# Random year 1977: What takes me back is... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-year-1977-what-takes-me-back-is/854009 "2020-05-18T01:19:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-year-1977-what-takes-me-back-is/854009/41 "2020-05-18T22:20:23Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > GRT stood for General Recorded Tape (they made records too). > > 1977 was the breakout year for punk. Not on the charts obviously, but if you were cool, you were listening to the Ramones, not Leo Sayer or Pablo Cruise. Yeah, that’s what I also thought. Not a single punk or new wave song, which proves that charts don’t always depict what’s really going on musically. I’d love to see the corresponding 1977 charts for the UK, I bet there are at least 20 new wave/punk songs on that list. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-year-1977-what-takes-me-back-is/854009/42 "2020-05-18T22:39:49Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Yeah, that’s what I also thought. Not a single punk or new wave song, which proves that charts don’t always depict what’s really going on musically. I’d love to see the corresponding 1977 charts for the UK, I bet there are at least 20 new wave/punk songs on that list. [Here’s the list.](http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1977.shtml) The Sex Pistols come in at #60, and have one other song on the chart. If there are other punk or new wave groups on the list, they are names that are not familiar to me. I’m pretty sure there’s not 20, though. Most of the songs are just as conventional as the US list. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2020, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-year-1977-what-takes-me-back-is/854009/43 "2020-05-18T22:44:45Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Yeah, that’s what I also thought. Not a single punk or new wave song, which proves that charts don’t always depict what’s really going on musically. I’d love to see the corresponding 1977 charts for the UK, I bet there are at least 20 new wave/punk songs on that list. [And I’d be wrong](http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1977.shtml)! But at least there were: The Stranglers - Peaches The Sex Pistol - God Save The Queen The Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant Tom Robinson - 2-4-6-8 Motorway Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers - Egyptian Reggae (even an American new wave song!) With a bit of leeway, you can also count Bowie’s “Sound And Vision”. ETA: ninja’d by **Colibri**. At least I count 5-6 new wave songs. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-year-1977-what-takes-me-back-is/854009/44 "2020-05-19T00:13:31Z")
That’s right, Bowie released the brilliant album Low in 1977. I also remember the first Talking Heads album came out late that year. And Ian Dury’s New Boots and Panties was among my favorite great punk/new wave albums. Kraftwerk released Trans Europe Express. It was a great time for new music. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-year-1977-what-takes-me-back-is/854009/45 "2020-05-19T00:35:54Z")
In July 1977 we got engaged and we drove from Illinois down to Louisiana. We must have heard these songs, but I don’t remember any on the trip. In December 1972 we drove to Florida for Apollo XVII and “Crocodile Rock” played all the time, so it’s not like songs don’t have an impact on us. So none of these take me back. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-year-1977-what-takes-me-back-is/854009/46 "2020-05-19T00:49:19Z")
One of my big faves was “Ariel,” though many don’t remember it. I can't believe it ranked higher than "Lido Shuffle," which was unavoidable---a huge hit. I pulled up the next year and looked at it as well. > **[Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978 | Music Outfitters](https://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1978.htm)** > > Top 100 Songs for the year 1978 from the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 charts. I was curious: if a song came out, say, in August and sold really well, could it make the top 100 in 1977 but keep selling and selling and also make the chart in 1978? In other words, did Lido show up on both? Nope. I checked (Ctrl-F) for others, like “Fleetwood” and looked at the songs in both years. I didn’t find any repeats, and I searched a few other of the “usual suspects.” Still nothing repeated. They must only allow a song to chart once. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-year-1977-what-takes-me-back-is/854009/47 "2020-05-19T00:50:59Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > GRT stood for General Recorded Tape (they made records too). > > 1977 was the breakout year for punk. Not on the charts obviously, but if you were cool, you were listening to the Ramones, not Leo Sayer or Pablo Cruise. Hey hey…Leo Sayer was very [eclectic and original when he debuted](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6gEkfwozhE) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-year-1977-what-takes-me-back-is/854009/48 "2020-05-19T00:53:30Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > Oh my God, there were a lot of great songs released in 77! My first reaction was “…a few gems, along with a lot of drivel.” Luckily by ‘77 you weren’t stuck listening to just the top 40. Cassette decks were widespread, so you and your friends could tape each others’ LPs. > [@blondebear](#): > > Al Stewart - Year of the Cat… my favorite song from the album is _On The Border_. Hope you’ve heard Al and Peter White doing that on acoustic guitars. [Here they are](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyFQv2sjQy4) in '88 with a long classical guitar intro, and [here they are](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnXt80Xvq8E) as old farts, just two friends with guitars. My song? Margaritaville. Not my favorite, but the best memory. Tell you 'bout it when I have more time… ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-year-1977-what-takes-me-back-is/854009/49 "2020-05-19T06:27:34Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > So I was only 8 in 1977. The one song on that list that is remember _from back then_ is **Barracuda by Heart**. > … Your handle is ‘Rhiannon’, and you don’t recall any Fleetwood Mac songs of that time?? ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-year-1977-what-takes-me-back-is/854009/50 "2020-05-19T06:59:27Z")
I was an early teen that year, and listened to top 40 radio. So I recall 85%+ of these songs. 80%+ are dreck, but there’s maybe a dozen quality records within all the chaff. The Stevie Wonder songs in particular stand out with respect to quality. Also, the ELO songs, Fleetwood Mac songs, ‘Night Moves’, ‘New Kid in Town’, and a few others. I get a chuckle now from ‘Fly Like an Eagle’ - at the time I thought all the spacey sound effects were so cool! I’m struck by the relative scarcity of “arena rock” bands represented on the list. Depending upon how you define the term, I see Foreigner, Queen, and Kansas. I think of the mid-70s as their heyday, although maybe it was a little later. I guess Journey’s big breakthrough was the “Infinity” album, which came out in 1978. Did I miss “Come Sail Away” by Styx on the list? It peaked at #8 in 1977, which should’ve been good enough to break the top 100 for the year. May I heap further derision on Leo Sayer? He was on a roll that year, but ugh! ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-year-1977-what-takes-me-back-is/854009/51 "2020-05-19T11:56:39Z")
Elvis and Groucho died within a few weeks of each other, I started dating my first girlfriend, and yeah, **Star Wars.** ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2020, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-year-1977-what-takes-me-back-is/854009/52 "2020-05-19T16:46:33Z")
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