December 6, 1977 Jackson Browne releases Running On Empty, a live album compiled from performances at various stops on his summer tour. Live albums typically rely on songs that have already been released, but this one features all new songs, the first major rock album to do so.More
October 20, 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd members Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines die in a plane crash in Mississippi. Gaines' sister Cassie, a backup singer with the group, is also killed along with two pilots and the band's manager. Other members of the group are badly injured.More
October 17, 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd release Street Survivors, the last album with frontman Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines, as both are killed only three days later after the band's plane goes down en route to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.More
October 16, 1977 John Mayer is born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. His 2001 debut album, Room For Squares, catches on with heartfelt songs like "No Such Thing" and "Your Body Is A Wonderland." In 2015 he takes a surprising turn, joining the band Dead & Company, where he plays Grateful Dead classics with three former members of the iconic group.
October 15, 1977 Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" goes to #1 in America, where it stays for 10 weeks, becoming the biggest song of 1977. The song is from a movie of the same name starring Didi Conn as an aspiring singer.
October 1, 1977 #1 on the Hot 100 is "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" by Meco. It's a 15-minute song made up of Star Wars music set to a disco beat. There's even an R2-D2 bleeping solo.More
September 16, 1977 Talking Heads release their debut album, Talking Heads: 77, featuring their first chart hit, "Psycho Killer," a song written four years earlier at the Rhode Island School of Design.
September 13, 1977 Fiona Apple is born in Manhattan to singer Diane McAfee and actor Brandon Maggart.More
September 3, 1977 The Grateful Dead, with support acts The Marshall Tucker Band and New Riders Of The Purple Sage, headline a show at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, that lasts 11 hours and sets an American non-festival record for a ticketed concert with 107,019 in attendance. That record stands until 2024 when it's broken by George Strait.
August 27, 1977 Jimmy Buffett marries his second wife, Jane Slagsvol, of Columbia, South Carolina, who had co-written two of his songs, "Something So Feminine About A Mandolin" and "Kick It In Second Wind." They remain married today.
August 24, 1977 Country legend Waylon Jennings is arrested for cocaine possession in New York City by federal agents, an event which will inspire his song "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got out of Hand?" The charges are later dropped.
August 20, 1977 The Voyager 2 space probe is launched, carrying with it a "Golden Record" of sounds and images representing Earth. More
August 16, 1977 The King is dead. Elvis Presley dies at his home in Graceland as a result of an overdose from prescription drugs.More
June 30, 1977 Marvel Comics publishes a Kiss comic book with a vial of their blood mixed into the ink.More
June 28, 1977 At the Deptford Festival in Lewisham, England, the band Cafe Racers change their name to Dire Straits and open for Squeeze. The new name is a reference to their financial condition, which improves dramatically when they release the hit single "Sultans Of Swing" the following year.
May 27, 1977 Neil Young releases American Stars 'n Bars, his 8th studio album. Containing an eclectic batch of songs pieced together from four different recording sessions going back as far as three years (with "Star of Bethlehem" being the oldest), the album features one of Young's most iconic tunes, "Like a Hurricane."
May 25, 1977 George Lucas' space opera Star Wars debuts in theaters, accompanied by an instantly iconic score from John Williams.
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May 13, 1977 Hustler magazine offers Linda Ronstadt (and nine other celebrities) $1 million to pose nude in the magazine. She declines.
May 7, 1977 Running 6:08 and loaded with metaphor and guitars, the Eagles' "Hotel California" tops the Hot 100.More
April 9, 1977 ABBA goes to #1 on the US singles chart with "Dancing Queen," the group's seventh US Top 40 hit and first #1. The song is also a #1 in the UK and 12 other countries.More
February 23, 1977 A federal jury rules that The Isley Brothers recorded "It's Your Thing" after leaving Motown Records and the label is not entitled to royalties.
February 19, 1977 At the Grammy Awards, Stevie Wonder earns his third Album Of The Year trophy with Songs in the Key of Life. "I Write The Songs" by Barry Manilow wins Song Of The Year, an award that goes to Bruce Johnston, who wrote it.
February 11, 1977 Motown Productions debuts its first film, Scott Joplin, based on the life of the ragtime composer. Billy Dee Williams earns accolades for his performance as the "Maple Leaf Rag" mastermind, but the film is widely criticized for being too grim.
February 4, 1977 Fleetwood Mac release their landmark album Rumours. The LP sets a record for most weeks at #1 with 31, and becomes one of the best-selling albums of all time, with worldwide sales estimated at about 40 million.More
February 2, 1977 Shakira is born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll in Barranquilla, Colombia. At 13, she gets a record deal with Sony Music – the first step on her path to becoming a worldwide superstar. More
January 20, 1977 Jimmy Buffett releases his seventh studio album, Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes, which features his signature song "Margaritaville." Peaking at #8, the tropical-themed track remains his highest entry on the Billboard Hot 100.More
January 15, 1977 Leo Sayer's "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" hits #1.
December 25, 1976 Boston's debut single, "More Than A Feeling," reaches its US chart peak at #5. When it was released, group leader Tom Scholz still had his day job working for Polaroid.
December 12, 1976 At a show in Lakeland, Florida, Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley is nearly electrocuted when he grabs a metal railing on the poorly wired set, completing a circuit that sends current through his body.More
December 8, 1976 An updated version of the musical drama A Star is Born debuts in movie theaters, starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, and featuring the Academy Award-winning chart-topper "Evergreen."More
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