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

1977 was a banner year for the soft rock genre, with gentle hits rolling out all through the period. Choosing five tunes that represent how incredible easy listening music was that year gave us a chance to revisit some timeless works that don't always get the attention they deserve this far down the line. But there was no shortage of artists giving soft rock fans plenty of chill vibes to spend their money on, which made narrowing the list a tricky affair.

We aimed for tracks that exemplify all aspects of the soft rock formula: easy-going arrangements, gently rocking beats, and smooth vocals that glide into your ears like warm honey. We also opted for songs that were successful on the charts, since this is naturally a keen indicator of a tune's best-of status. And we tried to find a variety of artists that admirably represent the soft rock tradition — not a difficult task when legends like Fleetwood Mac and Rod Stewart were on the scene. Add in a few forgotten pleasures from some of the genre's best-known acts, and our selections crown 1977 as the decade's soft rock champion, bar none.

Years before he would release some of the worst songs of the '90s, Rod Stewart hit a sexy soft rock home run with "Tonight's the Night." The sensual shuffle sets the scene for an evening of romantic entanglement with a guitar-centered groove that's perfect for a slow dance. This tune for two actually dropped at the end of 1976, but its incredible eight-week run at No. 1 carried into January 1977, kicking off this monumental soft rock year with finesse and matching a record set by The Beatles.

It wasn't all wine and roses for this now-classic tune, though. There was controversy over the suggestive lyrics, prompting a ban in the U.K. and a more radio-friendly edit that attempted to sanitize the song by throwing a wet blanket over Stewart's steamy scenario. Part of the issue was that the female voice heard speaking French at the end of the song belongs to Britt Ekland, Stewart's Swedish paramour at the time. Her suggestive voice gave the tune a tad too much reality for the staid and stately, though the BBC and British radio stations ultimately nixed the ban. As often happens with controversial content, the interest of the public was piqued and the song sold like gangbusters. The soft rock era of 1977 was off to a smooth-grooving start.

"Rich Girl" is more than just the lovelorn lyrics, soulful vocals, and juicy arrangements Hall & Oates perfected. It's also canon soft rock and a radio classic that gets away with having a swear word right in the chorus. Stunning! And what a stunner it was. Rather than a rollicking love song, it's actually an anti-love tune describing a bougie heartbreaker who doesn't know how to treat people. Interestingly, "Rich Girl" is about the ex-boyfriend of Daryl Hall's girlfriend at the time, reimagined as a wealthy, unscrupulous woman (the track was originally called "Rich Guy"). This is soft rock with claws.

Few songs in any genre are clever enough to start with the chorus, but songwriter Hall did just that, displaying his flair for surprising musical twists. He also doesn't hold back when describing the soulless character who favors money over love. "High and dry, out of the rain," sings Hall, with a little acid scorching the soft rock consistency. "It's so easy to hurt others when you can't feel pain." Yikes. There's no love lost between these two, which means there's likely no love to be found in the rest of the song, either. With its sharp tongue and certifiable sass, this smooth groover landed the No. 1 spot in January 1977, the first for Hall & Oates and a strong contribution to a banner year for soft rock. It also set a blue-eyed soul standard for soft rock that other acts would aim to uphold for years to come.

The Eagles captivated music fans with its country-lite ode to post-romance alienation, "New Kid in Town," a soft rocker that showed off the sensitive side of the band in near-literary detail. It's as smooth as a Friday night dance with your sweetheart, even as it delivers a lyrical kick to the heart for everyone who's ever been replaced by a more fascinating newcomer to the social circle. The song is like a short story set to music, crafted by a gang of easy listening laureates who did it better than almost anyone.

Glenn Frey's tone conveys just the right level of sorrow to sell the narrative about a depressed soul being supplanted by the new man in his ex-lover's life. He has a front-row seat for his own replacement, piling on even more sadness as he realizes this new beau has taken his place — "just another new kid in town." It's a poetic way of saying we're all replaceable, and some of us can't even get enough distance to find closure. Sometimes soft rock delivers hard lessons. "New Kid in Town" caught No. 1 lightning in a bottle in February 1977, a bittersweet post-Valentine's Day tune that proved heartache sells when it comes with steel guitars and sun-drenched harmonies.

Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" was one of the hit singles from the staggeringly successful "Rumours" album, the soft-rock colossus that still has legs more than 40 years after it started dancing down the road. And this rolling tune in particular helped the band skyrocket to success, landing at the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1977 and becoming one of Fleetwood Mac's biggest hits and the group's only No. 1 song ever.

Stevie Nicks seduced the soft rock crowd with her sultry vocals and mystical longings, a template that would serve Fleetwood Mac for many tunes to come. This one was written in a creative fugue state of sorts, while Nicks was on a studio break and nestled in Sly Stone's bed at his Record Plant studio (to be clear, Stone was not in the bed with her). It was an add-on to the existing tracks, conjured up as a breakup gift to her eternal foil, Lindsey Buckingham, and then presented to her ex to put all the bells and whistles on. Awkwaaaard. Yet even through their tense uncoupling, Nicks and Buckingham turned "Dreams" into a cornerstone of the band's legacy and a soft rock standard that still enchants old and new listeners. Against all odds, the song became a mega-hit for Fleetwood Mac and became a crown jewel in the 1977 easy-listening collection.

The Bee Gees was on a hot streak with the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack. The 1977 disco juggernaut that showed the genre had legs — legs that were strutting around on the dance floor in shiny satin pants. "How Deep Is Your Love" slowed the tempo without tarnishing the sparkle, giving the Brothers Gibb yet another No. 1 smash, this time with a soft-rock ballad sparkling in the spotlight.

The song was a breathy tribute to love, nothing more complex than that, but it was given the deluxe soft rock treatment the band was famous for. This meant shimmering keyboards and glorious harmonizing in those trademark falsetto voices. All of this was on grand display as a counterpoint to the higher-energy, hustle-friendly tunes on the "Fever" collection, letting frenzied dancers catch their breath with a close-dance charmer. The song also expanded the band's repertoire, reminding fans that Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb were just as agile with slow grooves as they were with the high-energy blasters.

"How Deep Is Your Love" took the No. 1 spot for three weeks, beginning with the last week of 1977. The song wrestled the throne away from Debby Boone after her slurpy pop ballad "You Light Up My Life" locked it down for 10 straight weeks. The Bee Gees' strong showing closed out a year of soft rocking that was like no other in the '70s.