Steve Holtje: April 29, 2007

Favorite #1 singles of 1977

I’m feeling nostalgia for the music of 30 years ago, when I was in high school. There’s too much good stuff from that year to squeeze onto a top-ten list, so I confined myself to Billboard chart-toppers. I was tempted to include #1s from the British charts, which would make ABBA’s “Knowing Me, Knowing You” and “The Name of the Game” eligible, but then I probably would’ve bumped the two movie themes, and this list wouldn’t have been as much fun. Everything spent one week at the top except as noted.

1. The Emotions – “Best Of My Love”

   Funky and soulful, this spent five weeks in the #1 slot.

2. Stevie Wonder – “I Wish”

   Even funkier.

3. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – “Blinded by the Light”

   Who would’ve guess that a prog-rock version of a Bruce Springsteen song would be so hot?

4. Hall & Oates – “Rich Girl”

   A two-week chart topper, and do you think a non-rapper could achieve that nowadays with anything this politically incorrect?

5. Thelma Houston – “Don’t Leave Me This Way”

   One of the great disco hits. No relation to Whitney, BTW.

6. The Eagles – “Hotel California”

   Ubiquitous, but unlike some other 1977 #1s – “How Deep Is Your Love,” “You Light Up My Life” – it had more than enough musical substance and lyric depth to stand up to repeated play.

7. Fleetwood Mac – “Dreams”

   As Stevie Nicks pleads with Lindsey Buckingham to stay, he contributes glinting guitar to this brooding hit. He’d already had his say on the blistering “Go Your Own Way.”

8. Leo Sayer – “When I Need You”

   Ballads don’t get much sappier, but somehow I can’t resist this.

9. Bill Conti – “Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky)”

   Brassy and catchy.

10. Meco – “Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band”

    One of the goofier singles to spend two weeks atop the chart.