Information about 1976 In Music

Events

January-February

• January 6 - Peter Frampton releases Frampton Comes Alive!
• January 7 - Kenneth Moss, a former record company executive, is sentenced to 120 days in the Los Angeles County Jail and four years probation for involuntary manslaughter in the 1974 drug induced death of Average White Band drummer Robbie McIntosh.
• January 13 - A trial begins for seven Brunswick Records and Dakar Records employees. The record company employees are charged with stealing more than $184,000 in royalties from artists.
• February 15 - Bette Midler bails seven members of her entourage out of jail after they are arrested on charges of cocaine and marijuana possession.
• January 19 - Concert promoter Bill Sargent makes an offer of $30 million to the Beatles if they will reunite for a concert.
• February 19 - Former Tower of Power lead singer Rich Stevens is arrested and charged with the drug related murders of three men in San Jose, California.
• February 20 - Kiss have their footprints added to the sidewalk outside Hollywood's Grauman's Chinese Theater.
• February 24 - Having been released one week before, The Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) compilation becomes the first album in history to be certified platinum by the RIAA. The new platinum certification represents sales of at least 1 million copies for albums and 2 million copies for singles.

March-April

• March 4 - ABBA arrive at Sydney airport for a promotional tour in Australia.
• March 6 - EMI Records reissues all 22 previously released British Beatles singles, plus a new single of the classic "Yesterday". All 23 singles hit the UK charts at the same time
• March 7 - A wax likeness of Elton John is put on display in London's Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.
• March 9 - The Who's Keith Moon collapses onstage ten minutes into a performance at the Boston Garden.
• Alice Cooper marries his two year girlfriend, Sheryl Goddard.
• March 15
• Kiss release Destroyer, their best-selling album ever, continuing their popularity through the 1970s.
• Members of The Plastic People of the Universe are arrested in communist Czechoslovakia. They were sentenced from 8 to 18 months in jail.
• March 25 - Jackson Browne's wife Phyllis commits suicide.
• March 26 - In Paris, France, Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch breaks one of his fingers when he slips in his hotel bathroom following the final performance on the band's European tour. The injury ended up delaying the band's United States tour by three weeks.
• April 14 - Stevie Wonder announces that he has signed a "$13 million-plus" contract with Motown Records
• April 23 - Ramones release their self-titled debut album which opens with the three classics Blitzkrieg Bop, Beat on the Brat, and Judy is a Punk.
• April 24 - Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels makes an on-air offer to pay the Beatles $3000 to reunite on the show. Lennon and McCartney were apparently watching the show together in New York and considered walking down to the studio to accept the check. On May 22, he raises his offer from $3000 to $3,200.
• April 29 - When his tour stops in Memphis, Tennessee, Bruce Springsteen jumps the wall at Elvis Presley's mansion, "Graceland", in an attempt to see his idol. Security guards stop Springsteen and escort him off the grounds.

May-December

• May 3
• Paul McCartney and Wings start their Wings over America Tour in Fort Worth, Texas. This is the first time McCartney has performed in the US since The Beatles' last concert in 1966 at Candlestick Park.
• Paul Simon puts together a benefit show at Madison Square Garden to raise money for the New York Public Library. Phoebe Snow, Jimmy Cliff and the Brecker Brothers also perform. The concert brings in over $30,000 for the Library.
• May 19 - Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is involved in a car accident. Cocaine is found in his wrecked car. Richards is given a court date of January 12, 1977.
• May 19 - Rumour spread by German press: ABBA members killed in plane crash, only Anni-Frid survived.
• Alice Cooper collapses and is rushed to UCLA Hospital in Los Angelos, two days before the Goes To Hell tour would begin. The tour was cancelled.
• May 25 - Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour ends
• June - Former Spring Canyon keyboardist Mark Cook joins Daniel Amos
• August- Cheap Trick receives a long term recording contract with Epic Records
• August 13 - The official ABBA logo with the reversed 'B' is born.
• September 20 & September 21 - 100 Club Punk Festival, the first international punk festival is held in London.
• September 25 - Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr form a band called Feedback in Dublin. The band would later be renamed U2.
• October 8 - The Sex Pistols sign a contract with EMI Records.
• October 10 - ABBA in New York on The Midnight Special performing 'Fernando', 'Dancing Queen', 'Mamma Mia' and 'S.O.S.' live.
• October 31 - George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic begin "The P-Funk/Rubber Band Earth Tour" in Houston, a national live series highlighting one of the biggest and revolutionary stage shows in the history of the music industry (the rock group Kiss would be the other group to do a similar act), relying on elaborate costumes, special lighting and effects, and extremely large props including "the Mothership", which would arrive and land on stage, all of what this band is generally known for. This live set would vary in length (on average of 3 to 5 hours long) and at high volume.
• November - Former Tower of Power lead singer Rich Stevens, and another person, are found guilty on two counts of murder.
• November 15- Kiss Rock & Roll Over is released.
• November 24 - The Band gives its last public performance; Martin Scorsese is on hand to film it.
• December 1 - The Sex Pistols cause media furor when they swear on prime time British TV.
• December 2 - The Bee Gees perform at Madison Square Garden and donate the proceeds to the Police Athletic League in New York. In January 1979, they will receive the Police Athletic League's Superstars Of The Year award.
• December 8 - The Carpenters air their "Very First Television Special" on ABC.The Eagles release Hotel California.

