1976 in music
See also:
1975 in music, other events of 1976, 1977 in music, 1970s in music and the list of 'years in music'
EventsJanuary-FebruaryJanuary 7 - Kenneth Moss, a former record company executive, is sentenced to 120 days in the Los Angeles County Jail and four years probation for involuntary manslaughter in the 1974 drug induced death of Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh. January 13 - A trial begins for seven Brunswick Records and Dakar Records employees. The record company employees are charged with stealing more than $184,000 in royalties from artists. February 15 - Bette Midler bails seven members of her entourage out of jail after they are arrested on charges of cocaine and marijuana possessionJanuary 19 - Concert promoter Bill Sargent makes an offer of $30 million to the Beatles if they would reunite for a concertFebruary 19 - Former Tower of Power lead singer Rich Stevens is arrested and charged with the drug related murders of three men in San Jose, California. February 20 - Kiss gets their footprints added to the sidewalk outside Hollywood's Grauman's Chinese Theater. February 24 - Having been released one week before, The Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) compilation becomes the first album in history to be certified platinum by the RIAA. The new platinum certification represents sales of at least 1 million copies for albums and 2 million copies for singles.March-AprilMarch 4 - ABBA arrive at Sydney airport for a promotional tour in Australia.March 6 - EMI Records reissues all 22 previously released British Beatles singles, plus a new single of the classic "Yesterday". All 23 singles hit the UK charts at the same timeMarch 7 - A wax likeness of Elton John is put on display in London's Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. March 9 - The Who's Keith Moon collapses onstage ten minutes into a performance at the Boston Garden.March 15- Kiss releases Destroyer, their best-selling ever, continuing their popularity through the 1970s.March 25 - Jackson Browne's wife Phyllis commits suicide. March 26 - In Paris, France, Wings guitarist Jimmy McCullough breaks one of his fingers when he slips in his hotel bathroom following the final performance on the band's European tour. The injury ended up delaying the band's United States tour by three weeks. April 14 - Stevie Wonder announces that he has signed a "$13 million-plus" contract with Motown RecordsApril 24 - Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels makes on on-air offer to pay the Beatles $3000 to reunite on the show. Lennon and McCartney were apparently watching the show together in New York and considered walking down to the studio to accept the check. On May 22, he raises his offer from $3000 to $3,200. April 29 - When his tour stops in Memphis, Tennessee, Bruce Springsteen jumps the wall at Elvis Presley's mansion, "Graceland", in an attempt to see his idol. Security guards stop Springsteen and escourt him off the grounds. May-DecemberMay 3 - Paul McCartney and Wings start their Wings over America tour in Fort Worth, Texas. This is the first time McCartney has performed in the US since The Beatles' last concert in 1966 at Candlestick Park. May 3 - Paul Simon puts together a benefit show at Madison Square Garden to raise money for the New York Public Library. Phoebe Snow, Jimmy Cliff and the Brecker Brothers also perform. The concert brings in over $30,000 for the Library. May 19 - Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is involved in a car accident. Cocaine is found in his wrecked car. Richards is given a court date of January 12, 1977. May 19 - Rumour spread by German press: ABBA members killed in plane crash, only Ani-Fridh survived.June - Former Spring Canyon keyboardist Mark Cook joins Daniel Amos100 Club Punk Festival, the first international punk festival is held in LondonFall - Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr form a band called Feedback in Dublin. The band would later be renamed U2August 13 - The official ABBA logo with the reversed 'B' is born.October 9 - The Sex Pistols sign a contract with EMI RecordsOctober 10 - ABBA in New York on Midnight Special performing 'Fernando', 'Dancing Queen', 'Mamma Mia' and 'S.O.S.' live.November - Former Tower of Power lead singer Rich Stevens, and another person, are found guilty on two counts of murder.November 15- Kiss Rock & Roll Over is released November 24 - The Band gives its last public performance; Martin Scorsese is on hand to film it.
