- 1979 in music
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… 19th century – 20th century – 21st century …Art Archaeology Architecture Literature Music Science more Years in music: 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 Centuries: 19th Century · 20th century · 21st century Decades: 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s [[{{{dpn}}} (decade)|2000s]] Years: 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 Contents
See also:
- Record labels established in 1979
- 1979 in music (UK)
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1979.
Events
January–February
- January 1
- Bill Graham closes San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom following a New Year's Eve performance by the Blues Brothers and the Grateful Dead.
- During a New Year's Eve concert in Cleveland, Ohio, Bruce Springsteen is injured when a fire-cracker is thrown onstage from the audience.
- January 4 – The Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany, best known for its connections to the early days of the Beatles, reopens.
- January 9 – The Music for UNICEF Concert in held in New York City at the United Nations, starring The Bee Gees. Highlights are aired the following evening on NBC.
- January 13 – Singer Donny Hathaway dies after falling 15 stories from his hotel room in New York City. According to Hathaway's record company, Atlantic, the singer had been having some psychological problems.
- January 15 – MCA Records purchases ABC Records for a reported $20 million.
- February 2 – Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious is found dead from an overdose, a day after being released on bail from Rikers Island prison.
- February 7
- The Clash kick off their first concert on their first American tour at the Berkeley Community Theatre outside San Francisco, California. Bo Diddley opens the show and the Clash open their set with the song "I'm So Bored with the U.S.A.".
- Stephen Stills becomes the first major rock artist to record digitally, laying down four songs at The Record Plant in Los Angeles.
- February 10 – Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" hits #1 on the Billboard magazine charts, and stays there for 4 weeks.
- February 11 – 43 million viewers watch "Elvis!" on ABC, a made for TV movie starring Kurt Russell as Elvis.
- February 15 – Minnie Riperton appears on the Grammys as a presenter with Stephen Bishop. The Bee Gees collect 4 Grammys for Saturday Night Fever.
- February 23 – Dire Straits begin their first U.S. tour in Boston.
- February 24
- Friedrich Cerha's completion of Alban Berg's opera Lulu is premiered at the Opera Garnier in Paris.
- Singer Johnnie Wilder, Jr. of Heatwave is paralyzed from the neck down in a car accident in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio.
- February 26 – B.B. King becomes the first blues artist to tour the Soviet Union, kicking off a one-month tour there.
March–April
- March 2 (to March 4) – Weather Report, The CBS Jazz All-Stars, the Trio of Doom, Fania All-Stars, Stephen Stills, Billy Swan, Bonnie Bramlett, Mike Finnegan, Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge and Billy Joel, plus Cuban acts Irakere, Pacho Alonso, Elena Burke, Los Papines, Tata Güines and Orquesta Aragón play at the historic three-day Havana Jam festival at the Karl Marx Theater, in Havana, Cuba.
- March 5 – MCA Records dissolves ABC Records.
- March 10 – James Brown performs at the Grand Ole Opry.
- March 15 – Elvis Costello gets into a heated argument with members of Stephen Stills' touring entourage at a Holiday Inn in Columbus, Ohio. After Costello makes disparaging remarks about America and puts down James Brown and Ray Charles using a racial slur, he is punched by Bonnie Bramlett. Costello suffers a wave of negative press coverage after the incident is made public.
- March 21 – The Pretenders sign a contract with Sire Records.
- March 23 – Van Halen releases their second album, Van Halen II.
- March 27 – Eric Clapton marries Patti Boyd, ex-wife of Clapton's friend George Harrison.
- March 31 – The Eurovision Song Contest, the biggest music festival in the world, takes place for the first time in a country outside Europe – Israel. The show is broadcast live from Jerusalem to Europe and a few countries in Asia. The big winner of this night is Israel for the second time in a row. The winning song is "Hallelujah" sung by Gali Atari and the backing group Milk and Honey. A few months after winning the song had been translated into more than 82 languages, and broke a new record by entering the Guinness Book of Records as the most translated song in the world.
- April 2 – Kate Bush begins her first, and to date, only tour. She becomes the first artist to use a wireless microphone, enabling her to sing and dance at the same time.
- April 6 – Rod Stewart marries Alana Hamilton.
- April 7 – 110,000 people attend the California Music Festival at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. Performers include Aerosmith, The Boomtown Rats, Cheap Trick, Ted Nugent and Van Halen.
- April 12 – Mickey Thomas replaces Marty Balin as the lead singer of Jefferson Starship.
- April 13 – During a concert by Van Halen in Spokane, Washington, David Lee Roth collapses from exhaustion. A local doctor treats him for a stomach virus and advises him to "calm down".
- April 22 – The New Barbarians and The Rolling Stones perform two concerts in Oshawa, Ontario to benefit the CNIB, as part of Keith Richards' 1978 sentence for heroin possession.
- April 24 – The New Barbarians open their US tour at Ann Arbor, Michigan.
- April 27 – Ozzy Osbourne is fired as lead singer of Black Sabbath. He is replaced in May by Ronnie James Dio.
May–August
- May 2 – The Who play their first concert following the death of drummer Keith Moon. The band perform with new drummer Kenney Jones at London's Rainbow Theatre.
