Artist: Chic
Released: 1978
Lyrical relic: 54 [Studio 54]
Just come on down to the 54
Find your spot out on the floor
At the height of the disco era, Studio 54 was THE club in New York City where all the A-listers went to boogie and bump hips, among other more salacious things. Opened in 1977, the club became known for its exclusivity and its permissive atmosphere brimming with sex and drugs.
On New Year’s Eve of 1977, Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic showed up at 54 only to be denied entry. This song was borne of their infuriation and was originally aptly titled, “Fuck Off”, a not so subtle rebuke to the club’s doorman
It seems like Rodgers and Edwards had the last laugh when the retitled song became a bonafide hit. It reached the top of Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart for a total of six weeks, becoming the biggest hit in the history of Atlantic records (until Madonna’s 1990 release of Vogue).
And I’m sure they were still laughing when Studio 54 finally closed its doors to everyone in 1980, its owners having been convicted of tax evasion.
Sources:
https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/LeFreak.pdf