Our survey brings us now to 1977, and there can be no doubt about it - disco is on the top and is here to stay forever and ever, right?
29 songs made it to the top of the charts this year, and it’s definitely a very disco-heavy chart, including the highest-selling instrumental of all time (although the 15-minute album cut is far superior to the edited version, IMO.) There’s lots of other interesting stuff mixed in as well, though, so which is your fave?
Again, the poll asks for the “best song,” so I went with Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish.” But as for the most iconic, epitomizes-its-era, smash song, I would have chosen between “Hotel California” and the disco-tinged Rocky theme song.
(Fleetwood Mac will get their chance in 1978, I think – but I’ll find it hard to choose between them and Billy Joel.)
I, uh, think you’ll find it hard to choose either of 'em; from peeking ahead, it looks like this is the last chance for Fleetwood Mac – and while you’ll get plenty of chances to vote for Billy Joel, they all look to be in the '80s.
“Dreams” is, indeed, the Mac’s only US #1. The Nicks-Buckingham era band did even worse in the group’s native UK, where they never had a #1 at all. (They did score a #1 with “Albatross” back in the Peter Green days, though.)
As for Billy Joel, you’ll get a chance to vote for “It’s Still Rock & Roll To Me”, “Tell Her About It”, and “We Didn’t Start The Fire” a few times in the years to come.
Mac’s Dreams (and in fact that entire album) still holds up at this late date-possessing a solidity and edginess which is rather atypical for a hit song of that era. I’m not sure anything else on this list does.
Went with “Dancing Queen” which at the time had an unprecedented number of HPM (Hooks Per Minute) and which I’m not totally burnt out on 35 years later. It’s like apple pie with vanilla ice cream.
It was slightly painful not to chose “Blinded by the Light,” which provided one of the most serious ear-worm episodes of my life. But it was a cover, and it hasn’t been as durable.
Surprisingly, there aren’t nearly as many songs on this list that out-and-out suck as there were in the last several years.
Individual notes:
I hate and despise The Eagles (and that goes double for “Hotel California,” the most overrated song of the 20th century — if you like it and dare ask me why I feel this way, prepare for blood!). However, “New Kid in Town” is one of maybe two songs by them that I might grudgingly admit to actually liking.
“Dreams” has been vastly overplayed, but it’s a good song and a good performance.
“Dancing Queen” is absolutely the only vaguely disco-ish song I like. As I’ve said, I’m a sucker for great harmonies, and it is indeed hook-laden and well-performed.
On that note, “How Deep Is Your Love” comes out of the Bee Gees’ disco era but is really just a standard ballad. While it will never measure up to their 60s greats, it’s a least tolerable.
My vote went to “When I Need You,” an absolutely enduring song that has been in my repertoire ever since it came out (even though I’ve always sung the harmony part rather than the lead). I like it well enough as is, but I’ve always felt that it should be covered by a soul singer who could bring a little more grit to it than Leo Sayer was able to.
I really fear that “Hotel California” will win the day this year, and that will mightily depress me.
My eyes skated right over ABBA. They would be a great choice for a representative track for this era. Shoulda picked them - Wonder’s I Wish is the best song, but this ain’t bad for what it represents.
I voted for “How Deep Is Your Love”, which is one of my favorite Bee Gees songs. My second favorite would be “Hotel California”, followed by “Blinded By The Light”.
Voted for Dreams, knowing it was my only chance to vote for Fleetwood Mac.
While Dancing Queen is an iconic song, true, it takes a distant second to Thelma Houston’s Don’t Leave Me This Way, which ends with one of the better disco grooves of the decade and would’ve gotten my vote if it weren’t for FM.
Please don’t judge. My heart belongs to the soul/funk songs on this list, but Thelma Houston’s “Don’t Leave Me This Way” is a slow burn that puts “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor to shame, so it gets my vote. I could bust a move right now just thinking about it.
