Pop Culture | Music | 70s
These Songs Topped The Charts In July 40 Years Ago. Can You Name Them All?
The Billboard Music Charts have been collecting and ranking the most popular music in America for decades now, and you can often get a glimpse into not only the tastes of the time, but sometimes the entire culture.
With that in mind, let's jump back 40 years and see what everyone was listening to in July 1977!
July 2, 1977 - Bill Conti, "Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky)"
Rocky was one of the biggest hits of 1976, earning hundreds millions of dollars at the box office and winning three Oscars. Apparently people weren't done with Rocky fever yet, as Bill Conti's iconic opening theme climbed to the top of the charts a full 7 months after the film's release!
The song itself needs no introduction. At some point in your life, you've heard it. It still holds up amazingly well to this day.
July 9, 1977 - Alan O'Day, "Undercover Angel"
Released without much fanfare or even an album to accompany it, "Undercover Angel" nonetheless went Gold in the US and in Australia. It would be California-born singer-songwriter Alan O'Day's first and only #1 hit.
Click to the next page for even more hits from July 1977!
July 16, 1977 - Shaun Cassidy, "Da Doo Ron Ron"
Yes, you read that correctly. That is actually the name of the song. No, I did not make this up.
In fact, this version is actually a cover! The original "Da Doo Ron Ron" was written by music mogul (and convicted murderer) Phil Spector for the American girl group The Crystals in 1963. The title was just gibberish made up to temporarily represent the beat of the song, but Spector ended up deciding to keep it.
This particular version launched the career of teen idol Shaun Cassidy, who would go on to have three consecutive #1 hits and later a career in acting, producing, and writing for TV!
July 23, 1977 - Barry Manilow, "Looks Like We Made It"
The leading single off This One's For You, Manilow's fourth album, this subtly melancholy reflection on two lovers finding happiness with other people would be one of the three singles that lead to it going Triple Platinum!
It was co-written between Manilow and songwriter Will Jennings, who would go on to pen, among many other hits, Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" for the movie Titanic.
July 30, 1977 - Andy Gibb, "I Just Want To Be Your Everything"
The first of three weeks the song spent as #1 on the charts, the youngest son of the Gibb family (whose older brothers formed The BeeGees) debuted with this single that also features his brother Barry on backing vocals.
Gibb would go on to have several other hits, but unfortunately became a very heavy drug user early in his career, which would ultimately contribute to his death of a heart condition at the age of 30 in 1988.
Do you remember any of these?