Where To Watch
Revisiting the top 10 singles of 1976
Doo-wop and rock bands were dropping lower on the charts; it was the era of disco!
The Everett Collection
We hope you like disco, because we're about to remind you of some real funky classics.
We're going off the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 list, as published by the magazine themselves. Keep in mind that the magazine uses dates between November of the year prior and October of the current year, so some of these may have been released in 1975, but they count for the 1976 charts. Or they may have been released late in 1975, but spent most of their time on the charts in '76.
How many of these do you remember? Any surprises?
10. A Fifth of Beethoven - Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band
Even if the name doesn't ring a bell, this is one of those songs that you know as soon as you hear it — those classic strings, immediately followed by a groovy beat. This disco remix of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony hit #1 on the charts even before it was included on the best-selling Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack.
The single was credited to Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band after pressure by the label, who thought it would be more successful if audiences thought it came from a group instead of the original. Over the years, it would be released under "The Walter Murphy Band" and finally, just "Walter Murphy".
9. Love is Alive - Gary Wright
Gary Wright had two songs end up on the year-end list in '76: "Love is Alive" and "Dream Weaver". While only "Dream Weaver" went gold, "Love is Alive" ended up being more successful on the charts, coming in at #9 as opposed to "Dream Weaver" at #37.
Aside from his solo work, Wright played on recordings with the likes of B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Ringo Starr. He played on George Harrison's solo album All Things Must Pass, forming a friendship with the former Beatle that lasted until Harrison's death in 2001.
8. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon
This was Simon's only number one hit as a solo artist on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2023, he revealed that he wrote the chorus lyrics while teaching his son, Harper, how to rhyme. While the song was successful, it did have some detractors — Spin put it on their list of "50 Worst Songs by Otherwise Great Artists".
7. Love Machine - The Miracles
The Miracles (known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles until 1973) are one of the most influential and successful Motown groups of all time. "Love Machine" was the biggest-selling single of their career. Since then, it's been featured in films like Up in Smoke (and inspires the name of Cheech Marin's vehicle), Heavyweights, Planes, and has been in even more commercials and trailers.
6. Kiss and Say Goodbye - The Manhattans
This song was written when the bass singer, Winfred "Blue" Lovett got up at 3 a.m. and wrote down everything in his head. Originally he imagined it being performed by a country singer like Glen Campbell, but decided to do it with his own group, The Manhattans. The song has been covered in languages such as Malay, Spanish, Czech, and Cantonese.
5. Play that Funky Music - Wild Cherry
A appropriately meta song about a rock band struggling to adjust to the disco area, this was born from a real experience for Wild Cherry. Their rock covers had been getting harder and harder to book as venues were more interested in dance and disco. At one venue, a patron called out to one of the band members "are you going to play some funky music, white boys?" and a classic was born. Wild Cherry is considered a one-hit wonder, and they disbanded in 1979.
4. December 1963 (Oh, What a Night) - The Four Seasons
Originally, the song was written to be about 1933 and was about celebrating the repeal of prohibition. The band liked the beat, but didn't care for the lyrics, so Judy Parker - who would later marry keyboardist Bob Gaudio - wrote new lyrics. This song would be the final Four Seasons song to hit #1 on the Hot 100, though Frankie Valli would later have one more a solo act.
3. Disco Lady - Johnnie Taylor
Here's a fun fact: "Disco Lady" was the first #1 hit on the Hot 100 with the word "disco" in the title.
(Another fun fact: of the year-end 100 in 1976, two had "disco" — "Disco Lady" and "Disco Duck" by Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots. Two more had "boogie" in the title: "Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers at #20 and "Get Up and Boogie" by Silver Connection at #24.)
This was Taylor's biggest hit, though he had plenty of success on the R&B charts with songs like "Who's Making Love", "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" and "I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)". In 2022, Taylor was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
2. Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John & Kiki Dee
Believe it or not, this was Elton John's first number one hit on the UK charts! As for as the US charts go, this was his sixth, and marked two years in a row that he was in the year-end top 3 songs (in 1975, he turned up at #3 with "Philadelphia Freedom".) Elton John had another song on the 1976 year-end list, with "Island Girl" coming in at #65.
Honorable mentions
Before we get to #1, let's take a look at a few songs that barely didn't make it to the top 10.
11. "Sara Smile" - Daryl Hall & John Oates
12. "Afternoon Delight" - Starland Vocal Band
13. "I Write the Songs" - Barry Manilow
14. "Fly, Robin, Fly" - Silver Convention
15. "Love Hangover" - Diana Ross
And now, without further ado...
1. Silly Love Songs - Wings
This song hit two impressive milestones for Paul McCartney: it was the 27th #1 hit as songwriter, making it the all-time record (a record he still holds to this day, now standing at 32) and he became the first person to have a #1 hit on the year-end charts as part of two different acts (previously The Beatles had held #1 in 1964 with "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and in 1968 with "Hey Jude".)
The song itself was a tongue-in-cheek retort to critics who accused McCartney of writing "soppy" love songs, and his response was "what's wrong with that?" Nothing, answered audiences in 1976.
