5 No. 1 Hits That Prove 1977 Was The Decade's Best Year For Love Songs

With dance music on the cusp of becoming mainstream, the precursor of smooth '80s sounds beginning to take shape, soul and R&B classics being released, and rock 'n' roll enjoying some of its catchiest hits, there's no doubt love was in the air in 1977. There was a noticeable shift in the charts, with excellent love songs consistently spending time at the top spot. Love songs may come in many shapes and sizes, but the songs of this year that put rose-tinted glasses on the masses had an undeniable magic to them.

The likes of Stevie Wonder, Debby Boone, and more took their takes on love all the way to the top of the charts, and we'll be unpacking the quality of these hits in this list. An essential part of what made these love songs special, and likely representative of the decade's best year for such tracks, was the variety in which they detailed love: sometimes straightforward and classically romantic, sometimes yearning and complicated, and sometimes even more abstract. Together, these tracks all deserved to hit that coveted No. 1 spot, and we bet you'll agree that '77 had the hottest hand of the decade when it came to love songs.

Marvin Gaye may have enjoyed one of the peaks of his success in the early '70s, but he wasn't done in '77. His single, "Got To Give It Up," rose all the way to No. 1 for one week in the summer, his first top hit since the nostalgic classic "Let's Get It On" in 1973. This song employs an infinite-feeling groove full of swinging, live instrumentation — one of Gaye's most distinguishable qualities — for a fun-sounding hit, but its meandering story within is nearly hidden by his falsetto vocals, which glide softly over the beat.

"Got To Give It Up" tells a story of love on the dance floor, and its background ambiance of chattering and laughing builds the setting further. The narrator is nervous to get out there, but finds freedom and love in the movements set to the song, and also finds that: "As long as you're groovin' / There's always a chance / Somebody watchin' / Might wanna make romance." "Got To Give It Up" captures a freeing love over an infectious beat, and its themes reflect much of the free-spirited '70s. Gaye is uniquely gifted at crafting a love song, and this funky jam — whose likes inspired much of the '80s dance sounds headed by Michael Jackson — is no exception.

Debby Boone's classic ballad "You Light Up My Life" was one of the most successful singles of the '70s, spending an unheard-of 10 weeks at No. 1 from October to December 1977. Though the track was originally written for a film of the same name, Boone's cover took the song to these breakout heights. In its success, this smash hit is among the definitive love songs of the '70s, though it has been relatively forgotten today. "You Light Up My Life" is a ballad that feels timeless, with Boone's soft but piercing voice floating effortlessly over a piano.

The song is classically romantic, with its soundscape feeling like a Broadway-lit moonlit night or a vintage love story. Boone's starry take on the chorus drives the track home: "And you / Light up my life / You give me hope / To carry on / You light up my days / And fill my nights / With song." There simply wasn't a chart success quite like "You Light Up My Life" in the '70s, and this straightforward love song is a definitive ballad that establishes 1977 as a year that delivered all manner of love songs.

Although "Sir Duke" is a bit of an unorthodox love song, Stevie Wonder's vocals and production choices radiate an essential love in nearly all his tracks, and in this love letter to all music and art, Wonder is near his best. Entering the charts in early April 1977, "Sir Duke" spent three weeks at No. 1, and was Wonder's second No. 1 hit of the year, with "I Wish," another track from the legendary "Songs In The Key Of Life," reaching the top spot in January.

"Sir Duke" balances Wonder's one-of-a-kind melodies with an essential love that's the main theme of the track. The simple, repeated chorus — "You can feel it all over / You can feel it all over people" — is so effortlessly catchy that it's impossible not to groove to, as Wonder's riffing voice takes these simple lines up, down, and around the bright instrumentation behind him. In the verses, he alludes to the power of music to bring people together, referencing Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington (the track's namesake), the Steve Miller Band, and more — but these specifics are a device to call to the greatest connector of all, music, which you can hear Wonder's unstoppable love for throughout the song.

The groovy song "Dreams" from the renowned band Fleetwood Mac found new life in the 2020s thanks to social media success, but its complex and tumultuous creation process also yielded results soon after its release. "Dreams" spent one week atop the charts in the summer of '77, and it has remained the band's only No. 1 hit. The infinitely catchy tune does not paint a picture of love at its most romantic, instead documenting a complicated relationship driven by an almost painful love within.

Stevie Nicks is at her best vocally on "Dreams," and her soothing voice tackles the song as no other could. The love she writes of through the seeming disdain of her lover is moving and selfless — "Now, here you go again / You say you want your freedom / Well, who am I to keep you down?" — and the nuances of the story highlight Nicks as one of the best songwriters of the '70s. This take on love is heartfelt and undoubtedly real, and it's no surprise that it hit the heights it has, both upon release and in more recent years.

Bee Gees are, of course, best known for their smash hit "Stayin' Alive," but their '77 single "How Deep Is Your Love" vaulted to No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the last two weeks of the year, finally taking the top spot from the ridiculous success of Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life." The song is a slow cruising and chilled-out soft ballad that feels uniquely late '70s. The laid-back instrumental and harmonizing vocals make for a mesmerizing experience, and the band lays out a simple yet effective story with dramatic, lovestruck lyrics that clearly landed with fans.

Its chorus is catchy and memorable, but "How Deep Is Your Love" lands its best romantic moments in the verses, depicting an almost "rain pouring over boom box on shoulder" level of expression: "I believe in you / You know the door to my very soul / You're the light in my deepest, darkest hour / You're my saviour when I fall." The track's somewhat relaxing sounds back up the vocals and lyrics well, showcasing how versatile music could be at describing love in 1977.