1978 in music.html



Events

• January : May - The Bee Gees dominate the singles and album charts as Saturday Night Fever becomes a cultural phenomenon. At one point, the album was selling 1 million copies per week.
• January 14 - The Sex Pistols played their final show (until a 1996 reunion) at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom.
• January 21 - Steve Martin performs the original "King Tut" on Saturday Night Live. The song is later released as a single and becomes a hit for the comedian.
• January 25 - Electric Light Orchestra kick off their famous "Out of the Blue" world tour in Honolulu,Hawaii.
• April 22 - The Blues Brothers make their first appearance on Saturday Night Live. The duo of Jake & Elwood Blues (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) was introduced by Paul Shaffer (as Don Kirshner) and performed "Hey Bartender".
• May 6 - The Knack is formed (first album released in 1979).
• May 13 - Barry Gibb becomes the only songwriter in history to have written 4 consecutive #1 singles on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart.
• May 25 - In a performance used for The Kids are Alright, The Who play their last show with Keith Moon
• June - The Dead Kennedys form.
• June 2 - Bruce Springsteen releases Darkness on the Edge of Town.
• July 19 - The Dead Kennedys play their first concert at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco, California.
• August 26 - The first Canada Jam Festival is held in Ontario, featuring sets by the Doobie Brothers, the Commodores, Kansas, Dave Mason and the Atlanta Rhythm Section.
• September 7 - Keith Moon, drummer of The Who, dies in England.
• A now sober Alice Cooper is released from rehab. He releases the album "From the Inside", which tells of his stay in the rehab centre.
• November 27 - Def Leppard's permanent drummer Rick Allen joins the band at the age of 15.
• Gary Busey stars in The Buddy Holly Story, which won the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score, and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Busey) and Best Sound.
• The Eagles' "Hotel California" was nominated for a Grammy award.
• Uli Jon Roth leaves the Scorpions and was replaced by Matthias Jabs until December.
• Kenny Rogers continues his highly successful solo career with the single (and album) "The Gambler" and will go on to star in no less than 5 movies based around the song.
• In the UK, singles sales are at their all-time high this year, boosted by the simultaneous peak of the disco and punk phenomena and the success of singles from the movie Grease.
• Michael Schenker leaves UFO and joined Scorpions in December.
• Brian Robertson leaves Thin Lizzy and was replaced by Gary Moore

Bands formed

• Dead Kennedys
• Duran Duran
• Echo & the Bunnymen
• The Pretenders
• The Radiators (US rock band)
• The Radiators (Australian rock band)
• Social Distortion
• Visage

Bands disbanded

• Be-Bop Deluxe
• Television (reform in 1992)
• Van der Graaf Generator (reform in 2005)

