Billboard Number One Songs of 1977 Quiz

Answer: Mary MacGregor

Mary MacGregor appreciated the success of the song but not the message. She was happily married at the time but listeners got the impression the song was about herself. The song was actually co-written by Phil Jarrell and Peter Yarrow from Peter, Paul and Mary. Peter explains the song was written from a male perspective, although inspired in part by his wife's fondness for the movie "Dr. Zhivago".

After the song was shopped to other artists, MacGregor recorded it for the Ariola American label. The success of the song instantly propelled Mary to stardom and touring.

The constant separation put a strain on her marriage and she and her husband eventually and ironically divorced. Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr. took "You Don't Have to be a Star (To Be in my Show)" to the top on January 8, 1977. Natalie Cole had top five success with "I've Got Love on my Mind" in April, 1977, and Linda Ronstadt also had a top five with her cover of Buddy Holly's "It's So Easy" in December, 1977.

Answer: Bill Conti

Bill Conti had been retained to score the film while it was still in production. He had completed the instrumental portion of the score and needed lyricists to supply the words for the theme song. Carol Connors had a hit with The Teddy Bears called "To Know Him is to Love Him" under her real name, Annette Kleinbard.

She collaborated with her friend, songwriter Ayn Robbins and confided that the inspiration for "Gonna Fly Now" came to her while in the shower. In the final cut of the theme song there were only 30 words remaining.

She was disappointed that the song contained so few words. Her husband at the time, actor Robert Culp, reassured her that she had captured the essence of the entire movie in only thirty words. When she attended the premiere at MGM in Culver City she realized that the movie would be a big hit. Meco took "Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" to number one on October 1, 1977, and Brothers Johnson was number five with "Strawberry Letter 23" the same week. Climax Blues Band went to number three in May, 1977, with "Couldn't Get it Right".

Answer: Undercover Angel

Alan O'Day was the first artist signed to Pacific Records. Pacific Records was a subsidiary of Warner Brothers Music that was dedicated to singer/songwriters. As a staff songwriter for Warner Brothers Publishing, Alan had several credits to his name including number one "Angie Baby" for Helen Reddy and "Rock and Roll Heaven" for The Righteous Brothers. "Undercover Angel" blended fantasy and reality, similar to "Angie Baby". Steve Barri and Michael Omartian produced the recording as close to Alan's demo as they could and Alan improvised the unique echo himself by manipulating the tape reel by hand. Peter Frampton's "I'm in You" danced up and down the top five in July and August, 1977 but never made the top spot. "Back in Love Again" was number four for LTD in December, 1977, and "I Like Dreamin'" went to number five for Kenny Nolan February 26th, 1977.

Answer: Marvin Gaye

The song was Marvin Gaye's last single for Motown. Originally titled "Dancing Lady", it was inspired by Johnny Taylor's "Disco Lady". Despite his fear of flying, Marvin performed sold out concerts at the Palladium with the intent to do a double album.

When the material was edited there was only enough for three sides. Marvin expanded on an idea he had been working on and by the time it was finally recorded the song title was changed to "Got to Give it Up(Part 1)" and it ran 11 minutes and 38 seconds.

After leaving Motown Marvin signed with Columbia and kept his string of hits coming with "Sexual Healing" and "Let's Get it On". Stevie Wonder brought "Sir Duke" to number one May 21, 1977, and "I Wish" also went number one for him in January, 1977. Jackson Five didn't break the top five in 1977. Brick had a number four with "Dazz" in January, 1977.

Answer: Dreams

"Rumours" won a Grammy for Album of the Year for 1977 and spent 31 weeks at the top of the Billboard Music Charts. By 2003 the album had sold more than nineteen million copies. This was the second album by Fleetwood Mac with the same lineup. The band was formed in 1967 but several members had come and gone by the time their eponymous LP was released. Mick Fleetwood and John McVie were the only two founding members and John's wife, Christine, had recently joined the band. Mick was checking out the Sound City Studio in Van Nuys in 1974 when he heard a tape of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

They were asked to become part of the band. Their first album produced three hits and "Rumours" had four. "Dreams" hit the top spot, "Don't Stop" went to number three, "Go Your Own Way" was number ten and "You Make Loving Fun" peaked at number nine.

