January 1 – The Clash headline the opening night of London's only punk rock club, The Roxy
January 20 – Jimmy Buffett's Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes is released, featuring the biggest single of his career, "Margaritaville"
January 22 – Maria Kliegel makes her London debut at the Wigmore Hall, with a programme of Bach, Kodály, and Franck
January 26 – Patti Smith falls off the stage while opening for Bob Seger in Tampa, Florida, and is rushed to the hospital for 22 stitches to close head lacerations
January 27 – After releasing only one single for the English punk rock band, EMI terminates its contract with the Sex Pistols in response to its members' disruptive behaviour at London Heathrow Airport at the beginning of the month
February 4
Paul Desmond gives his last concert with Dave Brubeck, in New York.
American Bandstand celebrates its 25th anniversary on television with a special hosted by Dick Clark; an "all-star band", performing "Roll Over Beethoven", is made up of Chuck Berry, Seals & Crofts, Gregg Allman, Junior Walker, Johnny Rivers, the Pointer Sisters, Charlie Daniels, Doc Severinsen, Les McCann, Donald Byrd, Chuck Mangione and three members of Booker T and the MGs
Fleetwood Mac's widely anticipated Rumours is released; it goes on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time
February 14 – The B-52's give their first public performance at a party in Athens, Georgia.
February 15 – Sid Vicious replaces Glen Matlock as the bassist of the Sex Pistols.
March 1 – Sara Lowndes Dylan files for divorce from her husband of 11 years, Bob Dylan
March 4 – The Rolling Stones play the first of two shows at the El Mocambo in Toronto, their first club appearance since 1964
April – Van Morrison releases a new album, A Period of Transition, after a nearly three-year absence
March 10 – A&M Records signs the Sex Pistols in a ceremony in front of Buckingham Palace (The contract is terminated on March 16 as a result of the band vandalizing property and verbally abusing employees during a visit to the record company's office)
April 21 – Jesse Winchester, who fled to Canada in January 1967 to avoid military service in Vietnam, performed a concert in Burlington, Vermont, his first on American soil in ten years (recently became free to return under the Presidential pardon given to all draft evaders)
April 22 – Pink Floyd open the North American leg of their "Animals" tour in Miami, Florida
April 24 – Several artists, including Joan Baez and Santana, perform at a free concert for 653 inmates of California's Soledad Prison
April 26 – New York's disco Studio 54 opens
May 2 – Elton John performed the first of six consecutive nights at London's Rainbow Theatre, his first concert in eight months
May 7 – Having been postponed from April 2 because of a BBC technicians' strike, the 22nd Eurovision Song Contest finally goes ahead in London's Wembley Conference Centre
May 11 – The Stranglers and support band London start a 10-week national UK tour
May 12
Instruments made by all five members of the 17th- and 18th-century Guarneri family of violin makers are auctioned at Sotheby's, with the top price of £105,000 paid for an instrument made in 1738 by Giuseppe Guarnieri del Gesù
Virgin Records announced that they have signed the Sex Pistols (the group had been kicked off two previous labels in 4 months)
May 28 – Bruce Springsteen and Mike Appel reach an out-of-court settlement, ending the year-long legal battle that has blocked Springsteen's ability to record new music
May 31 – The musical Beatlemania is premièred at the Winter Garden Theatre
June 7
The Nikikai Opera Foundation is founded in Japan.
The Sex Pistols attempt to interrupt Silver Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II by performing "God Save the Queen" from a boat on the River Thames
June 12
Guitarist Michael Schenker vanishes after a UFO concert at The Roundhouse in London (he is replaced for several months by Paul Chapman)
The Supremes perform for the last time together at Drury Lane Theatre in London before officially disbanding
June 15 – The Snape Maltings Training Orchestra makes its London debut at St John's, Smith Square
June 20 – Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart drives his Porsche over the edge of a canyon, suffering multiple broken bones but surviving as a tree breaks his fall
June 22 – Kiss are elected "most popular band in America" by a Gallup poll
July 9 – Donna Summer's hit record "I Feel Love" is released in the UK; it was the first hit record to have an entirely synthesised backing track
July 13 – After a massive blackout hits New York City, NRBQ manages to play an all-acoustic set at The Bottom Line with flashlights taped to their microphone stands
July 22 – The first night of The Proms are broadcast by BBC Radio 3 for the first time in quadraphonic sound
July 26 – Led Zeppelin cancels the last seven dates of their American tour after lead singer Robert Plant learns that his six-year-old son Karac has died of a respiratory virus (The show two days before in Oakland proves to be the band's last in the United States)
August 16 – Elvis Presley is found dead at his home Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee
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
August 20 – NASA's unmanned probe Voyager 2 was launched carrying a golden record containing sounds and images representing life and culture on Earth, including the first movements of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto and Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Guan Pinghu's Liu Shui, played on the guqin, and Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode"
September 1 – World première at the Royal Albert Hall in London of the expanded version of Luciano Berio's Coro
September 3 – Nearly 110,000 fans pack Englishtown Raceway in Old Bridge, New Jersey, for an 11-hour concert by Grateful Dead, Marshall Tucker Band and New Riders of the Purple Sage
September 15 – The third - and final - annual Rock Music Awards aired on NBC (Fleetwood Mac dominates, winning five awards while Linda Ronstadt receives the Best Rock Female Vocalist trophy for the third time.