unknown dates

• The Flowers of Romance, a band that included many seminal individuals within the punk movement, forms in the summer.
• Bonnie Raitt records Sweet Forgiveness, which will be a blockbuster album in 1977
• War records Galaxy, which will be a blockbuster album in 1977
• Joe Cocker performs a duet with himself (as portrayed by John Belushi) on Saturday Night Live .
• Evita is released as an album.
• Cheryl Byron performs rapso in calypso tents for the first time, beginning the popularization of rapso
• Peter Brown's solo career begins
• Peter Tosh's solo career begins
• Bunny Wailer's solo career begins
• Leif Garrett's solo career begins
• .38 Special's musical career begins
• Y&T (Yesterday & Today)'s musical career begins
• Elvis Costello & the Attractions form
• The Jam forms
• Black Flag forms
• The Clash forms
• Culture forms
• The Cure forms
• The Damned form
• Diamond Head forms
• Foreigner forms
• Generation X forms
• Madness forms
• Rubber City Rebels form
• Throbbing Gristle forms
• UK Subs form
• Wire forms
• The Clash sign up to CBS
• Elvis Costello signs a contract with Columbia Records
• Steve Martin signs a contract with Warner Bros.
• Eddie Money signs a contract with CBS
• "Ten Percent" by Double Exposure, the first 12-inch single commercially available to the public (as opposed to DJ-only promotional copies).
• Grand Funk Railroad disband
• Ike & Tina Turner split up
• Roxy Music go on hiatus until 1980
• Soft Machine disband
• The Pretty Things disband
• Argent disbands
• Deep Purple disband (they reform in 1984)
• The Mahavishnu Orchestra disbands

Albums released

• 15 Big Ones - The Beach Boys
• 2112 - Rush

A-C

• A Day at the Races - Queen
• A Kind of Hush - Carpenters
• A Love Trilogy - Donna Summer
• ''A New World Record - Electric Light Orchestra
• A Night on the Town - Rod Stewart
• A Trick of the Tail - Genesis
• Agents Of Fortune - Blue Öyster Cult
• ''Alice Cooper Goes to Hell - Alice Cooper
• Another Passenger - Carly Simon
• Atlantic Crossing - Rod Stewart
• Arrival - ABBA
• Automatic Man - Automatic Man
• Bigger Than Both of Us - Hall & Oates
• Black and Blue by The Rolling Stones
• Blackheart Man - Bunny Wailer
• Blondie - Blondie
• Blue for You - Status Quo
• Blue Moves - Elton John
• Boston - Boston
• Both Sides of Ray Stevens - Ray Stevens
• Chestnut Street Incident - Johnny Cougar
• Chicago X - Chicago
• Children of the World - Bee Gees
• Clones of Dr. Funkenstein - Parliament
• Come on Over - Olivia Newton-John
• Coney Island Baby - Lou Reed
• Coup de chapeau au passé - Dalida
• Crystal Ball - Styx