Answer: Emotions

Emotions took the song to number one status, took a Grammy home for Best R&B Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus and earned a gold record. It was written by Maurice White of Earth Wind and Fire along with Al McKay. Maurice had a clear vision of the song when he entered the studio to produce the trio. Lead singer Wanda Hutchinson was required to go an octave above what she was comfortable with, yet the performance came out flawless.

It was a long way from Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in Chicago to the disco dance floors for the three girls.

They made their television debut in 1958 singing gospel, hosted their own gospel radio show and soon landed a Stax recording contract. Hall and Oates hit the top in March, 1977, with "Rich Girl". K C and the Sunshine Band took "I'm Your Boogie Man" to the top on June 12, 1977, and Manfred Mann's Earth Band saw chart topping success with "Blinded by the Light" on February 19, 1977.

Answer: Da Doo Ron Ron

"Da Doo Ron Ron" originally hit number 3 in 1963 for the Crystals. It was also the first recording a young Shaun Cassidy ever bought. When he was 18 he landed a role on ABC television's "Hardy Boys". The television exposure helped propel the song up the charts.

At Beverly Hills High School he had his own band called The Beverly Hills Brats. He landed his recording contract by auditioning for Warner/Curb records. When Shaun outgrew his teen image on "Hardy Boys" he received critical acclaim for his role in the TV movie "Like Normal People" and went on to be a regular on "General Hospital". "Be My Baby" was originally done by the Ronettes and was covered by Andy Kim in 1970.

The Crystals' "And Then He Kissed Me" was re-worded to "Then I Kissed Her" by The Beach Boys in 1965. "There's No Other" was the first Spector-produced Crystals song.

Answer: Thelma Houston

Thelma's mother picked cotton in Mississippi to support Thelma and her sisters. When the family relocated to Long beach, California, Thelma dreamed of becoming an actress. She married, divorced and joined a gospel group called The Art Reynolds Singers.

She worked hard on her music career and was rewarded when she landed a contract with Dunhill records. Jimmy Webb wrote and produced her first LP, "Sunshower", and was impressed with her vocal ability. The album was not a huge success and by the time her children were teenagers she finally got a contract with Motown division Tamla Records.

She was encouraged to record a disco version of the Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes song "Don't Leave Me this Way". Babra Streisand's "Love Theme from 'A Star is Born'(Evergreen)" topped the Billboard charts in March, 1977. Debby Boone's number one in 1977 was October's "You Light Up My Life". Samantha Sang had a top five in 1978 with "Emotion".

Answer: Dancing Queen

Despite having a number one hit in the US and ten of their singles make the top ten, ABBA believed that their only career failure as a group was not capturing the US market in a bigger way. Their records charted much higher in the European market. "Waterloo" was the song that they performed on the Eurovision contest, beating all other entries.

It only reached number six for them on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" topped at fourteen in 1977 and "The Name of the Game" made it to number 12 the same year.

By the end of the seventies the individual members of the band started pursuing solo singing careers or composing scores for musicals.

Answer: David Soul

David was half of the "Starsky and Hutch" duo on prime time television. He had just completed cutting an album for Private Stock Records when he was introduced to British songwriter Tony Macaulay. David recorded Macaulay's composition "Don't Give Up On Us" and the album was pulled back and re-released to include the song. David enjoyed his musical endeavors, but the label was more serious about having top ten singles and aggressively marketed the song.

It was David's only top twenty hit in the US, but he went on to garner a bigger audience in Britain with "Let's Have a Quiet night In" and "It Sure brings Out the Love in your Eyes." Glen Campbell reached the top of the charts with "Southern Nights" in April, 1977. Andy Gibb had a successful number one with "I Just Want to be Your Everything" in July, 1977. Leo Sayer topped the charts twice in 1977 with "You Make Me feel Like Dancing" and "When I Need You".