September 16 – T.Rex frontman Marc Bolan is killed in an automobile accident
September 29 – Billy Joel's The Stranger is released containing "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)", "Just the Way You Are" and "Only the Good Die Young"
October 3 – Elvis in Concert, a TV concert special filmed during Elvis Presley's final tour, is aired on CBS
October 5 – The bicentennial season of La Scala opens in Milan with a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlo
October 9 – Aerosmith cancels several tour dates after Joe Perry and Steven Tyler are injured by an M-80 explosive thrown onstage at the Philadelphia Spectrum, burning Tyler's left cornea and cutting Perry's left hand
October 20 – A plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in a forest in Mississippi, killing songwriter & vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, background vocalist Cassie Gaines and assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick and seriously injuring many of the remaining band members
October 27 – British punk band Sex Pistols release Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols on the Virgin Records label. Despite refusal by major UK retailers to stock it, it debuts at number one on the UK Album Charts the week after its release. In a promotional stunt the group perform on a boat on the River Thames shortly afterwards, only for the police to wait for them and make several arrests, including that of Malcolm McLaren, the band's manager at this time
October 28 – British rock band Queen release the album News of the World
October 31 – The original version of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Jahreslauf is premièred at the National Theatre of Japan in Chiyoda, Tokyo, by the Imperial Gagaku Ensemble
November 25 – 10 Years of Rolling Stone, a television special commemorating the tenth anniversary of Rolling Stone magazine, airs on CBS. Guests include Bette Midler, Art Garfunkel, Billy Preston, Melissa Manchester, and Keith Moon
November 30 – Bing Crosby's final Christmas special, Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas, airs on CBS (containing the notable segment of Crosby joined by David Bowie for the duet "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy")
December 14 – Saturday Night Fever appears in theaters, igniting a new popularity for disco music and pushing it to the forefront of American pop culture, with the soundtrack to the film by Bee Gees (who had composed most of the tracks)
December 17 – Elvis Costello makes his American television début on Saturday Night Live, but is banned after substituting the scheduled performance of "Less than Zero" with "Radio, Radio" instead
December 31 – The sixth annual New Year's Rockin' Eve special airs on ABC, with performances by Ohio Players, Crystal Gayle, Kenny Rogers, KC and the Sunshine Band, and Andy Gibb
"Bohemian Rhapsody" named "The Best Single Of The Last 25 Years" by BPI
St Magnus Festival of the Arts founded in Orkney by local resident, composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
The Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe begins its annual festival based on the music of George Frideric Handel
Luigi Sagrati becomes president of the Unione Musicisti di Roma
The IRCAM Center, a scientific institute for music and sound and avant-garde electro-acoustical art music, opens in Paris
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
See Category:Musical groups established in 1977
The Animals
Bands disbanded
See Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1977
The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1977.
"After the Lovin'" – Engelbert Humperdinck
"Alison" – Elvis Costello
"All You Get from Love Is a Love Song" – The Carpenters
"American Girl" – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
"(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" – Elvis Costello
"Another Night" – The Shadows
"Another Star" – Stevie Wonder
"Apache" – The Shadows (re-release)
"April Sun in Cuba" – Dragon
"Ariel" – Dean Friedman
"As" – Stevie Wonder
"Baby, What a Big Surprise" – Chicago (#4 US)
"Back Together Again" – Hall & Oates
"Barracuda" – Heart
"Black Is Black" – La Belle Epoque
"Black Betty" – Ram Jam
"Blue Bayou" – Linda Ronstadt
"Boredom"- Buzzcocks
"Brick House" – Commodores
"California" – Manfred Mann's Earth Band
"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" – The Carpenters
"Carry On Wayward Son" – Kansas
"Cat Scratch Fever" – Ted Nugent
"The Chain" – Fleetwood Mac
"Christine Sixteen" – Kiss
"Closer to the Heart" – Rush
"Cold as Ice" – Foreigner
"Come Sail Away - Styx (#8 US)
"Complete Control" – The Clash
"Corruption" - Element Ethan (#1 US)
"Coyote" – Joni Mitchell
"Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" – Chic
"Dancing in the Moonlight (It's Caught Me in its Spotlight)" – Thin Lizzy
"Daybreak" – Barry Manilow
"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" – AC/DC
"Disco Inferno" – The Trammps
"Do Anything You Wanna Do" - Eddie and the Hot Rods
"Do Ya" – Electric Light Orchestra
"Do You Wanna Make Love" - Peter McCann
"Don't Believe a Word" – Thin Lizzy
"Don't Dictate" – Penetration
"Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" – Crystal Gayle
"Don't Stop" – Fleetwood Mac
"Down to Zero" – Joan Armatrading
"Dreamboat Annie" – Heart
"Dreams" – Fleetwood Mac (#1 US)
"Dusic" – Brick
"Easy" – Commodores
"Egyptian Reggae" – Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
"Emotion"- Samantha Sang
"(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again" – L.T.D.
