1977 in music
See also: 1976 in music, other events of 1977, 1978 in music and the list of 'years in music'.
Of the events in music in 1977, a few bear closer scrutiny. Perhaps most important is the release of several pivotal albums in the development of punk music. Widely-acknowledged as masterpieces and among the earliest first full-length purely punk albums, the Ramones' Rocket to Russia, the Jam's In the City, Iggy Pop's Lust for Life, Richard Hell & the Voidoids' Blank Generation, Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True, the Sex Pistols' Nevermind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, U.F.O.'s Lights Out and Television's Marquee Moon are usually considered their respective masterpieces, and kickstarted punk music as the musical genre it eventually became.
The soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever was an enormous hit that established the Bee Gees (who had composed most of the tracks) as the most popular artists in the world, and the best-selling artist since the Beatles. Saturday Night Fever also moved disco music into the mainstream, and it dominated the charts for the next few years.
Jimmy Buffett's Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Atitudes is also especially notable in its inclusion of "Margaritaville", the biggest single of his career. This album helped establish Buffett as a popular artist, and earned him much of the rabid fanbase ("Parrotheads") that he eventually became known for. Billy Joel's The Stranger was enormously popular, and included one of his most beloved songs today, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant". Lastly, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is the most popular and critically acclaimed LP of the band's career; it is one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Events
- January 1 - The Clash headline the gala opening of the London music club, The Roxy.
- January 6 - After releasing only one single for the band, EMI terminates their contract with The Sex Pistols.
- January 12 - Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is fined 750 pounds for possession of cocaine which was found in his wrecked car on May 19, 1976. Richards was charged an additional 250 pounds for court costs and found "not guilty" of possession of LSD.
- January 26 - Patti Smith falls off the stage while opening for Bob Seger in Tampa, Florida. Smith is rushed to the hospital for 22 stitches to close head lacerations. While recovering, Smith writes her fifth book of poetry , Babel.
- January 26 - Fleetwood Mac's original lead guitarist, Peter Green, is committed to a mental hospital in England after firing a pistol at a delivery boy bringing him a royalties check
- February 4 - American Bandstand celebrates its 25th anniversary on television with an special hosted by Dick Clark. An "all-star band" made up of Chuck Berry, Seals & Crofts, Gregg Allman, Junior Walker, Johnny Rivers, the Pointer Sisters, Charlie Daniels, Doc Severenson, Les McCann, Donald Byrd, Chuck Mangione and three members of Booker T and the MGs perform "Roll Over Beethoven."
- Saturday Night Fever appears in theaters, igniting a new popularity for Disco music.
- Alice Cooper is hospitalized in a New York sanitarium for alcoholism.
- INXS forms in Sydney, Australia
- Whitesnake forms
- Def Leppard forms in Sheffield, Yorkshire
- Black Flag forms, beginning the long career of Henry Rollins
- The Meters break up
- Crass form
Albums Released
- Let There Be Rock - AC/DC
- Draw the Line - Aerosmith
- Spectres - Blue Oyster Cult
- Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes - Jimmy Buffett
- Passage - The Carpenters
- Chic - Chic
- XI - Chicago
- My Aim Is True - Elvis Costello (debut)
- Damned, Damned, Damned - The Damned
- Out of the Blue - Electric Light Orchestra
- Works Volume I - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- Blue Lights in the Basement - Roberta Flack
- Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
- Blank Generation - Richard Hell & the Voidoids
- The Pretender - Jackson Browne
- Running On Empty - Jackson Browne
- Flowing Rivers - Andy Gibb
- In the City - The Jam
- Ol' Waylon - Waylon Jennings
- Songs From The Wood - Jethro Tull
- Repeat --- The Best of Jethro Tull --- Vol II - Jethro Tull
- Heavy Horses - Jethro Tull
- The Stranger - Billy Joel
- Next - Journey
- Sin After Sin - Judas Priest
- The Point of Know Return - Kansas
- Street Survivors - Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Book of Dreams - Steve Miller Band
- Making a Good Thing Better - Olivia Newton-John
- Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome - Parliament
- Animals - Pink Floyd
- Lust for Life - Iggy Pop
- Rocket to Russia - Ramones
- A Farewell To Kings - Rush
- Rocket to Russia - Ramones
- Black and Blue - The Rolling Stones
- Nevermind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols - The Sex Pistols
- Aja - Steely Dan
- Talking Heads '77 - Talking Heads
- Marquee Moon - Television
- Lights Out - UFO
- Decade - Neil Young
- Saturday Night Fever - Soundtrack (mostly by The Bee Gees)
Top Hits
- "God Save The Queen" The Sex Pistols
- "Hotel California" - The Eagles
- "Fly Like An Eagle" - Steve Miller Band
- "We Are The Champions" - Queen
- "Feels Like The First Time" - Foreigner
- "Lonely Boy" - Andrew Gold
- "Cold As Ice" - Foreigner
- "Carry On Wayward Son" - Kansas
- "Dreams" - Fleetwood Mac
- "Memory Motel" - The Rolling Stones
- "We Just Disagree" - Dave Mason
- "Rich Girl" - Hall & Oates
- "Evergreen" - Barbra Streisand
- "Undercover Angel" - Alan O'Day
- "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" - Andy Gibb
- "Best of My Love" - Emotions
- "You Light up My Life" - Debby Boone
- "When I Need You" - Leo Sayer
- "Heard It In A Love Song" - Marshall Tucker
- "Save It For A Rainy Day" - Stephen Bishop
- "How Deep Is Your Love" The Bee Gees
- "Margaritaville" - Jimmy Buffett
For a more complete list of hits by month, see here.
Births
- January 28 - Tweety, Next
- January 28 - Joey Fatone, *NSYNC
- February 2 - Shakira
- February 8 - Dave 'Phoenix' Ferrel, Linkin Park
- February 11 - Mike Shinoda, Linkin Park
- March 2 - Chris Martin, Coldplay
- March 6 - Bubba Sparxxx
- March 15 - Joseph Hahn, Linkin Park
- March 18 - Devin Lima, LFO
- June 3 - Yuri Ruley, MxPx
- June 12 - Kenny Wayne Shepherd
- July 28 - Coby Dick, Papa Roach
- August 10 - Aaron Kamin, The Calling
- October 2 - Jeremiah Rangel, Mest
- October 16 - John Mayer
- September 4 - Ian Grushka, New Found Glory
- September 11 - Jon Buckland, Coldplay
- December 12 - Dino Meneghin, The Calling
- Chris Knapp, The Ataris
Deaths
- August 16 - Elvis Presley
- October 20 - A plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in Mississippi, killing several band members, including lead singer/guitarist Ronnie Van Zandt