- May 8 – Iron Maiden, Samson, and Angel Witch share a bill at the Music Machine in Camden, London. Critic Geoff Barton coins the term "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" in a review of the show for Sounds magazine.
- May 19 – Three of the four ex-Beatles perform on the same stage, as Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr jam with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Mick Jagger and others at a wedding reception for Clapton at his Surrey home.
- May 21 – Elton John plays the first of eight concerts in the Soviet Union.
- June 1 – Alternative Tentacles record label established by Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra.
- June 8 – Marianne Faithfull marries Ben Brierly of The Vibrators.
- June 28 – Bill Haley makes his final studio recordings at Muscle Shoals, Alabama. (He dies in 1981.)
- July 1 – The Sony Walkman goes on sale in Japan.
- July 7 – The Bee Gees play to a sold-out crowd at Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium as part of their Spirits Having Flown tour.
- July 10 – Chuck Berry is sentenced to four months in prison for tax evasion by a Los Angeles judge.
- July 12 – "Disco Demolition Night", an anti-disco promotional event for a Chicago rock station involving exploding disco records with a bomb, causes a near-riot between games during a baseball major league doubleheader, forcing the cancellation of the second game.
- July 28 – Aerosmith and Ted Nugent headline the World Series of Rock at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. Also on the bill are Journey, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC and the Scorpions. Following the concert, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry quits the group after an argument with bandmates.
- July 31 – 250,000 turn out in Central Park for a free concert by James Taylor in a campaign to restore Sheep Meadow.
- August 4 – 11- British rock band Led Zeppelin played what were to be their last British concerts (until 2007) at Knebworth in Hertfordshire. Total attendances for the two concerts approached 400,000.[citation needed]
- August 18 – Nick Lowe and Carlene Carter are married at Carter's Los Angeles home.
- August 19 – Dorsey Burnette dies of a massive coronary in Canoga Park, California.
- August 25 – "My Sharona" by The Knack hits #1 on the Billboard charts. This is the first time in over a year that a song hits #1 that is not either a disco song or a ballad, signalling the potential resurgence of rock.
September–December
- September 1 – INXS perform for the first time, at the Oceanview Hotel in Umina, New South Wales.
- September 2 – U2 enters the studio for the first time to record a locally released single.
- September 13 – ABBA begins ABBA: The Tour in Edmonton, Alberta, leading off a month of dates in North America.
- September 17 – Keith Richards' legal problems are finally over, as the Ontario Court of Appeals rejects a government appeal of last year's sentence that allowed him to avoid jail time for his 1977 arrest in Toronto for heroin possession.
- September 19 to September 23 – Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) stages a series of five 'No Nukes' concerts at Madison Square Garden. Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Petty, James Taylor and Carly Simon are among the participants.
- September 22 – The NewMusic, a Canadian weekly music and culture program, debuts on Citytv.
- September 27 – Elton John collapses on stage at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles County, California while performing "Better Off Dead". He refuses to stop the show and resumes playing fifteen minutes later.
- October 10 – Joe Perry officially leaves Aerosmith.
- November 9 – The single "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang is released. Its success marks the commercial emergence of hip hop music.
- November 16 – Infinity Records is shut down and absorbed into parent company MCA.
- November 26 – Bill Haley & His Comets perform at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, in a command performance for The Queen. This was Haley's final recorded performance of "Rock Around the Clock".
- December 3 – In Cincinnati, Ohio, a stampede for seats at Riverfront Coliseum during a Who concert kills 11 fans (band members were not made aware of the deaths until after the show).
- December 26 to December 29 – The Concerts for the People of Kampuchea are held over four nights at the Hammersmith Odeon in London to raise funds for victims of war in Cambodia. Queen, The Who, The Clash, Wings, Elvis Costello and members of Led Zeppelin all take part.
- December 31 – The eighth annual New Year's Rockin' Eve special airs on ABC, with appearances by The Oak Ridge Boys, Village People, Chic, Blondie and Barry Manilow.
Also in 1979
- The Welsh Philharmonia becomes the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera.
- Michael Schenker leaves Scorpions during their tour in France and was replaced by Matthias Jabs.
- Stevie Wonder uses digital audio recording technology in recording his album Journey through the Secret Life of Plants.
- Ry Cooder releases the first pop/rock record made entirely using digital recording technology, "Bop Til You Drop".
- EMI's first digital recording – at Abbey Road Studios – of a non-classical music track is released – UK jazz-funk duo Morrissey-Mullen covered the Rose Royce hit Love Don't Live Here Anymore. Released as a limited edition vinyl EP.
- Disco reigns supreme in 1979, with several #1 hits from The Bee Gees and Donna Summer that year. Several artists who were not regarded as dance/disco acts, scored major successes by releasing disco singles, including New Wave band Blondie with their first US number one single "Heart of Glass", Rod Stewart with "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" and rock band Electric Light Orchestra go disco this year with their UK #1 LP Discovery. Country star Kenny Rogers also issues a disco influenced album, entitled Kenny. Hard rock band Kiss also has a disco hit this year with "I Was Made For Lovin You".
- Elton John reunites with lyricist Bernie Taupin after a three-year break. The duos recent songs are recorded in August 1979, to be released a year later on "21 at 33".
