Top Songs of 1978: The Year's Biggest Hits & Trends

No family ever dominated a Billboard year-end chart quite like the Gibbs did among the top songs of 1978.

Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing" was the outright #1 song of the year.

His three older brothers, the Bee Gees, filled three more of the top six spots right behind him.

Together the Gibb family controlled four of the year's six biggest hits.

Disco ruled the airwaves, but movie soundtracks pushed just as hard alongside it.

Grease and its two stars crossed over from the screen to the radio all year long.

Ballads from Debby Boone, Exile, and Player proved disco never had the year entirely to itself.

Steely Dan even closed out the whole year-end list in their own understated way.

Infographic showing the top songs of 1978, with Andy Gibb's Shadow Dancing at number one and the Bee Gees and Andy Gibb combining for four of the year's top six spots

Chart data: Billboard Year-End Hot 100, 1978.

Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees Rule the Top Songs of 1978

No family ever dominated a Billboard year-end chart quite like the Gibbs did in 1978.

Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing" was the outright #1 song of the year.

All four Gibb brothers wrote it together.

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

That run made Andy Gibb the only solo artist in chart history whose first three singles all reached #1.

His three older brothers, the Bee Gees, weren't far behind him.

Between them, the Bee Gees placed three songs inside the year's top six.

"Night Fever" (#2)
"Stayin' Alive" (#4)
"How Deep Is Your Love" (#6)

Combined with Andy Gibb's #1, the Gibb family held four of the year's top six spots.

Andy Gibb charted twice more further down the list.

"(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" reached #8, and "An Everlasting Love" landed at #45.

Between the brothers, five Gibb-written songs cracked the top half of the top songs of 1978.

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

Try the Birthday #1 Song Finder and find out.

Grease and Hollywood Take Over the Charts

Movie music pushed just as hard as disco on the 1978 chart.

No film mattered more that year than Grease.

Frankie Valli's title song, "Grease," reached #11 for the year.

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's on-screen chemistry carried straight onto the radio.

Their duet "You're the One That I Want" hit #13.

A second duet, "Summer Nights," followed at #69.

Olivia Newton-John didn't stop there.

She also charted on her own with "Hopelessly Devoted to You" at #35.

That's a separate credit from her Travolta duets, not folded into either artist's duet count.

Between the solo hit and both duets, Grease put Olivia Newton-John's voice on three different entries among the top songs of 1978.

Few films that decade crossed over from screen to radio quite that completely.

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.

Twelve Artists Landed Multiple Hits

Beyond the Gibb family's five entries, eleven more acts landed multiple songs among the top songs of 1978.

That brings the year's full multi-hit count to twelve artists.

Andy Gibb: "Shadow Dancing" (#1), "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" (#8), "An Everlasting Love" (#45)
Bee Gees: "Night Fever" (#2), "Stayin' Alive" (#4), "How Deep Is Your Love" (#6)
Player: "Baby Come Back" (#7), "This Time I'm in It for Love" (#58)
John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John: "You're the One That I Want" (#13), "Summer Nights" (#69)
Barry Manilow: "Can't Smile Without You" (#27), "Copacabana" (#74)
ABBA: "Take a Chance on Me" (#32), "The Name of the Game" (#97)
Heatwave: "The Groove Line" (#49), "Always and Forever" (#75)
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band: "Still the Same" (#52), "Hollywood Nights" (#99)
Linda Ronstadt: "Blue Bayou" (#61), "It's So Easy" (#90)
Steely Dan: "Peg" (#62), "Deacon Blues" (#100)
Bob Welch: "Sentimental Lady" (#78), "Ebony Eyes" (#96)
Electric Light Orchestra: "Sweet Talkin' Woman" (#86), "Turn to Stone" (#94)

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's duet credit is counted on its own here.

It's kept separate from her solo hit discussed above, not merged into a single tally.

Player's two hits capped a strong debut year for the band.

Both leaned on close harmonies rather than a four-on-the-floor disco beat.

Ballads and Steely Dan Close Out the Year

Disco and the Gibb family didn't have 1978 entirely to themselves.

Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" held the third spot on the year-end list.

It's one of the most enduring ballads of the entire decade.

Exile's "Kiss You All Over" reached #5.

It's a warm, mid-tempo love song built for FM radio rather than the dance floor.

Player's "Baby Come Back" charted at #7, another soft-rock staple built on harmony rather than a beat.

Together, these songs prove ballads and soft rock still found a mass audience during disco's biggest year.

Steely Dan closed out the entire list in their own way.

"Peg" reached #62 earlier in the countdown.

"Deacon Blues" sat at #100, the very last entry on the whole year-end chart.

That means one of the decade's most meticulously produced bands had the final word among the top songs of 1978.

Put together, 1978's chart tells a story of extremes.

A single family owned the top, and a jazz-inflected rock band closed the bottom, with disco, soundtracks, and soft rock filling in everything between.

See how 1978 compares to the year before it in our Top Songs of 1977 countdown.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the number one song of 1978 on Billboard's year-end chart?

Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing" was the number one song among the top songs of 1978.

Written by all four Gibb brothers, it spent seven weeks at #1 on the weekly Hot 100.

That run made Andy Gibb the only solo artist in chart history whose first three singles all reached number one.

How dominant were the Bee Gees and Andy Gibb in 1978?

The Gibb family controlled four of the year's top six spots.

Andy Gibb held #1 with "Shadow Dancing," while his brothers, the Bee Gees, placed three songs in the top six: "Night Fever" at #2, "Stayin' Alive" at #4, and "How Deep Is Your Love" at #6.

No single family had ever dominated a Billboard year-end chart quite like this.

Which Grease songs charted among the top songs of 1978?

Three Grease-connected songs reached the 1978 year-end chart.

Frankie Valli's title track, "Grease," hit #11.

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John's duet "You're the One That I Want" reached #13, and their second duet, "Summer Nights," charted at #69.

Olivia Newton-John also charted solo with "Hopelessly Devoted to You" at #35.

Which artists landed multiple hits among the top songs of 1978?

Twelve artists placed two or more songs on the 1978 year-end chart.

Andy Gibb led with three entries, and the Bee Gees matched him with three of their own.

Player, Barry Manilow, ABBA, Steely Dan, and several others each landed two songs apiece, spreading multi-hit success across disco, soft rock, and soundtrack acts alike.

What song closed out Billboard's 1978 year-end chart?

Steely Dan's "Deacon Blues" sat at #100, the final entry on the entire 1978 year-end list.

The band also charted higher up with "Peg" at #62.

That gave Steely Dan two entries bookending very different parts of the chart, one near the middle and one at the very last spot.