Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth. In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.
We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 1978, the year I turned four. I still have no knowledge of these songs from their original release, but, because of the heavy influence of movie soundtracks, these include some of my earliest musical memories. Only 19 of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with only eight of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.
#74: Barry Manilow – Copacabana
iTunes stats: 19 plays
The third single from Manilow’s fifth studio album, the song was inspired by a visit to the Copacabana Hotel in Rio.
#72: Patti Smith Group – Because the Night
iTunes stats: 27 plays
Written by Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith, the song, which first became known to me thanks to the 90s cover by 10,000 Maniacs, peaked at #13 on the charts.
#71: Crystal Gayle – Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
iTunes stats: N/A
Released in June of 1977, Gayle won the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance the following year.
#69: John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John – Summer Nights
iTunes stats: 24 plays
A duet from the film Grease, it was released in August 1978 as the fourth single from the movie’s soundtrack and reached #5 on the Hot 100.
#56: Styx – Come Sail Away
iTunes stats: 39 plays
The tune, which peaked at #8 in January of 1978, was used as the walk-in music for former White Sox pitcher Chris Sale.
#54: The Trammps – Disco Inferno
iTunes stats: N/A
Originally released at the tail end of 1976, it reached the top of the Dance Club Songs charts in early 1977 but had limited mainstream success until it was re-released in 1978, after being included on Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
#39: Kansas – Dust in the Wind
iTunes stats: N/A
The band’s only single to enter the top ten in the US, the song peaked at #6 in late April of 1978.
#36: Foreigner – Hot Blooded
iTunes stats: N/A
Certified Platinum by the RIAA, the song reached #3 on the Hot 100 chart in September of 1978.
#35: Olivia Newton-John – Hopelessly Devoted to You
iTunes stats: N/A
Nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar, the single from the Grease soundtrack reached #3 on the Hot 100, #7 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and #20 on the country chart.
#32: ABBA – Take a Chance on Me
iTunes stats: 15 plays
The track reached #3 on the charts and was certified Gold by RIAA.
#26: Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street
iTunes stats: N/A
Known for its saxophone riff, the song first came to my attention thanks to its song parody from the Howard Stern Show.
#25: Queen – We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions
iTunes stats: 22 plays/135 plays
The A and B sides to the 1977 single, the two songs, usually played together both on the radio and in concert, peaked at #4.
#17: Billy Joel – Just the Way You Are
iTunes stats: N/A
Released in early November of 1977, the track, which earned Joel two Grammy awards, topped out at #3, becoming his first US Top 10 hit.
#13: John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John – You’re the One That I Want
iTunes stats: 16 plays
The second single from the Grease soundtrack, the song reached the top of the charts and remains one of the best-selling singles of all time.
#11: Frankie Valli – Grease
iTunes stats: 18 plays
The theme from the Grease soundtrack, the song is one of four written specifically for the film and did not come from the stage production.
#10: Commodores – Three Times a Lady
iTunes stats: N/A
Often played before one of my high school religion classes, the song, written by Lionel Richie, became the group’s first #1 hit.
#4: Bee Gess – Stayin’ Alive
iTunes stats: N/A
The second single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, the track spent four weeks atop the Hot 100 chart in February of 1978.
#3: Debby Boone – You Light Up My Life
iTunes stats: N/A
Recorded over a pre-existing instrumental track, the song became the biggest single of the decade, setting a new record with ten weeks at #1.
#2: Bee Gees – Night Fever
iTunes stats: N/A
Another track from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, it spent eight weeks atop the charts and thirteen weeks overall in the top 10.
The White Sox closed the door on the Yoan Moncada era last week, declining the $25 million option for 2025 and making the embattled infielder a free agent. Moncada, who was part of the haul received from the Red Sox in the Chris Sale deal that kicked off the previous rebuild, was ranked as the #1 prospect in all of baseball, but was never able to convert that promise into long-term success at the big-league level. He only appeared in twelve games for the White Sox in 2024, spending the majority of the year on the IL with a left abductor strain.
In July of 2014, Danny, Michael, and I stopped in Madison on our way to Minneapolis to do some miniature golfing at Vitense Golfland. The highlights of the stop include Michael falling into one of the water hazards and plenty of picture opportunities, like with the Bucky Badger figure above. 