While many claimed righteous joy at disco's passing, not everything about the much-maligned genre was ephemeral.
Few counted on the lasting impression Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards would make.
One-time Sesame Street session man Rodgers and bass player Edwards were central figures in Chic, a flashy New York-based disco/R&B outfit that formed in 1977 and quickly secured a contract with Atlantic Records.
The band's second album for the label set the benchmark for minimalist funk sounds of the era, on the back of chart-topping smash Le Freak. C'est Chic (1978) highlighted disco's preoccupation with style over substance - at least in terms of lyrics.
These songs were about nothing. Nothing except the need to dance, that is.
Vacuous phrases such as "At last I'm free/I can hardly see in front of me" and "Sometimes you win/Sometimes you lose" were token attempts at deep and meaningfuls, but mostly it was "Ahhh, freak out!" with a bit of "Chic! Chic!" chucked in for good measure.
But words were secondary to the hypnotic groove of Rodgers' chicken-scratch guitar and Edwards' funky fretwork.
Cyclical killer dance hooks with cleanly hit marks were central to the band's slick sound, with drummer Tony Thompson consistently super-gluing a rhythm to the bottom line.
Swirling strings added a further touch of class.
Smooth second single I Want Your Love peaked a little lower on the charts but has stood the test of time as a top dancefloor-filler.
Chic would chart again in 1979 with Good Times, later plundered for its rhythm loop by the Sugar Hill Gang in breakthrough hip-hop hit Rapper's Delight.
Big-noters such as Blondie (with Rapture) and Queen (with Another One Bites The Dust) would also wear Chic influences on their sleeve, while Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Duran Duran and Madonna would benefit from the production nous of Rodgers and Edwards, the disco era's Dynamic Duo.
