Jimmy Ellis, the voice behind the 1970s smash "Disco Inferno," died yesterday in South Carolina. He was 74.

Ellis died of complications from Alzheimer's disease, his daughter, Erika Stinson, told the New York Times.

Ellis was the lead singer of funk band The Trammps, whose "Disco Inferno" climbed to No. 11 on Billboard's Hot 100 pop chart in 1978. The hit single was featured on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, which went on to sell 15 million copies. The Grammy-winning album is the second highest selling soundtrack of all time, behind The Bodyguard.

A memorial service is scheduled for March 16 at Central Church of God in Charlotte, North Carolina.