But hey, the movies were great

Those of us who were alive and kicking in 1977 must have been listening to something.  But it couldn't have been popular music, judging from the singles that dominated play that year. 

The demon Disco had a death grip on the country, but we can't blame it all on the brothers Gibb. Even country sucked, as 30 different songs made it to No. 1 but few ruled for more than a week (with the notable exception of Waylon Jennings' "Luckenbach, Texas," which spent 6 weeks atop the chart and saved the year for us.)

Seriously, how bad was it?  Not quite as bad as the list below suggests.  Here were some albums that spun on our turntable that year: the Eagles' Hotel California, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True, and James Taylor's JT.  Not exactly the motherlode, but hey. We weren't into the Sex Pistols at the time but acknowledge today the greatness of Never Mind the Bollocks.  And blues fans were surely giving Muddy Waters' Hard Again some spins.

But if you look at the top singles it's hard not to believe that 1977 was the absolute low water mark for the music of our time.  Jimmy Carter didn't have a chance in the White House with background music like this:

1. You Light Up My Life, Debby Boone
2. Best Of My Love, Emotions
3. I Just Want To Be Your Everything, Bee Gees
4. How Deep Is Your Love, Bee Gees
5. Theme From A Star Is Born, Barbra Streisand
6. Sir Duke, Stevie Wonder
7. Torn Between Two Lovers, Mary MacGregor
8. Rich Girl, Hall and Oates
9. Star Wars Theme, Cantina Band
10.Got To Give It Up, Marvin Gaye
11. Car Wash, Rose Royce
12. You Don't Have To Be A Star, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.
13. Don't Leave Me This Way, Thelma Houston
14. You Make Me Feel Like Dancing, Leo Sayer
15. Dancing Queen, ABBA
16. Southern Nights, Glen Campbell
17. Blinded By The Light, Manfred Mann's Earth Band
18. Hotel California, Eagles
19. I Wish, Stevie Wonder
20. Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky), Bill Conti