"Exodus" – Bob Marley & The Wailers
"Fanfare for the Common Man" – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
"Father Christmas" – The Kinks
"Feel the Need" – The Detroit Emeralds
"Feels Like the First Time" – Foreigner (#4 US)
"Fly At Night" – Chilliwack
"Foreplay/Long Time" – Boston
"Gary Gilmore's Eyes" – The Adverts
"(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" – The Stranglers
"Give a Little Bit" – Supertramp
"Go Your Own Way" – Fleetwood Mac
"God Save the Queen" – Sex Pistols
"Going for the One" – Yes
"Hard Luck Woman" – Kiss
"Heard It in a Love Song" – The Marshall Tucker Band
"Heaven on the Seventh Floor" – Paul Nicholas
"Heroes" – David Bowie
"Hey Deanie" – Shaun Cassidy
"Holidays in the Sun" – Sex Pistols
"I Go Crazy" – Paul Davis
"I Like Dreamin'" – Kenny Nolan
"I Want You to Want Me" – Cheap Trick
"In the City" – The Jam
"Isn't It Time - The Babys
"Isn't She Lovely" – Stevie Wonder/David Parton
"It's So Easy" – Linda Ronstadt
"Jamming/Punky Reggae Party" – Bob Marley & The Wailers
"Janie Jones"- The Clash
"Jet Airliner" – Steve Miller Band
"Juke Box Music" – The Kinks
"Kill the King" – Rainbow
"Lay Down Sally" – Eric Clapton
"Let There Be Rock" – AC/DC
"Lido Shuffle" – Boz Scaggs
"Life in the Fast Lane" – Eagles
"Like a Hurricane" – Neil Young
"Lonely Boy" – Andrew Gold
"Lookin' After No. 1" – The Boomtown Rats
"Love Is the Answer" – Utopia
"(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" – Andy Gibb
"Lovely Day" – Bill Withers
"Magazine Madonna" – Sherbet
"Magic Fly" – Space
"Mannequin" – Wire
"Margaritaville" – Jimmy Buffett
"Marquee Moon" – Television
"Mary of the 4th Form" – The Boomtown Rats
"Modern Love" – Peter Gabriel
"Motorhead" – Motörhead
"My Baby Left Me But That's Alright Mama" – Slade
"My Heart Belongs to Me" – Barbra Streisand
"My Kinda Life" – Cliff Richard
"Native New Yorker" – Odyssey
"Neat Neat Neat" – The Damned
"No More Heroes" – The Stranglers
"Nobody Does It Better" – Carly Simon (#2 US)
"N.Y., You Got Me Dancing" – Andrea True Connection
"Oh Bondage Up Yours!" – X-Ray Spex
"Oh Lori" – Alessi Brothers
"On the Border" – Al Stewart
"One Chord Wonders" – The Adverts
"Orgasm Addict" – Buzzcocks
"Peace of Mind" – Boston
"Peaches/Go Buddy Go" – The Stranglers
"Peg" – Steely Dan
"Phoenix" – Wishbone Ash
"The Pink Parker (EP)" – Graham Parker and The Rumour
"Pourin' It All Out" – Graham Parker and The Rumour
"Pretty Vacant" – Sex Pistols
"Psycho Killer" – Talking Heads
"Really Free" – John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett
"Remote Control" – The Clash
"Right Time of the Night" – Jennifer Warnes
"Road Runner" – Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
"Rock and Roll Never Forgets" – Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
"Rock Bottom" – Lynsey De Paul and Mike Moran
"Rockaria!" – Electric Light Orchestra
"Rockin' All Over the World" – Status Quo
"Rose of Cimarron (EP)" – Poco
"Runaround Sue" - Leif Garrett
"Runaway" – Bonnie Raitt
"Sam" – Olivia Newton-John
"Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" – Ian Dury
"She Did It" – Eric Carmen
"She's Not There" – Santana
"Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" – Ramones
"Short People" – Randy Newman
"Sleepwalker" – The Kinks
"Snuff Rock (EP)" – Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias
"Solsbury Hill" – Peter Gabriel
"Something Better Change/Straighten Out" – The Stranglers
"So In to You" – Atlanta Rhythm Section
"Sound and Vision" – David Bowie
"Spanish Stroll" – Mink DeVille
"Spiral Scratch (EP)" – Buzzcocks
"Spot the Pigeon" (EP) – Genesis
"Surfin' USA" - Leif Garrett
"Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancing)" – Johnny Rivers
"Sweet Gene Vincent" – Ian Dury
"Swingtown" – Steve Miller Band
"Telephone Line" – Electric Light Orchestra
"That's Rock and Roll" – Shaun Cassidy
"The Things We Do for Love" – 10cc
"This Is Tomorrow" – Bryan Ferry
"Tie Your Mother Down" – Queen
"Tryin' to Love Two" – William Bell
"2-4-6-8 Motorway" – Tom Robinson Band
"Tulane" – Steve Gibbons Band
"Uptown Top Ranking" – Althea & Donna
"Walk This Way" – Aerosmith
"Waiting in Vain" – Bob Marley & The Wailers
"Watching the Detectives" – Elvis Costello
"We Are the Champions" – Queen
"We Will Rock You" – Queen
"We're All Alone" – Rita Coolidge
"What Can I Say" – Boz Scaggs
"What's Your Name" – Lynyrd Skynyrd
"What's Your Name, What's Your Number" – Andrea True Connection
"When Two Worlds Drift Apart" – Cliff Richard
"White Punks On Dope" – The Tubes
"White Riot" – The Clash
