1976 in music

Events

January-February

January 7 - Kenneth Moss, a former record company executive, is sentenced to 120 days in the Los Angeles County Jail and four years probation for involuntary manslaughter in the 1974 drug induced death of Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh.
January 13 - A trial begins for seven Brunswick Records and Dakar Records employees. The record company employees are charged with stealing more than $184,000 in royalties from artists.
February 15 - Bette Midler bails seven members of her entourage out of jail after they are arrested on charges of cocaine and marijuana possession
January 19 - Concert promoter Bill Sargent makes an offer of $30 million to the Beatles if they would reunite for a concert
February 19 - Former Tower of Power lead singer Rich Stevens is arrested and charged with the drug related murders of three men in San Jose, California.
February 20 - Kiss gets their footprints added to the sidewalk outside Hollywood's Grauman's Chinese Theater.
February 24 - Having been released one week before, The Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) compilation becomes the first album in history to be certified platinum by the RIAA. The new platinum certification represents sales of at least 1 million copies for albums and 2 million copies for singles.

March-April

March 4 - ABBA arrive at Sydney airport for a promotional tour in Australia.
March 6 - EMI Records reissues all 22 previously released British Beatles singles, plus a new single of the classic "Yesterday". All 23 singles hit the UK charts at the same time
March 7 - A wax likeness of Elton John is put on display in London's Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.
March 9 - The Who's Keith Moon collapses onstage ten minutes into a performance at the Boston Garden.
March 15- Kiss releases Destroyer, their best-selling ever,

continuing their popularity through the 1970s.

March 25 - Jackson Browne's wife Phyllis commits suicide.
March 26 - In Paris, France, Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch breaks one of his fingers when he slips in his hotel bathroom following the final performance on the band's European tour. The injury ended up delaying the band's United States tour by three weeks.
April 14 - Stevie Wonder announces that he has signed a "$13 million-plus" contract with Motown Records
April 24 - Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels makes on on-air offer to pay the Beatles $3000 to reunite on the show. Lennon and McCartney were apparently watching the show together in New York and considered walking down to the studio to accept the check. On May 22, he raises his offer from $3000 to $3,200.
April 29 - When his tour stops in Memphis, Tennessee, Bruce Springsteen jumps the wall at Elvis Presley's mansion, "Graceland", in an attempt to see his idol. Security guards stop Springsteen and escourt him off the grounds.

May-December

May 3 - Paul McCartney and Wings start their Wings over America tour in Fort Worth, Texas. This is the first time McCartney has performed in the US since The Beatles' last concert in 1966 at Candlestick Park.
May 3 - Paul Simon puts together a benefit show at Madison Square Garden to raise money for the New York Public Library. Phoebe Snow, Jimmy Cliff and the Brecker Brothers also perform. The concert brings in over $30,000 for the Library.
May 19 - Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is involved in a car accident. Cocaine is found in his wrecked car. Richards is given a court date of January 12, 1977.
May 19 - Rumour spread by German press: ABBA members killed in plane crash, only Ani-Fridh survived.
June - Former Spring Canyon keyboardist Mark Cook joins Daniel Amos
100 Club Punk Festival, the first international punk festival is held in London
Fall - Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr form a band called Feedback in Dublin. The band would later be renamed U2
August 13 - The official ABBA logo with the reversed 'B' is born.
October 9 - The Sex Pistols sign a contract with EMI Records
October 10 - ABBA in New York on Midnight Special performing 'Fernando', 'Dancing Queen', 'Mamma Mia' and 'S.O.S.' live.
November - Former Tower of Power lead singer Rich Stevens, and another person, are found guilty on two counts of murder.
November 15- Kiss Rock & Roll Over is released.
November 24 - The Band gives its last public performance; Martin Scorsese is on hand to film it.
December 1 - The Sex Pistols cause media furor when they swear on prime time British TV.

unknown dates

The Flowers of Romance, a band that included many seminal individuals within the punk movement, forms in the summer.
Bonnie Raitt records Sweet Forgiveness, which will be a blockbuster album in 1977
War records Galaxy, which will be a blockbuster album in 1977
Joe Cocker performs a duet with himself (as portrayed by John Belushi) on Saturday Night Live .
Evita is performed for the first time
Cheryl Byron performs rapso in calypso tents for the first time, beginning the popularization of rapso
Peter Brown's solo career begins
Cheap Trick's career begins
Devo's career begins
Leif Garrett's solo career begins
.38 Special's musical career begins
Y&T (Yesterday & Today)'s musical career begins
Elvis Costello & the Attractions forms
The Jam forms
Black Flag form
The Damned form
Diamond Head form
Foreigner form
Iron Maiden form
Throbbing Gristle form
Generation X form
Wire form
U.K. Subs form
Cheap Trick signs a contract with Epic Records
The Clash sign up to CBS
Elvis Costello signs a contract with Columbia Records
Steve Martin signs a contract with Warner Bros.
Eddie Money signs a contract with CBS
Culture form

