The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1978

 

The Top 10 Best Hit Songs of 1978

Hi everyone!! It’s Fire from Fire’s Flaming Hot Takes and it’s that time finally!! After a week of finals hell let’s celebrate with the top 10 best hit songs of 1978!!

As I stated in my worst list, 1978 was disco at its absolute peak in the mainstream. More than a third of the Hot 100 YE in 1978 was disco. The remaining songs were either saccharine adult contemporary or rock that either had to adapt to the disco craze or take a gamble and stay in its comfort zone. So as with my worst list, there’s a decent sense of diversity with the songs on this list.

As you all know, the songs eligible for this list had to debut on the YE Hot 100 for 1978 or if they made a previous YE, place higher on the 1978 YE or be in the YE top 20. So with that, let’s get this night started with our honorable mentions!!

HM #1: John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John - You're The One That I Want (YE: #13, PEAK: #3)

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John had two collaborations on the 1978 YE, one being this and the other being the pretty mediocre “Summer Nights” (it only barely missed my dishonorable mentions). Well, suffice to say, this is a much better song. The song is about the two narrators trying to win over each other and it’s super chipper almost to an obnoxious degree. But what makes this really work is the great interplay that Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta have with each other. It complements the faster groove and it becomes all the more fun for it. I also really like the small keyboard flourishes and the really sweet bassline. This feels like a seamless blend of rock and roll and disco. Is it cheesy bubblegum? Yes, but it’s certainly the one that I want. Great song!!

HM #2: Jackson Browne - Running On Empty (YE: #82, PEAK: #11)

I mentioned that rock acts were stuck at a crossroads in 1978; either stick with the rock that made them popular in the first place or adapt with the changing trends and incorporate disco influences. There may have been a lot of sludgy rock on my worst list, but this is an example of a great pure rock song. I really like the production, the guitars play this awesome melody that gives you the feeling that you’re able to run free. That’s the core of why I really like this song. I don’t pay that much attention to the lyrics here because the soundscape just sweeps me up. For what it’s worth, I do think that if the groove was faster, that could’ve catapulted this into another tier. But as it is, this song is certainly running on a great ass foundation, which, you know, isn’t empty. But how about rock music that adapted to the disco craze?

HM #3: Rick James - You And I (YE: #76, PEAK: #13)

I really don’t think I can analyze this song much other than the groove is terrific, the horns sound great, and Rick James’s energy is utterly infectious. Yeah, that’s about it. Everybody shake your booty now while you listen to this fun track a few times now.

HM #4: Parliament - Flash Light (YE: #92, PEAK: #16)

I honestly feel like I should hate this song, the vocal delivery sounds subpar at best and quite irritating at worst. But that’s the power of that strong funky bassline. That bassline has no consistent groove but somehow it still feels danceable. The lyrics are honestly...kinda indecipherable for me. I can only gather that they’re name-checking a ton of lights, from flash lights to red lights to neon lights to stop lights. But that doesn’t really matter, this song is purely for the sound and for that, this is absolutely a great track I’m almost certain will light up any dancefloor.

HM #5: Pablo Cruise - Love Will Find A Way (YE: #44, PEAK: #6)

When I put “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” as a dishonorable mention on my worst list, I conceded that the sentiment was nice even if the melody felt aimless. What if I told you that there was another soft rock song from 1978 that had a similar sentiment but did it much better? Well, enter “Love Will Find A Way”, this song is about the narrator approaching someone who just had their heart broken and comforting them by saying that this pain is only temporary and once they get past this, love will find a way into their heart again. What makes this work better for me is the more driving groove. It feels like there’s more going on in this production, that sweet bassline, the cute electric guitar touches, Pablo Cruise’s much more engaging vocal delivery, it’s just a great song. Maybe Cruise is right, once we get through this rough decade that the 2020s has proven to be, love will find its way into our hearts once again.

