Editing 1978 in music (section)

==Events==
===January–April===
*[[January 14]] – The [[Sex Pistols]] play their final show (until a 1996 reunion) at San Francisco's [[Winterland Ballroom]].
*[[January 16]] – [[Elton John]] appears on this week's [[People (magazine)|''People'' (magazine)]] without his trademark glasses. John will still wear glasses occasionally for the next ten years until wearing them permanently again.
*[[January 17]] – [[Simple Minds]] make their very first live performance at Glasgow's Satellite City.<ref>{{cite web |title=simpleminds.com 14 Jan, 2022 Out Now – Act Of Love |url=https://www.simpleminds.com/2022/01/14/new-single-act-of-love/ |date= 14 January 2022 |website=simpleminds.com |accessdate= 20 January 2022}}</ref>
*[[January 21]] – As ''[[Saturday Night Fever]]'' becomes a cultural phenomenon, the soundtrack hits #1 on the [[Billboard 100|Billboard Charts]], where it will stay until July.
*[[January 23]] – [[Terry Kath]], guitarist and founding member of rock band [[Chicago (band)|Chicago]], dies from an accidental gunshot wound to the head from a gun he thought was unloaded, in [[Woodland Hills, Los Angeles]]; he is 32 years old.
*[[January 25]]
**[[Electric Light Orchestra]] kick off their "Out of the Blue" world tour in [[Honolulu]], Hawaii.
**[[Bob Dylan]] makes his directorial debut in the surrealist film ''[[Renaldo and Clara]]'', shot during his [[Rolling Thunder Revue]] tour.
* [[January 26]] – Workers at [[EMI]]'s record processing plant in England refuse to press copies of [[The Buzzcocks]]'s second single "[[What Do I Get?]]" because of its flipside, "Oh Shit!". The single is eventually pressed and goes on to become the band's first hit.
*[[January 28]] – By request, [[Ted Nugent]] autographs his name into a fan's arm with a bowie knife in Philadelphia.
*[[February 4]] – [[Elton John]] appears as the guest star on ''[[The Muppet Show]].''
*[[February 10]] – [[Van Halen]] debuts with a [[Van Halen (album)|self-titled album]]; [[Eddie Van Halen]] introduces a powerful new sound and technique to world, while [[David Lee Roth]] is ushered in as the front man.
*[[February 23]] – The [[20th Annual Grammy Awards]] are presented in [[Los Angeles]], hosted by [[John Denver]]. [[Fleetwood Mac]]'s ''[[Rumours (album)|Rumours]]'' wins [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]], the [[Eagles (band)|Eagles]]' "[[Hotel California]]" wins [[Grammy Award for Record of the Year|Record of the Year]] and, in a rare tie, [[Barbra Streisand]]'s "[[Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)]]" and [[Debby Boone]]'s "[[You Light Up My Life (song)|You Light Up My Life]]" both collectively win [[Grammy Award for Song of the Year|Song of the Year]]. Boone also wins [[Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Best New Artist]].
*[[March 11]] – [[Kate Bush]] tops the UK Singles Chart with "[[Wuthering Heights (song)|Wuthering Heights]]", becoming the first-ever female artist to top the chart with a self-penned song.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/may/13/kate-bush-only-tour-live |title=Kate Bush's only tour: pop concert or disappearing act? |work=The Guardian |date=13 May 2010}}</ref>
*[[March 18]] – [[California Jam II]] is held at the [[Ontario Motor Speedway]] in California. Over 300,000 fans come to see [[Ted Nugent]], [[Aerosmith]], [[Carlos Santana|Santana]], [[Dave Mason]], [[Foreigner (band)|Foreigner]], [[Heart (band)|Heart]] and more.
*[[April 22]]
**In the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1978|Eurovision Song Contest]] in Paris, France, victory goes to [[Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest|Israel]]'s entry "[[A-Ba-Ni-Bi]]", performed by [[Izhar Cohen]] & [[Alphabeta|The Alphabeta]].
**The "One Love Peace Concert" is held in [[Kingston, Jamaica]], headlined by [[Bob Marley]], making his first concert appearance since December 1976.
**[[Steve Martin]] performs the original "King Tut" on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''; also this night, [[The Blues Brothers]] make their first appearance on the show.

===May–July===
*[[May 6]] – [[The Knack]] is formed (first album released in 1979).
*[[May 13]] – [[Barry Gibb]] becomes the only songwriter in history to have written 4 consecutive #1 singles on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart.
