Top songs of 1978

What was the number one song of 1978?

The number one song of 1978 was “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb, the top song on Billboard's year-end Hot 100 for 1978. It spent 7 weeks at number one on the weekly chart, starting with the chart dated June 17, 1978.

“Night Fever” by Bee Gees was number one for the most weeks of 1978: 8 of the year's 52 weekly charts, starting with the chart dated March 18, 1978.

Born in 1978? The birthday number one finder shows the song at number one in the exact week of your birthday, and the number one on every birthday since.

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1978, year-end Hot 100 of 1978).

How many songs reached number one in 1978?

19 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 1978. Counting “How Deep Is Your Love”, which was already at number one when the year began, 20 songs held the top spot across the year's 52 weekly charts.

Of the songs that first reached number one in 1978, “Night Fever” by Bee Gees stayed there longest: 8 weeks in total, from the chart dated March 18, 1978.

Weeks at No. 1 counts every week the song spent at the top, including weeks in other years; the number in brackets is the weeks on charts dated 1978. Dates are chart issue dates.

Which artists had more than one number one in 1978?

2 acts had more than one number one in 1978, counting lead and featured credits. Bee Gees had the most, with 3: “How Deep Is Your Love”, “Stayin' Alive” and “Night Fever”.

• Bee Gees: “How Deep Is Your Love”, “Stayin' Alive” and “Night Fever”
• Andy Gibb: “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water” and “Shadow Dancing”

What were the biggest songs of 1978?

The five biggest songs of 1978 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 were “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb, “Night Fever” by Bee Gees, “You Light Up My Life” by Debby Boone, “Stayin' Alive” by Bee Gees and “Kiss You All Over” by Exile.

The year-end chart ranks songs by how they performed on the weekly Hot 100 across Billboard’s chart year, so a song that peaked late in the year can rank lower than its weekly peak suggests, or count toward the next year’s list. The top 30 below show each song’s length where we could match the recording.

Numbers 31 to 100

31. “Jack And Jill” Raydio
32. “Take a Chance on Me” ABBA
33. “Sometimes When We Touch” Dan Hill
34. “Last Dance” Donna Summer
35. “Hopelessly Devoted to You” Olivia Newton-John
36. “Hot Blooded” Foreigner
37. “You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)” Rod Stewart
38. “The Closer I Get to You” Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
39. “Dust in the Wind” Kansas
40. “Magnet and Steel” Walter Egan
41. “Short People” Randy Newman
42. “Use ta Be My Girl” The O'Jays
43. “Our Love” Natalie Cole
44. “Love Will Find a Way” Pablo Cruise
45. “An Everlasting Love” Andy Gibb
46. “Love Is in the Air” John Paul Young
47. “Goodbye Girl” David Gates
48. “Slip Slidin' Away” Paul Simon
49. “The Groove Line” Heatwave
50. “Thunder Island” Jay Ferguson
51. “Imaginary Lover” Atlanta Rhythm Section
52. “Still the Same” Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
53. “My Angel Baby” Toby Beau
54. “Disco Inferno” The Trammps
55. “On Broadway” George Benson
56. “Come Sail Away” Styx
57. “(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again” L.T.D.
58. “This Time I'm in It for Love” Player
59. “You Belong to Me” Carly Simon
60. “Here You Come Again” Dolly Parton
61. “Blue Bayou” Linda Ronstadt
62. “Peg” Steely Dan
63. “You Needed Me” Anne Murray
64. “Shame” Evelyn "Champagne" King
65. “Reminiscing” Little River Band
66. “Count On Me” Jefferson Starship
67. “Baby Hold On” Eddie Money
68. “Hey Deanie” Shaun Cassidy
69. “Summer Nights” John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
70. “What's Your Name” Lynyrd Skynyrd
71. “Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” Crystal Gayle
72. “Because the Night” Patti Smith Group
73. “Every Kinda People” Robert Palmer
74. “Copacabana” Barry Manilow
75. “Always and Forever” Heatwave
76. “You and I” Rick James
77. “Serpentine Fire” Earth, Wind & Fire
78. “Sentimental Lady” Bob Welch
79. “Falling” LeBlanc & Carr
80. “Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood” Santa Esmeralda
81. “Bluer Than Blue” Michael Johnson
82. “Running on Empty” Jackson Browne
83. “Whenever I Call You 'Friend'” Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks
84. “Fool (If You Think It's Over)” Chris Rea
85. “Get Off” Foxy
86. “Sweet Talkin' Woman” Electric Light Orchestra
87. “Life's Been Good” Joe Walsh
88. “I Love the Nightlife” Alicia Bridges
89. “You Can't Turn Me Off (In The Middle Of Turning Me On)” High Inergy
90. “It's So Easy” Linda Ronstadt
91. “Native New Yorker” Odyssey
92. “Flash Light” Parliament
93. “Don't Look Back” Boston
94. “Turn to Stone” Electric Light Orchestra
95. “I Can't Stand the Rain” Eruption
96. “Ebony Eyes” Bob Welch
97. “The Name of the Game” ABBA
98. “We're All Alone” Rita Coolidge
99. “Hollywood Nights” Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
100. “Deacon Blues” Steely Dan

Chart data: Billboard Hot 100, as compiled on Wikipedia (number ones of 1978, year-end Hot 100 of 1978).

What songs should go on a 1978 mix CD?

A 1978 mix that fits one 80-minute CD holds 19 of the year's biggest songs, opening with “How Deep Is Your Love” by Bee Gees and closing with “Kiss You All Over” by Exile, for 76:38 of music.

We built it from the year-end top 30 and every number one of 1978, taking songs in year-end order until the disc was full, then sequenced it to follow the year: the number ones in the order they reached the top, with the year’s other big hits placed between them. With a 2-second gap before each track it runs 77:16, under the 79 minutes we fill a CD to.

Lengths are the recordings matched in Deezer’s catalog. Single edits, album versions and remasters can run a little longer or shorter, so check your own playlist before you burn it.

Turn 1978 into a CD. Send us this list, or your own 1978 songs, and we burn it to a real audio CD, test-play it and post it. It makes a good gift for a birth year, a graduation year or a wedding year.

To change the songs, paste the list into the playlist length calculator to keep it under 80 minutes, then print an insert with the CD case template. Our guide to making a mixtape covers sequencing, and nostalgic gift ideas has more ways to give a year as a present.

What was popular music like in the 1970s?

Popular music in the 1970s ran from singer-songwriters and soft rock to soul, funk and, by the end of the decade, disco. The Bee Gees, Donna Summer and Chic all reached number one with disco records in 1978 and 1979, while ballads and soft rock filled the charts between them.

From 1970 to 1979, 253 songs reached number one on the Hot 100, and 1 song stayed there for 10 weeks or more. Of those 253, “You Light Up My Life” by Debby Boone spent the most weeks at number one: 10 in total. Bee Gees had the most number ones that reached the top in these years, with 9. The typical number one of these years ran 3:40 (the median of the 229 with a known length).