D-J

• Desire - Bob Dylan
• Destroyer - Kiss
• Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap - AC/DC
• Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band - Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band
• Everybody Loves the Sunshine - Roy Ayers
• Dreamboat Annie - Heart (in US; released in Canada in 1975. Debut)
• Every Day of My Life - Michael Bolton
• Faithful - Todd Rundgren
• Fitzgerald and Pass... Again - Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Pass
• Flow Motion - Can
• Fly Like an Eagle - Steve Miller Band
• Frampton Comes Alive! - Peter Frampton
• Free-for-All - Ted Nugent
• Forever for Now - April Wine
• Four Seasons Of Love - Donna Summer
• From Every Stage - Joan Baez
• Give Us a Wink - Sweet
• Greatest Hits - ABBA
• Greatest Hits - War
• Gulf Winds - Joan Baez
• Hardcore Jollies - Funkadelic
• Hasten Down the Wind - Linda Ronstadt
• Havana Daydreamin' - Jimmy Buffett
• Hejira - Joni Mitchell
• Helluva Band - Angel
• High Voltage - AC/DC
• Home Plate by Bonnie Raitt
• Hotel California - The Eagles
• Howlin' Wind - Graham Parker & the Rumour
• Howzat - Sherbet
• If I Were Britannia I'd Waive the Rules - Budgie
• The Jacksons - The Jacksons
• Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius
• Jammy Smears - Ivor Cutler
• Joan Armatrading - Joan Armatrading
• Just for the Record - Ray Stevens

K-Q

• Kate & Anna McGarrigle - Kate & Anna McGarrigle
• Kites - Jade Warrior
• La Düsseldorf - La Düsseldorf
• Late General Murtala Ramat Mohammed - Salawa Abeni
• Leftoverture - Kansas
• Legalize It - Peter Tosh
• Long May You Run - The Stills-Young Band
• Look into the Future - Journey
• Look My Way - Rosemary Clooney
• Love Is All Around - War
• Milky Shade - Kazumi Watanabe
• The Mini-Album - The Sex Pistols (live EP)
• Misty - Ray Stevens
• Modern Lovers - Modern Lovers
• Mothership Connection - Parliament
• M.U. --- Best of - Jethro Tull
• Music from the Penguin Cafe Orchestra -Penguin Cafe Orchestra
• Music, Music - Helen Reddy
• No Heavy Petting - UFO
• One More from the Road - Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Oxygene - Jean Michel Jarre
• Part 3 - KC & The Sunshine Band
• Party Music/Partimusik - Röda Kapellet
• Ports of the Heart - Jimmie Spheeris
• Presence - Led Zeppelin
• Private Eyes - Tommy Bolin

R-U

• Rainbow Rising - Rainbow
• The Ramones - The Ramones
• Rastaman Vibration - Bob Marley & the Wailers
• Ripper '76 - Various Artists
• R-O-C-K - Bill Haley & His Comets
• Rock and Roll Heart - Lou Reed
• Rock and Roll Over - Kiss
• Rocks - Aerosmith
• The Royal Scam - Steely Dan
• The Runaways- The Runaways
• ''Third Reich & Roll - The Residents
• Sad Wings of Destiny - Judas Priest
• Second Annual Report- Throbbing Gristle
• Silk Degrees - Boz Skaggs
• Slow Down World - Donovan
• Small Change -Tom Waits
• Song Of Joy - Captain & Tennille
• The Song Remains the Same - Led Zeppelin
• Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder
• Southern Tracks & Fantasies - Paul Davis
• Sowiesoso - Cluster
• Station to Station - David Bowie
• Streetheart - Dion DiMucci
• Stretchin Out In Bootsy's Rubber Band-Bootsy's Rubber Band
• Summertime Dream - Gordon Lightfoot
• Tales of Kidd Funkadelic - Funkadelic
• Technical Ecstasy - Black Sabbath
• Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) - The Eagles
• Thirty Three & 1/3 - George Harrison
• T.N.T. - AC/DC
• Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (debut)
• - Jethro Tull
• Turnstiles - Billy Joel
• UP - Morrissey-Mullen

V-Z

• Virgin Killer - Scorpions
• Von Herz zu Herz - Die Flippers
• Wanted! the Outlaws - Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
• Warren Zevon - Warren Zevon
• Watashi no koe ga kikoemasuka - Miyuki Nakajima
• We Sold Our Souls For Rock 'n' Roll - Black Sabbath
• The Whole World's Goin' Crazy - April Wine
• Why Can't We Be Friends - War
• The Wild Tchoupitoulas - The Meters, George & Amos Landry, The Neville Brothers
• Wind and Wuthering - Genesis
• Wings at the Speed of Sound - Paul McCartney & Wings
• Wings over America - Paul McCartney & Wings
• Works Volume I - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
• Year of the Cat - Al Stewart
• Yes We Have No Mañanas (So Get Your Mañanas Today) - Kevin Ayers
• Yesterday And Today - Y&T (debut)
• Young & Rich -The Tubes
• Zoot Allures - Frank Zappa

