Written by Steve Dool, CNN

As Studio 54 co-founder Ian Schrager sees it, there have been exactly two seminal cultural events in the 71 years he's been alive: "Woodstock and Studio," he says. "Not to be presumptuous."























1 / 12 In a new book, Studio 54 co-founder Ian Schrager dives into the history of his infamous New York hotspot. The nightclub's wild parties, like this one on New Year's Eve 1979, made headlines around the world. Credit: Courtesy Martha Cooper

While Schrager's list is perhaps a tad reductive, the notorious New York City nightclub he launched in 1977 with his business partner Steve Rubell has undoubtedly earned its place in pop history. Studio 54 remains a topic of fascination some four decades after the club's opening night party summoned a crowdthat included Cher, Tennessee Williams, Andy Warhol and Grace Jones to a former opera house and CBS television studio in Midtown Manhattan.

At Studio 54, sex, celebrity and, infamously, open drug-use worked in tandem to create a hedonistic nightlife playground that hasn't been replicated since. Schrager describes the setting as mayhem, where ordinary people could party unreservedly alongside the biggest names of the time. It wouldn't be surprising to see Arnold Schwarzenegger or O.J. Simpson dancing in the throng, or Diana Ross and Liza Minelli performing onstage. Brooke Shields and Paloma Picasso preened for newspaper cameras, while unexpected attendees like Coretta Scott King passed through the club's burgundy lobby. Alec Baldwin briefly worked as a waiter. The club's legacy has attained a near-mythical status.

"40 years later, people have not