Albums released

• Ace Frehley - Ace Frehley
• Adventure - Television
• Live! Bootleg - Aerosmith
• After the Heat - Eno Moebius Roedelius
• All Mod Cons - The Jam
• Along the Red Ledge - Hall & Oates
• …And Then There Were Three… - Genesis
• Animal Games - London
• Another Music in a Different Kitchen - Buzzcocks
• Bad Boy - Ringo Starr
• Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 - Barbra Streisand
• The Best of Bette - Bette Midler
• The Best of Top of the Pops '78 - Top of the Poppers
• Bloody Tourists - 10cc
• Bootsy? Player of the Year - Bootsy's Rubber Band
• Boys in the Trees - Carly Simon
• Bursting Out - Jethro Tull
• But Seriously Folks - Joe Walsh
• The Cars - The Cars (debut)
• Central Heating - Heatwave
• Chairs Missing - Wire
• Champagne Jam - Atlanta Rhythm Section
• Cheryl Lynn - Cheryl Lynn (debut)
• Christmas Portrait - The Carpenters
• City to City - Gerry Rafferty
• Comes a Time - Neil Young
• Darkness on the Edge of Town - Bruce Springsteen
• David Gilmour - David Gilmour (solo debut)
• Destiny - The Jacksons
• Dire Straits - Dire Straits (debut)
• Dog and Butterfly - Heart
• Don't Look Back - Boston
• Dream Dancing - Ella Fitzgerald
• Durch Die Wüste - Hans-Joachim Roedelius
• Easter - Patti Smith Group
• Equinoxe - Jean Michel Jarre
• Eternally Yours - The Saints
• Eternally Yours - The Saints
• The Feeding of the 5000 - Crass
• 52nd Street - Billy Joel
• Finzi: Cello Concerto, Clarinet Concerto - Yo-Yo Ma (Debut)
• First Glance - April Wine
• Flamin' Groovies Now! - The Flamin' Groovies
• Floating Anarchy Live 1977 - Gong
• For You - Prince (debut)
• From Rats to Riches - Good Rats
• From the Inside - Alice Cooper
• Funk or Walk - The Brides of Funkenstein
• The Gambler - Kenny Rogers
• Gene Simmons - Gene Simmons
• Génération 78 / Voilà pourquoi je chante / Ça me fait rêver - Dalida
• Germ Free Adolescents - X-Ray Spex
• Girl Most Likely - Claudja Barry
• Give 'Em Enough Rope - The Clash
• Golden Country Origins - Bill Haley (pre-Comets recordings)
• Grease - Original Soundtrack
• Greatest Hits - Captain & Tennille
• Greatest Hits - Barry Manilow
• Greatest Hits (1974-1978) - Steve Miller Band
• Guaranteed - Ronnie Drew
• Heaven Tonight - Cheap Trick
• Heavy Horses - Jethro Tull
• Hemispheres - Rush
• Hermit of Mink Hollow - Todd Rundgren
• Hot Streets - Chicago
• If You Knew Suzi - Suzi Quatro
• If You Want Blood You've Got It - AC/DC
• Infinity - Journey
• Is It Still Good to Ya - Ashford & Simpson
• Jazz - Queen
• Jesus of Cool - Nick Lowe
• Kaya - Bob Marley and the Wailers
• The Kick Inside - Kate Bush
• The Last Waltz - The Band
• Level Headed - Sweet
• Life in a Scotch Sitting Room, Vol. 2 - Ivor Cutler
• Live & More - Donna Summer
• Live and Dangerous - Thin Lizzy
• Live In London - Helen Reddy
• London Town - Paul McCartney & Wings
• Love Bites - Buzzcocks
• Love Tracks - Gloria Gaynor
• The Man Machine - Kraftwerk
• Marcus' Children - Burning Spear
• Midnight Oil - Midnight Oil (debut)
• Misfits - The Kinks
• The Modern Dance - Pere Ubu
• Molly Hatchet - Molly Hatchet (debut)
• More Songs About Buildings and Food - Talking Heads
• Motor Booty Affair - Parliament
• Modra Rijeka - Indexi
• Music For Films - Brian Eno
• Natural High - Commodores
• Nervous Breakdown (EP) - Black Flag (debut)
• Never Say Die! - Black Sabbath
• New Dimensions - The Three Degrees
• Nightflight to Venus - Boney M.
• Octave - The Moody Blues
• Once Upon a Time in the West (OST) - Ennio Morricone
• One Nation Under a Groove - Funkadelic
• The Only Ones - The Only Ones
• Out of Reach - Can
• Outlandos d'Amour - The Police
• Parallel Lines - Blondie
• Paul Stanley - Paul Stanley
• Peter Criss - Peter Criss
• Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel
• Pieces of Eight - Styx (band)
• Pleasure Principle - Parlet
• Powerage - AC/DC
• Prehistoric Sounds - The Saints
• Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! - Devo
• Radios Appear - Radio Birdman
• Rainbow Takeaway - Kevin Ayers
• Raydio - Raydio
• Return of the Wanderer - Dion DiMucci
• Salterbarty Tales - Earthstar
• Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack) - Various Artists
• The Scream - Siouxsie and the Banshees
• A Single Man - Elton John
• So Alone - Johnny Thunders
• Some Girls - The Rolling Stones
• Songbird - Barbra Streisand
• Squeeze - Squeeze
• Stage (live album) - David Bowie
• Stained Class - Judas Priest
• Stranger in Town - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
• Street Action - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
• Street Hassle - Lou Reed
• Street Legal - Bob Dylan
• Thank God It's Friday (soundtrack) - Various Artists
• That's Life - Sham 69
• Tell Us the Truth - Sham 69
• Third/Sister Lovers - Big Star
• This Heat - This Heat
• This Year's Model - Elvis Costello and the Attractions
• Time Passages - Al Stewart
• Tormato - Yes
• Toto - Toto (debut)
• Trouble - Whitesnake
• 25 Years On - Hawkwind
• 2Hot - Peaches & Herb
• Tubeway Army - Tubeway Army (debut)
• Van Halen - Van Halen
• Viva - La Düsseldorf
• Von Gestern bis Heute - Die Flippers
• Waiting For Columbus - Little Feat
• Wavelength - Van Morrison
• Way of the Sun - Jade Warrior
• We'll Sing in the Sunshine - Helen Reddy
• Wet Dream - Rick Wright
• What Do You Want from Live - The Tubes
• Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? - Chris Rea
• Who Are You - The Who
• You're Gonna Get It! - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
• With Luv' - Luv'

