Some of the 22 singles to reach #1 in the U.S. in 1979
We continue our series of looking at the most popular music for a given year. The topic, as you know by the headline, is singles and while we have done stories on the biggest hits of the year, this series slices things a bit differently. Here, we look at 1979’s #1 pop hits in the U.S. according to Record World, our frequent source, and a competitor of Billboard.
We’ve done this analysis for more than a dozen individual years of the classic rock era. Unlike hit albums, which would often stay at #1 for weeks and often months at a time, singles generally turned over more quickly at the top. Thus, in 1974, no less than 44 songs reached #1. In 1975, 39 different singles made it all the way.
In 1979, 22 accomplished the feat, led by one artist in particular who reached the summit with three different singles—including one as a duet—encompassing 12 weeks in all. As with 1978, many dance floor numbers reached #1, as pop radio programmers were featuring far less music from rock acts. And only two artists had more than one song at the top all year.
Our recap begins in reverse, and alphabetically by artist, starting with the eleven that grabbed the top spot for a single week. (Note: Many of the chart numbers will differ with those compiled by Billboard.)
1 Week
Herb Alpert – “Rise”
The star became the first artist to reach #1 with both a vocal performance (1968’s “This Guy’s In Love With You” and an instrumental.
Bee Gees – “Too Much Heaven”
The Brothers Gibbs’ fourth of six consecutive #1s.
Blondie – “Heart of Glass”
In researching this story, we discovered that the song was the group’s first to even reach the U.S. pop chart. And amazingly, it was the third single pulled from their Parallel Lines album. Crazy. What a song. What a beat.
Commodores – “Sail On”
The soul band was flying high in the late ’70s with such classics as “Brick House,” “Three Times a Lady” and “Still,” all written or co-penned by lead singer Lionel Richie.
The Doobie Brothers – “What a Fool Believes”
The Grammy Award-winner for Record of the Year and Song of the Year was written by Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald. In our interview with McDonald, he told us, “Oddly enough, that’s a song that might’ve never have gotten written. I had the little piano riff and some lyrics in the first verse, and that was about it. I would play it periodically for [producer] Ted Templeman, and he went, ‘Man, you’ve got to finish that song because I’m telling you, that’s a hit!’ I said, ‘One of these days, something will pop up,’ and he goes, ‘I’m telling you. Finish that song and let’s cut it with the band.’” Read the rest here.
Eagles – “Heartache Tonight”
The band’s fifth and final number one single was written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bob Seger and JD Souther, and features a lead vocal by Frey.
Gloria Gaynor – “I Will Survive”
The singer was 29 years old when she recorded this all time classic, penned by veteran songwriters Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. It’s included in our feature 12 Disco Songs Even Rock Fans Enjoy.
Michael Jackson – “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”
The Jackson 5 (and later billed as The Jacksons) continued to enjoy hits in the mid-’70s with such songs as “Dancing Machine,” “Enjoy Yourself” and “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).” But it’s doubtful that anyone could have foreseen how successful Michael’s solo career could be when he was paired with Quincy Jones. Incredibly, this knockout only stayed at #1 for one week.
Frank Mills – “Music Box Dancer”
I refuse to believe that anyone made the following call to their favorite Top 40 station. “Hello, request line? Can you play that instrumental song that’s climbing the chart?”
Amii Stewart – “Knock on Wood”
The singer was just 22 when she recorded her dance hit version of the Stax classic written by Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper.
Anita Ward – “Ring My Bell”
Please help us.
2 Weeks
Bee Gees – “Tragedy”
Now we’re talkin’! Barry, Robin and Maurice are said to have written this hook-filled toe-tapper (and “Too Much Heaven”) during time off from filming the ill-fated Sgt. Pepper movie.
Rupert Holmes – “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)”
The laidback single was the final record to reach #1 in the ’70s. Its singer and author went on to even bigger things when he wrote the Broadway show The Mystery of Edwin Drood, winner of five Tony Awards including Best Musical.
Styx – “Babe”
The band was in the midst of their highly successful era with four straight albums that went 3x Platinum.
3 Weeks
Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer – “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)”
The inspired pairing was included on Babs’ studio album from her longtime home at Columbia Records and on Summer‘s 2-LP hits collection for Casablanca that year. The 12″ version also topped the Dance chart.
4 Weeks
Chic – “Le Freak”
This monster deserves an asterisk because it ended 1978 on top for three weeks and continued at #1 in ’79 for four non-consecutive weeks. It’s a masterwork from Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.
Peaches and Herb – “Reunited”
It was only when I researched this story that I discovered that, while there was just one Herb, no less than seven different women have filled the role of “Peaches” for the vocal duo.
Donna Summer – “Bad Girls”
The title track from the double album of the same name by the so-called “Queen of Disco” also topped the R&B and Dance charts.
5 Weeks
Robert John – “Sad Eyes”
Seven years after scoring a hit with a faithful doo-wop cover of the Tokens’ “Lion Sleeps Tonight,” the singer from Brooklyn hit the top with this saccharine recording.
The Knack – “My Sharona”
This breath of fresh air, produced by Mike Chapman, was the debut single from the Los Angeles band and even though their label—Capitol—had the audacity to market the album like The Beatles fifteen years earlier, it worked. For a short while, anyway. Well, it was fun while it lasted.
Rod Stewart – “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy”
Rod may have taken a lot of grief for this one but it became one of the biggest hits of his phenomenal career. Naturally, it’s included in our feature 12 Disco Songs by Classic Rock Stars.
Donna Summer – “Hot Stuff”
It’s poetic justice that we end alphabetically with a third #1—spanning 12 weeks—from the disco star because 1979 really was her year. And her namesake season was truly fitting: for other than one week, her singles were at the top from the beginning of June until mid-August. This mighty track features a guitar solo by Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, which likely helped her win the Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
- The Number One Singles of 1979: Hot Stuff - 01/02/2025
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