The Singles of '76 (part 1)

1976 - it was the year of the American Bicentennial.

For me, I was eleven years old. Education-wise, I was closing one chapter by finishing up elementary school in 5th grade (Mr. Reardon's class) and moving on to the Dunkirk Middle School in 6th grade. This was the year I really got into buying super-hero comic books (DC and Marvel titles), and it was also the year I remember really listening to a lot more of the radio.


My online blogging buddies Herc (of Herc's Hideaway) and Mark (of 1976-1985: My Favorite Decade) decided to do a focus on their favorite songs from 1976 this month, and they invited me to play along with the fun.

Normally I do album reviews, but for this little cross-blog-event I am going to look specifically at the singles of 1976. What I did was look at the US Billboard Hot 100 for the fifty-two weeks of the year (and the final week of December 1975 for rollover), writing down any singles that debuted specifically on the chart during that time period that I remember. That gave me a list of one hundred and forty-four songs total to rank as a countdown of my favorites.

For this event, I will note the song titles, then artist. It will follow in parenthesis the date it hit the Billboard Hot 100, the number of weeks on the chart, and finally the top position it achieved.

Let's begin with the forty-four that did not make the cut. I have listed them in alphabetically order by artist. I know, there are some great, classic tunes here. However, there were so many amazing singles in 1976 that they all just could not make my Top 100 of 1976.

Fernando - ABBA (9/4/76, 16, 13)
Rock and Roll Love Letter - Bay City Rollers (5/1/76, 9, 28)
Save Your Kisses For Me - Brotherhood of Man (5/8/76, 11, 27)
I'll Be Good To You - Brothers Johnson (5/1/76, 17, 3)
Get Up Offa That Thing - James Brown (8/14/76, 7, 45)
Hello Old Friend - Eric Clapton (10/16/76, 14, 24)
I Never Cry - Alice Cooper (7/4/76, 27, 12)
Nadia's Theme - Barry Devorzon (8/28/76, 22, 8)
It Keeps You Runnin' - Doobie Brothers (11/13/76, 14, 37)
Jeans On - David Dundas (10/9/86, 21, 17)
Say You Love Me - Fleetwood Mac (7/4/76, 19, 11)
Fool For the City - Foghat (6/5/76, 7, 45)
Do You Feel - Peter Frampton (9/18/76, 18, 10)
Something He Can Feel - Aretha Franklin (6/12/76, 12, 28)
Junk Food Junkie - Larry Groce (1/10/76, 15, 9)
Dreamboat Annie - Heart (12/18/76, 10, 42)
After the Lovin' - Englebert Humperdink (10/23/76, 19, 9)
Enjoy Yourself - the Jacksons (11/13/76, 21, 6)
With Your Love - Jefferson Starship (7/24/76, 17, 12)
Love Fire - Jigsaw (2/7/76, 21, 3)
Flaming Youth - KISS (6/5/76, 3, 74)
Hard Luck Woman - KISS (12/18/76, 13, 15)
Open Sesame - Kool and the Gang (11/6/76, 13, 55)
Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot (8/28/76, 21, 2)
Torn Between Two Lovers - Mary MacGregor (11/20/76, 22, 1)
Kiss and Say Goodbye - Manhattans (4/17/76, 26, 1)
This One's For You - Barry Manilow (9/18/76, 10, 29)
Let 'Em In - Paul McCartney and Wings (7/4/76, 16, 3)
Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing - Donny and Marie Osmond (11/27/76, 13, 21)
Tear the Roof Off the Sucker - Parliament (5/15/76, 17, 15)
Happy Days - Pratt & McClain (4/3/76, 14, 5)
Baretta's Theme (Keep Your Eyes on the Sparrow) - Rhythm Heritage (4/10/76, 13, 20)
The Best Disco in Town - Ritchie Family (8/28/76, 20, 17)
Quiet Storm - Smokey Robinson (1/17/76, 7, 61)
Fool To Cry - Rolling Stones (4/24/76, 15, 10)
Hot Stuff - Rolling Stones (6/26/76, 6, 49)
Steppin' Out - Neil Sedaka (6/26/76, 9, 36)
Nutbush City Limits - Bob Seger (6/5/76, 4, 69)
Could It Be Magic - Donna Summer (5/1/76, 5, 52)
Shower the People - James Taylor (7/4/76, 16, 22)
Disco Lady - Johnnie Taylor (2/7/76, 19, 1)
Hold Back the Night - The Trammps (1/17/76, 10, 35)
Let Her In - John Travolta (5/1/76, 20, 10)
Love Is Alive - Gary Wright (4/17/76, 27, 2)

Stay tuned for the next part - numbers 100 to 76.