1977

Fleetwood Mac was formed in 1967 by bass guitarist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood, both refugees from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. In 1970, John's then-wife Christine came in on keyboards, along with guitarist Bob Welch. When Welch left in 1974, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and vocalist Stevie Nicks were added, creating the group's best-known and most successful line-up. This quintet recorded the album Fleetwood Mac, which featured the band's first major U.S. hits: "Over My Head," "Rhiannon," and "Say You Love Me." In February 1977, they released Rumours, an album that got immediate air play and spent six months at the top of the album charts and remained on the charts for 3 1/2 years. It earned a Grammy Award as Album of the Year and sold in excess of thirteen million copies (a record at that time). Rumours also has the distinction of being the first non-compilation album to produce four Top 10 hits ("Go Your Own Way," "Dreams," "Don't Stop," and "You Make Lovin' Fun"). Fleetwood Mac returned to the Top 10 with "Tusk" in 1979; in 1980 there was "Sara" and "Think about Me."

 

It's been said that there are four things America has contributed to this world ­ baseball, Coca-Cola, Mickey Mouse, and Elvis Presley. According to estimates, Elvis generated, in his lifetime, a total in excess of $43 billion. This staggering sum includes more than twenty-three years of record and tape sales, motion picture grosses, and live concert receipts. His 1962 soundtrack album Blue Hawaii sold more than five million copies, while his biggest two-sided single, "Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel," topped the eleven-million mark. In all, he earned 55 gold singles and 24 gold albums, and sold more than 600 million records around the world. Despite claims of sagging popularity, nearly one-sixth of that total was sold between 1975 and the day he died ­ Tuesday, August 16, 1977. The perfect requiem recorded during his June concert tour, "My Way," was released as a single in November and became his final gold record. Elvis had more Top 10 singles, more consecutive Top 10 records, more charted record sides, and more number-one records than any other performer in the history of music. His voice has been heard in every corner of the globe, by more people, than that of any other individual of any era. He was without question the most important single force in the development of popular music. He was, and always will be, the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

 

Other Music Highlights of 1977:

• The British-based Clash starts to create an awareness in America of their politicized punk rock sound.
• On Thursday, May 26, at the Winter Garden Theater in New York, Beatlemania opens. This Beatles simulation starring four performers who look and sound like the originals will perform at capacity crowds for the next several years.
• On Sunday, June 26, as his new single, "Way Down," enters the national charts, Elvis Presley makes what is to be his last concert appearance at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Steve Hacket quits Genesis, leaving the group to carry on as a trio.
• The movie Saturday Night Fever has the entire country dancing to the disco beat.
• Paul Davis scores the most persistent hit of the rock era: "I Go Crazy" stays on the national charts for 40 weeks. It retains this distinction for only five years.

 

The Top 40 Singles of 1977:

1. "You Light Up My Life" - Debby Boone (First chart appearance: 9/17/77; Highest position: #1)
2. "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" - Andy Gibb (5/28/77; #1)
3. "Evergreen" - Barbra Streisand (1/8/77; #1)
4. "Undercover Angel" - Alan O'Day (5/7/77; #1)
5. "I Like Dreamin'" - Kenny Nolan (12/11/76; #3)
6. "Dancing Queen" - Abba (1/22/77; #1)
7. "Torn Between Two Lovers" - Mary MacGregor (12/25/76; #1)
8. "Higher And Higher" - Rita Coolidge (6/11/77; #2)
9. "Best Of My Love" - The Emotions (7/2/77; #1)
10. "Southern Nights" - Glen Campbell (3/5/77; #1)
11. "Angel In Your Arms" - Hot (4/2/77)
12. "Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston (1/29/77; #1)
13. "I'm Your Boogie Man" - K.C. & the Sunshine Band (4/2/77; #1)
14. "Margaritaville" - Jimmy Buffett (5/7/77; #8)
15. "When I Need You" - Leo Sayer (3/26/77; #1)
16. "Telephone Line" - Electric Light Orchestra (7/9/77; #7)
17. "Rich Girl" - Hall and Oates (2/5/77; #1)
18. "Slow Dancin'" - Johnny Rivers (7/30/77; #10)
19. "Star Wars" - Meco (8/22/77; #1)
20. "Rocky (Gonna Fly Now)" - Bill Conti (5/7/77; #1)
21. "Things We Do For Love" - 10cc (1/29/77; #5)
22. "Weekend In New England" - Barry Manilow (12/25/76; #10)
23. "Hotel California" - Eagles (3/12/77; #1)
24. "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" - Leo Sayer (11/6/76; #1)
25. "Nobody Does It Better" - Carly Simon (8/27/77; #2)
26. "Whatcha Gonna Do" - Pablo Cruise (6/11/77; #6)
27. "I've Got Love On My Mind" - Natalie Cole (2/26/77; #5)
28. "On And On" - Stephen Bishop (7/23/77; #11)
29. "Do You Wanna Make Love" - Peter McCann (5/21/77; #5)
30. "Sir Duke" - Stevie Wonder (4/16/77; #1)
31. "Got To Give It Up" - Marvin Gaye (4/23/77; #1)
32. "Dreams" - Fleetwood Mac (4/30/77; #1)
33. "Carry On Wayward Son" - Kansas (2/5/77; #11)
34. "Easy" - Commodores (6/25/77; #4)
35. "Lonely Boy" - Andrew Gold (4/16/77; #7)
36. "Feels Like The First Time" - Foreigner (4/23/77; #4)
37. "You And Me" - Alice Cooper (6/11/77; #9)
38. "Car Wash" - Rose Royce (12/11/76; #1)
39. "Keep It Comin' Love" - K.C. & the Sunshine Band (8/13/77; #2)
40. "Don't Give Up On Us" - David Soul (2/19/77; #1)