Biggest hit singles

The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1978.

#	Artist	Title	Year	Country	Chart Entries
1	Bee Gees	Stayin' Alive	1978		US BB 1 - Dec 1977, Canada 1 - Jan 1978, Holland 1 - Feb 1978, France 1 - Feb 1978, Italy 1 of 1978, Australia 1 for 7 weeks Jan 1979, US CashBox 2 of 1978, Austria 2 - Apr 1978, Switzerland 2 - Mar 1978, Germany 2 - Mar 1978, Scrobulate 2 of disco, Sweden (alt) 3 - Mar 1978, UK 4 - Feb 1978, Norway 4 - Mar 1978, Australia 4 of 1978, South Africa 4 of 1978, US BB 8 of 1978, POP 8 of 1978, AFI 9, OzNet 9, Party 13 of 2007, RYM 34 of 1977, Europe 36 of the 1970s, 80 in 2FM list, RIAA 94, Acclaimed 98, Germany 100 of the 1970s, Rolling Stone 189
2	John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John	You're the One That I Want	1978	/	UK 1 - May 1978, US BB 1 - Apr 1978, Canada 1 - Apr 1978, Holland 1 - May 1978, Sweden (alt) 1 - Jul 1978, Switzerland 1 - Jul 1978, Norway 1 - Jul 1978, Australia 1 of 1978, Germany 1 - Jun 1978, Éire 1 - Jun 1978, Australia 1 for 2 weeks Apr 1979, Austria 2 - Jul 1978, France 5 - May 1978, US CashBox 9 of 1978, Italy 12 of 1978, POP 15 of 1978, US BB 17 of 1978, Germany 17 of the 1970s, South Africa 17 of 1978, TOTP 20, Poland 26 - Jul 1998, Global 33 (5 M sold) - 1978, Europe 72 of the 1970s, RYM 153 of 1978
3	The Village People	YMCA	1978		UK 1 - Nov 1978, Holland 1 - Dec 1978, Sweden (alt) 1 - Dec 1978, Austria 1 - Jan 1979, Switzerland 1 - Dec 1978, Germany 1 - Jan 1979, Éire 1 - Jan 1979, Australia 1 for 5 weeks Oct 1979, POP 1 of 1979, US BB 2 - Nov 1978, Canada 2 - Dec 1978, Norway 2 - Jan 1979, US BB 3 of 1979, France 3 - Dec 1978, Party 03 of 1999, US CashBox 4 of 1979, Global 7 (10 M sold) - 1978, Australia 15 of 1979, Germany 23 of the 1970s, Scrobulate 38 of disco, Europe 86 of the 1970s, RIAA 86, RYM 95 of 1978, Acclaimed 1662
4	Boney M	Rivers of Babylon	1978	/ /	UK 1 - Apr 1978, Holland 1 - Apr 1978, Sweden (alt) 1 - May 1978, France 1 - May 1978, Austria 1 - May 1978, Switzerland 1 - Apr 1978, Norway 1 - May 1978, Germany 1 - Apr 1978, Éire 1 - May 1978, Australia 1 for 6 weeks Apr 1979, South Africa 1 of 1978, Australia 3 of 1978, Germany 3 of the 1970s, TOTP 8, US BB 30 - Jul 1978, Italy 36 of 1978, RYM 77 of 1978, Global 100 (5 M sold) - 1978, OzNet 867
5	Bee Gees	Night Fever	1978		UK 1 - Apr 1978, US BB 1 - Feb 1978, US CashBox 1 of 1978, Canada 1 - Feb 1978, France 1 - Apr 1978, Éire 1 - Apr 1978, Norway 2 - May 1978, Germany 2 - May 1978, Holland 3 - Apr 1978, Switzerland 3 - May 1978, Austria 4 - Jun 1978, Sweden (alt) 5 - May 1978, US BB 10 of 1978, POP 11 of 1978, South Africa 12 of 1978, Italy 29 of 1978, Scrobulate 39 of 70s, RYM 59 of 1978, Party 77 of 1999, Germany 94 of the 1970s, Europe 96 of the 1970s, OzNet 894, Acclaimed 2046