"(I'd Go the) Whole Wide World" – Wreckless Eric
"Willow" – Joan Armatrading
"Wonderous Stories" – Yes
"Year of the Cat" – Al Stewart
"You and Me" - Alice Cooper
"You Made Me Believe in Magic" - Bay City Rollers
"You Make Loving Fun" – Fleetwood Mac
"You're in My Heart" – Rod Stewart
"You're My World" – Helen Reddy
"(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher" – Rita Coolidge
"Your Own Special Way" – Genesis
"Your Song" – Billy Paul
"After the Lovin'" w. Richie Adams m. Alan Bernstein
"Annie" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the musical Annie
"Brazzle Dazzle Day" w.m. Al Kasha & Joel Hirschhorn, from the film Pete's Dragon
"But the World Goes 'Round" w. Fred Ebb m. John Kander. Introduced by Liza Minnelli in the film New York City
"Child In A Universe" w.m. Laura Nyro
"Come In From The Rain" w.m. Melissa Manchester & Carole Bayer Sager
"Easy Street" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the musical Annie
"The Greatest Love of All" w. Linda Creed m. Michael Masser
"Happy Endings" w. Fred Ebb m. John Kander. Introduced by Liza Minnelli, Larry Kert and chorus in the film New York, New York
"Here You Come Again" w.m. Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil
"I Don't Need Anything But You" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the musical Annie
"I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the musical Annie
"It's Not Easy" w.m. Al Kasha & Joel Hirschhorn, from the film Pete's Dragon
"It's the Hard-Knock Life" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the musical Annie
"Just the Way You Are" w.m. Billy Joel
"Little Girls" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the musical Annie
"The Love Boat theme song" w.m. Norman Gimbel & Paul Williams
"Love Is in the Air" w.m. George Young & Harry Vanda
"Maybe" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the musical Annie
"Maybe I'm Amazed" w.m. Paul McCartney
"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" w.m. Billy Joel
"N.Y.C." w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the musical Annie
"A New Deal For Christmas" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the musical Annie
"New York, New York" w.m. Fred Ebb & John Kander. Introduced by Liza Minnelli in the film New York City
"Nobody Does It Better" w. Carole Bayer Sager m. Marvin Hamlisch
"She's Always a Woman" w.m. Billy Joel
"Someone's Waiting for You" w. Carol Connors & Ayn Robbins m. Sammy Fain from the film The Rescuers
"Something Was Missing" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the musical Annie
"Star Wars-Main Theme" m. John Williams from the Star Wars films
"Stayin' Alive" w.m. Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb & Robin Gibb
"Thank You for the Music" w.m. Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
"There Goes the Ball Game" w. Fred Ebb m. John Kander. Introduced by Liza Minnelli in the film New York, New York
"Tomorrow" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse, from the musical Annie
"We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the musical Annie
"You Won't Be an Orphan for Long" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse from the musical Annie
"You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" w. Martin Charnin m. Charles Strouse, from the musical Annie
Perhaps most important is the beginning of what has become known as the punk rock explosion. 1977 was the year of formation of The Avengers, Bad Brains, Black Flag, Crass, Discharge, Fear, the Flesh Eaters, the Germs, the Misfits, 999, The Pagans, The Plasmatics, VOM, The Weirdos, X, and X-Ray Spex
1977 also saw 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 Clash by The Clash, The Damned's Damned, Damned, Damned, the Dead Boys' Young, Loud and Snotty, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers' L.A.M.F., The Jam's In the City, the Ramones' Rocket to Russia, Richard Hell and the Voidoids' Blank Generation, the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, Television's Marquee Moon, and Wire's Pink Flag are usually considered their respective masterpieces, and kick-started punk music as the musical genre it eventually became. The year also saw the release of debut albums by bands often associated with, if not defined as, punk, thought to be the beginnings of "New Wave" such as Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True, Suicide's Suicide, and Talking Heads' Talking Heads: 77. It also saw the release of Iggy Pop's Lust for Life, his second record as a solo artist.