*[[May 18]] – ''[[The Buddy Holly Story]]'', starring [[Gary Busey]], is released. It would win the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Original Music Score|Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score]], and earn a nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor in a Leading Role]] (Busey) and [[Academy Award for Sound|Best Sound]].
*[[May 23]] – [[Grieg Hall]] (''Grieghallen'') inaugurated in [[Bergen, Norway]] as a concert venue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bergenbyarkiv.no/bergenbyleksikon/arkiv/1424944?s=Grieghallen|title=  Grieghallen|publisher=Bergen byleksikon|access-date=October 1, 2016}}</ref>
*[[May 25]] – In a performance used for ''[[The Kids Are Alright (1979 film)|The Kids Are Alright]]'', [[The Who]] play their last show with [[Keith Moon]].
*June 7 - Prince's debut single Soft and Wet is released by Warner Bros. Records.
*[[June 10]] – [[The Rolling Stones]] begin their 25-date [[The Rolling Stones US Tour 1978|US summer tour]] in [[Lakeland, Florida]].
*[[June 13]] – [[The Cramps]] play a [[Target Video#The Cramps at Napa State Mental Hospital|free concert]] for patients at the Napa State Mental Hospital.
*[[June 16]] – The film adaptation of the musical ''[[Grease (film)|Grease]]'', opens in theaters and is a box office hit.
*[[June 20]] – [[Grace Slick]] splits with [[Jefferson Starship]] the day after a disastrous concert in [[Hamburg]], Germany, in which a heavily intoxicated Slick verbally abused the crowd and groped various fans and bandmates.
*[[June 29]] – [[Peter Frampton]] is nearly killed in a car accident in [[The Bahamas]], suffering multiple broken bones, a concussion, and muscle damage.
*[[July 1]] – The first [[Texxas Jam]] is held over the July 4 long weekend at the [[Cotton Bowl (stadium)|Cotton Bowl]] in [[Dallas]]. The first day features Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, [[Frank Marino]] and [[Mahogany Rush]], [[Heart (band)|Heart]], [[Journey (band)|Journey]], [[Head East]], [[Atlanta Rhythm Section]], [[Eddie Money]], [[Van Halen]] and [[Walter Egan]]. Sunday consists of [[Willie Nelson]] headlining his sixth annual Fourth of July picnic.
*[[July 15]] – The Picnic at [[Blackbushe Airport|Blackbushe Aerodrome]], [[Camberley]], Surrey, England, a concert featuring [[Bob Dylan]], [[Eric Clapton]] and [[Joan Armatrading]], attracts some 200,000 people.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Picnic at Blackbushe Aerodrome 1978|website=www.ukrockfestivals.com|url=https://www.ukrockfestivals.com/blackbushe.html|accessdate=2022-10-08}}</ref>
*[[July 19]] – [[Dead Kennedys]] play their first concert, at the [[Mabuhay Gardens]] in San Francisco, California.
*[[July 21]] – ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (film)|Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'', a much-hyped musical film starring [[Peter Frampton]] and the [[Bee Gees]] performing the music of [[The Beatles]], opens in theaters. The film is savaged by critics and proves a box office disappointment.
*[[July 29]] – [[Glenn Goins]], one of the lead vocalists for the band [[Parliament-Funkadelic]] dies of [[Hodgkin's lymphoma]] at age of 24.
*[[July 30]] – [[Thin Lizzy]] officially announces that [[Gary Moore]] has replaced [[Brian Robertson (guitarist)|Brian Robertson]] on guitar.

===August–December===
*[[August 26]] – 80,000 concertgoers attend [[Mosport International Raceway|Mosport Speedway]] in Ontario for the "[[Canada Jam|Canada Jam Festival]]", featuring sets by [[the Doobie Brothers]], [[Commodores]], [[Kansas (band)|Kansas]], [[Village People]], [[Dave Mason]], the [[Atlanta Rhythm Section]] and [[Triumph (band)|Triumph]].
*[[August 26]] – 67,000 Funk fans assembled at [[Soldier Field]] in [[Chicago, Illinois]] to attend the first annual Funk Festival, billed as "One Nation Under A Groove", featuring [[A Taste of Honey (band)|A Taste of Honey]], [[Parlet]], [[Con Funk Shun]], the [[Bar-Kays]], and [[Parliament-Funkadelic]].
*[[September 7]] – [[The Who]] drummer [[Keith Moon]] dies in a central London flat after a prescription drug overdose at the age of 32.
