I was ten, then eleven, in 1977, starting the year as a fifth grader and finishing the year as a sixth grader, ruling the elementary school as a member of both chorus and the elite, orange-belted safety patrol. One of my teachers had the gall to label me an "All-American Boy with unlimited potential" on my report card after the second quarter. (I showed her!) My interests included Marvel comic books and I bought the following titles each and every month, usually at a convenience store or the BX, though occasionally I picked up issues at Waldenbooks or B. Dalton Booksellers in the mall.
As someone who was not permitted to buy KISS records and posters then, it was a grand coup for me to clandestinely score two copies of their comic book - printed in real KISS blood! - on one such trip to the mall. (Still got 'em, too!) Like millions of other kids, I also began buying Star Wars comics in 1977 though I would lose interest and stopped buying them by mid-1978.
Another collecting habit, quickly fading as my limited funds were spent on other items, was collecting football and baseball cards as I bought wax packs maybe two or three times a year just before the respective seasons of each sport. Though I would not know who Dave Kingman was until 1978, I have become fascinated with his baseball cards, both real and fan-created, including the four pictured above, none of which were actually issued back in 1977 when Kingman played for those four teams in a single season.
Another thing I was collecting in 1977, after first discovering them in 1976, were the weekly WLS Surveys, like the one above. While I was unable to pick them up on a weekly basis, we went to the mall at least once a month and I would make the rounds of all the stores selling records, picking up not only the latest survey but searching for those weeks I may have missed, which sometimes paid off. The mall had a Musicland and three department stores that carried records: JC Penny's, Sears and Bergner's. Being the aforementioned "All-American Boy", it never occurred to me to take more than one copy though I am now grateful that my fellow collectors grabbed entire stacks of them at the time and then managed to keep them in excellent condition for forty years or more, allowing me to rebuild my collection. Recently, while writing about the Big 89 of 1977 (located on the back of the January 7, 1978, survey), I researched other year-end singles charts for 1977, including those from Australia, Canada, and the UK, which I present to you today in handy-dandy chart form.
Week | Australia | Canada | UK |
January 1
| Tonight's The Night | ||
Rod Stewart | When A Child Is Born (Soleado) | ||
January 8
| Muskrat Love | Johnny Mathis | |
If You Leave Me Now | Captain & Tennille | ||
January 15
| Chicago | You Don't Have To Be A Star | |
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. | |||
January 22
| You Make Me Feel Like Dancing | ||
Leo Sayer | Don't Give Up On Us | ||
January 29
| Hot Line | David Soul | |
The Sylvers | |||
February 5
| I Wish | ||
Stevie Wonder | |||
February 12
| Car Wash | Don't Cry For Me Argentina | |
Rose Royce | Julie Covington | ||
February 19
| The Way You Do It | Blinded By The Light | |
Pussyfoot | Manfred Mann's Earth Band | ||
February 26
| Torn Between Two Lovers | When I Need You | |
Mary MacGregor | Leo Sayer | ||
March 5
| New Kid In Town | ||
Eagles | |||
March 12
| |||
March 19
| Love Theme From A Star Is Born | Chanson D'Amour | |
Barbra Streisand | Manhattan Transfer | ||
March 26
| |||
Torn Between Two Lovers | |||
April 2
| Mary MacGregor | ||
Dancing Queen | |||
April 9
| ABBA | ||
April 16
| The Things We Do For Love | Knowing Me Knowing You | |
10cc | ABBA | ||
April 23
| Don't Give Up On Us | Don't Give Up On Us | |
David Soul | David Soul | ||
April 30
| |||
Hotel California | |||
May 7
| Eagles | ||
Free | |||
May 14
| Southern Nights | Deniece Williams | |
Glen Campbell | |||
May 21
| |||
When I Need You | |||
May 28
| Don't Cry For Me Argentina | Leo Sayer | |
Julie Covington | I Don't Want To Talk About It* | ||
June 4
| I'm Your Boogie Man | Rod Stewart | |
KC & the Sunshine Band | |||
June 11
| Sir Duke | ||
Stevie Wonder | |||
June 18
| Dreams | Lucille | |
Fleetwood Mac | Kenny Rogers | ||
June 25
| Help Is On Its Way | Lucille | Show You The Way To Go |
Little River Band | Kenny Rogers | The Jacksons | |
July 2
