March 29, 1978 After a tumultuous ordeal that lasted nearly two years, Tina Turner is officially divorced from husband Ike. She gets nothing in the settlement except her name; born Anna Mae Bullock, it was Ike who named her "Tina Turner" when they started performing together.
March 25, 1978 It's peak P-Funk, with the Parliament song "Flash Light" replaced at #1 on the R&B chart with "Bootzilla" by Bootsy's Rubber Band, one of the many offshoots from the group.
March 22, 1978 A Beatles parody special called The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash, airs on ABC. The special stars various members of the Monty Python troupe. It also features cameo appearances by George Harrison, Mick Jagger, Paul Simon and many Saturday Night Live cast members. More
March 21, 1978 Carole King's third husband, Rick Evers, dies of a drug overdose after working on Carole's album Welcome Home, which was released two months later. Evers had co-writing credits on three songs from the album and appears on the cover with King.
March 18, 1978 Cal Jam II takes place at Ontario Motor Speedway outside of Los Angeles. The largest festival of the late '70s, performers include Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Foreigner, Santana and Heart. An estimated 350,000 fans attend; the Los Angeles Times reports that 700 of them were treated for overdoses of Angel Dust.
March 17, 1978 The Alan Freed biopic American Hot Wax, widely considered one of the best Rock and Roll movies of all time, premieres in New York City, featuring appearances and performances by Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.
March 17, 1978 Jimmy Buffett releases his eighth studio album, Son Of A Son Of A Sailor, which features his popular tune "Cheeseburger In Paradise."
March 10, 1978 The Buzzcocks release their debut full-length album, Another Music in a Different Kitchen. Filled with cerebral songs about freedom, relationships, and making sense of the world, it takes UK punk in a more melodic and thoughtful direction.
March 4, 1978 The #3 "Sometimes When We Touch" by Dan Hill is the only song in the Top 5 not written by a member of The Bee Gees. Andy Gibb's "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" is #1, with "Stayin' Alive" at #2, "Night Fever" at #5 and Samantha Sang's "Emotion," written by Robin and Barry Gibb, at #4.More
March 3, 1978 Van Halen begin their first world tour, opening for Journey at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. The band, which released their debut album three weeks earlier, had been playing clubs for about four years.
February 17, 1978 Kate Bush, a 19-year-old singer-songwriter from Britain, releases her debut album, The Kick Inside. The collection of art pop features the #1 UK hit single "Wuthering Heights."More
February 10, 1978 Van Halen release their self-titled debut album. The lead single is a cover of the Kinks classic "You Really Got Me."
February 3, 1978 The TV-movie Dead Man's Curve, the first to deal with the tragic Jan & Dean story, premieres on ABC.
January 30, 1978 Journey release Infinity, their fourth album but first with lead singer Steve Perry. With the singles "Wheel In The Sky" and "Lights," it takes the band away from their progressive rock sound and squarely into pop, where they thrive for the next 10 years.
January 28, 1978 The Doobie Brothers star in the first of a two-part episode of What's Happening! where they teach the kids why bootlegging is bad.More
January 23, 1978 Terry Kath (singer and original guitarist for Chicago) dies at age 31 when he accidentally shoots himself in the head.
January 18, 1978 Warren Zevon releases his most popular album, Excitable Boy, filled with outlandish story songs like "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner" and "Werewolves Of London." It's co-produced by Jackson Browne.
January 10, 1978 Shinedown frontman Brent Smith is born Knoxville, Tennessee. He's the main songwriter in the band, delivering emotionally charged tunes like "Second Chance" and "A Symptom of Being Human."
January 2, 1978 Two months after quitting the band, Ozzy Osbourne rejoins Black Sabbath. The reunion doesn't last long: He's kicked out of the band the following year.
December 25, 1977 At Ivanhoe's in Huddersfield, the The Sex Pistols play their last UK gig before their split. The show is a charity benefit for firemen who are on strike.
December 24, 1977 After 10 weeks at #1 on the Hot 100, Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" is knocked off by another lite favorite: "How Deep Is Your Love" by the Bee Gees.
December 23, 1977 Cat Stevens converts to Islam and changes his name to Yusuf Islam.More
December 17, 1977 Elvis Costello gets banned from Saturday Night Live when he abruptly halts his performance of "Less Than Zero" and plays the searing "Radio Radio" instead.More
December 14, 1977 At the peak of the disco era, the film Saturday Night Fever opens in theaters. The soundtrack contains two previous #1 hits and four new ones.More
December 12, 1977 Dino Meneghin (guitarist for The Calling) is born in Walnut Creek, California.
December 8, 1977 A riot breaks out in Brisbane, Australia, when Blondie fails to appear for a concert.
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
December 1, 1977 Linkin Park guitarist Brad Delson is born in Agoura Hills, California. His heavy-but-melodic riffs power hits like "Crawling" and "What I've Done," helping the band become one of the most popular acts of the '00s.
November 30, 1977 Bing Crosby's last Christmas special airs. The program was recorded in September, and Crosby died that October. The show is remembered for Crosby's unusual duet with David Bowie, where they sing a modified version of "Little Drummer Boy," with Bowie singing the new "Peace On Earth" lyrics composed by the show's writers.
November 15, 1977 Suzi Quatro, in character as the rocker Leather Tuscadero, performs "Devil Gate Drive" on the TV series Happy Days. The song was a #1 hit in the UK three years earlier but never caught on in America, even though Quatro is from Michigan.
©2026 Songfacts®, LLC