unknown datesThe Flowers of Romance, a band that included many seminal individuals within the punk movement, forms in the summer.Bonnie Raitt records Sweet Forgiveness, which will be a blockbuster album in 1977War records Galaxy, which will be a blockbuster album in 1977Sex Pistols cause media furor when they swear on prime time TV. Joe Cocker performs a duet with himself (as portrayed by John Belushi) on Saturday Night Live . Evita is performed for the first timeCheryl Byron performs rapso in calypso tents for the first time, beginning the popularization of rapsoPeter Brown's solo career beginsCheap Trick's career beginsDevo's career beginsLeif Garrett's solo career begins.38 Special's musical career beginsThe Sex Pistols' career beginsY&T (Yesterday & Today)'s musical career beginsElvis Costello & the Attractions formsBlack Flag formThe Damned formDiamond Head formForeigner formIron Maiden formThrobbing Gristle formGeneration X formWire formU.K. Subs formCheap Trick signs a contract with Epic RecordsThe Clash sign up to CBSElvis Costello signs a contract with Columbia RecordsSteve Martin signs a contract with Warner BrosEddie Money signs a contract with CBSCulture form
Albums releasedA-CArrival - ABBAGreatest Hits - ABBAHigh Voltage - AC/DCRocks - AerosmithHelluva Band - AngelForever for Now - April WineThe Whole World's Goin' Crazy - April WineJoan Armatrading - Joan ArmatradingAutomatic Man - Automatic ManChildren of the World - Bee GeesTechnical Ecstasy - Black SabbathWe Sold Our Souls For Rock 'n' Roll - Black SabbathBlondie - BlondieAgents Of Fortune - Blue Öyster CultPrivate Eyes - Tommy BolinEvery Day of My Life - Michael BoltonBoston - BostonStation to Station - David BowieIf I Were Britannia I'd Waive the Rules - BudgieHavana Daydreamin - Jimmy Buffett A Kind of Hush - CarpentersChicago X - ChicagoAlice Cooper Goes to Hell - Alice CooperChestnut Street Incident - Johnny Cougar
D-JCoup de chapeau au passé - DalidaCome Taste the Band - Deep PurpleDesire - Bob DylanDr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band - Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah BandTheir Greatest Hits (1971-1975) - The EaglesHotel California - The EaglesWorks Volume I - Emerson, Lake & PalmerFleetwood Mac - Fleetwood MacForeigner - Foreigner (debut)Frampton Comes Alive - Peter FramptonA Trick of the Tail - GenesisWind and Wuthering - GenesisBigger Than Both of Us - Hall & OatesJaco Pastorius - Jaco PastoriusM.U. --- Best of - Jethro TullToo Old to Rock And Roll, Too Young to Die - Jethro TullTurnstiles - Billy JoelBlue Moves - Elton JohnWanted! the Outlaws - Waylon Jennings & Willie NelsonLook into the Future - JourneySad Wings of Destiny - Judas PriestSummertime Dream - Gordon Lightfoot
K-QLeftoverture - KansasDestroyer - KissRock 'n' Roll Over - KissPresence - Led ZeppelinThe Song Remains the Same - Led ZeppelinOne More from the Road - Lynyrd SkynyrdRastaman Vibration - Bob Marley & the WailersWings at the Speed of Sound - Paul McCartney & WingsWings over America - Paul McCartney & WingsKate & Anna McGarrigle - Kate & Anna McGarrigleThe Wild Tchoupitoulas - The Meters, George & Amos Landry, The Neville BrothersThe Mini-Album - The Sex Pistols (live EP)Fly Like an Eagle - Steve Miller BandHejira - Joni MitchellModern Lovers - Modern LoversCome on Over - Olivia Newton-JohnFree-for-All - Ted NugentClones of Dr. Funkenstein - ParliamentMothership Connection - ParliamentHowlin' Wind - Graham Parker & the RumourTom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (debut)A