HM #6: Dolly Parton - Here You Come Again (YE: #60, PEAK: #3)

My shameful secret is that I’m honestly cooler on Dolly Parton than I wanna be. Granted, most of my exposure to her is her mostly subpar 2010 and onward work, where I don’t think her voice is aging that well. That said, “Here You Come Again” is a pretty great country tune about how Dolly Parton’s partner just makes her world brighter. The sentiment is so sweet and Dolly sells it incredibly. I really like the country instrumental giving this a really sunshine-y tone that matches everything so well. This is just a really cute song, great stuff!!

HM #7: Evelyn "Champagne" King - Shame (YE: #64, PEAK: #9)

Now who can’t appreciate a great little disco track like this? This one is a real standout thanks to the faster energetic groove contrasting Evelyn “Champagne” King’s very ethereal vocals that still manage to have some punch on the “shame!”’s. It almost feels like a blend of disco and eurodance in the best way possible. If you don’t at least somewhat like this song, well...that’s a...shame, because this is a fucking kickass song.

HM #8: Heatwave - The Groove Line (YE: #49, PEAK: #7)

More pure disco fun that I’m sure illuminates the dancefloor with such infectious energy! The first seconds of the song set the tone that this dancefloor is about to get heated with fun. The song just sounds so fun, that funky bassline has a great groove that complements our frontman’s falsetto and infectious delivery. The song is just a simple track about leaving your worries behind and having fun on “the groove line” tonight. And the production is vibrant, colorful, fun, and lively enough to make this feel like a song that you’d play as you head to the dancefloor with your friends as you forget the weight of the world. Great stuff!!

HM #9: Andy Gibb - Shadow Dancing (YE: #1, PEAK: #1)

I suppose it only makes sense that the biggest song of 1978, the year of disco’s peak, was by a relative of arguably the most recognizable faces of disco, The Bee Gees! You can hear the Bee Gees all over “Shadow Dancing”, particularly in the iconic Mickey Mouse falsetto across this tight disco production. But “Shadow Dancing” feels different. The production feels like there’s a slightly darker tone, it’s music for the nightclubs when you and your partner are the only ones left on the dancefloor with a singular light projecting both of your silhouettes onto the wall. And you can practically see the silhouettes just dancing the night away.

No...not like that...

A bit better...

Just right (or almost at least, I can’t find the precise gif I want on Google 😭).

HM #10: Shaun Cassidy - Hey Deanie (YE: #68, PEAK: #7)

Well, this is pretty silly yet charming teen pop. The song centers around the narrator approaching the titular Deanie and inviting her to dance with him to have a fun time. I really like the new wave guitars playing into the goofy atmosphere. The best comparison I can make is “Timebomb” by WALK THE MOON meets “Juno” by Sabrina Carpenter. And I really love both those songs so that’s a compliment. Fun song!!

Alright, now for the actual party!!

10…1978 may have been utterly dominated by the disco craze, but rock and easy-listening soft rock plugged up the portions of the music industry that weren’t having a disco night 24/7. So why don’t we start this list with a soft rock song by an act mainly remembered today for disco?....

10. ABBA - The Name Of The Game (YE: #32, PEAK: #3)

You could potentially make the argument that ABBA was the most successful act in the US that came out of Eurovision (I don’t follow it at all so idk if there are any other notable examples so forgive me if I’m way off base here lol). Becoming the first act from Sweden to win the contest with “Waterloo” in 1974, they had a pretty steady stream of hits in the late 70s. And while this doesn’t come even close to topping their biggest hit and inarguable classic “Dancing Queen”, I really like “The Name Of The Game” all the same. I love ABBA’s harmonies on this and the Europop textures in the production sound really nice. Spoilers, but of course they’re gonna make this list again. Even if ABBA are much more suited for disco in my eyes, this is still a great song and I don’t think you need me to explain why ABBA were a great group. But yeah, this is a damn great track!

9...But speaking of iconic acts from the disco craze...

