When a genre "dies", it's nothing but a good thing. Being mainstream is like a disease that is cured by dying. The death delivers less cheesy songs and better albums - although nobody listens to them. As disco allegedly died with the 70s (at least in the States), the genre actually got way better.
The music was obviously huge in the 70s, and many of the great rnb, soul and even funk -bands would make corny Ladies Night -disco for everybody. Who knew or cared that Kool and the Gang used to be a raw funk band, that made records you pick up years after the fever has gone away.
80s introduced new audio technology (new synthesizers and midi), that would change the whole nature of popular music. What happened to disco, then? Well, up until 1986 (when it started to suck again), it incorporated analog synth-basslines, which are the foundation of the best dance music on the planet. Lot's of fusion with funk & soul as well.