Bands formed
See Musical groups established in 1979
Bands disbanded
See Musical groups disestablished in 1979
Albums released
Contents: Top • January • February • March • April • May • June • July • August • September • October • November • December January
Day Album Artist Notes 5 Armed Forces Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Look Sharp! Joe Jackson - 19 Sleep Dirt Frank Zappa - 25 Take Me Home Cher - 26 Valley of the Dolls Generation X - - Accept Accept - Bustin' Out of L Seven Rick James - The Def Leppard E.P. Def Leppard EP John Denver John Denver - Living Without Your Love Dusty Springfield - New Kind of Feeling Anne Murray - No Mean City Nazareth - Strangers in the Night UFO Live We Are Family Sister Sledge - February
Day Album Artist Notes 2 Inflammable Material Stiff Little Fingers - 5 Spirits Having Flown Bee Gees - 19 Frenzy Split Enz - 19 George Harrison George Harrison - 21 Live (X Cert) The Stranglers Live 22 If You Knew Suzi Suzi Quatro - 25 Lovedrive Scorpions - 26 The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle Sex Pistols Soundtrack - At Budokan Cheap Trick Live Enlightened Rogues The Allman Brothers Band - Force Majeure Tangerine Dream - Hard Times for Lovers Judy Collins - Sinful Angel - Under Heaven Over Hell Streetheart - March
Day Album Artist Notes 1 Manifesto Roxy Music - 3 Sheik Yerbouti Frank Zappa - 9 Angel Station Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Cool for Cats Squeeze - Even Serpents Shine The Only Ones - 10 Life in a Day Simple Minds - 16 Bitanga i princeza Bijelo dugme - Live at the Witch Trials The Fall - 17 Desolation Angels Bad Company - 19 L.A. (Light Album) The Beach Boys - 23 Van Halen II Van Halen - 24 Overkill Motörhead - 26 Go West Village People - 27 You're Never Alone with a Schizophrenic Ian Hunter - 29 Breakfast in America Supertramp - 30 Secondhand Daylight Magazine - - Airwaves Badfinger - Danger Money U.K. - Fate for Breakfast Art Garfunkel - Feel No Fret Average White Band - I Love You So Natalie Cole - Just a Game Triumph - Remote Control The Tubes - Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones - Rock n' Roll Nights Bachman–Turner Overdrive - Squeezing Out Sparks Graham Parker and The Rumour - April
Day Album Artist Notes 5 Evolution Journey - 6 Euroman Cometh Jean-Jacques Burnel - 13 Black Rose: A Rock Legend Thin Lizzy - 20 Gimme Some Neck Ron Wood - My Father's Eyes Amy Grant - 23 Bob Dylan at Budokan Bob Dylan Live Voulez-Vous ABBA - 25 Bad Girls Donna Summer - - The Bells Lou Reed - It's Alive Ramones Live The Message Is Love Barry White - A Million Vacations Max Webster - Mission Accomplished But the Beat Goes On The Rezillos Live New England New England - Replicas Gary Numan and Tubeway Army - Y The Pop Group - May
Day Album Artist Notes 4 Orchestral Favorites Frank Zappa - 11 Three Imaginary Boys The Cure - 17 Wave Patti Smith Group - 18 Do It Yourself Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Lodger David Bowie - 21 Saxon Saxon - 22 Where There's Smoke... Smokey Robinson - 23 Diana Ross Diana Ross - Dynasty Kiss - 30 Where I Should Be Peter Frampton - - Discovery Electric Light Orchestra - Flag James Taylor - Let Me Be Good to You Lou Rawls - Lots Of Luv' Luv' - Monolith Kansas - Narita Riot Japan Rhapsodies Rick Wakeman - Rock 'n' Roll High School Various Artists Soundtrack Shot Through the Heart Jennifer Warnes - Spectral Mornings Steve Hackett - State of Shock Ted Nugent - The Undertones The Undertones - June
