Top Songs of 1977: The Year's Biggest Hits & Trends

The top songs of 1977 opened with a single artist holding the top spot.

He held it longer than almost anyone had in years.

Rod Stewart's "Tonight's the Night" spent eight straight weeks at #1.

That's the longest run atop the chart since The Beatles' "Hey Jude" nearly a decade earlier.

Behind him, two very different acts tied for the year's busiest chart presence.

Hollywood started showing up on the radio in ways it never quite had before.

Between disco covers of orchestral movie themes and a teen idol chasing 1950s nostalgia, 1977 stands apart.

The decade's sound started pulling in every direction at once.

Infographic showing Rod Stewart's number one 1977 song, Fleetwood Mac and Leo Sayer's three chart hits each, and the two versions of Star Wars music that charted that year

Chart data: Billboard Year-End Hot 100, 1977.

Rod Stewart Leads the Top Songs of 1977

No song owned 1977 quite like Rod Stewart's "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)."

It debuted low on the Hot 100 in October 1976.

It climbed fast and spent eight consecutive weeks at #1.

That's the longest stretch atop the chart for any single that year.

That run made it not just the biggest song of 1977's year-end tally.

It was also the longest-running #1 of Rod Stewart's entire career.

The song was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama.

That studio was better known for soul and R&B sessions than a British rock singer's biggest pop crossover.

Its spoken-word French interlude drew some controversy at the time.

If anything, that controversy only helped keep the song in conversation while it sat at the top.

No other single artist came close to matching that combination of chart position and staying power.

That's what set Rod Stewart apart among the top songs of 1977.

Curious what song topped the chart on your own birthday that year?

Try the Birthday #1 Song Finder and find out.

Fleetwood Mac and Leo Sayer Each Landed Three Hits

Two acts stood apart from everyone else on the 1977 year-end chart.

Each landed three separate songs, more than any other artist that year.

Fleetwood Mac's run came off Rumours.

That album turned the band's internal turmoil into one of the best-selling records of the decade.

"Dreams" hit #39, "Don't Stop" reached #52, and "Go Your Own Way" landed at #94.

That's three very different moods from the same record in the same year.

Leo Sayer matched that output from a completely different lane.

He moved from disco-pop energy to vulnerable balladry across his three entries.

"You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" charted at #13, and "When I Need You" followed at #24.

"How Much Love" closed out his year at #98.

Between them, Fleetwood Mac and Leo Sayer accounted for six of the year's 100 songs.

That's a genuinely rare feat for two acts working in such different styles.

Sixteen Artists Doubled Up on the 1977 Chart

Beyond Fleetwood Mac and Leo Sayer's three-song runs, fourteen more artists landed two songs each.

That brings the year's total multi-hit count to sixteen among the top songs of 1977.

Fleetwood Mac: "Dreams" (#39), "Don't Stop" (#52), "Go Your Own Way" (#94)
Leo Sayer: "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" (#13), "When I Need You" (#24), "How Much Love" (#98)
Barbra Streisand: "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" (#4), "My Heart Belongs to Me" (#60)
Kenny Nolan: "I Like Dreamin'" (#6), "Love's Grown Deep" (#85)
KC and the Sunshine Band: "I'm Your Boogie Man" (#11), "Keep It Comin' Love" (#75)
ABBA: "Dancing Queen" (#12), "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (#97)
Electric Light Orchestra: "Telephone Line" (#15), "Livin' Thing" (#77)
Stevie Wonder: "Sir Duke" (#18), "I Wish" (#51)
Eagles: "Hotel California" (#19), "New Kid in Town" (#59)
The Sylvers: "Hot Line" (#25), "High School Dance" (#84)
Rose Royce: "Car Wash" (#26), "I Wanna Get Next to You" (#87)
Steve Miller Band: "Fly Like an Eagle" (#28), "Jet Airliner" (#62)
Foreigner: "Feels Like the First Time" (#31), "Cold as Ice" (#68)
Barry Manilow: "Looks Like We Made It" (#37), "Weekend in New England" (#65)
Shaun Cassidy: "Da Doo Ron Ron" (#45), "That's Rock 'n' Roll" (#79)
Alice Cooper: "You and Me" (#48), "I Never Cry" (#82)

Shaun Cassidy's two entries are worth a second look.

Both leaned into 1950s and early 1960s nostalgia while disco and album rock dominated the airwaves.

Want to hear how these songs stack up against tracks from every other year of the decade?

Spin the 70s Decade Wheel and land on a random year.

Hollywood Takes Over the Airwaves

Movie music became genuine chart competition in 1977, and no example captures that better than Star Wars.

The film's music charted in two completely different forms.

A disco cover by Meco, "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band," reached #71.

The original orchestral recording, by the London Symphony Orchestra, reached #99 as "Star Wars (Main Title)."

Two versions of the same theme found an audience.

One was built for the dance floor, the other straight from the film's own score.

Bill Conti's "Gonna Fly Now," the instrumental theme from Rocky, also cracked the year-end chart at #21.

That extended the same trend to another 1977 blockbuster.

Barbra Streisand's "Evergreen," the love theme from A Star Is Born, reached #4.

It's an Oscar-winning ballad that doubled as one of the year's biggest hits in its own right.

Television got its own moment too.

David Soul's "Don't Give Up on Us" reached #29 that year.

That showed the crossover between screen and radio wasn't limited to the movies.

Put together, the top songs of 1977 chart tells a clear story.

The biggest screens in the country were feeding the biggest speakers, not competing with them.

See how 1977 compares to the year before it in our Top Songs of 1976 countdown.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the number one song of 1977 on Billboard's year-end chart?

Rod Stewart's "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" was the number one song among the top songs of 1977.

It spent eight consecutive weeks at #1 on the weekly Hot 100.

That's the longest run at the top for any single that year and the longest of Stewart's entire career.

Which artists had the most songs among the top songs of 1977?

Fleetwood Mac and Leo Sayer each placed three songs on the 1977 year-end chart.

That's more than any other act managed that year.

Fourteen additional artists, including ABBA, Barbra Streisand, Stevie Wonder, and the Eagles, each landed two songs.

That brings the year's total multi-hit count to sixteen artists.

How many versions of the Star Wars theme charted in 1977?

Two different versions of Star Wars music reached the year-end chart in 1977.

Meco's disco cover, "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band," charted alongside the London Symphony Orchestra's original recording, "Star Wars (Main Title)."

Together they showed how far the film's reach extended beyond movie theaters.

Did any movie themes chart among the top songs of 1977?

Several movie-connected songs reached the 1977 year-end chart.

Bill Conti's "Gonna Fly Now," the instrumental theme from Rocky, hit #21.

Barbra Streisand's "Evergreen," the Oscar-winning love theme from A Star Is Born, reached #4.

Both versions of the Star Wars theme also charted that year.

Who were the breakout teen-pop acts on the 1977 chart?

Shaun Cassidy stood out among 1977's teen-pop wave, landing two hits.

Both "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "That's Rock 'n' Roll" leaned into 1950s and early 1960s nostalgia.

His two entries charted at #45 and #79 on the year-end list.