Biggest hit singles

#	Artist	Title	Year	Chart Entries
1	ABBA	Dancing Queen	1976		UK 1 - Aug 1976, US BB 1 - Jan 1977, US BB 2 of 1977, US CashBox 3 of 1977, Canada 6 - Jan 1977, Holland 1 - Aug 1976, Australia 03 of 1976, Germany 99 of the 1970s, Germany 02 - Aug 1976, Éire 1 - Sep 1976, Europe 14 of the 1970s, South Africa 10 of 1976, Switzerland 43 of all time, Belgium 224 of all time, Global 33 (5 M sold) - 1976, Rolling Stone 171, RYM 4 of 1976, POP 1 of 1977, RIAA 148, Scrobulate 82 of pop, Acclaimed 122, Party 2 of 2007
2	Queen	Bohemian Rhapsody	1976		UK 1 - Dec 1991, US BB 2 of 1992, US BB 33 of 1976, US CashBox 22 of 1992, Canada 1 - Mar 1976, Holland 1 - Dec 1975, Australia 02 of 1976, Germany 10 - Jan 1976, Éire 1 - Dec 1975, Europe 1 of the 1970s, Belgium 3 of all time, Rolling Stone 163, TOTP 05, Virgin 2, 8 in 2FM list, RYM 1 of 1975, POP 5 of 1992, Scrobulate 9 of rock, Acclaimed 63
3	Chicago	If You Leave Me Now	1976		UK 1 - Oct 1976, US BB 1 - Aug 1976, US CashBox 14 of 1976, Canada 1 - Sep 1976, Holland 1 - Oct 1976, Australia 10 of 1977, Germany 168 of the 1970s, Germany 03 - Jan 1977, Éire 1 - Dec 1976, Europe 41 of the 1970s, South Africa 11 of 1977, RYM 31 of 1976, POP 18 of 1976
4	ABBA	Fernando	1976		UK 1 - Mar 1976, US BB 13 - Sep 1976, Canada 7 - Sep 1976, Holland 1 - Mar 1976, Australia 01 of 1976, Germany 15 of the 1970s, Germany 01 - Mar 1976, South Africa 5 of 1976, Global 7 (10 M sold) - 1976, RYM 36 of 1976, POP 35 of 1976, Scrobulate 33 of Swedish
5	Wild Cherry	Play That Funky Music	1976		UK 7 - Oct 1976, US BB 1 - Jul 1976, US BB 1 of 1976, US CashBox 2 of 1976, Canada 1 - Aug 1976, Holland 4 - Oct 1976, RYM 22 of 1976, POP 1 of 1976, Scrobulate 4 of funk, Acclaimed 2141, Party 15 of 1999