Day Album Artist Notes 8 Back to the Egg Wings - The Kids Are Alright The Who Soundtrack Shades in Bed The Records - 9 Labour of Lust Nick Lowe - Repeat When Necessary Dave Edmunds - 11 Get The Knack The Knack - 13 Candy-O The Cars - Mingus Joni Mitchell - 14 Unknown Pleasures Joy Division - 15 Communiqué Dire Straits - PXR5 Hawkwind - Silent Letter America - 18 John Cougar John Cougar - 21 Mick Taylor Mick Taylor - 23 No Exit The Angels - 26 Live Killers Queen Live - Another Taste A Taste of Honey - Best of the J. Geils Band The J. Geils Band - Exposure Robert Fripp - I Am Earth, Wind & Fire - Mirrors Blue Öyster Cult - Life and Love Leon Russell - One for the Road Willie Nelson and Leon Russell - Spy Carly Simon - Touch the Sky Carole King - July
Day Album Artist Notes 2 Rust Never Sleeps Neil Young and Crazy Horse - 6 The B-52's The B-52's - 10 Low Budget The Kinks - 17 Exposed Mike Oldfield Live 20 Nine Lives REO Speedwagon - 27 Highway to Hell AC/DC - 28 Down to Earth Rainbow - 30 Risqué Chic - - Bop till You Drop Ry Cooder - Circles & Seasons Pete Seeger - Duty Now for the Future Devo - First Under the Wire Little River Band - Honest Lullaby Joan Baez - Midnight Magic Commodores - No Promises...No Debts Golden Earring - The Original Disco Man James Brown - Shake Hands with the Devil Kris Kristofferson - August
Day Album Artist Notes 3 Fear of Music Talking Heads - Some Product: Carri on Sex Pistols Sex Pistols Interview collage 10 Off the Wall Michael Jackson - 13 Chicago 13 Chicago - 15 In Through the Out Door Led Zeppelin - 17 Drums and Wires XTC - Street Machine Sammy Hagar - 20 Slow Train Coming Bob Dylan - 27 Eve The Alan Parsons Project - - Born Again Randy Newman - 5 J.J. Cale - Into the Music Van Morrison - Volcano Jimmy Buffett - September
October
November
Day Album Artist Notes 9 The Soundhouse Tapes Iron Maiden EP 17 Setting Sons The Jam - 18 Emerson, Lake and Palmer in Concert Emerson, Lake & Palmer Live 19 Joe's Garage, Acts II & III Frank Zappa - Live Rust Neil Young & Crazy Horse Live 23 Live! Coast to Coast Teddy Pendergrass Live Metal Box Public Image Ltd. - Platinum Mike Oldfield - 30 The Wall Pink Floyd - - Brass Construction 5 Brass Construction - Degüello ZZ Top - Down on the Farm Little Feat - ELO's Greatest Hits Electric Light Orchestra Compilation Freedom at Point Zero Jefferson Starship - Machine Gun Etiquette The Damned - New York • London • Paris • Munich M - Night in the Ruts Aerosmith - No Nukes: The Muse Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future Various Artists Triple Live LP One Step Beyond... Madness - Phoenix Dan Fogelberg - Pretty Paper Willie Nelson Christmas Sometimes You Win Dr. Hook - We're the Best of Friends Natalie Cole & Peabo Bryson - December
Day Album Artist Notes 14 London Calling The Clash - 15 Sid Sings Sid Vicious - - The Best of Top of the Pops '79 Top of the Poppers - Earthquake Electric Sun - Les Plus Grands Succès De Chic: Chic's Greatest Hits Chic - Quiet Life Japan - Sabotage/Live John Cale Live True Luv' Luv' - 20 Jazz Funk Greats Throbbing Gristle - Release Date Unknown
Biggest hit singles
The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1979.
# Artist Title Year Country Chart entries 1 Blondie Heart of Glass 1979 
UK 1 – Jan 1979, US BB 1 – Mar 1979, Canada 1 – Mar 1979, Austria 1 – Mar 1979, Switzerland 1 – Feb 1979, Germany 1 – Feb 1979, Australia 1 for 5 weeks Jan 1980, Sweden (alt) 3 – Mar 1979, France 3 – Feb 1979, Australia 3 of 1979, Holland 5 – Feb 1979, Norway 5 – Mar 1979, RYM 8 of 1979, US CashBox 11 of 1979, US BB 1 of 1979, POP 13 of 1979, South Africa 15 of 1979, Italy 29 of 1979, Virgin 29, OzNet 30, Scrobulate 46 of 80s, Germany 54 of the 1970s, RIAA 217, Acclaimed 241, Rolling Stone 255 2 Gloria Gaynor I Will Survive 1979 UK 1 – Feb 1979, US BB 1 – Jan 1979, US BB 1 of 1979, Canada 1 – Mar 1979, Éire 1 – Mar 1979, POP 2 of 1979, Sweden (alt) 3 – Apr 1979, Holland 4 – Mar 1979, Norway 4 – May 1979, Switzerland 7 – Apr 1979, Scrobulate 8 of disco, Germany 9 – Mar 1979, US CashBox 10 of 1979, France 10 – Mar 1979, South Africa 16 of 1979, Austria 17 – May 1979, Party 24 of 1999, Australia 25 of 1979, Italy 38 of 1979, Europe 66 of the 1970s, RYM 67 of 1978, RIAA 89, OzNet 155, Acclaimed 416, Rolling Stone 489 3 M Pop Muzik 1979 