 

Top Albums of 1977:

At The Hollywood Bowl - The Beatles  Barry Manilow/Live - Barry Manilow  Book Of Dreams - The Steve Miller Band  Boston  Commodores  Hotel California - Eagles  Live At The London Paladium - Marvin Gaye  A New World Record - Electric Light Orchestra  Night Moves - Bob Seger  Part 3 - K.C. & The Sunshine Band  Point Of Know Return - Kansas  Rumours - Fleetwood Mac  Silk Degrees - Boz Scaggs  Simple Dreams - Linda Ronstadt  A Star Is Born - Soundtrack

  20 Popular Movies of 1977:

Star Wars  Close Encounters of the Third Kind  Saturday Night Fever  Smokey and the Bandit  The Goodbye Girl  Airport '77  Annie Hall  Black Sunday  Carrie  The Deep  The Eagle Has Landed  Exorcist II: The Heretic  Julia  Looking For Mr. Goodbar  New York, New York  Oh God!  One on One  Pumping Iron  The Turning Point  Walking Tall: The Final Chapter

 

The Top 20 Television Shows of 1977:

Laverne & Shirley  Happy Days  Three's Company  Charlie's Angels  All in the Family  60 Minutes  Little House on the Prairie  M*A*S*H  Alice  One Day at a Time  How the West Was Won  Eight Is Enough  Soap  The Love Boat  NBC Monday Night Movie  NFL Monday Night Football  Barney Miller  Fantasy Island  The Amazing Spider-Man  Project U.F.O.

 

News Highlights of 1977:

• Murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by a firing squad at the Utah State Prison. His is the first execution in the United States in 10 years.
• CB radios in cars and trucks are so popular that they begin interfering with radio and TV signals.
• Roots, an ABC miniseries about the family tree of author Alex Haley, attracts 80 million viewers, surpassing Gone With The Wind as the highest-rated program ever broadcast.
• The worst aviation disaster in history becomes a collision between two jumbo jets in the Canary Islands, killing 574 people.
• An oil well shoots out of control in the North Sea, creating a slick 45 miles long and 30 miles wide.
• For a record fourth time, A.J. Foyt wins the Indianapolis 500 auto race.
• Menachem Begin becomes premier of Israel.
• The $7.7 billion trans-Alaskan pipeline opens, far behind schedule.
• The U.S. State Department urges emergency admission of 10,000 Vietnamese "boat people" as refugees.
• Edward Koch becomes the 105th mayor of New York City.

 

Sports Winners of 1977:

• Baseball: The New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 2.
• Football: The Dallas Cowboys beat the Denver Broncos 27-10 on January 15, 1978, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans in Super Bowl XII.
• Basketball: The Portland Trailblazers beat the Philadelphia '76ers 4 games to 2.
• Hockey: The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 4 games to 0.