Day at the Races - QueenR-URainbow Rising - RainbowThe Ramones - The RamonesHome Plate by Bonnie RiattBlack and Blue by The Rolling StonesHasten Down the Wind - Linda RonstadtThe Runaways- The Runaways2112 - RushParty Music/Partimusik - Röda KapelletAnother Passenger - Carly SimonSilk Degrees - Boz SkaggsThe Royal Scam - Steely DanBoth Sides of Ray Stevens - Ray StevensJust for the Record - Ray StevensMisty - Ray StevensAtlantic Crossing - Rod StewartA Night on the Town - Rod StewartCrystal Ball - StyxGive Us a Wink - SweetLegalize It - Peter ToshSecond Annual Report- Throbbing GristleNo Heavy Petting - UFOW-ZBlackheart Man - Bunny WailerGreatest Hits - WarLove Is All Around - WarWhy Can't We Be Friends - WarMilky Shade - Kazumi WatanabeSongs in the Key of Life - Stevie WonderYesterday And Today - Y&T (debut)Zoot Allures - Frank ZappaWarren Zevon - Warren Zevon
Chronological Table of US and UK Number One Hit Singles
Other significant singlesA-L"All By Myself" - Eric Carmen"Besame Mucho" - Dalida"Both Ends Burning" - Roxy Music"Candy Store Rock" - Led Zeppelin"Dancing Queen" - ABBA"Devil Woman"- Cliff Richard"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" - Blue Öyster Cult"Dream Weaver" - Gary Wright"Fernando" - ABBA"Fool to Cry" - The Rolling Stones"Get Up And Boogie" - Silver Convention"Hasten Down The Wind" - Warren Zevon"Hot Stuff" - The Rolling Stones"I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" - England Dan and John Ford Coley"It's Over" - Boz Scaggs"It Keeps You Running" - Carly Simon"J'Attendrai" - Dalida"Killing of Georgie, Pt. 1-2" - Rod Stewart"Landslide" - Fleetwood Mac"Le petit bonheur" - Dalida"Let 'Em In" - Paul McCartney & Wings"Lost in France" - Bonnie Tyler"Love Is Alive" - Gary Wright"Love So Right" - Bee Gees"Love To Love You Baby - Donna Summer"Low Rider" - War
M-Z"Misty Blue" - Dorothy Moore"Mohammed's Radio" - Warren Zevon"Money, Money, Money" - ABBA"Moonlight Feels Right" - Starbuck"More Than a Feeling" - Boston"My First Night Alone Without You" - Bonnie Raitt"Nadia's Theme (The Young & The Restless)" - Barry DeVorzon & Perry Botkin, Jr"New Rose" - The Damned (debut)"The Perfect Drug" - Roxy Music"Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)" - Fleetwood Mac"Right Back Where We Started From" - Maxine Nightingale"The Rubberband Man" - The Spinners"Sara Smile" - Hall & Oates"Say You Love Me" - Fleetwood Mac"Show Me The Way" - Peter Frampton"Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"- Elton John"Still The One" - Orleans"Sugar Mama" - Bonnie Raitt"Take It To The Limit" - The Eagles"Taking It To The Streets" - The Doobie Brothers"That'll Be The Day" - Linda Ronstadt"This Old Heart Of Mine" - Rod Stewart"Why Can't We Be Friends" - War"World Turning" - Fleetwood Mac"Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" - Gordon Lightfoot"You Sexy Thing" - Hot Chocolate"You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" - Lou Rawls
Published popular music - "Always And Forever" w.m. Rod Temperton
- "Devil Woman" w.m. Terry Britten & Christine Authors
- "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" w. Tim Rice m. Andrew Lloyd Webber
- "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" w.m. Richard Leigh
- "Empty Tables" w. Johnny Mercer m. Jimmy Van Heusen
- "Evergreen" w. Paul Williams m. Barbra Streisand
- "Fernando" w.m. Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson & Björn Ulvaeus
- "Gonna Fly Now" (aka "Theme From Rocky") w. Carol Connors & Ayn Robbins m. Bill Conti