US BB 1 – Aug 1979, Sweden (alt) 1 – Jun 1979, Switzerland 1 – Jun 1979, Germany 1 – May 1979, Australia 1 for 3 weeks May 1980, UK 2 – Apr 1979, Austria 2 – Jul 1979, Holland 3 – May 1979, France 3 – Nov 1979, Norway 5 – Jun 1979, South Africa 5 of 1979, Canada 8 – Sep 1979, Australia 10 of 1979, US CashBox 15 of 1979, Italy 18 of 1979, US BB 40 of 1979, POP 40 of 1979, RYM 50 of 1979, Germany 59 of the 1970s, OzNet 888, Acclaimed 1691 4 Donna Summer Hot Stuff 1979 US BB 1 – Apr 1979, Switzerland 1 – May 1979, Australia 1 for 1 weeks May 1980, Canada 2 – Apr 1979, Sweden (alt) 2 – May 1979, Norway 2 – Jun 1979, France 3 – May 1979, Austria 3 – Jun 1979, US BB 4 of 1979, Scrobulate 5 of disco, Germany 6 – May 1979, POP 6 of 1979, UK 11 – May 1979, US CashBox 14 of 1979, Holland 14 – May 1979, Australia 17 of 1979, Italy 24 of 1979, RYM 88 of 1979, Rolling Stone 103, OzNet 124, Party 210 of 1999, Germany 246 of the 1970s, Acclaimed 717 5 Patrick Hernandez Born to Be Alive 1979 
Sweden (alt) 1 – Jul 1979 (20 weeks), France (SNEP) 1 – Feb 1979 (5 months), France 1 – Mar 1979 (5 weeks), Austria 1 – Apr 1979 (6 weeks), Norway 1 – Jul 1979 (17 weeks), Belgium 1 – Jan 1979 (18 weeks), Germany 1 – Mar 1979 (6 months), Canada RPM 1 for 2 weeks – Aug 1979, New Zealand 1 for 2 weeks – Oct 1979, RIANZ 1 – Sep 1979 (14 weeks), Australia 1 for 5 weeks – Oct 1979, France 1 for 15 weeks – Mar 1979, Germany 1 for 5 weeks – May 1979, France (InfoDisc) 4 of the 1970s (peak 1, 30 weeks, 1,412k sales estimated, 1979), US Gold (certified by RIAA in Nov 1979), Germany Gold (certified by BMieV in 1979), Holland 5 – Feb 1979 (18 weeks), Switzerland 5 – Feb 1979 (13 weeks), Australia 5 of 1979, Springbok 6 – Aug 1979 (11 weeks), Italy 7 of 1979, UK 10 – Jun 1979 (14 weeks), POP 11 of 1979, Canada 12 – Jul 1979 (6 weeks), US BB 15 of 1979, US Billboard 16 – Jun 1979 (19 weeks), Record World 19 – 1979, Germany 20 of the 1970s (peak 1 25 weeks), Brazil 32 of 1979, Scrobulate 68 of disco, US Radio 108 of 1979 (peak 16 5 weeks), RYM 200 of 1979, UK Silver (certified by BPI in Sep 1979), Global 7 (10 M sold) – 1979 Chronological table of US and UK number one hit singles
Other significant singles
- "Accidents Will Happen" – Elvis Costello and the Attractions
- "After the Love Has Gone" – Earth, Wind & Fire
- "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" – McFadden & Whitehead
- "Ambition" – Vic Godard and Subway Sect
- "Angel Eyes" – Roxy Music
- "Angeleyes" – ABBA
- "Baby, I Love You" – Ramones
- "Babylon's Burning" – The Ruts
- "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)" – Robert Palmer
- "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" – Marianne Faithfull
- "Bang Bang" – B. A. Robertson
- "Bat Out of Hell" – Meat Loaf
- "Bela Lugosi's Dead" – Bauhaus
- "Big Shot" – Billy Joel
- "Boogie Wonderland" – Earth, Wind & Fire with the Emotions
- "(Boogie Woogie) Dancin' Shoes" – Claudja Barry
- "Born to Be Alive" – Patrick Hernandez
- "Boys Don't Cry" – The Cure
- "Boys Keep Swinging" – David Bowie
- "Breakfast at Sweethearts" – Cold Chisel
- "Breakfast in America" – Supertramp
- "Bright Side of the Road" – Van Morrison
- "Broken Hearted Me" – Anne Murray
- "California Über Alles" – The Dead Kennedys
- "Can You Feel the Force" – The Real Thing
- "Can You Read My Mind" – Maureen McGovern
- "Can't Stand Losing You" – The Police
- "Casanova" – Luv'
- "Chiquitita" – ABBA
- "Come to Me" – France Joli
- "Comfortably Numb" – Pink Floyd
- "Contact" – Edwin Starr
- "Cool For Cats" – Squeeze
- "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" – Queen
- "Cruel to Be Kind" – Nick Lowe
- "Dance Away" – Roxy Music
- "Dancing Barefoot" – Patti Smith Group
- "Dance the Night Away" – Van Halen
- "Death Disco" – Public Image Ltd.