Albums released

W-Z

Blackheart Man - Bunny Wailer
Greatest Hits - War
Love Is All Around - War
Why Can't We Be Friends - War
Milky Shade - Kazumi Watanabe
Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder
Yesterday And Today - Y&T (debut)
Zoot Allures - Frank Zappa
Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon

Chronological Table of US and UK Number One Hit Singles

US Number One Singles and Artist (Weeks at Number One)	UK Number One Singles and Artist (Weeks at Number One)
"Saturday Night" - Bay City Rollers (1) "Convoy" - C.W. McCall (1) "I Write The Songs" - Barry Manilow (1) "Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" - Diana Ross (1) "Love Rollercoaster" - Ohio Players (1) "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" - Paul Simon (3) "Theme From S.W.A.T." - Rhythm Heritage (1) "Love Machine" - The Miracles (1) "December 1963 (Oh What A Night) - The Four Seasons (3) "Disco Lady" - Johnnie Taylor (4) "Let Your Love Flow" - Bellamy Brothers (1) "Welcome Back" - John Sebastian (1) "Boogie Fever" Sylvers (1) "Silly Love Songs" - Paul McCartney & Wings (5) "Love Hangover" - Diana Ross (2) "Afternoon Delight" - Starland Vocal Band (2) "Kiss And Say Goodbye" - The Manhattans (2) "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" - Elton John & Kiki Dee (4) "You Should Be Dancing" - Bee Gees (1) "(Shake,Shake,Shake) Shake Your Booty" - KC & The Sunshine Band (1) "Play That Funky Music" - Wild Cherry (3) "A Fifth Of Beethoven" - Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band (1) "Disco Duck" - Rick Dees & His Cast Of Idiots (1) "If You Leave Me Now" - Chicago (2) "Rock'n Me" - Steve Miller Band (1) "Tonight's The Night" - Rod Stewart (7 weeks 1976 + 1 week 1977), best seller of the year	"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen (5 weeks 1975 + 4 weeks 1976) "Mamma Mia" - ABBA (2) "Forever And Ever" - Slik (1) "December 1963 (Oh What A Night)" - Four Seasons (2) "I Love To Love (But My Baby Just Loves To Dance)" - Tina Charles (3) "Save Your Kisses For Me" - Brotherhood of Man (6), best seller of the year "Fernando" - ABBA (4) "No Charge" - J.J. Barrie (1) "The Combine Harvester (Brand New Key)" - Wurzels (2) "You To Me Are Everything" - Real Thing (3) "Forever And Ever" - Demis Roussos (1) "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" - Elton John & Kiki Dee (6) "Dancing Queen" - ABBA (6) "Mississippi" - Pussycat (4) "If You Leave Me Now" - Chicago (3) "Under The Moon Of Love" - Showaddywaddy (3) "When A Child Is Born (Soleado)" - Johnny Mathis (1 week 1976 + 2 weeks 1977)

US Number One Singles and Artist
(Weeks at Number One)

UK Number One Singles and Artist
(Weeks at Number One)

"Saturday Night" - Bay City Rollers (1)

"Convoy" - C.W. McCall (1)
"I Write The Songs" - Barry Manilow (1)
"Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" - Diana Ross (1)
"Love Rollercoaster" - Ohio Players (1)
"50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" - Paul Simon (3)
"Theme From S.W.A.T." - Rhythm Heritage (1)
"Love Machine" - The Miracles (1)
"December 1963 (Oh What A Night) - The Four Seasons (3)
"Disco Lady" - Johnnie Taylor (4)
"Let Your Love Flow" - Bellamy Brothers (1)
"Welcome Back" - John Sebastian (1)
"Boogie Fever" Sylvers (1)
"Silly Love Songs" - Paul McCartney & Wings (5)
"Love Hangover" - Diana Ross (2)
"Afternoon Delight" - Starland Vocal Band (2)
"Kiss And Say Goodbye" - The Manhattans (2)
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" - Elton John & Kiki Dee (4)
"You Should Be Dancing" - Bee Gees (1)
"(Shake,Shake,Shake) Shake Your Booty" - KC & The Sunshine Band (1)
"Play That Funky Music" - Wild Cherry (3)
"A Fifth Of Beethoven" - Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band (1)
"Disco Duck" - Rick Dees & His Cast Of Idiots (1)
"If You Leave Me Now" - Chicago (2)
"Rock'n Me" - Steve Miller Band (1)
"Tonight's The Night" - Rod Stewart (7 weeks 1976 + 1 week 1977), best seller of the year

"Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen (5 weeks 1975 + 4 weeks 1976)
"Mamma Mia" - ABBA (2)
"Forever And Ever" - Slik (1)
"December 1963 (Oh What A Night)" - Four Seasons (2)
"I Love To Love (But My Baby Just Loves To Dance)" - Tina Charles (3)
"Save Your Kisses For Me" - Brotherhood of Man (6), best seller of the year
"Fernando" - ABBA (4)
"No Charge" - J.J. Barrie (1)
"The Combine Harvester (Brand New Key)" - Wurzels (2)
"You To Me Are Everything" - Real Thing (3)
"Forever And Ever" - Demis Roussos (1)
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" - Elton John & Kiki Dee (6)
"Dancing Queen" - ABBA (6)
"Mississippi" - Pussycat (4)
"If You Leave Me Now" - Chicago (3)
"Under The Moon Of Love" - Showaddywaddy (3)
"When A Child Is Born (Soleado)" - Johnny Mathis (1 week 1976 + 2 weeks 1977)

Other significant singles

"All By Myself" - Eric Carmen
"Anarchy In The UK" - Sex Pistols
"Arms Of Mary" - Sutherland Brothers and Quiver
"Back In The USSR" - The Beatles
"Beautiful Noise" - Neil Diamond
"Bennie And The Jets" - Elton John
"Besame Mucho" - Dalida
"Better Use Your Head" - Little Anthony and the Imperials
"Blinded By The Light" - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
"Born To Be With You" - Dion
"The Boston Tea Party" - The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
"Both Ends Burning" - Roxy Music
"The Boys Are Back In Town" - Thin Lizzy
"Candy Store Rock" - Led Zeppelin
"Cherry Bomb" - The Runaways
"Couldn't Get It Right" - Climax Blues Band
"Dancing Queen" - ABBA
"Devil Woman"- Cliff Richard
"Don't Cry For Me Argentina" - Julie Covington
"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" - Blue Öyster Cult
"Don't Give Up On Us" - David Soul
"Don't Make Me Wait Too Long" - Barry White
"Don't Stop It Now" - Hot Chocolate
"Don't Take Away The Music" - Tavares
"Dream Weaver" - Gary Wright
"Extended Play(EP)" - Bryan Ferry
"Fernando" - ABBA
"Fly Like An Eagle" - Steve Miller Band
"Foggy Notion-Inside Your Heart" - Velvet Underground
"Fool to Cry" - The Rolling Stones
"Freebird(EP)" - Lynyrd Skynyrd
"Get Up And Boogie" - Silver Convention
"Girls Girls Girls" - Sailor
"Harvest For The World" - The Isley Brothers
"Hasten Down The Wind" - Warren Zevon
"Heart On My Sleeve" - Gallagher and Lyle
"Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel" - Tavares
"Hello Old Friend" - Eric Clapton
"Here Comes The Sun" - Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
"Here Comes The Weekend" - Dave Edmunds
"Hey Baby" - J.J. Cale
"Honey I" - George McCrae
"Hot Stuff" - The Rolling Stones
"Hot Valves(EP)" - Be Bop Deluxe
"Howzat" - Sherbet
"Hurricane" - Bob Dylan
"Hurt" - The Manhattans
"I Love Music" - The O'Jays
"I Love To Boogie " - T. Rex
"I Want You" - Marvin Gaye
"I Wish" - Stevie Wonder
"I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" - England Dan and John Ford Coley
"I'm Mandy Fly Me" - 10cc
"I'm Your Puppet" - James and Bobby Purify
"If Not You" - Dr. Hook
"In Dulce Jubilo/On Horseback" - Mike Oldfield
"It's Over" - Boz Scaggs
"It Keeps You Running" - Carly Simon
"J'Attendrai" - Dalida
"Jailbreak" - Thin Lizzy
"Jump In My Car" - TMG
"The Killing of Georgie, Pt. 1-2" - Rod Stewart
"Landslide" - Fleetwood Mac
"Last Child" - Aerosmith
"Le petit bonheur" - Dalida
"Let 'Em In" - Paul McCartney & Wings
"Let's Stick Together" - Bryan Ferry
"A Little Bit More" - Dr. Hook
"Livin' Thing" - Electric Light Orchestra
"Lost in France" - Bonnie Tyler
"Love And Affection" - Joan Armatrading
"Love Is Alive" - Gary Wright
