has to be reading all about the magic of 5 a.m. is getting to experience the audio yourself. The Records page includes full .mp3s for most of Steve’s top-40 essential records. I recommend cueing up this 1979 recording of Viteritti live at 5a.m. at the Trocadero (Windows Media), complete with crowd noises recording from a microphone hanging above the dance floor, for the full sensory experience.

This generous resource is the perfect multimedia companion to what seems to be widely accepted as the best disco history book written, Love Saves the Day by Tim Lawrence. You can check Steve’s review of Love Saves the Day on the Links page, which in of itself is bound to keep one occupied for at least another month with links to such enticing resources as Disco Box liner notes and HotDiscoMix.