- "Deeper Than the Night" – Olivia Newton-John
- "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" – Charlie Daniels Band
- "Dim All the Lights" – Donna Summer
- "Disco Nights" – GQ
- "Do Anything You Wanna Do" – Thin Lizzy
- "Do That To Me One More Time" – Captain & Tennille
- "Do You Think I'm Disco?" – Steve Dahl & Teenage Radiation
- "Does Your Mother Know" – ABBA
- "Don't Bring Me Down" – Electric Light Orchestra
- "Don't Cry Out Loud" – Melissa Manchester
- "Don't Do Me Like That" – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- "Don't Throw Stones" – The Sports
- "Dreaming" – Blondie
- "Driver's Seat" – Sniff 'n' the Tears
- "Dschinghis Khan" – Dschinghis Khan
- "Duchess" – The Stranglers
- "Electricity" – OMD
- "The Eton Rifles" – The Jam
- "Even the Losers" – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- "Every Day Hurts" – Sad Café
- "Everybody's Happy Nowadays" – Buzzcocks
- "Fire" – The Pointer Sisters
- "Freedom's Prisoner" – Steve Harley
- "The Gambler" – Kenny Rogers
- "Gangsters" – The Special AKA
- "Get Over You" – The Undertones
- "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" – ABBA
- "Girls Talk" – Dave Edmunds
- "Go West" – Village People
- "Good Times Roll" – The Cars
- "Gonna Get Along Without You Now" – Viola Wills
- "Good Girls Don't" – The Knack
- "Goodbye Stranger" – Supertramp
- "Green Light" – Cliff Richard
- "Half The Way" – Crystal Gayle
- "Hallelujah" – Milk and Honey featuring Gali Atari
- "H.A.P.P.Y. Radio" – Edwin Starr
- "Harmony In My Head" – Buzzcocks
- "He Must Have Been Eighteen" – Dalida
- "He's the Greatest Dancer" – Sister Sledge
- "Heart of the Night" – Poco
- "Heaven Knows" – Donna Summer w/Brooklyn Dreams
- "Helwa Ya Baladi" – Dalida
- "Here Comes the Summer" – The Undertones
- "Highway Song" – Blackfoot
- "Highway to Hell" – AC/DC
- "99" – Toto
- "Honesty" – Billy Joel
- "Hot Shot" – Cliff Richard
- "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" – Barbara Mandrell
- "I Have a Dream" – ABBA
- "I Just Fall in Love Again" – Anne Murray (the #1 US Country hit of the year)
- "I Wanna Be Sedated" – Ramones
- "I Want You To Want Me (live)" – Cheap Trick
- "I Want Your Love" – Chic
- "I Was Made For Lovin' You" – Kiss
- "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me" – The Bellamy Brothers
- "If You Remember Me" – Chris Thompson
- "Il faut danser reggae" – Dalida
- "I'll Never Love This Way Again" – Dionne Warwick
- "In the Navy" – Village People
- "In A Rut" – The Ruts
- "Into the Valley" – The Skids
- "Is It Love You're After?" – Rose Royce
- "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" – Joe Jackson
- "Japanese Girls" – Riff Regan
- "Jimmy Jimmy" – The Undertones
- "Jumping Someone Else's Train" – The Cure
- "Just the Way You Are" – Barry White
- "Just What I Needed" – The Cars
- "Just When I Needed You Most" – Randy VanWarmer
- "Kid" – The Pretenders
- "Lady Writer" – Dire Straits
- "Lady" – Little River Band
- "Lay Your Love on Me" – Racey
- "Lead Me On" – Maxine Nightingale
- "Let Me Dance Tonight" – Dalida
- "Let's Go" – The Cars
- "A Little Lovin' (Keeps the Doctor Away)" – The Raes
- "Living On The Front Line" – Eddy Grant
- "The Logical Song" – Supertramp
- "London Calling" – The Clash
- "Lonesome Loser" – Little River Band
- "The Long Run" – Eagles
- "Lotta Love" – Nicolette Larson
- "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" – Morrissey-Mullen
- "Love Drive" – Scorpions
- "Love's Gotta Hold on Me" – Dollar
- "Love Song" – The Damned
- "Lucky Number" – Lene Lovich
- "The Main Event/Fight" – Barbra Streisand
- "Mama Can't Buy You Love" - Elton John
- "Making Plans for Nigel" – XTC
- "Memory Lane" – Minnie Riperton
- "A Message to You, Rudy/Nite Klub" – The Specials
- "Milk and Alcohol" – Dr. Feelgood
- "Monday, Tuesday... Laissez-moi danser" – Dalida
- "Morning Dance" – Spyro Gyra
- "Moskau" – Dschinghis Khan
- "Music Box Dancer" – Frank Mills
- "My Forbidden Lover" – Chic
- "My Girl" – Madness
- "My Life" – Billy Joel
- "Nervous System" – Killing Joke
- "No time to Lose" – Tarney Spencer Band
- "Oliver's Army" – Elvis Costello and the Attractions
- "On My Radio" – The Selecter
- "One Step Beyond" – Madness
- "One Way or Another" – Blondie
- "One Way Ticket" – Eruption
- "Ooh Baby Baby" – Linda Ronstadt
- "Ooh, Yes I Do" – Luv'
- "Parisienne Walkways" – Gary Moore
- "Playground Twist" – Siouxsie and the Banshees
- "Please Don't Go" – KC & The Sunshine Band
- "The Prince" – Madness
- "Promises" – Eric Clapton
- "Queen of Hearts" – Dave Edmunds
- "Rapper's Delight" – The Sugarhill Gang
- "Reasons to Be Cheerful (Part 3)" – Ian Dury & the Blockheads
- "Refugee" – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
- "Rock With You" – Michael Jackson
- "Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto" – The Shadows
- "Roll Over Beethoven (EP)" – Chuck Berry
- "Roxanne" – The Police
- "Run Like Hell – Pink Floyd
- "Sad Eyes" – Robert John
- "Sail On" – Commodores