"Love Really Hurts Without You" - Billy Ocean
"Love So Right" - Bee Gees
"Love To Love You Baby - Donna Summer
"Love's A Prima Donna" - Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
"Low Rider" - War
"Man to Man" - Hot Chocolate
"Midnight Train To Georgia" - Gladys Knight and the Pips
"Misty Blue" - Dorothy Moore
"Mohammed's Radio" - Warren Zevon
"Money, Money, Money" - ABBA
"Moonlight Feels Right" - Starbuck
"More Than a Feeling" - Boston
"Movin'" - Brass Construction
"Mozambique" - Bob Dylan
"Music" - John Miles
"My First Night Alone Without You" - Bonnie Raitt
"Nadia's Theme (The Young & The Restless)" - Barry DeVorzon & Perry Botkin, Jr.
"New Rose" - The Damned (debut)
"The Perfect Drug" - Roxy Music
"Pinball Wizard" - Elton John
"Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)" - Fleetwood Mac
"Right Back Where We Started From" - Maxine Nightingale
"Ring Out Solstice Bells(EP)" - Jethro Tull
"Rock Me Gently" - Sherbet
"Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto(Concerto De Aranjuez))" - Manuel and the Music of the Mountains
"The Rubberband Man" - The Detroit Spinners
"Sara Smile" - Daryl Hall & John Oates
"Say You Love Me" - Fleetwood Mac
"She's Gone" - Daryl Hall & John Oates
"Ships In The Night" - Be Bop Deluxe
"Show Me The Way" - Peter Frampton
"Sing Me An Old Fashioned Song" - Billie Jo Spears
"So It Goes" - Nick Lowe
"Somebody To Love" - Queen
"Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"- Elton John
"Still The One" - Orleans
"Stop Me(If You've Heard It All Before)" - Billy Ocean
"Suffragette City" - David Bowie
"Sugar Mama" - Bonnie Raitt
"Sunshine Day" - Osibisa
"Take It To The Limit" - The Eagles
"Take The Money And Run" - Steve Miller Band
"Taking It To The Streets" - The Doobie Brothers
"That'll Be The Day" - Linda Ronstadt
"Things We Do For Love" - 10cc
"This Is It" - Melba Moore
"This Old Heart Of Mine" - Rod Stewart
"TVC 15" - David Bowie
"Uptown Uptempo Woman" - Randy Edelman
"(What A) Wonderful World" - Johnny Nash
"What I've Got In Mind" - Billie Jo Spears
"Why Can't We Be Friends" - War
"World Turning" - Fleetwood Mac
"Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" - Gordon Lightfoot
"Yesterday" - The Beatles
"You Don't Have To Go" - The Chi-Lites
"You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" - Leo Sayer
"You See The Trouble With Me" - Barry White
"You Sexy Thing" - Hot Chocolate
"You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" - Lou Rawls
"You're My Best Friend" - Queen
"Young Hearts Run Free" - Candi Staton

Published popular music

"Always And Forever" w.m. Rod Temperton
"Devil Woman" w.m. Terry Britten & Christine Authors
"Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" w. Tim Rice m. Andrew Lloyd Webber
"Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" w.m. Richard Leigh
"Empty Tables" w. Johnny Mercer m. Jimmy Van Heusen
"Evergreen" w. Paul Williams m. Barbra Streisand
"Fernando" w.m. Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson & Björn Ulvaeus
"Gonna Fly Now" (aka "Theme From Rocky") w. Carol Connors & Ayn Robbins m. Bill Conti
"Isn't She Lovely?" w.m. Stevie Wonder
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" w.m. Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
"Like A Sad Song" w.m. John Denver
"A Little Bit More" w.m. Bobby Gosh
"Making Our Dreams Come True" w.m. Norman Gimbel & Charles Fox, from the TV series Laverne and Shirley
"Money, Money, Money" w.m. Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
"Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" w.m.Elton John