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That Was The Year in Rock: 1977... this week on The Current Presents

Posted at 10:58 AM on August 5, 2010 by Jim McGuinn

This Sunday on The Current Presents we'll take a look back at a tumultuous year in rock history: 1977. Remembered perhaps mostly as the year Punk exploded in Britain, it was also the year Saturday Night Fever was released, and two of the biggest selling albums in rock history (the 40-millions selling Eagles - Hotel California, Fleetwood Mac - Rumours) came out. And while every year brings musical contradiction to the surface, perhaps no year can match 1977 - from The Clash's debut that was judged "too harsh" to release in the US, to the biggest selling single of the year, Debbie Boone's "You Light Up My Life." It was the year we met one Elvis (Costello) and said goodbye to another (Presley).

But the biggest impact of the year was caused by The Sex Pistols. Once they arrived on the scene, a line was drawn in the sand (particularly in the UK) - either you were with punk, or you were not. Many people at the time were not. Some were eventually won over, some still resent the fissure created by punk. It led to some of the most interesting music ever - not just punk, but the 'anything goes' aesthetic of post-punk and everything that's followed right down to today's indie rock. The combo of hype and hysteria is amazing to witness in hindsight. If you watch one Youtube clip today, let it be this: A Today Show report on The Sex Pistols' first US gig that I stumbled across researching The Current Presents. The sarcasm and disdain from a young Jane Pauley, and the somewhat pro-Punk statements of Tom Brokaw make this a priceless look back.

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