60 YEARS OF THE ROCK ERA. This update: 1977.

60 YEARS OF

ROCK

(1955-2015)

1977

    

 

 

      

  

-The Roxy in London, a former gay disco, re-opens as a punk venue with The Clash headlining.

-The Sex Pistols are dropped by EMI after 3 months and only 1 single.

-Glen Matlock quits The Sex Pistols. He will be replaced by Sid Vicious.

-Fleetwood Mac releases 'Rumours'. It will spend 31 weeks at #1 in the USA.

-The Jam are signed to Polydor Records.

-A&M terminates its contract with The Sex Pistols, only 9 days after signing the group!

-The Clash issue debut single "White Riot". An album follows 3 weeks later.

-Studio 54 opens. It becomes the most famous disco, immortalized in songs and a movie.

-The Sex Pistols, now signed to Virgin Records, unleash "God Save The Queen".

-"God Save The Queen" is banned in Britain but goes to #1 with some charts blanking its name.

-Johnny Rotten & Paul Cook are attacked by gangs angered by the group's latest single.

-Kiss gets its own Marvel comic books.

-Aug. 16: Elvis Presley dies at Graceland. 75,000 mourners are outside for his funeral 2 days later.

-Marc Bolan is killed in a car crash.  

-Members of Lynyrd Skynyrd die in a plane crash.

-ABBA the Movie, filmed during the group's Australian concert tour, premieres.

-Wings' #1 hit "Mull Of Kintyre" becomes Britain's nest selling single.

-The film 'Saturday Night Fever' premieres in New York City.

     

   

 

     

    

     

In 1977, the market had an insatiable hunger for more and more disco. One-hit wonders were turned into stars as the new genre attracted sales in the millions. Some artists not only enjoyed success, but inspired many that followed. These included Giorgio Moroder, Kraftwerk, Chic and Donna Summer. Their electronic music would pioneer many dance subgenres for decades. Most of the rock establishment resisted the cashcow that was disco. This was the year of some still cherished classic albums from the likes of Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and Billy Joel. In Britain, punk was exploding. The Sex Pistols were booted off verious record labels, but scored a hit with banned single "God Save The Queen". The Clash gathered steam. Other groups included The Stranglers, The Saints, The Slits and The Damned. To the Americans and the rest of the world, images of ugly youths with safety pins in their noses led to the reshaping of the music into new wave. Elvis Costello, Blondie, The Jam, Television and Talking Heads played a key role ushering in the new music. In August, the world mourned the death of The King of Rock 'n Roll. In the meantime, some acts explored new musical directions: David Bowie with "Heroes", Marvin Gaye's "Got To Give It Up" and "Lust For Life" by Iggy Pop. As the year neared its end, a soundtrack album was poised to steamroll the world charts. It was for a movie dealing with the disco genre entitled 'Saturday Night Fever'.