John Adams
China Gates, for piano
Phrygian Gates, for piano
Samuel Adler
Aeolus, God of the Winds, for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
Concerto for Flute and Orchestra
A Falling of Saints, for tenor, bass, chorus, and orchestra
It is to God I shall Sing, for chorus and organ
Kalevi Aho
Quintet, for 5 bassoons
Quintet, for flute, oboe, violin, viola, and cello
Necil Kazım Akses
Concerto for Orchestra
Concerto for Viola and Orchestra
Franghiz Ali-Zadeh – Zu den Kindertotenlieder (In Memoriam Gustav Mahler), for clarinet, violin, and percussion
Birgitte Alsted – Strygekvartet i CD, for string quartet
Javier Álvarez – Canciones de la Venta, for soprano, violin, viola, and baroque guitar
William Alwyn
Invocations (song cycle), for mezzo-soprano and piano
A Leave-Taking (song cycle), for tenor and piano
Charles Amirkhanian – Dutiful Ducks, for tape with optional live voices
Gilbert Amy
Strophe, for soprano and orchestra (revised version)
Trois études, for flute
Beth Anderson – Joan, for tape
Laurie Anderson
Audio Talk, performance art
On Dit, performance art
Some Songs, performance art
Stereo Decoy, performance art
That's Not the Way I Heard It, performance art
Ruth Anderson – Sound Portraits I–II, text pieces
Hendrik Andriessen – Ricercare, version for wind orchestra
Jurriaan Andriessen
Psalmen-trilogie, for baritone, chorus, and orchestra
Symphony no. 7, The Awakening Dream, for keyboard and electronics
Symphony no. 8, La celebrazione
Louis Andriessen – Hoketus, for two groups of 6 players each
Denis ApIvor
Chant Eolien, for oboe and piano, op. 65
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, op. 64
Violet Archer – Plainsongs, for mezzo-soprano and piano
Malcolm Arnold
Sonata, for flute and piano, op. 121
Variations on a Theme of Ruth Gipps, for orchestra, op. 122
Larry Austin – Quadrants: Event/Complex no. 11, for double bass and tape
Luciano Berio
Coro, for 40 voices and 40 instruments (revised version)
Fantasia, for orchestra (after Giovanni Gabrieli)
Il ritorno degli snovidenia, for cello and 30 instruments
Sequenza VIII, for violin
Toccata, fpr orchestra (after Girolamo Frescobaldi)
Harrison Birtwistle – Silbury Air
Rob du Bois
Skarabee, for orchestra
Zodiak, for one or more instruments or instrumental groups
John Buller – Proença for mezzo-soprano, electric guitar, and large orchestra
Enrique Crespo – American Suite No. 1
George Crumb – Star-Child (1977, revised 1979) for soprano, antiphonal children's voices, male speaking choir, bell ringers, and large orchestra
Peter Maxwell Davies
A Mirror of Whitening Light, for chamber orchestra
Our Father Which in Heaven Art, for flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, cello
Runes from a Holy Island, for flute, clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, cello
Westerlings, for SATB choir
Franco Donatoni
Algo, for guitar
Ali, for viola
Diario ’76, for four trumpets and four trombones
Portrait, for harpsichord and orchestra
Spiri, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, celesta, vibraphone, 2 violins, viola, and cello
Toy, for 2 violins, viola, and harpsichord
Morton Feldman
Instruments 3, for flute, oboe, and percussion
Spring of Chosroes, for violin and piano
Brian Ferneyhough – Time and Motion Study I, for bass clarinet
Lorenzo Ferrero
Arioso
Romanza seconda
Frans Geysen –
Muziek voor toetsenbord, for piano
Omtrent sib, for three oboes
Orgelstuk, for organ
Pentakel, for oboe
Stadssteeg, for 6 oboes, 4 trumpets, 2 trombones
Alberto Ginastera
Barabbas, opera (unfinished)
Concerto No. 1 for Cello and Orchestra, op. 36 (revised version)
Glosses sobre temes de Pau Casals, for orchestra, op. 48
Alexander Goehr – Romanza on the Notes of Psalm IV, op. 38c
Sembiin Gonchigsumlaa – Symphony No. 2
Bengt Hambraeus – Antiphonie: Cathedral Music for Organ
Alan Hovhaness
Ananda, piano sonata, op. 303
Celestial Canticle, for coloratura soprano and piano, op. 305
Dawn on a Mountain Lake, for double bass and piano, op. 393
Fred the Cat, piano sonata, op. 301
Glory Sings the Setting Sun, cantata for coloratura soprano, clarinet, and piano, op. 292
How I Love Thy Law, cantata for high soprano, clarinet, piano, op. 298
Mount Belknap, piano sonata, op. 299, no. 1 (revised version)
Mount Ossipee, piano sonata, op. 299, no. 2 (revised version)
Mount Shasta, piano sonata, op. 299, no. 3 (revised version)