- "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" – The Jacksons
- "Shake Your Groove Thing" – Peaches & Herb
- "Shape I'm In" – Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons
- "Sharing The Night Together" – Dr. Hook
- "She Believes In Me" – Kenny Rogers
- "Shine a Little Love – Electric Light Orchestra
- "Ships" – Barry Manilow
- "Shooting Star" – Dollar
- "Silly Games" – Janet Kay
- "Since I Don't Have You" – Art Garfunkel
- "Since You Been Gone" – Rainbow
- "Slap and Tickle" – Squeeze
- "Smash It Up" – The Damned
- "Some Girls" – Racey
- "Somethin' Else"/"Friggin' in the Riggin'" – Sex Pistols
- "Somewhere In the Night" – Barry Manilow
- "Song on the Radio" – Al Stewart
- "Sooner Or Later" – Dixon House Band
- "Spiral Scratch (EP)" – Buzzcocks
- "Stop Your Sobbing" – Pretenders
- "Strange Town" – The Jam
- "Street Life" – The Crusaders w/Randy Crawford
- "Stumblin' In" – Suzi Quatro & Chris Norman
- "Sultans of Swing" – Dire Straits (released in 1978)
- "Life During Wartime (song)" – Talking Heads
- "Take On the World" – Judas Priest
- "Take The Long Way Home – Supertramp
- "Talking In Your Sleep" – Crystal Gayle
- "Tears of a Clown"/"Ranking Full Stop" – The Beat
- "The Cost of Living (EP)" – The Clash
- "The Diary of Horace Wimp" – Electric Light Orchestra
- "The Sound of the Suburbs" – The Members
- "The Staircase (Mystery)" – Siouxsie and the Banshees
- "Theme from the Deerhunter (Cavatina)" – The Shadows
- "This Night Won't Last Forever" – Michael Johnson
- "Time for Action" – Secret Affair
- "Time Passages" – Al Stewart
- "Train, Train" – Blackfoot
- "Transmission" – Joy Division
- "Turn to Red" – Killing Joke
- "Union City Blue" – Blondie
- "Up the Junction" – Squeeze
- "Voulez-Vous" – ABBA
- "Waiting for an Alibi" – Thin Lizzy
- "Wanted" – The Dooleys
- "We Are Family" – Sister Sledge
- "We Don't Talk Anymore" – Cliff Richard
- "Whatever You Want" – Status Quo
- "When You're Young" – The Jam
- "Who Were You With in the Moonlight" – Dollar
- "Wonderful Christmastime" – Paul McCartney
- "Y.M.C.A" – Village People
- "You Decorated My Life" – Kenny Rogers
- "You Needed Me" – Anne Murray (in the UK; hit #1 in the US in 1978)
- "You Take My Breath Away" – Rex Smith
- "You're Only Lonely" – J. D. Souther
- "You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It?)" – The Undertones
Published popular music
- "Don't Cry Out Loud" w. Carole Bayer Sager m. Peter Allen
- "The Facts of Life" w.m. Alan Thicke, Gloria Loring, and Al Burton, from the TV series of the same name
- "I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love" w.m. Carole Bayer Sager & Peter Allen
- "Knots Landing theme" m. Jerrold Immel
- "New York State of Mind" w.m. Billy Joel
- "The Rainbow Connection" w.m. Kenny Ascher & Paul Williams, from the film The Muppet Movie
- Sultans of Swing w.m. Mark Knopfler
Classical music
- Arno Babadjanian – Third String Quartet
- Osvaldas Balakauskas – Symphony no 2
- George Crumb
- Apparition for soprano and amplified piano
- Celestial Mechanics (Makrokosmos IV) for amplified piano (four hands)
- Star-Child (1977, revised 1979) for soprano, antiphonal children's voices, male speaking choir, bell ringers, and large orchestra
- Mario Davidovsky – Pennplay for sixteen players
- Hugh Flynn – Birds
- Jacques Hétu – Bassoon Concerto
- Miloslav Kabelac – Metamorphoses II, for piano and orchestra, op. 58
- William Lloyd Webber – Missa Sanctae Mariae Magdalenae
- Allan Pettersson – Viola Concerto
Opera
- Dominick Argento – Miss Havisham's Wedding Night
- Lorenzo Ferrero – Marilyn
- Libby Larsen – The Silver Fox
Musical theater
- Ain't Misbehavin' (Music: Fats Waller, Lyrics: Various Book: Murray Horwitz & Richard Maltby, Jr.). London production opened at Her Majesty's Theatre on March 22.
- Carmelina (Book: Alan Jay Lerner & Joseph Stein Lyrics: Alan Jay Lerner Music: Burton Lane) Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre on April 8 and ran for 17 performances. Starring Georgia Brown and Cesare Siepi
- Evita (Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics and Book: Tim Rice). Broadway production opened at the Broadway Theatre on September 25 and ran for 1567 performances
- The King and I London revival opened at the Palladium on June 12 and ran for 538 performances
- My Old Friends (Music, Lyrics and Book: Mel Mandel and Norman Sachs). Off-Broadway production opened at the Orpheum Theatre on January 12 and transferred to the 22 Steps Theatre on Broadway on April 12 for a total run of 154 performances.
- Oklahoma! (Music: Richard Rodgers, Lyrics and Book: Oscar Hammerstein II) – Broadway revival opened at the Palace Theatre on December 13 and ran for 310 performances
- Peter Pan (Music: Mark Charlap, Lyrics and Book: Carolyn Leigh with additional songs, Music: Jule Styne and Lyrics: Betty Comden & Adolph Green). Broadway revival opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on September 6 and ran for 551 performances.