Chronological table of US and UK Number One hit singles

Other significant singles

• "Airport" - The Motors
• "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" - Van Halen
• "Alive Again" - Chicago
• "All the Nice Boys and Girls in the World" - Riff Regan
• "Another Night On The Road" - Sherbet
• "Are You Old Enough" - Dragon
• "Armalite Rifle" - Gang of Four (band)
• "Baker Street" - Gerry Rafferty
• "Because the Night" - Patti Smith Group
• "Best Of Both Worlds" - Robert Palmer
• "Blue Collar Man(Long Nights)" - Styx (band)
• "Bluer Than Blue" - Michael Johnson
• "Ça me fait rêver" - Dalida & Bruno Guillain
• "Ca Plane Pour Moi" - Plastic Bertrand
• "Can We Still Be Friends" - Todd Rundgren
• "Can't Smile Without You" - Barry Manilow
• "Chameleon Army" - Pink Lady
• "Coming Home" - Marshall Hain
• "Copacabana (At The Copa)" - Barry Manilow
• "Damaged Goods" - Gang of Four (band)
• "Dancing In The City" - Marshall Hain
• "Davy's On The Road Again" - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
• "Deja Vu" - Dionne Warwick
• "Denis" - Blondie
• "Don't Look Back" - Boston
• "(You Gotta Walk) Don't Look Back" - Peter Tosh
• "Down In The Tube Station At Midnight" - The Jam
• "Dust in the Wind" - Kansas
• "Eagle" - ABBA
• "Eve Of The War" - Jeff Wayne
• "Ever Fallen In Love" - Buzzcocks
• "Everybody Dance" - Chic
• "(An) Everlasting Love" - Andy Gibb
• "Every Kinda People" - Robert Palmer
• "FM (No Static At All)" - Steely Dan
• "Feels So Good" - Chuck Mangione
• "Flash Light" -Parliament
• "Floral Dance" - Terry Wogan
• "Follow You, Follow Me" - Genesis
• "Fool's Overture" - Supertramp
• "Forever Autumn" - Justin Hayward
• "The Gambler" - Kenny Rogers
• "Génération 78" - Dalida & Bruno Guillain
• "Goodnight Tonight" - Paul McCartney and Wings
• "Got To Get You Into My Life" - Earth Wind and Fire
• "Hanging On The Telephone" - Blondie
• "Here You Come Again" - Dolly Parton
• "Hollywood Nights" - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
• "Hong Kong Garden" - Siouxsie and the Banshees
• "Hopelessly Devoted to You" - Olivia Newton-John
• "Hot Blooded - Foreigner
• "Hotlegs/I Was Only Joking" - Rod Stewart
• "How You Gonna See Me Now" - Alice Cooper
• "I Don't Mind" - The Buzzcocks
• "I Don't Wanna Go To Chelsea" - Elvis Costello and the Attractions
• "I Just Wanna Stop" - Gino Vannelli
• "If The Kids Are United" - Sham 69
• "I'm Every Woman" - Chaka Khan
• "Instant Replay" - Dan Hartman
• "Is This Love?" - Bob Marley and the Wailers
• "Isn't It Time" - The Babys
• "I've Had Enough" - Wings
• "Jilted John" - Jilted John
• "Just The Way You Are" - Billy Joel
• "Khe Sanh" - Cold Chisel
• "Le Lambeth Walk" - Dalida
• "Life's Been Good" - Joe Walsh
• "Light Up Your Love" - Ronney Abramson
• "A Little Lovin' (Keeps the Doctor Away)" - The Raes
• "(A) Little More Love" - Olivia Newton-John