A Presentiment, for coloratura soprano and piano, op. 304
Suite, for flute and guitar, op. 300 (1977)
Sonata, for oboe and bassoon, op. 302
Sonata, for 2 clarinets, op. 297
Sonata No. 1, for harpsichord, Op. 306
Sonatina ("Meditation on Mt. Monadnock"), for piano, op. 288
The Spirit's Map, for voice and piano, op. 391
Srpouhi, duet for violin and piano, op. 398
Symphony No. 31, for strings, op. 294
Symphony No. 32 ("The Broken Wings"), op. 296
Symphony No. 33 ("Francis Bacon"), op. 307
Symphony No. 34, for bass trombone and strings, op. 310
Maki Ishii
Black Intention, for recorder
Voices—Violet, for gidayū ensemble, shō, and percussion
David C. Johnson – Ars Subtilior Electrica, electronic music
Mauricio Kagel
An Tasten, étude for piano
MM51, film score
Présentation für zwei
Quatre degrés (Schlagzeugtrio für Holzinstrumente)
Variété (Concert-Spectacle für Artisten und Musiker)
Jonathan Kramer
Renascence, for clarinet and tape (revised version)
Studies on Six Notes, for harpsichord
György Kurtág
Hommage à Mihály András (Twelve Microludes for String Quartet), op. 13
[untitled pieces], op. 15, for guitar (unpublished, withdrawn)
Helmut Lachenmann – Salut für Caudwell, music for two guitarists
André Laporte
Icarus' Flight, for piano and twelve instruments
Mario Lavista
Pieza para caja de música, for music box
Los inocentes, incidental music
Luca Lombardi
Tui-Gesänge, for soprano, flute, clarinet, piano, violin, and cello
Variazioni su ‘Avanti popolo alla riscossa’, for piano
Variazioni, for orchestra
John McGuire – Pulse Music II, for four pianos and small orchestra
Tomás Marco
Herbania, for harpsichord
Hoquetus, for 1, 2, or 3 clarinets, live and/or recorded
Sicigia, for cello
Sonata de Vesperia, for piano
Tormer, for harpsichord, violin, viola, and cello
Bo Nilsson – Madonna, for mezzo-soprano and instrumental ensemble
Per Nørgård
Cantica, for cello and piano
Den afbrudte sang (Orfeus og Euridike), for chorus, percussion, harp, and other instruments ad lib.
Freedom, for tenor and guitar
Kredsløb, for SATB choir
Mating Dance, for flute (+ alto flute) and guitar
Recall, for accordion and orchestra (revised version)
Towards Freedom?, for orchestra
Twilight, for orchestra
Arvo Pärt
Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka, for piano
Henri Pousseur
Ballade berlinoise, for piano
Liège à Paris, electronic music
Einojuhani Rautavaara
Suomalainen myytti (A Finnish Myth), for string orchestra
Serenades of the Unicorn, for guitar
Aulis Sallinen
Simppeli Simme ja Hamppari, for mixed choir
Symphony No. 1
Dieter Schnebel
Canon (‘Diapason’)
Handwerke-Blaswerke I (Arianna), for 1 wind instrument, 1 string instrument, and 1 percussionist
Orchestra, for orchestra
Quintet in B♭ major, for piano and strings
Rhythmen, for 2 guitars, organ, and percussion
Kurt Schwertsik
Concerto for Violin No. 1, op. 31
Wiener Chronik 1848, ballet op. 28
Gerald Shapiro
Dance Suite, for piano
For Nancy, wordless vocalise, for soprano and piano
Questions, for SATB choir
You are Your Own Energy Source, electroacoustic dance score
Makoto Shinohara – Liberation, for orchestra
Roger Smalley – Seven Modulator Pieces, for 4 flutes
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Atmen gibt das Leben, for choir and orchestra, Nr. 39
In Freundschaft, Nr. 46
Jahreslauf, Nr. 47
Jubiläum, for orchestra, Nr. 45
Sirius,electronic music with trumpet, soprano, bass clarinet, and bass voice, Nr. 43
Tierkreis, for chamber orchestra, Nr. 417/8
Tōru Takemitsu
A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal Garden
Gitā no tame no jūni no uta, for guitar
Hanare goze Orin, film score
Ohan, incidental music for television
Quatrain II, for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano
Sabita honoo, film score
Saigō Takamori den, incidental music for television
Toono monogatari wo yuku: Yanagida Kunio no fūkei, incidental music for television
Water-ways for clarinet, violin, cello, piano, two harps, and two vibraphones
Michael Tippett – Symphony No. 4
Alexander Vustin – In Memory of Boris Klyuzner
Iannis Xenakis – Jonchaies
Isang Yun – Concerto for Flute and Small Orchestra
William Alwyn - Miss Julie, opera in 2 acts, after Strindberg
Dominick Argento - Miss Haversham's Fire
Luciano Berio – Opera (revised version, 28 May, Teatro Comunale Florence)
Peter Maxwell Davies – The Martyrdom of St Magnus (18 June, Kirkwall, St Magnus Cathedral)
