1977 in music

Table of contents

1 Events
2 Albums released
3 Top hits on record
4 Published popular music
5 Musical theatre
6 Musical films
7 Births
8 Deaths
9 Awards

9.1 Grammy Awards
9.2 Country Music Association Awards
9.3 Eurovision Song Contest

Events

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' Never Mind 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.

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."
February 14 - The B-52's make their debut at a party in Athens, Georgia
February 15 - Sid Vicious replaces Glen Matlock as the bassist for the Sex Pistols
February 27 - Royal Canadian Mounted Police raid Keith Richards' Toronto hotel suite while he is sleeping and seize 22 grams of heroin, 5 grams of cocaine and narcotics paraphernalia. Richards is arrested and charged with possession of heroin with intent to traffic, and possession of cocaine. He is released on $25,000 bail
March 1 - Sara Lowndes Dylan files for divorce from her husband of 11 years, Bob Dylan.
March 10 - A&M Records signs the Sex Pistols in a ceremony that takes places in front of Buckingham Palace
March 19 - A&M Records terminates its contract with the Sex Pistols
April 24 - Several artists including Joan Baez, Santana and others perform at a free concert for the inmates of California's Soledad Prison.
Saturday Night Fever appears in theaters, igniting a new popularity for Disco music.
April 25 - During a concert at the Saginaw, Michigan Civic Center, Elvis Presley makes what would turn out to be the last recordings he would ever make. Three songs recorded at the show would later appear (with overdubs), on the posthumously released album, Moody Blue.
April 26 - New York's legendary disco Studio 54 opens.
August 17 - Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD) reported that in one day the number of orders for flowers to be delivered to Graceland for the funeral of Elvis Presley had surpassed the number for any other event in the company's history
Alice Cooper is hospitalized in a New York sanitarium for alcoholism.
INXS forms in Sydney, Australia
Black Flag forms
The B-52's forms
Crass forms
Def Leppard forms in Sheffield, Yorkshire
Diamond Head forms
Whitesnake forms
X forms
The Meters break up
Diamond Head's career begins
Dire Straits' career begins
Midnight Oil's career begins
The Cars sign a contract with Elektra Records
Devo signs a contract with Warner Bros
Midnight Oil sign a contract with CBS Records
The Neville Brothers sign a contract with A&M Records
The Police sign a contract with A&M Records
Van Halen signs a contract with Warner Bros

Albums released

Let There Be Rock - AC/DC
Draw the Line - Aerosmith
Plastic Letters - Blondie
Blondie - Blondie
Spectres - Blue Oyster Cult
Every Day of My Life - Michael Bolton
Heroes - David Bowie
The Pretender - Jackson Browne
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 (debut)
Hotel California - The Eagles
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
Flowing Rivers - Andy Gibb
Perilous Journey - Gordon Giltrap
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
The Stranger - Billy Joel
Next - Journey
Sin After Sin - Judas Priest
Leftoverture - Kansas
The Point of Know Return - Kansas
Street Survivors - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Exodus - Bob Marley and the Wailers
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
Fingerprince - The Residents
Rocket to Russia - Ramones
Black and Blue - The Rolling Stones
All The World's a Stage - Rush
A Farewell to Kings - Rush
Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols - The Sex Pistols
Aja - Steely Dan
Year of the Cat - Al Stewart
Foot Loose & Fancy Free - Rod Stewart
A Night on the Town - Rod Stewart
The Grand Illusion - Styx
Talking Heads '77 - Talking Heads
Marquee Moon - Television
George Thorogood - George Thorogood
Lights Out - UFO
Decade - Neil Young
Saturday Night Fever - Soundtrack (mostly by The Bee Gees)
Best of ZZ Top - ZZ Top
Tejas - ZZ Top
Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon
Trans-Europe Express - Kraftwerk

Top hits on record

"Best of My Love" - Emotions
"Carry On Wayward Son" - Kansas
"Cold As Ice" - Foreigner
"Come Sail Away" - Styx
"Evergreen" - Barbra Streisand
"Feels Like The First Time" - Foreigner
"The First Cut Is The Deepest" - Rod Stewart
"Fly Like An Eagle" - Steve Miller Band
"Go Your Own Way" - Fleetwood Mac
"God Save The Queen" The Sex Pistols
"Heard It In A Love Song" - Marshall Tucker
"Heartsong" - Gordon Giltrap
"Here Come Those Tears Again" - Jackson Browne
"Hotel California" - The Eagles
"How Deep Is Your Love" The Bee Gees
"I Just Want to Be Your Everything" - Andy Gibb
"I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" - Warren Zevon
"Killing of Georgie, Pt. 1-2" - Rod Stewart
"Lonely Boy" - Andrew Gold
"Margaritaville" - Jimmy Buffett
"Memory Motel" - The Rolling Stones
"The Pretneder" - Jackson Browne
"Rich Girl" - Hall & Oates
"Rip To Her Shreds" - Blondie
"Save It For A Rainy Day" - Stephen Bishop
"Undercover Angel" - Alan O'Day
"We Are The Champions" - Queen
"We Just Disagree" - Dave Mason
"When I Need You" - Leo Sayer
"Year Of The Cat" - Al Stweart
"You Light up My Life" - Debby Boone
"You Yesyesyes" - The Residents

Published popular music

"Candle on the Water" w.m. Al Kasha & Joel Hirschhorn
"Child In A Universe" w.m. Laura Nyro
"Come In From The Rain" w.m. Melissa Manchester & Carole Bayer Sager
"The Greatest Love Of All" w. Linda Creed m. Michael Masser
"Here You Come Again" w.m. Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil
"Love Is In The Air" w.m. George Young & Harry Vanda
"New York, New York" w.m. Fred Ebb & John Kander
"Nobody Does It Better" w. Carole Bayer Sager m. Marvin Hamlisch
"Stayin' Alive" w.m. Barry, Maurice & Robin Gibb
"Thank You For The Music" w.m. Benny Andersson & Bjorn Ulvaeus
"Tomorrow" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse
"You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse

Musical theatre

The Act Broadway production
Annie Broadway production
I Love My Wife Broadway production
The King and I Broadway revival
Side by Side by Sondheim Broadway production
''Oliver London revival

Musical films

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 18 - Tony Fagenson, Eve 6
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
September 16 - Marc Bolan
October 20 - A plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in Mississippi, killing several band members, including lead singer/guitarist Ronnie Van Zandt