Throwing back to the week of August 1, 1976, we find Elton John and Kiki Dee atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,’ the official Song of the Summer for 1976.
At #2 that week, and for the second straight week, was Gary Wright’s ‘Love is Alive.’ The song peaked in this position during its 27-week run on the chart. That’s nearly two months longer than Wright’s other #2 hit, ‘Dream Weaver.’
Throwing back to the week of July 18, 1976, we find R&B group The Manhattans atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Kiss and Say Goodbye,’ by far their biggest hit.
Written by the deep-voiced Winfred Lovett, who also provides the spoken word intro, the song spent two weeks atop the Hot 100 and was a worldwide hit, topping the charts in a handful of other countries. The song also topped the R&B chart and ended the year as one of 1976’s most popular singles.
Throwing back to the week of July 4, 1976 — the nation’s bicentennial — we find Wings’ ‘Silly Love Songs‘ holding on to the top spot.
Right behind it was a 70s one-hit wonder, Starland Vocal Band with the deceptively promiscuous ‘Afternoon Delight.’ The song reached #1 the following week, its “skyrockets in flight” chorus a perfect match for the summer of America’s 200th birthday.
Throwing back to the week of June 20, 1976, we find Wings holding on to the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Silly Love Songs.’
In the #2 slot, where it peaked, was ‘Get Up and Boogie (That’s Right)’ by the German disco act Silver Convention. We last heard from Silver Convention when their song ‘Fly, Robin, Fly‘ topped the Hot 100 in early December of 1975. This single immediately followed that one, and was the last of their songs to get higher than #60 on the chart.
Throwing back to the week of June 6, 1976, we find Wings atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Silly Love Songs,’ the band’s third #1 song in the U.S. This was Paul McCartney’s 27th #1 hit in America as a songwriter, setting a record that he holds to this day (the number is now 32).
Written as a response to critics (and his old pal John Lennon) who called his music sappy, ‘Silly Love Songs’ leans unapologetically into the corn. And it paid off, spending five weeks atop the chart and becoming the #1 overall song of 1976. That made McCartney the first artist to have the #1 overall song with two different bands.
Meet Me In Montauk 