Chronological Table of US and UK Number One Hit Singles

Other significant singles

• "All By Myself" - Eric Carmen
• "Anarchy in the U.K." - Sex Pistols
• "Arms Of Mary" - Sutherland Brothers and Quiver
• "Back in the U.S.S.R." - The Beatles
• "Beautiful Noise" - Neil Diamond
• "Bennie And The Jets" - Elton John
• "Beth" - Kiss
• "Better Use Your Head" - Little Anthony and the Imperials
• "Blinded by the Light" - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
• "Blue Jeans" - Skyhooks
• "Born To Be With You" - Dion
• "The Boston Tea Party" - The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
• "Both Ends Burning" - Roxy Music
• "The Boys Are Back in Town" - Thin Lizzy
• "Calling Dr. Love" - Kiss
• "Candy Store Rock" - Led Zeppelin
• "Cherry Bomb" - The Runaways
• "Child's Play - Sherbet
• "Come On Over" - Olivia Newton-John
• "Couldn't Get It Right" - Climax Blues Band
• "Crazy on You" - Heart
• "Darktown Strutters Ball" - Ted Mulry Gang
• "Devil Woman"- Cliff Richard
• "Do You Feel Like We Do" - Peter Frampton
• "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" - Julie Covington
• "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" - Blue Öyster Cult
• "Don't Give Up On Us" - David Soul
• "Don't Make Me Wait Too Long" - Barry White
• "Don't Stop It Now" - Hot Chocolate
• "Don't Take Away The Music" - Tavares
• "Dream Weaver" - Gary Wright
• "Every Little Bit Hurts" Shirley Strachan
• "Evil Woman" - Electric Light Orchestra
• "Extended Play (EP)" - Bryan Ferry
• "Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)" - Bee Gees
• "Fernando" - ABBA
• "Fly Like An Eagle" - Steve Miller Band
• "Foggy Notion-Inside Your Heart" - Velvet Underground
• "Fool to Cry" - The Rolling Stones
• "Free Bird" - Lynyrd Skynyrd
• "From New York to L.A." - Patsy Gallant
• "Get Up And Boogie" - Silver Convention
• "Girls Girls Girls" - Sailor
• "Hard Luck Woman" - Kiss
• "Harvest For The World" - The Isley Brothers
• "Hasten Down The Wind" - Warren Zevon
• "Heading In The Right Direction" - Renée Geyer
• "Heart On My Sleeve" - Gallagher and Lyle
• "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel" - Tavares
• "Hello Old Friend" - Eric Clapton
• "Here Comes the Sun" - Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
• "Here Comes The Weekend" - Dave Edmunds
• "Hey Baby" - J. J. Cale
• "Honey I" - George McCrae
• "Hot Line" - The Sylvers
• "Hot Stuff" - The Rolling Stones
• "Hot Valves(EP)" - Be Bop Deluxe
• "Howzat" - Sherbet
• "Hurricane" - Bob Dylan
• "Hurt" - The Manhattans
• "I Don't Know What To Do With Myself" - Marcia Hines
• "I Hate The Music" - John Paul Young
• "I Love Music" - The O'Jays
• "I Love to Boogie " - T. Rex
• "I Need to Be In Love" - Carpenters
• "I Want You" - Marvin Gaye
• "I Wish" - Stevie Wonder
• "I Never Cry" - Alice Cooper
• "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" - England Dan and John Ford Coley
• "If You Know What I Mean" - Neil Diamond
• "I'm Mandy Fly Me" - 10cc
• "I'm Your Puppet" - James and Bobby Purify
• "If Not You" - Dr. Hook
• "In Dulce Jubilo/On Horseback" - Mike Oldfield
• "It's Over" - Boz Scaggs
• "It Keeps You Running" - Carly Simon
• "Jailbreak" - Thin Lizzy
• "Jump In My Car" - TMG
• "The Killing of Georgie, Pt. 1-2" - Rod Stewart
• "Last Child" - Aerosmith
• "Last Romance" - Mark Holden
• "Let 'Em In" - Paul McCartney & Wings
• "Let's Stick Together" - Bryan Ferry
• "A Little Bit More" - Dr. Hook
• "Livin' Thing" - Electric Light Orchestra
• "Lonely Night (Angel Face)" - Captain & Tennille
• "Lost in France" - Bonnie Tyler
• "Love And Affection" - Joan Armatrading
• "Love And Other Bruises" - Air Supply
• "Love Is Alive" - Gary Wright
• "Love Me" - Yvonne Elliman
• "Love Really Hurts Without You" - Billy Ocean
• "Love So Right" - Bee Gees
• "Love To Love You Baby - Donna Summer
• "Love's A Prima Donna" - Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
• "Lowdown" - Boz Scaggs
• "Magic Man - Heart
• "Man to Man" - Hot Chocolate
• "Misty Blue" - Dorothy Moore
• "Mohammed's Radio" - Warren Zevon
• "Money, Money, Money" - ABBA
• "Moonlight Feels Right" - Starbuck
• "More, More, More" - Andrea True Connection
• "More Than a Feeling" - Boston
• "Movin'" - Brass Construction
• "Mozambique" - Bob Dylan
• "Music" - John Miles
• "Muskrat Love" - Captain & Tennille
• "My First Night Alone Without You" - Bonnie Raitt
• "Mystery Song" - Status Quo
• "Nadia's Theme (The Young & The Restless)" - Barry DeVorzon & Perry Botkin, Jr.
• "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again" - Eric Carmen
• "New Rose" - The Damned (debut)
• "Old Sid" - Daryl Braithwaite
• "Pinball Wizard" - Elton John
• "Rain" - Status Quo
• "Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)" - Fleetwood Mac
• "Right Back Where We Started From" - Maxine Nightingale
• "Ring Out Solstice Bells(EP)" - Jethro Tull
• "Rock Me Gently" - Sherbet
• "Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto (Concerto De Aranjuez)" - Manuel and the Music of the Mountains
• "Sara Smile" - Daryl Hall & John Oates
• "Say You Love Me" - Fleetwood Mac
• "Shannon" - Henry Gross
• "She's Gone" - Daryl Hall & John Oates
• "Ships In The Night" - Be Bop Deluxe
• "Shop Around" - Captain & Tennille
• "Shout It Out Loud" - Kiss
• "Show Me The Way" - Peter Frampton
• "Sing Me An Old Fashioned Song" - Billie Jo Spears
• "So It Goes" - Nick Lowe
• "Somebody to Love" - Queen
• "Something He Can Feel" - Aretha Franklin
• "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"- Elton John
• "Still the One" - Orleans
• "Strange Magic" - Electric Light Orchestra
• "Stop Me (If You've Heard It All Before)" - Billy Ocean
• "(I'm) Stranded" - The Saints
• "Suffragette City" - David Bowie
• "Sugar Mama" - Bonnie Raitt
• "Sunshine Day" - Osibisa
• "Take It To The Limit" - The Eagles
• "Take The Money And Run" - Steve Miller Band
• "Taking It To The Streets" - The Doobie Brothers
• "That'll Be The Day" - Linda Ronstadt
• "The Rubberband Man" - The Detroit Spinners
• "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" - Gordon Lightfoot
• "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)" - Carpenters
• "Things We Do For Love" - 10cc
• "This Is It" - Melba Moore
• "This Time" - Dragon
• "This Old Heart Of Mine" - Rod Stewart
• "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" - Barry Manilow
• "TVC 15" - David Bowie
• "Uptown Uptempo Woman" - Randy Edelman
• "Weekend In New England" - Barry Manilow
• "(What A) Wonderful World" - Johnny Nash
• "What I've Got In Mind" - Billie Jo Spears
• "Why Can't We Be Friends" - War
• "World Turning" - Fleetwood Mac
• "Year of the Cat - Al Stewart
• "Yesterday" - The Beatles
• "You Don't Have To Go" - The Chi-Lites
• "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" - Leo Sayer
• "You See The Trouble With Me" - Barry White
• "You Sexy Thing" - Hot Chocolate
• "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" - Lou Rawls
• "You're My Best Friend" - Queen
• "Young Hearts Run Free" - Candi Staton

