Personally, 1977 was a pretty dark year for me. My parents’ divorce was finalized which happened to be the second tragedy in my life, chronologically speaking. In all honesty, despite that, my life has been pretty charmed. But, it has never been perfect, but has anyone’s? I don’t think so. But, when you look at 1977 from a historical point of view as far a music is concerned, the world was downright magical. Take a look at what happened. Punk rock broke out of New York City and raised its head in the U.K. Landmark albums such as Rumours, Hotel California, Songs in the Key of Life, My Aim Is True, Saturday Night Fever, Cheap Trick, “Heroes”, The Idiot, The Stranger, Bat Out of Hell and Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols were all released during 1977.
By this time, I was still hooked on AT40, to which I would remain loyal until when I started to hear rap songs being edited out of the broadcast when the Beastie Boys, Run-DMC and other great artists began to hit the Top 40 in the mid-Eighties. Now, I understand that was a racist a move by radio executives in Cincinnati, around where I lived at the time. Additionally, I was still reading primarily Creem magazine in my quest to learn more about rock music from the past and present. Of course, I was keeping my nose clean, doing the right thing, staying focused…uh…I was a teenage boy. Although I had not yet really delved into the party scene (that came more in college), but I did love to disrupt classes in an effort to inject some “fun” into them.
But, 1977 was the year when my musical tastes were beginning to change to what they are today. How could you NOT be moved after seeing Elvis Costello on Saturday Night Live. Did you know that Elvis was booked only after the Sex Pistols could not get a visa to play on that show? Can you imagine how history would have changed if the original plan had happened? Well, let’s not dwell on that alternative timeline, but it is fun to dream.
Anyway, let’s take a look at my 100 favorite songs of 1977. It was just so very difficult to trim this list to 100 songs. Yet, I anticipate the lists for 1979, 1983 and 1984 to be absolute hell for me. Let the countdown begin!
100. “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” – Elton John
99. “I’m in You” – Peter Frampton
98. “Whatcha Gonna Do” – Pablo Cruise
97. “Sweet Talkin’ Woman” – Electric Light Orchestra
96. “That Smell” – Lynyrd Skynyrd
95. “I’ve Got Love on My Mind” – Natalie Cole
94. “You’re in My Heart” – Rod Stewart
93. “She’s Not There” – Santana
92. “The Load-Out/Stay” – Jackson Browne
91. “Fantasy” – Earth, Wind & Fire
90. “Wonderful Tonight” – Eric Clapton
89. “Baby It’s Cold Outside” – Pezband
88. “Lonely Boy” – Andrew Gold
87. “Nobody Does It Better” – Carly Simon
86. “Your Smiling Face” – James Taylor
85. “More Than a Woman” – Tavares
84. “Blue Bayou” – Linda Ronstadt
83. “Jet Airliner” – Steve Miller Band
82. “Cold as Ice” – Foreigner
81. “How Deep Is Your Love” – Bee Gees
80. “Our Love” – Natalie Cole
79. “Baby, What a Big Surprise” – Chicago
78. “Trans Europe Express” – Kraftwerk
77. “Serpentine Fire” – Earth, Wind & Fire
76. “Two Tickets to Paradise” – Eddie Money
75. “Feels like the First Time” – Foreigner
74. “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” – Andy Gibb
73. “Margaritaville” – Jimmy Buffett
72. “Hot Legs” – Rod Stewart
71. “Baby Hold On” – Eddie Money
70. “Isn’t It Time” – The Babys
69. “One Love” – Bob Marley & the Wailers
68. “Barracuda” – Heart
67. “You Make Lovin’ Fun” – Fleetwood Mac
66. “It Keeps You Runnin'” – The Doobie Brothers
65. “Jungle Love” – Steve Miller Band
64. “It’s a Heartache” – Bonnie Tyler
63. “Baby Come Back” – Player
62. “She’s Always a Woman” – Billy Joel
61. “Two Out of Three” – Meat Loaf
60. “Dance, Dance, Dance” – Chic
59. “It’s Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me” – Barry White
58. “Emotion” – Samantha Sang
57. “Lovely Day” – Bill Withers
56. “Dust in the Wind” – Kansas
55. “Just a Song Before I Go” – Crosby, Stills & Nash
54. “If I Can’t Have You” – Yvonne Elliman
53. “Don’t Stop” – Fleetwood Mac
52. “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” – Ramones
51. “Just the Way You Are” – Billy Joel
50. “Watching the Detectives” – Elvis Costello
49. “Southern Girls” – Cheap Trick
48. “Angel in Your Arms” – Hot
47. “Holidays in the Sun” – Sex Pistols
46. “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” – Billy Joel
45. “Jack and Jill” – Raydio
44. “Black Betty” – Ram Jam
43. “Peg” – Steely Dan
42. “What’s Your Name” – Lynyrd Skynyrd
41. “Running on Empty” – Jackson Browne
40. “Come Sail Away” – Styx
39. “Cocaine” – Eric Clapton
38. “Stayin’ Alive” – Bee Gees
37. “Float On” – The Floaters
36. “Short People” – Randy Newman
35. “Heard It in a Love Song” – Marshall Tucker Band
34. “Movin’ Out” – Billy Joel
33. “Take a Chance on Me” – ABBA
32. “Closer to the Heart” – Rush
31. “Christine Sixteen” – KISS
30. “God Save the Queen” – Sex Pistols
29. “Deacon Blues” – Steely Dan
28. “Solsbury Hill” – Peter Gabriel
27. “Only the Good Die Young” – Billy Joel
26. “Gold Dust Woman” – Fleetwood Mac
25. “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” – Santa Esmeralda
24. “Night Fever” – Bee Gees
23. “Jamming” – Bob Marley & the Wailers
22. “In the City” – The Jam
21. “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” – The Rubinoos
20. “Do Anything You Want to Do” – Eddie & the Hot Rods
19. “Got to Give It Up” – Marvin Gaye
18. “Oh Candy” – Cheap Trick
17. “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” – Meat Loaf
16. “Brick House” – The Commodores
15. “Give a Little Bit” – Supertramp
14. “Easy” – The Commodores
13. “Best of My Love” – The Emotions
12. “Disco Inferno” – The Trammps
11. “Lust for Life” – Iggy Pop
10. “Heroes” – David Bowie
9. “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions” – Queen
8. “Dreams” – Fleetwood Mac
7. “The Chain” – Fleetwood Mac
6. “Psycho Killer” – Talking Heads
5. “Mr. Blue Sky” – Electric Light Orchestra
4. “Alison” – Elvis Costello
3. “Strawberry Letter 23” – The Brothers Johnson
2. “I Feel Love” – Donna Summer
1. “Flash Light” – Parliament
If My Records Could Talk 