• "Love Is Like Oxygen" - Sweet
• "Love Like Anthrax" - Gang of Four (band)
• "Love Will Find A Way" - Pablo Cruise
• "Love You More" - The Buzzcocks
• "Magnet And Steel" - Walter Egan
• "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" - Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
• "Many Rivers To Cross" - Jimmy Cliff
• "Monster" - Pink Lady
• "More Than A Woman" - Tavares
• "Mr. Blue Sky" - Electric Light Orchestra
• "My Angel Baby" - Toby Beau
• "My Best Friend's Girl" - The Cars
• "My Life" - Billy Joel
• "Native New Yorker" - Odyssey
• "Never Say Die" - Black Sabbath
• "New York Groove" - Ace Frehley
• "Nobody's Scared" - Vic Goddard and the Subway Sect
• "Oh Carol" - Smokie
• "One Nation Under A Groove"-Funkadelic
• "Only You Can Rock Me" - UFO
• "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" - Meat Loaf
• "Promises" - The Buzzcocks
• "Promises" - Eric Clapton
• "Prove It All Night" - Bruce Springsteen
• "Psycho Killer" - Talking Heads
• "Public Image" - Public Image Limited
• "Raining In My Heart" - Leo Sayer
• "Rasputin" - Boney M
• "Ready To Take a Chance Again" - Barry Manilow
• "Renegade" - Styx
• "Right Down the Line" - Gerry Rafferty
• "Rivers Of Babylon" - Boney M
• "Rock Lobster" - The B-52s
• "Runaway" - Jefferson Starship
• "Runnin' With The Devil - Van Halen
• "Shame" - Evelyn King
• "She Believes In Me" - Kenny Rogers
• "Sign Of The Times" - Bryan Ferry
• "Sing for the Day" - Styx (band)
• "Songbird" - Barbra Streisand
• "Southpaw" - Pink Lady
• "Stay" - Jackson Browne
• "Still In Love With You" - Dragon
• "Stuff Like That" - Quincy Jones
• "Suburban Boy" - Dave Warner's From The Suburbs
• "Sultans of Swing" - Dire Straits
• "Sweet, Sweet Smile" - The Carpenters
• "Sweet Talkin' Woman" - Electric Light Orchestra
• "Take A Chance On Me" - ABBA
• "Take Me I'm Yours" - Squeeze
• "Talking In Your Sleep" - Crystal Gayle
• "Teenage Kicks" - The Undertones
• "Thank God It's Friday" - Love & Kisses
• "There's No Way Out of Here" - David Gilmour
• "Thunder Island" - Jay Ferguson
• "Time Passages" - Al Stewart
• "Too Much Heaven" - Bee Gees
• "Toumei Ningen" - Pink Lady
• "Trojan Horse - Luv'
• "Turn To Stone" - Electric Light Orchestra
• "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad" - Meat Loaf
• "Uganda Stomp" - The Battered Wives
• "Use Ta Be My Girl" - O'Jays
• "Voilà pourquoi je chante" - Dalida
• "Walking In The Rain" - Cheetah
• "Werewolves of London" - Warren Zevon
• "What Do I Get?" - The Buzzcocks
• "White Man In Hammersmith Palais" - The Clash
• "Who Are You" - The Who
• "Wild West Hero" - Electric Light Orchestra
• "Wonderful Tonight" - Eric Clapton
• "Wuthering Heights"-Kate Bush
• "YMCA" - The Village People
• "You Belong to Me" - Carly Simon
• "You're the Greatest Lover - Luv'
• "You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth" - Meat Loaf