Published popular music

• "Always and Forever"     w.m. Rod Temperton
• "Devil Woman"     w.m. Terry Britten & Christine Authors
• "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" w. Tim Rice m. Andrew Lloyd Webber
• "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" w.m. Richard Leigh
• "Empty Tables"     w. Johnny Mercer m. Jimmy Van Heusen
• "Evergreen"     w. Paul Williams m. Barbra Streisand
• "Fernando"     w.m. Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson & Björn Ulvaeus
• "Gonna Fly Now" (aka "Theme From Rocky")      w. Carol Connors & Ayn Robbins m. Bill Conti
• "I Never Do Anything Twice" aka "The Madam's Song" w.m. Stephen Sondheim. Introduced by Régine in the film The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
• "Isn't She Lovely?"     w.m. Stevie Wonder
• "Knowing Me, Knowing You"     w.m. Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
• "Like A Sad Song"     w.m. John Denver
• "A Little Bit More"     w.m. Bobby Gosh
• "Making Our Dreams Come True" w.m. Norman Gimbel & Charles Fox, from the TV series Laverne and Shirley
• "Money, Money, Money"     w.m. Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
• "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"     w.m.Elton John

Classical music

• Elliot Carter - A Symphony of Three Orchestras
• Brian Cherney - String Trio
• George Crumb - Dream Sequence (Images II) for violin, cello, piano, percussion (one player), and off-stage glass harmonica (two players)
• George Crumb - Night Music I (1963, revised 1976) for soprano, piano/celeste, and two percussionists
• Mario Davidovsky - String Quartet No. 3
• Henri Dutilleux - Ainsi la nuit
• Einar Englund - Symphony No. 4 Nostalgic (in memory of Shostakovich)
• Henryk Górecki - Symphony No. 3 Symphony of Sorrowful Songs
• Krzysztof Penderecki - Violin Concerto No. 1

Opera

• Peter Maxwell Davies - The Martyrdom of St Magnus
• Carlisle Floyd - Bilby's Doll

