Events in Music in 1977

Jan 14 RCA releases David Bowie's 11th studio album, "Low"

Jan 31 4th American Music Awards: Olivia Newton-John & Elton John win

Feb 18 George Harrison releases music single "True Love", from his "33-1/3" album

Feb 19 Manfred Mann's Earth Band's cover of Bruce Springsteen's song "Blinded By The Light" goes to #1

Feb 27 Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards gets suspended sentence for heroin possession in Canada

Feb 27 Swedish pop group ABBA arrives in Australia for the first time, sparking "ABBA-mania"

Mar 5 3rd People's Choice Awards: John Wayne & Barbra Streisand win (Motion Picture) and Telly Savalas & Mary Tyler Moore win (TV)

Mar 23 Elvis Presley begins his final concert tour

Mar 24 Lily Tomlin is the first woman to appear solo in a Broadway show in "Appearing Nitely" (special Tony award 1977)

Mar 26 Elvis Costello releases his 1st record "Less Than Zero"

Apr 18 Musical revue "Side by Side by Sondheim" opens at Music Box, NYC; runs for 390 performances

May 2 Revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's musical "The King & I"', with Yul Brynner reprising the role he created in 1951, opens at Uris Theater, NYC; runs for 695 performances

May 21 Stevie Wonder's single "Sir Duke", a tribute to Duke Ellington and other musical influences of Wonder's, begins a 3-week run at #1

May 25 Original "Star Wars" movie (Episode IV – A New Hope), directed by George Lucas and starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, first released

May 27 The Sex Pistols release "God Save the Queen", sparking major controversy and leading to a ban on the song by the BBC

Jun 7 During the Queen's Jubilee, the Sex Pistols attempt to perform on a boat on the River Thames, but are forced to stop by the police

Jun 18 Sex Pistols johnny rotten & Paul Cook, beaten by a group of rabble-rousers outside of a London pub

Jun 30 Marvel Comics publish "Kiss book" tributing rock group Kiss

Jul 27 John Lennon is granted a green card for permanent residence in US

Jul 30 "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" by Andy Gibb reaches number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100

Aug 29 Iggy Pop releases his second album "Lust for Life", a collaboration with David Bowie

Sep 16 Ringo Starr releases single "Drowning in Sea of Love" in the UK

Sep 29 James Brown's band walks out claiming they were underpaid & overworked

Sep 29 Columbia Records releases "The Stranger", singer-songwriter Billy Joel's fifth studio album; it becomes the label's all-time best selling non-compilation record

Oct 1 Elton John honored by Madison Square Garden's MSG Hall of Fame

Oct 3 "Comedy with Music (Victor Borge)" opens at Imperial Theater, NYC; runs for 66 performances

Oct 7 Guitarist Steve Hackett quits progressive rock band Genesis

Oct 14 Linda Ronstadt sings national anthem prior to World Series Game 3 at Dodger Stadium; criticised for casual attire but ranked by Washington Examiner as second-best rendition ever at a sporting event

Oct 29 John Kander and Fred Ebb's musical "The Act", starring Liza Minnelli, opens at Majestic Theater, NYC; runs for 233 performances and wins a Tony Award

Nov 23 Revival of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice's musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" opens at Longacre Theater, NYC; runs for 96 performances

Dec 13 Asylum Records releases "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter", Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell's 9th studio album;

Dec 23 British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens formally converts to Islam, taking the name Yusuf Islam