Events
Of the events in music in 1977, a few bear closer scrutiny. Perhaps most important is the release of several pivotal albums in the development of punk music. Widely-acknowledged as masterpieces and among the earliest first full-length purely punk albums, the Ramones' Rocket to Russia, the Jam's In the City, Iggy Pop's Lust for Life, Richard Hell & the Voidoids' Blank Generation, Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True, the Sex Pistols' Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols, U.F.O's Lights Out and Television's Marquee Moon are usually considered their respective masterpieces, and kickstarted punk music as the musical genre it eventually became.
The soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever was an enormous hit that established the Bee Gees (who had composed most of the tracks) as the most popular artists in the world, and the best-selling artist since the Beatles. Saturday Night Fever also moved disco music into the mainstream, and it dominated the charts for the next few years.
Jimmy Buffett's Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Atitudes is also especially notable in its inclusion of "Margaritaville", the biggest single of his career. This album helped establish Buffett as a popular artist, and earned him much of the rabid fanbase ("Parrotheads") that he eventually became known for. Billy Joel's The Stranger was enormously popular, and included one of his most beloved songs today, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant". Lastly, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is the most popular and critically acclaimed LP of the band's career; it is one of the best-selling albums of all time.
- January 1 - The Clash headline the gala opening of the London music club, The Roxy.
- January 6 - After releasing only one single for the band, EMI terminates their contract with The Sex Pistols.
- January 12 - Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is fined 750 pounds for possession of cocaine which was found in his wrecked car on May 19, 1976. Richards was charged an additional 250 pounds for court costs and found "not guilty" of possession of LSD.
- January 26 - Patti Smith falls off the stage while opening for Bob Seger in Tampa, Florida. Smith is rushed to the hospital for 22 stitches to close head lacerations. While recovering, Smith writes her fifth book of poetry , Babel.
- January 26 - Fleetwood Mac's original lead guitarist, Peter Green, is committed to a mental hospital in England after firing a pistol at a delivery boy bringing him a royalties check
- February 4 - American Bandstand celebrates its 25th anniversary on television with an special hosted by Dick Clark. An "all-star band" made up of Chuck Berry, Seals & Crofts, Gregg Allman, Junior Walker, Johnny Rivers, the Pointer Sisters, Charlie Daniels, Doc Severenson, Les McCann, Donald Byrd, Chuck Mangione and three members of Booker T and the MGs perform "Roll Over Beethoven."
- February 14 - The B-52's make their debut at a party in Athens, Georgia
- February 15 - Sid Vicious replaces Glen Matlock as the bassist for the Sex Pistols
- February 27 - Royal Canadian Mounted Police raid Keith Richards' Toronto hotel suite while he is sleeping and seize 22 grams of heroin, 5 grams of cocaine and narcotics paraphernalia. Richards is arrested and charged with possession of heroin with intent to traffic, and possession of cocaine. He is released on $25,000 bail
- March 1 - Sara Lowndes Dylan files for divorce from her husband of 11 years, Bob Dylan.
- March 10 - A&M Records signs the Sex Pistols in a ceremony that takes places in front of Buckingham Palace
- March 19 - A&M Records terminates its contract with the Sex Pistols
- April 24 - Several artists including Joan Baez, Santana and others perform at a free concert for the inmates of California's Soledad Prison.
- Saturday Night Fever appears in theaters, igniting a new popularity for Disco music.
- April 25 - During a concert at the Saginaw, Michigan Civic Center, Elvis Presley makes what would turn out to be the last recordings he would ever make. Three songs recorded at the show would later appear (with overdubs), on the posthumously released album, Moody Blue.
- April 26 - New York's legendary disco Studio 54 opens.
- August 17 - Florists Transworld Delivery (FTD) reported that in one day the number of orders for flowers to be delivered to Graceland for the funeral of Elvis Presley had surpassed the number for any other event in the company's history
- Alice Cooper is hospitalized in a New York sanitarium for alcoholism.
- INXS forms in Sydney, Australia
- Black Flag forms
- The B-52's forms
- Crass forms
- Def Leppard forms in Sheffield, Yorkshire
- Diamond Head forms
- Whitesnake forms
- X forms
- The Meters break up
- Diamond Head's career begins
- Dire Straits' career begins
- Midnight Oil's career begins
- The Cars sign a contract with Elektra Records
- Devo signs a contract with Warner Bros
- Midnight Oil sign a contract with CBS Records
- The Neville Brothers sign a contract with A&M Records
- The Police sign a contract with A&M Records
- Van Halen signs a contract with Warner Bros
