1979 in music
See also: 1978 in music, other events of 1979, 1980 in music, 1970s in music and the list of 'years in music'
Events
Disco reigned supreme in 1979, with several #1 hits from The Bee Gees and Donna Summer that year. Several artists who were not regarded as dance/disco acts, scored major successes by releasing disco singles, including New Wave band Blondie with their first US number one single "Heart Of Glass" and Rod Stewart with "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy".
When The Knack's song "My Sharona" hit Billboard's #1 for six weeks, many rock critics gushed that the band was "the next Beatles" and celebrated the beginning of the end for disco music. While it may have marked the climax of disco, it was also the beginning of the end for The Knack, who quickly faded into obscurity.
One event of 1979 which would have later significance was the success of the single "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang, which marked the commercial emergence of hip hop.
Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers' Bustin' Loose was released; this is the first go go record.
- January 1 - Bill Graham closes San Francisco's Winterland Theater following a New Years Eve performance by the Blues Brothers and the Grateful Dead
- January 1 - During a New Years Eve concert in Cleveland, Ohio, Bruce Springsteen is injured when a fire-cracker is thrown onstage from the audience
- January 4 - The Star club in Hamburg, Germany, best known for its connections to the early days of the Beatles, reopens.
- February 3 - Dead Man's Curve, a made-for-TV-movie about surf-rock singers Jan & Dean, airs on US television
- January 13 - Singer Donny Hathaway dies after falling 15 stories from his hotel room in New York City. According to Hathaway's record company, Atlantic, the singer had been having some psychological problems.
- January - MCA Records purchases ABC Records for a reported $20 million.
- February 7 - The Clash kick off their first concert on their first American tour at the Berkeley Community Theatre outside San Francisco, California. Bo Diddley opens the show and the Clash open their set with the song "I'm so bored with the U.S.A.".
- February 10 - Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" hits #1 on the Billboard magazine charts, and stays there for 4 weeks.
- February 11 - 43 million viewers watch "Elvis!" on ABC, a made for TV movie starring Kurt Russell as Elvis.
- February 23 - Dire Straits begins their first U.S. tour in Boston.
- Spring - The Pretenders sign a contract with Sire Records
- March 5 - MCA Records dissolves ABC Records.
- March 10 - James Brown performs at the Grand Ole Opry
- March 27 - Eric Clapton marries Patti Boyd, ex-wife of Clapton's friend George Harrison
- April 6 - Rod Stewart marries Alana Hamilton.
- April 7 - 110,000 people attend the California Music Festival at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. Performers include Aerosmith, The Boomtown Rats, Cheap Trick, Ted Nugent and Van Halen.
- April 12 - Mickey Thomas replaces Marty Balin as the lead singer of Jefferson Starship
- April 13 - During a concert by Van Halen in Spokane, Washington, David Lee Roth collapses from exhaustion.
- May 1 - Elton John becomes the first pop music artist to perform in Israel.
- May 2 - The Who performs their first concert following the death of drummer Keith Moon. The band performed with new drummer Kenney Jones.
- May 5 - "Reunited" by Peaches and Herb hits #1 on the Billboard charts, and stays there for 4 weeks.
- June - Alternative Tentacles record label established by Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra
- July 14 - Donna Summer's "Bad Girls" hits #1 on the Billboard charts, and stays there for 5 weeks
- August 4-11BritishBritish rock band Led Zeppelin played what were to be their last British concerts at Knebworth in Hertfordshire. Total attendance's for the two concerts approached 400,000
- August 25 - "My Sharona" by The Knack hits #1 on the Billboard charts. This is the first time in over a year that a song hits #1 that isn't either a disco song or a ballad. It remains at #1 for 8 weeks.
- September - U2 enters the studio for the first time to record a locally released single.
- December 3 - In Cincinnati, Ohio, a stampede for seats at Riverfront Coliseum during a Who concert kills eleven fans (band members were not made aware of the deaths until after the show).
- Diamond Head's career begins
- INXS' career begins
- Michael Schenker leaves U.F.O after the Obsession tour and his solo career began
- Marianne Faithfull returns to music after a hiatus
- Solid Gold premieres on television.
