It’s July, 1976

What time is it Sadie?

The Chart

One more week for “Silly Love Songs” by Wings at the top of the charts before “Afternoon Delight” by Starland Vocal Band then “Kiss And Say Goodbye” by Manhattans have two weeks each.

[new] “A Fifth Of Beethoven” – Walter Murphy
“Afternoon Delight” – Starland Vocal Band
[new] “Baby I Love Your Way” – Peter Frampton
[new] “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” – Elton John And Kiki Dee
“Get Closer” – Seals & Crofts
[new] “Get Closer” – Seals And Crofts
“Get Up And Boogie” – Silver Convention
“Got To Get You Into My Life” – Beatles
[new] “I Need To Be In Love” – Carpenters
“I Want You” – Marvin Gaye
[new] “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight” – England Dan And John For
“I’ll Be Good To You” – Brothers Johnson
[new] “I’m Easy” – Keith Carradine
“If You Know What I Mean” – Neil Diamond
“Kiss And Say Goodbye” – Manhattans
[new] “Last Child” – Aerosmith
[new] “Let ’em In” – Wings
“Let Her In” – John Travolta
“Love Hangover” – Diana Ross
“Love Is Alive” – Gary Wright
“Making Our Dreams Come True” – Cyndi Grecco
“Misty Blue” – Dorothy Moore
[new] “Moonight Feels Right” – Starbuck
“Moonlight Feels Right” – Starbuck
“More More More” – Andrea True Connection
“Never Gonna Fall In Love Again” – Eric Carmen
“Rock & Roll Music” – Beach Boys
[new] “Rock N Roll Music” – Beach Boys
“Sara Smile” – Hall & Oates
[new] “Sara Smile” – Hall And Oates
[new] “Save Your Kisses For Me” – Brotherhood Of Man
[new] “Say You Love Me” – Fleetwood Mac
“Shop Around” – Captain & Tennille
[new] “Shop Around” – Captain And Tennille
“Silly Love Songs” – Wings
[new] “Something He Can Feel” – Aretha Franklin
[new] “Sophisticated Lady” – Natalie Cole
“Take The Money And Run” – Steve Miller Band
“Takin’ It To The Streets” – Doobie Brothers
“Tear The Roof Of The Sucker” – Parliament
[new] “Tear The Roof Off The Sucker” – Parliament
“That’s Where The Happy People Go” – Trammps
“The Boys Are Back In Town” – Thin Lizzy
[new] “This Masquerade” – George Benson
“Today’s The Day” – America
“Turn The Beat Around” – Vicki Sue Robinson
[new] “You Should Be Dancing” – Bee Gees
[new] “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine” – Lou Rawls
“You’re My Best Friend” – Queen
[new] “Young Hearts Run Free” – Candi Staton

[new] = New to the chart this week.

You can listen to the full playlist on Youtube via this link.

The Times

On July 18, 1976, at the Montreal Summer Olympic Games, 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci made Olympic history on the uneven parallel bars. Performing a flawless, gravity-defying routine, she was awarded the first perfect score of 10.0 in modern Olympic gymnastics history.

The event led to an iconic pop culture visual: Omega’s electronic arena scoreboard was only built to display three digits, assuming a 10.00 was impossible. As a result, the board flashed “1.00”, leaving the arena momentarily confused before erupting in applause. Comăneci went on to score six more perfect tens during the Games, capturing global media attention and becoming an international phenomenon.

On July 20, 1976—exactly seven years after Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon—NASA’s Viking 1 Lander touched down on the Chryse Planitia basin of Mars. It became the first spacecraft to successfully land on the Red Planet, survive, and complete its mission.

Within minutes of landing, Viking 1 transmitted the first clear close-up photographs of the Martian landscape back to Earth. The vivid red dust, scattered boulders, and salmon-colored sky captivated global television audiences, fueling a major mid-70s resurgence of public obsession with science fiction, planetary exploration, and the search for extraterrestrial life.

On July 4, 1976—the night of the U.S. Bicentennial—The Clash made their live concert debut at the Black Swan pub (known locally as the “Mucky Duck”) in Sheffield, England, supporting the Sex Pistols.

Fronted by Joe Strummer alongside Mick Jones and Paul Simonon, the band took to the stage wearing spattered paint-splashed clothes, tearing through a raw set of blistering garage-punk originals. The Sheffield show marked the arrival of the group that would inject overt political consciousness, reggae rhythms, and working-class urgency into the UK punk movement.