- "Isn't She Lovely?" w.m. Stevie Wonder
- "Knowing Me, Knowing You" w.m. Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
- "Like A Sad Song" w.m. John Denver
- "A Little Bit More" w.m. Bobby Gosh
- "Making Our Dreams Come True" w.m. Norman Gimbel & Charles Fox, from the TV series Laverne and Shirley
- "Money, Money, Money" w.m. Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
- "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" w.m.Elton John
- Elliot Carter - A Symphony of Three Orchestras
- Brian Cherney - String Trio
- Mario Davidovsky - String Quartet No. 3
- Henryk Górecki - Symphony of Sorrowful Songs
- Peter Maxwell Davies - The Martyrdom of St Magnus
- Carlisle Floyd - Bilby's Doll
- Bubbling Brown Sugar Broadway production
- The Club Broadway production
- Fiddler on the Roof (Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick) - Broadway revival
- Guys and Dolls Broadway revival
- Irene London revival
- My Fair Lady (Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe) - Broadway revival
- Oh Calcutta Broadway revival
- Pacific Overtures (Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman) - Broadway production
- Porgy and Bess Broadway revival
- Salad Days (Julian Slade) - London revival
- Side by Side by Sondheim London production
- The Threepenny Opera (Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill) - Broadway revival
- Bugsy Malone
- The Slipper and the Rose
- The Song Remains the Same
- A Star Is Born
- That's Entertainment II
Births - January 16 - Stuart Fletcher, The Seahorses
- January 21 - Emma Bunton, Spice Girls
- February 4 - Cam'ron
- February 15 - Brandon Boyd, Incubus
- February 28 - Ja Rule
- March 8 - Gareth Coombes, Supergrass
- March 17 - Stephen Gately, Boyzone
- March 20 - Chester Bennington, Linkin Park
- May 17 - Kandi Burruss, Xscape
- May 29 - Dave Buckner, Papa Roach
- May 31 - Scott Klopfenstein, Reel Big Fish
- June 2 - Adrian Carlos Olivares, Menudo
- June 15 - Dryden Mitchell, Alien Ant Farm
- June 21 - Mike Einziger, Incubus
- June 26 - Paul Phillips, Puddle Of Mudd
- June 27 - Leigh Nash, Sixpence None The Richer
- July 3 - Shane Lynch, Boyzone
- July 6 - 50 Cent
- July 11 - Lil' Kim
- July 12 - Tracie Spencer
- August 8 - Drew Lachey, 98 Degrees
- August 8 - J.C. Chasez, *NSYNC
- August 18 - Dirk 'Alex' Lance, Incubus
- September 11 - Ludacris
- October 1 - Blu Cantrell
- October 20 - Tom Wisniewski, MxPx
- November 12 - Tevin Campbell
- December 13 - Tom Delonge, Blink-182
- John Collura, The Ataris
- Mike Davenport, The Ataris
- Patrick Riley, The Ataris
Deaths - January 23 - Paul Robeson
- January 30 - Mance Lipscomb
- February 9 - Percy Faith
- February 22 - Florence Ballard, The Supremes
- March 14 - Busby Berkeley
- March 19 - Paul Kossoff, Free, Back Street Crawler, cerebral and pulmonary oedema
- April 8 - Phil Ochs, suicide
- May 14 - Keith Relf, The Yardbirds, Renaissance, Medicine Head, Armageddon, cardiac arrest due to electrocution
- May 15 - David Munrow, early music performer, suicide
- June 25 - Johnny Mercer
- August 27 - Mukesh, Indian singer
- October 3 - Victoria Spivey, US singer, pianist and composer
- October 11 - Connee Boswell, US singer, member of the Boswell Sisters
- October 11 - Alfredo Bracchi, Italian lyricist
- November 12 - Walter Piston, composer
- December 4 - Benjamin Britten
- December 4 - Tommy Bolin
Awards
- Grammy Awards of 1976
- Eurovision Song Contest 1976
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