Published popular music

• "Another Suitcase In Another Hall" w. Tim Rice m. Andrew Lloyd Webber from the musical Evita
• "Dallas theme song" m. Jerrold Immel
• "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" w. Tim Rice m. Andrew Lloyd Webber from the musical Evita
• "Grease" w.m. Barry Gibb from the film Grease
• "Honesty" w.m. Billy Joel
• "Hopelessly Devoted to You" w.m. John Farrar introduced by Olivia Newton-John in the film Grease
• "My Life" w.m. Billy Joel
• "Only The Good Die Young" w.m. Billy Joel
• "Sultans Of Swing" w.m. Mark Knopfler
• "Thank You For Being a Friend" w.m. Andrew Gold
• "Three Times A Lady" w.m. Lionel Richie
• "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" w. Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman & Neil Diamond m. Neil Diamond
• "You're The One That I Want" w.m. John Farrar introduced by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in the film Grease

Classical music

• Malcolm Arnold - Symphony No. 8
• Jacob Druckman - Viola concerto
• Arvo Pärt - Spiegel im Spiegel
• Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky - Requiem pour une marée noire

Opera

• Robert Ashley - Perfect Lives
• Vivian Fine - The Women in the Garden
• György Ligeti - Le grand macabre
• Krzysztof Penderecki - Paradise Lost (libretto by Christopher Fry)
• Aulis Sallinen - The Red Line (Punainen viiva)

Musical theater

• Ain't Misbehavin' Broadway revue opened at the Longacre Theatre on May 9 and ran for 1604 performances
• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas opened at the Entermedia Theatre on April 17 and ran for 85 performances. (Moved to Broadway in 1979)
• Eubie Broadway revue opened at the Ambassador Theatre on September 20 and ran for 439 performances
• Evita (Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice) - London production opened at the Prince Edward Theatre on June 21
• Hello, Dolly! (Jerry Herman) - Broadway revival opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on March 5 and ran for 152 performances
• I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On The Road Off-Broadway production opened at the Anspacher Theater on June 14 and ran for 1165 performances
• Timbuktu Broadway production opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on March 1 and ran for 243 performances
• On The Twentieth Century Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre on February 19 and ran for 460 performances

Musical films

• Grease
• Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
• The Wiz

Births

• January 3 - Kimberley Locke, American singer
• January 9 - A. J. McLean, Backstreet Boys
• February 1 - Jeff Conrad, Phantom Planet
• February 14 - Ryan Griffiths, The Vines
• February 22 - Jenny Frost, Atomic Kitten
• April 9 - Rachel Stevens, S Club 7
• April 21 - Branden Steineckert, The Used, Rancid
• May 1 - Matt Lovato, Mest
• May 30 - Kianna Alarid, Tilly and the Wall
• June 9 - Matthew Bellamy, Muse
• June 29 - Sam Farrar, Phantom Planet
• June 19 - Mía Maestro, singer
• June 27 - Lolly, English singer
• August 23 - Julian Casablancas, The Strokes
• August 24 - Darren Robinson, Phantom Planet
• August 27 - Mase, rapper
• August 28 - Max Collins, Eve 6
• September 30 - Steve Klein, New Found Glory
• October 2 - Ayumi Hamasaki, Japanese singer
• October 9 - Nicky Byrne, Westlife
• October 14 - Usher, singer and actor
• October 20 - Kira, German singer; Neil Martin, Irish singer-songwriter
• October 27 - Vanessa-Mae, violinist
• November 9 - Sisqó, singer
• November 10 - Eve, rapper
• November 16 - Carolina Parra, Cansei de Ser Sexy
• November 22 - Karen O, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• November 30 - Clay Aiken, singer
• December 1 - Brad Delson, Linkin Park
• December 2 - Brian Chase, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• December 2 - Nelly Furtado,Canadian/Portuguese Singer, songwriter, record producer, instrumentalist
• December 15 - Ned Brower, Rooney
• December 23 - Esthero, singer-songwriter

Deaths

• January 23 - Terry Kath, Chicago guitarist and vocalist
• January 23 - Vic Ames, Ames Brothers
• January 3 - Jack Oakie, actor in many musical films of the 1940s
• January 31 - Greg Herbert, Blood, Sweat & Tears saxophonist
• March 4 - Joe Marsala
• March 11 - Claude François, singer-songwriter
• March 18 - Peggy Wood, actress and singer
• April 3 - Ray Noble, composer and bandleader
• April 21 - Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, cerebral haemorrhage
• May 1 - Aram Khachaturian, composer
• May 26 - Tamara Karsavina, ballerina
• July 14 - Maria Grinberg, pianist
• August 14 - Joe Venuti, US jazz violinist
• August 24 - Louis Prima
• September 7 - Keith Moon, drummer for The Who
• September 24 - Ruth Etting, US singer
• October 6 - Johnny O'Keefe, Australian Singer
• October 9 - Jacques Brel, singer-songwriter
• October 12 - Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of Sid Vicious
• October 23 - Maybelle Carter née Addington, US country singer and musician, member of the Carter Family
• November 12 - Howard Swanson, composer
• November 18 - Lennie Tristano, Jazz Pianist
• December 27 - Chris Bell, singer-songwriter, Big Star

External Charts

• Pop Culture Madness 1978 Pop Music Chart