| Mainstreet | ||
Bob Seger | |||
July 9
| So You Win Again | ||
Undercover Angel | Hot Chocolate | ||
July 16
| Walk Right In | Alan O'Day | |
Dr. Hook | |||
July 23
| Da Doo Ron Ron | ||
Shaun Cassidy | |||
July 30
| I'm In You | ||
Peter Frampton | I Feel Love | ||
August 6
| Donna Summer | ||
August 13
| I Just Want To Be Your Everything | ||
Andy Gibb | |||
August 20
| I Go To Rio | Angelo | |
Peter Allen | Brotherhood Of Man | ||
August 27
| Whatcha Gonna Do? | Float On | |
Pablo Cruise | The Floaters | ||
September 3
| (Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher And Higher | ||
Rita Coolidge | |||
September 10
| Don't Stop | ||
Fleetwood Mac | |||
September 17
| Way Down | ||
You're Moving Out Today | Handy Man | Elvis Presley | |
September 24
| Carole Bayer Sager | James Taylor | |
October 1
| |||
Telephone Line | |||
October 8
| I Feel Love | Electric Light Orchestra | |
Donna Summer | |||
October 15
| Keep It Comin' Love | Silver Lady | |
KC & the Sunshine Band | David Soul | ||
October 22
| Star Wars Theme / Cantina Band | ||
Meco | |||
October 29
| That's Rock 'N' Roll | Yes Sir I Can Boogie | |
Shaun Cassidy | Baccara | ||
November 5
| I Just Want To Be Your Everything | ||
Andy Gibb | |||
November 12
| |||
The Name Of The Game | |||
November 19
| You Light Up My Life | ABBA | |
Debby Boone | |||
November 26
| |||
December 3
| You're In My Heart | ||
Rod Stewart | |||
December 10
| |||
Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue | Mull Of Kintyre** | ||
December 17
| Mull Of Kintyre | Crystal Gayle | Wings |
Wings | |||
December 24
| How Deep Is Your Love | ||
Bee Gees | |||
YEAR END
| Don't Cry For Me Argentina | You Light Up My Life |
????
|
Julie Covington | Debby Boone | ||
source | Kent Music Report | RPM | Official Charts Company |
Long story short, Australia had 13 Number Ones and the UK had 19 while Canada had an amazing 37 different chart-topping singles! For comparison, there were 29 different #1 Songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977, though two of them reigned twice for a grand total of 31 Number Ones.
*Double A-side single with "The First Cut Is The Deepest"
**Double A-side single with "Girls' School"
I had What If #1, Avengers #158 and that KISS Marvel Super Special. I especially wish I had that last one still as it was amazing. $1.50 was a lot back then but it was worth it. I remember doing a drawing for music class in Middle School of the KISS guys as shown on the cover. Ah memories.
ReplyDeleteI still have those comics. My issue of What If? was confiscated during the first week of sixth grade and I didn't get it back until May 1978, on the last day of school. Learned my lesson though and never brought another comic book to school. It has been well-handled but read frequently over the years. Glad I found digital scans of all my Marvel books so that I can keep them safe yet still enjoy them.
DeleteIt blows my mind that the KISS comic is going for up to $1500! Insane.
I count at least 8 songs on that chart that I've never heard and 4 more I wish I'd never heard! Props to ManTran on a Hideaway appearance.
ReplyDeleteMy main takeaway from these charts was David Soul having the only song to top all three charts. "Don't Give Up On Us" was also Number One over in Ireland and New Zealand while topping the Hot 100, Adult Contemporary, Cash Box and Record World charts here in the US.
DeleteLike many others, I had that KISS comic book, as I was big into comic books about this time. We had a comic book store in the downtown, not far of a walk (or bike ride) from my house, and I bought quite a bit of new and old, including quite a few Nick Fury Agent of Shield, for anywhere from a dollar to two (super expensive to me, back then). By mid-1978, however, I sold much of what I'd bought from them back to them so that I could afford the 45s and LPs at our local music store... if only I'd realized how much everything would be worth today!
ReplyDeleteThough I sold most of my vinyl and nascent CD collection in 1987 and 1988 to pay off hospital bills incurred during the birth of our first child (and have since reacquired the majority of those sold items over the past four decades), it never ever occurred to me that my highly-personal trading card and comic book collections would be worth anything to anyone but me. Still have a hard time believing that.
Delete