Musical theater

• Bubbling Brown Sugar     Broadway production
• The Club     Broadway production
• Fiddler on the Roof (Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick) - Broadway revival
• Guys and Dolls     Broadway revival
• Irene     London revival
• My Fair Lady (Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe) - Broadway revival
• Oh Calcutta     Broadway revival
• Pacific Overtures (Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman) - Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on January 11 and ran for 193 performances
• Porgy and Bess     Broadway revival
• Salad Days (Julian Slade) - London revival
• Side by Side by Sondheim     London production
• The Threepenny Opera (Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill) - Broadway revival

Musical films

• Bugsy Malone
• The Slipper and the Rose
• The Song Remains the Same - Led Zeppelin
• A Star Is Born
• That's Entertainment II

Births

• January 8 - Jenny Lewis, Rilo Kiley
• January 14 - Alex Bainer, Aero
• January 16 - Stuart Fletcher, The Seahorses
• January 18 - Damien Leith
• January 20 - Sid Wilson, Slipknot
• January 21 - Emma Bunton, Spice Girls
• February 4 - Cam'ron
• February 13 - Leslie Feist, Broken Social Scene
• February 15
• Brandon Boyd, Incubus
• Ronnie Vannucci Jr., The Killers
• February 28 - Ja Rule
• March 8 - Gareth Coombes, Supergrass
• March 17 - Stephen Gately, Boyzone
• March 20 - Chester Bennington, Linkin Park
• March 26 - David Keuning, The Killers
• April 14 - Ricahrd Green, Aero
• May 14 - Hunter Burgan (AFI)
• May 17 - Kandi Burruss, Xscape
• May 29 - Dave Buckner, Papa Roach
• May 31 - Scott Klopfenstein, Reel Big Fish
• June 2 - Tim Rice-Oxley, Keane
• June 2 - Adrian Carlos Olivares, Menudo
• June 15 - Dryden Mitchell, Alien Ant Farm
• June 21 - Mike Einziger, Incubus
• June 22 - Gordon Moakes, Bloc Party
• June 26 - Paul Phillips, Puddle of Mudd
• June 27 - Leigh Nash, Sixpence None the Richer
• July 3 - Shane Lynch, Boyzone
• July 10 - Philip Howard, pianist and composer
• July 12 - Tracie Spencer
• August 8 - Drew Lachey, 98 Degrees
• August 8 - JC Chasez, *NSYNC
• August 18 - Dirk 'Alex' Lance, Incubus
• October 1 - Blu Cantrell
• October 20 - Tom Wisniewski, MxPx
• November 11 - Jesse F. Keeler, Death from Above 1979
• November 12 - Tevin Campbell
• December 13 - Tom Delonge, blink-182
• John Collura, The Ataris
• Mike Davenport, The Ataris
• Patrick Riley, The Ataris

Deaths

• January 8 - George Baker, singer
• January 10 - Howlin' Wolf, blues musician
• January 23 - Paul Robeson
• January 30 - Mance Lipscomb
• January 31 - Evert Taube, composer and singer
• February 5 - Rudy Pompilli, saxophone player and 20-year member of Bill Haley & His Comets
• February 9 - Percy Faith
• February 12 - Sal Mineo, actor and singer, murdered
• February 13 - Lily Pons, coloratura soprano
• February 22 - Florence Ballard, The Supremes
• March 14 - Busby Berkeley
• March 19 - Paul Kossoff, Free, Back Street Crawler, cerebral and pulmonary oedema
• March 26 - Duster Bennett, car accident.
• April 8 - Phil Ochs, suicide
• May 12 - Rudolf Kempe, conductor
• May 14 - Keith Relf, The Yardbirds, Renaissance, Medicine Head, Armageddon, cardiac arrest due to electrocution
• May 15 - David Munrow, early music performer, suicide
• June 25 - Johnny Mercer
• June 28 - Yakov Zak, pianist and music teacher
• August 26 - Lotte Lehmann, opera singer
• August 27 - Mukesh, Indian singer
• October 3 - Victoria Spivey, US singer, pianist and composer
• October 11
• Connee Boswell, US singer, member of the Boswell Sisters
• Alfredo Bracchi, Italian lyricist
• November 12 - Walter Piston, composer
• December 4
• Benjamin Britten, composer
• Tommy Bolin
• December 28 - Freddie King, blues musician

Awards

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1976

Country Music Association Awards

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1976