*[[September 14]]–16 – [[Grateful Dead|The Grateful Dead]] perform three shows in [[Giza]], Egypt, very close to the [[Great Sphinx of Giza|Sphinx]] and [[Great Pyramid of Giza|Great Pyramid]].
*[[October 12]] – [[Nancy Spungen]], the American girlfriend of [[Sex Pistols]] bassist [[Sid Vicious]], is found dead in a New York hotel room of a stab wound. Sid is arrested and charged with her murder.
*[[October 21]] – Founder members [[John Taylor (bass guitarist)|John Taylor]] and [[Nick Rhodes]] name their newly formed band [[Duran Duran]] after the character "Dr. Durand Durand" from the sci-fi film ''[[Barbarella (film)|Barbarella]]'' the day after the film had been broadcast on BBC 1.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://durancompilations.com/early1.html |title=Duran Duran – The Early Days Chapter 1 |publisher=durancompilations.com |access-date=26 May 2022 }}</ref>
*[[October 24]] – [[The Rolling Stones|Rolling Stones]] guitarist [[Keith Richards]] pleads guilty to a reduced charge of possessing heroin in Toronto in 1977. The more serious charge of drug trafficking is dropped and Richards is given a one-year suspended sentence as well as ordered to play a charity concert for the blind.<ref name="keithrichards">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/keith-richards-guilty-but-free-19781130 |title= Keith Richards Guilty – But Free |last1=Flippo |first1=Chet |date=November 30, 1978 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=November 14, 2013}}</ref>
*[[October 29]] – [[Michael Schenker]] plays his final show with [[UFO (band)|UFO]] in [[Stanford, California]] before leaving the group to rejoin [[Scorpions (band)|Scorpions]].
*November – [[Iron Maiden]] hires lead singer [[Paul Di'Anno]].
*[[November 21]] – French pop star [[Dalida]] performs a concert at New York's [[Carnegie Hall]]. 
*[[November 25]] 
**A now sober [[Alice Cooper]] releases the album ''[[From the Inside (Alice Cooper album)|From the Inside]]'', which tells of his stay in rehab for alcoholism.
**[[Aerosmith]] cuts a concert short after [[Steven Tyler]] suffers cuts to his face from a bottle that shatters upon hitting a stage monitor.
**[[Donna Summer]] becomes the first female artist of the modern rock era to have the number one single (Mac Arthur Park) and album (Live and More) on Billboard charts simultaneously.
*[[November 27]] – [[Def Leppard]]'s permanent drummer [[Rick Allen (drummer)|Rick Allen]] joins the band at the age of 15.
*December – Soviet orchestral conductor defects to the Netherlands while on tour there. 
*[[December 2]] – [[OTI Festival 1978|The seventh edition of the OTI Festival]], the [[Latin America]]n [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]] of the [[Eurovision Song Contest]] takes place in [[Santiago]], [[Chile]]. The winning country is [[Brazil in the OTI Festival|Brazil]], represented by Denisse de Kalafe with her song "El amor...Cosa tan rara" (Love...Such a strange thing)
*[[December 31]] 
**[[Matthias Jabs]] joins [[Scorpions (band)|Scorpions]], replacing [[Uli Jon Roth]].
**The seventh annual [[Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest|New Year's Rockin' Eve]] special airs on ABC, with performances by [[Barry Manilow]], [[Village People]], [[Chuck Mangione]], [[Tanya Tucker]] and [[Rick James]].
**CBS airs ''New Year's Eve with [[Guy Lombardo]]'' for the final time, nearly two years after the band leader's death and ending a 22-year run that began in 1956.
**The [[Winterland Ballroom]] venue in [[San Francisco]] closes with a New Year's Eve performance by the [[Grateful Dead]], [[New Riders of the Purple Sage]] and the [[Blues Brothers]].
**[[Iron Maiden]] records a demo, consisting of four songs, at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge which would eventually become [[The Soundhouse Tapes]].

===Also in 1978===
*[[Kenny Rogers]] continues his highly successful solo career with the single (and album) "The Gambler" and will go on to star in no less than five movies based around the song.
*In the UK, singles sales are at their all-time high this year, boosted by the simultaneous peak of the [[disco]] and [[punk rock|punk]] phenomena and the success of singles from the movie ''[[Grease (film)|Grease]]''.
*[[Mozambique]] holds its first National Dance Festival, involving half a million people.
* [[Rolnicka Praha]] children's choir is founded in Prague, Czech Republic.