The Top 10 Hits That Took Over Summer 1977

The biggest songs shaking the airwaves in the summer of 1977 were an eclectic mix that showed just how diverse the music of the late '70s was. There was a little bit of disco to dance to, portending what would become the surging success of "Saturday Night Fever" later that year. There were adult contemporary ballads to make warm summer nights feel extra romantic. And there were bouncy bops that made cruising town and hanging with the gang feel like a certified party, even if it was just a car radio cranking out the magic.

Let's do a little time travel and revisit the hits of that year's hot season to get a sense of what would have been big news in the world of smash singles. All we need is a glimpse at five of the most popular tracks from the era, together representing the range of sonic sunshine music fans were showered with all summer long — with tunes like Andy Gibb's soaring debut "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" and Donna Summer's groundbreaking electro-dance number "I Feel Love" among them — and the world can sound like the summer of '77 all over again.

The Bee Gees' little brother Andy Gibb burst into the pop music scene with "I Just Want To Be Your Everything," a disco-lite love song that resembled his older bros' music just enough to feel familiar, but with its own energy. It was also a love song that signaled summer romance, a musical mash note that could be dedicated to your honey and speak your unspoken soul, with a melody that made heads bob and shoulders sway. 

It didn't hurt that the song was written by big brother Barry Gibb, whose track record of writing hit songs would herald a Top 5 takeover the following year thanks to the breakout success of "Saturday Night Fever." But it was "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" that got the ball rolling in the summer of '77, an auspicious moment for Andy and his nascent musical career.

The youngest Gibb in the gang got as far as No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with this danceable debut tune that sounds even more sentimental today. It also became the foundation of a three-song stack of chart-toppers, a historic first for an artist hitting No. 1 with their first three singles. This made for an auspicious entrance for the pedigreed pop prince, and helped expand the Gibb brothers' hit-making heritage while doling out a star-making summer song.

Donna Summer helped ensure that 1977 was the decade's best year for disco with the electro-thump of her summer hit "I Feel Love," an absolute game-changer for the world of dance music. With a throbbing beat that had never been a fundamental part of an American disco song before and an eerie, Euro-pop atmosphere that seethed with synthesized urgency, it sounded like nothing on the airwaves ever had before. Sighing like a siren and reading the future of music like a pop culture oracle, Summer sent out a signal for summer parties that said a new day was dawning and everyone was invited to dance along as it arrived. Even her name was tailor-made for a seasonal takeover.

It would be unfair to call "I Feel Love" a sing-along, since the economy of lyrics makes adding it to your karaoke favorites a bit limited. This is one that you bob your head to before the electric sizzle works its way down your spine and takes control of your limbs. That sort of crackling frenzy helped push the tune to No. 6 by late-1977 — a stunning twist for a song that launched in August and that spent 23 weeks (almost half the year) on the charts, shimmying its way to the top. That's some wild staying power for a summer song. 

The goofy dream-fantasy love scenario being relayed in "Undercover Angel" by one-hit wonder Alan O'Day came complete with chintzy lyrics, cheesy dialogue, and a catchy chorus, all of which turned out to be effectively charming. Propelled by a chugging bass line and adorned with chiming electric piano tones, the song felt light and breezy as the verses rolled through. Then the funky pre-chorus showed up and turned on the party vibe, giving summer lovers a perfect mix of sweet and saucy sounds to groove to. You could dance while you waited for the ridiculously repeatable "I said, 'What?' / She said, 'Ooh-ooh-ooh-ee'" so you could sing along at the top of your lungs — a must-have in a summer smash.

Listeners were so enchanted with O'Day's groovy delivery of this sexy fairy tale that they took the tune into the summer music stratosphere; it hit No. 1 in July 1977 and set the tone for a fun-loving season where sly romance was just a dream away. It kept up the good times for 25 weeks overall, taking the sweetness all the way from spring to fall — a great showing for a song from a formerly unknown act whose other chart-worthy single, the sleazier-sounding "Started Out Dancing, Ended Up Making Love," only made it as high as No. 77 and vanished after six weeks. Even so, "Undercover Angel" more than satisfied as a summer song that could permeate the heat with its cool sonic sweetness.

The sweet harmonic R&B stylings of Motown's best '60s acts were alive and kicking in the Emotions' "Best of My Love." Anchored by the Hutchinson sisters Jeanette, Wanda, and Sheila, these jubilant singers were given a heaping helping of musical guidance from Maurice White, the mastermind behind Earth, Wind & Fire's unique sound and the architect of some nearly perfect '70s songs. White wrote and produced this bouncy disco-adjacent bop that sounded like a beach day piping through your radio speaker. It was sheer joy wrapped in shiny horn blasts and some of the most angelic voices of the season singing at the heights of their happiness.

"Best of My Love" stirred up the summer season in June 1977, coming to rest at No. 1 by mid-August and camping out there for five weeks of sweltering, bliss-inducing success. It was a one-time-only achievement for the Emotions on their own, as the only other time they breached the Top 10 was when they teamed up with Earth, Wind & Fire for 1979's disco classic "Boogie Wonderland." But for a shining moment in the summer of '77, these talented harmonizers captured the world's attention and kept everyone entranced with their honey-golden sounds.

Anyone who needed a romantic ballad to slow dance to — or cry to — was covered by "Looks Like We Made It," Barry Manilow's weepy post-breakup ballad that gave the former jingle writer and singer a Top 10 smash that worked in all sorts of summer scenarios. Did you hook up with your crush and make blissful summer memories? Boom — this one's for you. Did your seasonal romance crash and burn only to reignite before Labor Day, or not? Bada-bing — this one is for you, too. Not many summer tunes can make your heart swell, break it into pieces, and put it back together again, but this one could. It sounded like a victorious love song, as long as you didn't dig too deeply into the lyrics to discover it's about a couple who've finally gotten over each other.

Manilow dropped this now-classic tearjerker in May of 1977 and had driven it all the way to No. 1 by late July. It was also his third and final trip to the top of the Hot 100, proving the long-time tunesmith was at the peak of his powers as summer rolled on. For a boomer idol with a career that spans more than half a century, having one of the most successful songs of the summer of '77 is an apex achievement.