Lost in Music
{{for|the Stereo MCs song|Lost in Music (Stereo MCs song)}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Lost in Music
| cover = Lost In Music.jpeg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Sister Sledge
| album = We Are Family
| B-side = Thinking of You
| released = {{Start date|1979|07|11}}
| format =
| recorded = 1978
| studio = Power Station, New York City, New York, US
| genre = {{Flatlist|
}}
| length =
- 3:24 (single version)
- 4:47 (album version)
| label =
| writer = {{Flatlist|
}}
| producer = {{Flatlist|
- Nile Rodgers
- Bernard Edwards
}}
| prev_title = We Are Family
| prev_year = 1979
| next_title = Got to Love Somebody
| next_year = 1979
}}
"Lost in Music" is a song by American vocal group Sister Sledge, released in July 1979{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/sister%20sledge/|title=Sister Sledge|publisher=The Official Charts Company}} as the third single from their third studio album, We Are Family (1979), an album entirely written, produced, and arranged by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards (of the group Chic). The "intoxicating" song was a No. 35 hit on the American R&B chart.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o552g5xRRiwC&pg=PA620 |page=620 |title=All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul |editor1-first=Vladimir |editor1-last=Bogdanov |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |year=2003 |isbn=9780879307448}} In 1984 and 1993, "Lost in Music" was re-released in new remixes. In 2025, Billboard magazine included it in their list of "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time".{{cite web|first1=Andrea|last1=Domanick|first2=Andrew|last2=Unterberger|first3=Elias|last3=Leight|first4=Eric|last4=Renner Brown|first5=Jason|last5=Lipshutz|first6=Joe|last6=Lynch|first7=Kat|last7=Bein|first8=Katie|last8=Bein|first9=Krystal|last9=Rodriguez|first10=Lily|last10=Moayeri|first11=Melinda|last11=Newman|first12=Thomas|last12=Smith|first13=Zei|last13=McCarthy|url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-dance-songs-all-time/|title=The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time: Staff List|work=Billboard|date=March 28, 2025|access-date=April 6, 2025}}
Chart performance
"Lost in Music" was one of the group's biggest hits, charting at No. 35 on the US Billboard R&B chart (then called the Hot Soul Singles chart).{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sister-sledge-mn0000746666/awards|title=Sister Sledge|publisher=Allmusic}} It also reached the UK top twenty in three separate decades. The original version reached No. 17 in 1979, a remixed version{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v_IyT35pJCgC&pg=PT307 |page=307 |title=80s Chart-Toppers: Every Chart-Topper Tells a Story |first=Sharon |last=Davis |publisher=Random House |year=2012 |isbn=9781780574110}} reached No. 4 in 1984, and another remix reached No. 14 in 1993.
Reception
Cash Box described the song as a "very Chic tune" with "sparse, elegant instrumentation and a "fascinating" hook.{{cite news|title=CashBox Singles Reviews|date=July 28, 1979|page=13|newspaper=Cash Box|accessdate=2022-01-01|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1979/CB-1979-07-28.pdf}} Richard Smith from Melody Maker wrote, "'Lost in Music' was a slice of pure pop heaven. A song about the simple thrill of going out dancing, every bit as thrilling as the feeling it was trying to describe."{{cite magazine|first=Richard|last=Smith|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/52805415134/|title=Albums|work=Melody Maker|date=1993-01-30|page=35|access-date=2023-05-05}} Alan Jones from Music Week gave the 1993 remix three out of five, adding that "once again the original Chic hallmarks are ditched to turn the track into an edgy, percussive rattling slab of Nineties dance music."{{cite magazine|first= Alan |last= Jones |title= Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles |magazine= Music Week |date= 1993-02-20 |page= 22 |accessdate= 2022-10-01 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1993/Music-Week-1993-02-20.pdf}} Record World said that the "clear clean production, snappy percussion, & choir-like vocals are overwhelming."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=July 28, 1979|accessdate=2023-02-11|title=Hits of the Week|page=1|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/79/RW-1979-07-28.pdf}}
Legacy
In March 2025, Billboard magazine ranked "Lost in Music" number 91 in their list of "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time", writing, "While brimming with musical signatures from the era's überproducer duo of Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, nothing hides the glory of the Sledges' mellifluous mirrorball harmonies."
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1979) ! style="text-align:center;"|Peak |
| Belgium (Ultratop)
| style="text-align:center;"|14 |
| Ireland (IRMA)
| style="text-align:center;"|30 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
| style="text-align:center;"|15 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)
| style="text-align:center;"|12 |
| UK Singles (OCC)
| style="text-align:center;"|17 |
| US Hot Soul Singles (Billboard)
| style="text-align:center;"|35 |
1984 Nile Rodgers remix
| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (1984) ! style="text-align:center;"|Peak |
| Ireland (IRMA)
| style="text-align:center;"|6 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
| style="text-align:center;"|6 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)
| style="text-align:center;"|4 |
| UK Singles (OCC)
| style="text-align:center;"|4 |
1993 Sure Is Pure remix
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Sister Sledge|title=Lost In Music|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2004|certyear=2024|accessdate=October 17, 2024|id=3988-347-1}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}
Cover versions
A cover version of the song appeared on British post-punk band the Fall's 1993 album The Infotainment Scan;{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mMSuOdpiqCIC&pg=PA186 |page=186 |title=The Fallen: Life In and Out of Britain's Most Insane Group |first=Dave |last=Simpson |publisher=Canongate |year=2008 |isbn=9781847676405}}{{cite web |url=http://thequietus.com/articles/11815-the-fall-infotainment-scan-anniversary |title=A Past Gone Rad: The Fall's Infotainment Scan 20 Years On |last1=Macdonald |first1=Neil |date=15 April 2013 |website=The Quietus |accessdate=27 October 2014}} their "radically different" version has been read as a critique of the "unfair derision of the disco genre".{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4dEaBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA188 |page=188 |title=Cynicism in British Post-War Culture: Ignorance, Dust and Disease |first=Kieran |last=Curran |publisher=Springer |year=2014 |isbn=9781137444356}}
Anita Lane also covered the song on her album Dirty Pearl.
References
{{reflist}}
{{Sister Sledge}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Song recordings produced by Bernard Edwards
Category:Song recordings produced by Nile Rodgers
Category:Songs written by Bernard Edwards
Category:Songs written by Nile Rodgers