# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1978 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 4, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387 "2014-10-04T16:11:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/21 "2014-10-04T18:52:57Z")
Oh my. I thought 1977 was dire. This is worse. I guess I’ll go with “Night Fever.” I haven’t burned that one out of my brain with a acetylene torch yet. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/22 "2014-10-04T18:56:49Z")
I promise 1979 will be much better, the decade will end with a bang. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/23 "2014-10-04T19:18:00Z")
The only song on the list I actually **like** listening to is Yvonne Elliman’s “If I Can’t Have You.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/24 "2014-10-04T19:25:53Z")
Actually, having listened to the _ **SNF** _ soundtrack for the first time in a long while, I think “Manhattan Skyline” is the best number. I kinda like “Disco Inferno” too, for ( **cough** ) sentimental reasons. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Eddie\_F](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/22d042/32.png) [@Eddie\_F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eddie_F)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/25 "2014-10-04T19:42:18Z")
“Night Fever”. It’s much more preferable than the played-to-death “Stayin’ Alive”. I nearly went with “Le Freak”. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/26 "2014-10-04T19:49:06Z")
I still remember the little dance skit some of my fellow sixth-graders put on in mime-makeup to _Le Freak_ :D. **Chic** were pretty darn talented. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/27 "2014-10-04T20:13:24Z")
There was a lot of great music from this era. Very little of it came in the form of #1 singles, though. I voted for _Miss You_ because I actually like that song. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/28 "2014-10-04T20:55:40Z")
I knew there would eventually be a year where all the reasonable choices would be disco. In fact, one could claim that all the reasonable choices were on the soundtrack of _Saturday Night Fever_. I voted for _Stayin’ Alive_ – if I’m gonna vote for a disco song, I’m jumping in head first. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/29 "2014-10-04T21:05:19Z")
I voted for “Le Freak,” but it was a fairly tight decision over “Miss You.” “Kiss You All Over” is dead-ass last according to the world-famous\*\* Ponch8 Music Rating System\*\*, the indisputable determinant of music quality. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/30 "2014-10-04T21:12:25Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Easy - Le Freak. Done. Yep. I’d assumed with the rockist element on the boards the Stones would get the most votes even though it’s a lousy song, but so far I’m glad to see that isn’t the case. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/31 "2014-10-04T21:25:55Z")
I picked the commodores, but only because that song was dedicated to me once. It sure was a good year for the Gibb family. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/32 "2014-10-04T21:33:43Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > And, of course, there’s the mashup [Stayin’ Alive in the Wall](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U13xOvDa19U). 😃 Excellent! Now, as far as this year’s crop of #1 songs go, it looks like we’re in full blown Disco mode. And looking at it through a filter of 35 years I can actually tolerate a few of them. So, without shame, and just a slight bit of embarrassment I’m going to vote for “Stayin’ Alive”, the epitome of Disco. Edit: When I first heard Stayin’ Alive I thought they were singing\* Stand in line, stand in line\*. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/33 "2014-10-04T21:36:29Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > And, of course, there’s the mashup [Stayin’ Alive in the Wall](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U13xOvDa19U). 😃 If I want disco renditions of Pink Floyd, I’ll stick with [the Scissor Sisters,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbVE-R1_Izo) thank you very much. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/34 "2014-10-04T22:58:58Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Excellent! > > Now, as far as this year’s crop of #1 songs go, it looks like we’re in full blown Disco mode. And looking at it through a filter of 35 years I can actually tolerate a few of them. So, without shame, and just a slight bit of embarrassment I’m going to vote for “Stayin’ Alive”, the epitome of Disco. > > Edit: When I first heard Stayin’ Alive I thought they were singing\* Stand in line, stand in line\*. Yes 1978 would be about the very peak of the disco music, it began becoming slightly mainstream in 1974-1975, gaining steam and rising from 1976-1977, peaking in 78’. By 1979 it was still popular, though declining. By 1980 it was dead. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/35 "2014-10-04T23:07:49Z")
The sad thing is, as in previous years, there was so much amazing music being produced. Yet this dreck somehow managed to get number one. Yuck. I was 20 and heavily into anything BUT what was being played on commercial radio at the time. Punk, Kraftwerk, psychedelic music, bluegrass, early Southern Fried rock n’ roll. I went with the majority and voted for _Stayin’ Alive_ because it’s about the most listenable one of the bunch. _Miss You_ and _Le Freak_ are close seconds. **Smapti,** thanks for this series of threads. They’re fun! ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/36 "2014-10-04T23:08:09Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > If I want disco renditions of Pink Floyd, I’ll stick with [the Scissor Sisters,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbVE-R1_Izo) thank you very much. 🙂 An excellent song in every way. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/37 "2014-10-04T23:35:33Z")
1978 was when I started actively getting into music (as opposed to just passively listening to anything my parents had on the radio or was playing in the background). However, thinking back to that time, I don’t recall any song that hit #1 as really bowling me over. There were some I disliked (in particular “Shadow Dancing”), a few I mildly liked (e.g., “Three Times a Lady” even though I now think it’s sappy), but I felt indifferent about most of them. I still feel that way now even though it’s been 36 years. I don’t have any of the #1 songs from 1978 on any of my albums or in my MP3 collection. Anyway, I voted for “Miss You”. Oddly, I didn’t care for the song when it came out in 1978 since I didn’t become a Stones fan until I was a little older. I have a higher opinion about it now and it has aged better than any other song on the list (even though it is disco-ish). ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/38 "2014-10-05T00:02:40Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Abstaining, sorry. Joining you. Man, my birth year was a fucking wasteland for pop music. Thank goodness I was a baby and so didn’t notice it much. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/39 "2014-10-05T00:17:42Z")
I remember watching Andy Gibb doing a solo performance of “Shadow Dancing” on TV (probably on Casey Kasem’s show). I turned off the sound and he looked soooooooooo lame I started laughing! ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387/40 "2014-10-05T01:12:57Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > What a horrible, horrible year. Maybe, probably the worst ever. > > _Hot Child in the City_ > > I still listen to this one. Can’t say that for anything else on the list, and I love the Commodores. ditto this. voted for HCITC as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1978/700387.md?page=3)