Julian Livingston – Twist of Treason
Thea Musgrave – Mary, Queen of Scots
Donald Sosin – Esther
Karlheinz Stockhausen – Atmen gibt das Leben (22 May 1977, Nice)
Michael Tippett – The Ice Break (7 July, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden)
Morton Feldman - Neither (1977, Rome Opera)
The Act - Broadway production opened at the Majestic Theatre and ran for 233 performances
Annie (Martin Charnin and Charles Strouse) – Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre on April 21, 1977, and ran for 2377 performances
I Love My Wife - Broadway production opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on April 17 and ran for 857 performances
I Love My Wife - London production opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre on October 6 and ran for 401 performances
The King and I (Rodgers & Hammerstein) – Broadway revival
Privates on Parade - London production opened at the Aldwych Theatre on February 17 and ran for 208 performances
Side by Side by Sondheim - Broadway production opened at the Music Box Theatre and ran for 384 performances
Oliver! (Lionel Bart) – London revival
ABBA: The Movie
A Little Night Music
Amar Akbar Anthony
The Hobbit (animation)
New York, New York
Pete's Dragon
Saturday Night Fever
January 3 - Michelle Stephenson, British singer (Spice Girls)
January 18 – Richard Archer, British singer (Hard-Fi)
January 20 – Melody, Belgian singer
January 25 - Christian Ingebrigtsen, Norwegian singer (A1)
January 26 - Tye Tribbett, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
January 28 - Joey Fatone, American singer (*NSYNC)
February 2
Shakira, Colombian singer and dancer
Jessica Wahls, German pop singer
February 3 – Daddy Yankee, Puerto Rican musician
February 4 – Gavin DeGraw, American musician
February 8 – Dave "Phoenix" Farrell (Linkin Park)
February 11 – Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park, Fort Minor)
February 15 – Brooks Wackerman (Bad Religion)
February 18 – Sean Watkins, American guitarist and songwriter
February 20 – Amal Hijazi, Lebanese singer and model
March 2 – Chris Martin, British singer (Coldplay)
March 3 – Ronan Keating, Irish singer (Boyzone)
March 4 – Jason Marsalis, American jazz musician
March 6 – Bubba Sparxxx, rapper
March 7 – Paul Cattermole, British singer (S Club 7)
March 10
Bree Turner, American dancer and actress
Colin Murray, British radio disc jockey
Matt Rubano, American rock bassist (Taking Back Sunday)
March 11 – Jason Greeley, Canadian singer
March 15 – Joseph Hahn (Linkin Park)
March 16 – Ben Kenney, American rock bassist (Incubus)
March 18 – Devin Lima, LFO
April 9 – Gerard Way, vocalist (My Chemical Romance)
April 17 – Frederik Magle, Danish composer, concert organist, and pianist
April 23 – John Cena, American professional wrestler, actor and singer
April 25 - Matthew West, American guitarist, singer, contemporary christian (CCM)
April 28 – Joanne Yeoh, Malaysian violinist
May 1 – Dan Regan (Reel Big Fish)
May 7 - Lisa Kelly, Irish singer
May 8 – Joe Bonamassa, American musician
May 12 - Wu Fei, Chinese musician and composer
May 31
Scott Klopfenstein (Reel Big Fish)
Joel Ross, British disc jockey
June 3 – Yuri Ruley (MxPx)
June 5 – Nourhanne, Lebanese singer
June 8 – Kanye West, African-American rapper and record producer
June 10 – Adam Darski, Polish musician (aka Nergal, Holocausto)
June 12 – Kenny Wayne Shepherd, guitarist
June 23 – Jason Mraz, American singer-songwriter
June 28
Mark Stoermer, American rock guitarist (The Killers)
Harun Tekin, Turkish rock vocalist and guitarist (Mor ve Ötesi)
June 29 – DEALZ, American rapper
July 1 – Tom Frager, French-born singer and surfer
July 7 – Dan Whitesides, American drummer (The Used and The New Transit Direction)
July 10 – Jesse Lacey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Brand New and Taking Back Sunday)
July 12 – Airin Older, American musician
July 14 – Gordon Cree, composer
July 15 – Ray Toro (My Chemical Romance)
July 18 – Tony Fagenson (Eve 6)
July 28 – Coby Dick (Papa Roach)
July 29 – Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley)
July 30 – Ian Watkins, vocalist (Lostprophets)
August 2 – Dave Farrel, American musician
August 10 – Aaron Kamin (The Calling)
August 12 – Park Yong-ha, South Korean actor and singer (d. 2010)
August 16 – Tamer Hosny, Egyptian singer/actor
