Lost in Music


"Lost in Music" is a song by American vocal group Sister Sledge, released in July 1979 as the third single from their third studio album, We Are Family, an album entirely written, produced, and arranged by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. The song was a No. 35 hit on the American R&B chart. 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".

Chart performance

"Lost in Music" was one of the group's biggest hits, charting at No. 35 on the US Billboard R&B chart. It also reached the UK top twenty in three separate decades. The original version reached No. 17 in 1979, a remixed version 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. 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." 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." Record World said that the "clear clean production, snappy percussion, & choir-like vocals are overwhelming."

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

1984 Nile Rodgers remix
Chart Peak
position
Ireland 6
Netherlands 6
Netherlands 4
UK Singles 4

1993 Sure Is Pure remix
Chart Peak
position
Europe 48
Europe 4
Ireland 10
UK Singles 14
UK Airplay 24
UK Dance 2

Cover versions

A cover version of the song appeared on British post-punk band the Fall's 1993 album The Infotainment Scan; their "radically different" version has been read as a critique of the "unfair derision of the disco genre".
Anita Lane also covered the song on her album Dirty Pearl.