- Bad Brains forms
- Bad Religion forms in Los Angeles
- Fishbone forms
- MÃÂötley CrÃÂüe forms
- Was (Not Was) forms
- Mr & Mrs No Smoking Sign forms in Sydney (later to become Severed Heads)
Albums released
- Highway to Hell - AC/DC
- The B-52's - The B-52's
- Desolation Angels - Bad Company
- Spirits Have Flown - The Bee Gees
- Eat to the Beat - Blondie
- Parallel Lines - Blondie
- Running on Empty - Jackson Browne
- Singles Going Steady - Buzzcocks
- Dream Police - Cheap Trick
- Live at Budokan - Cheap Trick
- Risque - Chic
- XIII - Chicago
- Christopher Cross - Christopher Cross
- London Calling - The Clash
- Bop Till You Drop - Ry Cooder
- Stations of the Crass - Crass
- Armed Forces - Elvis Costello & the Attractions
- California Uber Alles - Dead Kennedys
- Duty Now for the Future - Devo
- CommuniquÃÂé - Dire Straits
- The Long Run - The Eagles
- Discovery - Electric Light Orchestra
- In Concert - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- Broken English - Marianne Faithfull
- Tusk - Fleetwood Mac
- The Inside Story - Robben Ford
- Peter Gabriel II - Peter Gabriel
- Einstein on the Beach - Philip Glass
- Off the Wall - Michael Jackson
- Stormwatch - Jethro Tull
- 52nd Street - Billy Joel
- Victims of Love - Elton John
- Seven Worlds - Eric Johnson
- Evolution - Journey
- Squeezing Out Sparks & Live Sparks - Graham Parker & the Rumour
- Hell Bent for Leather - Judas Priest
- Unleashed in the East - Judas Priest
- Get the Knack - The Knack
- In Through the Out Door - Led Zeppelin
- One Step Beyond - Madness
- Survival - Bob Marley and the Wailers
- Comedy Is Not Pretty - Steve Martin
- Back to the Egg - Paul McCartney & Wings
- Damn the Torpedoes - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
- The Wall - Pink Floyd
- Outlandos d'Amour - The Police
- Prince - Prince
- Down to Earth - Rainbow
- Sweet Temptation - Ricky Skaggs
- Roches - Roches
- Hemispheres - Rush
- Lovedrive - The Scorpions
- Aja - Steely Dan
- Greatest Hits - Steely Dan
- Rapper's Delight - The Sugarhill Gang
- Bad Girl - Donna Summer
- Fear of Music - Talking Heads
- Just a Game - Triumph
- Obsession - UFO
- Strangers in the Night - UFO
- Van Halen II - Van Halen
- Into the Music - Van Morrison
- The Secret Life of Plants - Stevie Wonder
- Drums and Wires - XTC
- Rust Never Sleeps - Neil Young & Crazy Horse
- Struck Down - Y&T
- Excitable Boy - Warren Zevon
Chronological Table of US and UK Number One Hit Singles
| US Number One Singles and Artist (Weeks at Number One) | UK Number One Singles and Artist (Weeks at Number One) |
|---|---|
| "Le Freak" - Chic (2 weeks in 1978 + 4 weeks in 1979)
"Too Much Heaven" - Bee Gees (2) "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" - Rod Stewart (4) "I Will Survive" - Gloria Gaynor (3) "Tragedy" - Bee Gees (2) "What A Fool Believes" - Doobie Brothers (1) "Knock On Wood" - Amii Stewart (1) "Heart Of Glass" - Blondie (1) "Reunited" - Peaches & Herb (4) "Hot Stuff" - Donna Summer (3) "Love You Inside Out" - Bee Gees (1) "Ring My Bell" - Anita Ward (2) "Bad Girls" - Donna Summer (5) "Good Times" - Chic (1) "My Sharona" - The Knack (6) best selling single of the year "Sad Eyes" - Robert John (1) "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" - Michael Jackson (1) "Rise" - Herb Alpert (2) "Pop Muzik" - M (1) "Heartache Tonight" - The Eagles (1) "Still" - Commodores (1) "(No More Tears) Enough Is Enough" - Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer (2) "Babe" - Styx (2) "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" - Rupert Holmes (2 weeks in 1979 + 1 week in 1980) Also see: Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1979 |
"Y.M.C.A." - Village People (3) best selling single of the year "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" - Ian Dury & The Blockheads (1) "Heart Of Glass" - Blondie (4) "Tragedy" - Bee Gees (2) "I Will Survive" - Gloria Gaynor (4) "Bright Eyes" - Art Garfunkel (6) "Sunday Girl" - Blondie (3) "Ring My Bell" - Anita Ward (2) "Are Friends Electric?" - Tubeway Army (4) "I Don't Like Mondays" - Boomtown Rats (4) "We Don't Talk Anymore" - Cliff Richard (4) "Cars" - Gary Numan (1) "Message In A Bottle" - The Police (3) "Video Killed The Radio Star" - The Buggles (1) "One Day At A Time" - Lena Martell (3) "When Your In Love With A Beautiful Woman" - Dr. Hook (3) "Walking On The Moon" - The Police (1) "Another Brick In The Wall, Part II" - Pink Floyd (3 weeks in 1979 + 2 weeks in 1980) |
Other significant singles
Published popular music
Musical theater
Musical films
Births
Deaths
Awards