- Saravà (Music: Mitch Leigh, Lyrics and Book: N. Richard Nash). Broadway production opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on February 23 and ran for 140 performances
- Sugar Babies Broadway revue opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on October 8 and ran for 1208 performances.
- Sweeney Todd (Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim, Book: Hugh Wheeler) – Broadway production opened at the Uris Theatre on March 1 and ran for 557 performances
- They're Playing Our Song (Music: Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics: Carole Bayer Sager, Book: Neil Simon). Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on February 11 and ran for 1082 performances
- Tommy London production opened at Queen's Theatre on February 6 and ran for 118 performances
- The Venetian Twins (Music: Terence Clarke, Lyrics and Book: Nick Enright). Opened at the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre on October 26.
- Whoopee (Music: Walter Donaldson, Lyrics: Gus Kahn, Book: William Anthony McGuire). Broadway revival opened at the ANTA Theatre on February 14 and ran for 212 performances.
Musical films
- All That Jazz
- Hair
- The Muppet Movie
- Radio On
- Rock 'n' Roll High School
- Roller Boogie
- The Rose
- Skatetown, U.S.A.
Births
- January 5 – Kathleen Edwards, singer
- January 10 – Kris Kross, singer-songwriter
- January 16 – Aaliyah Haughton, singer and actress (d. 2001)
- January 20
- Rob Bourdon (Linkin Park)
- Will Young
- February 11 – Brandy Norwood, singer
- February 21 – Jennifer Love Hewitt, singer-songwriter and actress
- March 8 – Tom Chaplin, British singer (Keane)
- March 11
- March 14 – Jacques Brautbar (Phantom Planet)
- March 30 – Norah Jones, American singer-songwriter
- April 10 – Sophie Ellis-Bextor, British singer
- April 11
- April 22 – Daniel Johns (Silverchair)
- April 29
- Jo O'Meara (S Club 7)
- Matt Tong (Bloc Party)
- May 4 – Lance Bass ('N Sync)
- June 5 – Pete Wentz, musician and songwriter
- June 8 – Derek Trucks, guitarist, songwriter
- June 26 – Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic)
- July 5 – Shane Filan (Westlife)
- July 16 – Ivan Tásler
- July 25 – Amy Adams, singer
- July 26 – Tamyra Gray, singer
- August 20 – Jamie Cullum, jazz pianist and singer
- August 27 – Jon Siebels (Eve 6)
- August 31 – Yuvan Shankar Raja, film composer and singer
- September 3 – Jason McCaslin (Sum 41)
- September 6
- Foxy Brown, rapper
- Macy Gray, neo-soul singer
- September 8 – Pink, singer
- September 22 – Emilie Autumn, violinist, singer and songwriter
- October 9 – Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet)
- October 12 – Jordan Pundik (New Found Glory)
- October 15 – Jaci Velasquez, Latin pop singer
- October 24 – Ben Gillies (Silverchair)
- November 5 – Nick Giggler (Mest)
- November 10 – Chris Joannou (Silverchair)
- December 26 – Chris Daughtry, rock guitarist, singer and songwriter
- December 31 – Bob Bryar (My Chemical Romance)
Deaths
- January 5 – Charles Mingus, jazz musician, 56 (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
- January 13 – Donny Hathaway, singer, 33 (suicide)
- January 14 – Marjorie Lawrence, soprano, 71
- February 2 – Sid Vicious, punk rocker, 21 (heroin overdose)
- March 4 – Mike Patto, rock singer, 36 (cancer)
- March 5 – Alan Crofoot, operatic tenor and host of Mr Piper, 49 (suicide)
- March 22 – Walter Legge, record producer, 72
- April 10 – Nino Rota, composer, 67
- April 29 – Julia Perry, composer and conductor
- May 11 – Lester Flatt, bluegrass musician, 64
- May 21 – Blue Mitchell, trumpeter, 49
- June 5 – Jack Haley, Wizard of Oz star, 80
- June 29 – Lowell George, singer, songwriter and guitarist, founder of Little Feat, 34 (heart attack)
- July 3 – Louis Durey, composer, 91
- July 6 – Van McCoy, singer, 35 (heart attack)
- July 12 – Minnie Riperton, singer, 31 (breast cancer)
- July 14 – Pedro Flores, composer, 85
- July 16 – Alfred Deller, countertenor, 67
- August 19 – Dorsey Burnette, Rockabilly singer, 46 (heart attack)
- August 25 – Stan Kenton, bandleader, 67
- September 6 – Guy Bolton, English librettist. 94
- September 27
- Gracie Fields, actress and singer, 81
- Jimmy McCulloch, guitarist (Wings), 28
- October 1 – Roy Harris, composer, 81
- October 13 – Rebecca Helferich Clarke, viola player and composer, 93
- October 22 – Nadia Boulanger, French composer, conductor, and music teacher, 92
- November 11 – Dimitri Tiomkin, film composer and conductor, 85
- November 17 – John Glascock, rock bassist, 28
- November 30 – Joyce Grenfell, actress and singer-songwriter, 69
- December 30 – Richard Rodgers, composer and songwriter, 77
- December 21 – Nansi Richards, harpist
Awards
Grammy Awards
Eurovision Song Contest
Japan Music Awards
Japan Record Awards
- 21st Japan Record Awards
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