August 17
Claire Richards, British singer (Steps)
Tarja Turunen, Finnish operatic soprano
August 30 – Jens Ludwig, German guitarist
August 31 – Craig Nicholls (The Vines)
September 1 – Chris Cain, American rock bassist (We Are Scientists)
September 2 – Elitsa Todorova, Bulgarian singer-songwriter
September 4
Ian Grushka (New Found Glory)
Lucie Silvas, English singer
September 6 – Kiyoshi Hikawa, Japanese enka singer
September 11
Jonny Buckland, British guitarist (Coldplay)
Ludacris
September 13 – Fiona Apple, American singer-songwriter
September 15 – Angela Aki, Japanese singer-songwriter
September 19 – Ioana Maria Lupascu, Romanian pianist
September 20
Namie Amuro, Japanese singer
The-Dream, American singer
September 23 – Susan Tamim, Lebanese singer and actress (murdered) (d. 2008)
October 1 – Owen Biddle, rock bass guitarist (The Roots)
October 2 – Jeremiah Rangel (Mest)
October 12 - Young Jeezy, American rapper
October 13 – Justin Peroff (Broken Social Scene)
October 16
John Mayer, American musician
Chris Knapp, The Ataris
October 17 – Nicole Cabell, American operatic soprano
October 25 – Yehonathan Gatro, Israeli singer and actor
November 1 – Alistair Griffin, British singer and songwriter
November 4 - Kavana, British singer
November 13
Chanel Cole, New Zealand-born singer
Huang Xiaoming, Chinese actor and singer
November 14 – Obie Trice, African-American rapper
November 15 – Logan Whitehurst, American one man band
November 20 – Daniel Svensson, Swedish drummer
November 30 – Steve Aoki, electro house DJ
December 1
Brad Delson (Linkin Park)
Akiva Schaffer - member of The Lonely Island
December 7 – Dominic Howard, drummer (Muse)
December 21 – Toby Rand, Australian singer-songwriter (Juke Kartel)
January 1 – Michael Mann, violinist, son of Thomas Mann, 57 (suicide)
January 2 – Erroll Garner, jazz pianist, 53 (heart attack)
January 16 - Tom Archia, jazz saxophonist, 57
January 23 – Dick Burnett, folk songwriter, 94
February 8 – Eivind Groven, microtonal composer and music theorist, 75
February 10 – Grace Williams, composer, 70
February 12 – Ernst Mehlich, German-Brazilian conductor and composer, 89
February 23 - Margaret Daum, operatic soprano, 70
February 26 – Bukka White, blues guitarist and singer, 67
February 28 – Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, comic actor and singer, 71
March 10 – E. Power Biggs, organist, 70
May 6 - Joseph Hislop, operatic and concert tenor, 93
May 22 – Hampton Hawes, jazz pianist, 48 (brain haemorrhage)
May 26 - William Powell (The O'Jays), 35 (cancer)
May 30 – Paul Desmond, jazz saxophonist, 52 (lung cancer)
June 5 – Sleepy John Estes, blues guitarist and singer, 78
June 13 – Matthew Garber, former child star of Mary Poppins, 21 (pancreatitis)
June 22 – Peter Laughner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Rocket From the Tombs and Pere Ubu) (b. 1952)
July 2 – Gert Potgieter, South African operatic tenor and actor, 47 (car accident)
July 20 – Gary Kellgren, American record producer, co-founded Record Plant, 38 (drowned)
July 26 – Gena Branscombe, composer and conductor, 95
August 16 – Elvis Presley, singer, 42 (heart attack)
August 19 – Groucho Marx, comedian, actor, singer and performer, 86
September 1 - Ethel Waters, American blues, jazz and gospel singer, 80
September 5 – George Barnes, swing jazz guitarist, 56
September 13 – Leopold Stokowski, conductor, 95
September 16
Marc Bolan, singer-songwriter, 29 (car crash)
Maria Callas, operatic soprano, 53 (heart attack)
September 30 – Mary Ford, guitarist and vocalist, 53 (diabetes-related)
October 13 – Shirley Brickley, the Orlons, 32 (shot)
October 14 – Bing Crosby, singer and actor, 74
October 20 – Ronnie Van Zant, 29, Steve Gaines, 28, and Cassie Gaines, 29, members of Lynyrd Skynyrd (plane crash)
November 5 – Guy Lombardo, violinist and bandleader, 75
November 14 – Richard Addinsell, Warsaw Concerto composer, 73
December 5 – Rahsaan Roland Kirk, jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, 42 (stroke)
December 24 - Salvatore Papaccio, Canzone Napoletana tenor, 87
December 25 – Charlie Chaplin, actor and composer, 88
December 28 – Sam Brown, jazz guitarist, 38
December 30 – St. Louis Jimmy Oden, blues singer, 74
date unknown – Jimmy Cooper, hammered dulcimer player, 70
Grammy Awards of 1977
Country Music Association Awards
Eurovision Song Contest 1977