9. Chic - Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) (YE: #20, PEAK: #6)

I mean, if you read my 1979 best list and saw that Chic occupied 2 of my top 3 spots, this shouldn’t shock you. Now, this isn’t better than either “Good Times” or “Le Freak” by any stretch, but it’s still a banger nonetheless. This song is basically about dancing (what a shocker) and the production is super lively, fun, and upbeat to match that sentiment. I also really like how the track takes so many swerves in the production to make all 8 minutes of this song pure joy to listen to. Those vocals are also just so classy and give an aura of mystique and yet are all the more loose and fun for it! And every time you feel like the song might be starting to drag on for too long, Nile Rodgers’s guitar work and the great disco groove remind you of why this is a banger. Not much else to say here, I’m just gonna dance, dance, dance my way through the rest of this list.

8...But speaking of fun disco hits all about dancing, let’s keep the party going with one that knows exactly how to keep the energy high and the rhythm locked in...

8. A Taste Of Honey - Boogie Oogie Oogie (YE: #9, PEAK: #1)

Like “Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah)”, “Boogie Oogie Oogie” is all about getting your ass on the dancefloor and dancing the night away. But while Chic brought an aura of mystique as the narrator dared someone to match the narrator on the dancefloor, What A Taste Of Honey are bringing instead is a different flavor of energy, the frontwoman’s voice sounds super inviting yet also energetic to make you want to boogie! Yes, “boogie oogie oogie” is a profoundly stupid title, but the song is loose and fun to make it clear that this a song you just dance your heart to, plus why would you take a song with the title “Boogie Oogie Oogie” so seriously you nerd?

7...Let’s keep the disco energy up now!!...

7. The Trammps - Disco Inferno (YE: #54, PEAK: #11)

“Disco Inferno”, true to its name, is a fire disco track. It’s not loose like the past two entries; it's great in the opposite way, if anything. Our frontman is putting everything into his performance here and the fuller sounding production helps his vocals not feel grating. Those horns give the disco beat a lot of body. Yeah, I don’t have much to say here, this is a great ass disco inferno indeed.

6...How about a break from the disco and switch gears to one of the best damn rock songs of the year?...

6. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Hollywood Nights (YE: #99, PEAK: #12)

This is a straight up banger in every way. The rock and roll groove, the swelling electric guitar, Bob Seger’s potent as hell vocals, and all of that being elevated by the songwriting, detailing a young boy from the midwest moving to LA and meeting a girl who he has a fling with. He’s more infatuated with the girl than the girl is with him and it leaves him feeling lonely. And you’d think that this tonal clash would halt the song to a stop, but the trick here is that it remains so anthemic, to drive home the whirlwind of a night in Hollywood, never once taking a moment to sulk. But yeah, this fucking rules, with a banger like this, those lonely Hollywood nights don’t seem all that bad now, right?

5...Let’s keep up the rock energy, why don’t we?...

5. Electric Light Orchestra - Turn To Stone (YE: #94, PEAK: #13)

ELO’s music has absolutely stood the test of time. It’s not hard to imagine any indie alternative act like maybe Bleachers or even Twenty One Pilots making ELO’s brand of progressive pop today. “Shine A Little Love” made the 1979 list, and now “Turn To Stone” is getting its time to shine on this list. The synth (or maybe that’s a guitar?), when paired with that terrific chugging groove, becomes the sort of force that just hits you like a freight train. I could also add that the violin flourishes give this symphonic swell, but at this point, you all know why ELO is making this list.

4...Let’s get more rock in here!!...

4. The Patti Smith Group - Because The Night (YE: #72, PEAK: #13)

This shouldn’t really work for me, Patti Smith’s cursive singing can admittedly get a bit distracting at times, but that’s what happens when you pair a really strong new wave riff with vocals that still maintain their potency in spite of the cursive singing. The song also has some really damn impressive crescendos and fantastic percussion buildups into those crescendos. Yeah, incredible little track. Check this out!!

3...Okay, this is one of the most basic picks for this list, one of the biggest hits from one of the most influential groups in pop music history, and yet I’ll admit that I’d be lying if nostalgia from me loving this song as a kid didn’t at least play a little bit of a role in this song placing so high here. That said, it’s a basic pick for a reason...

3. Queen - We Are The Champions (YE: #25, PEAK: #4)

It feels weird even for me to be talking about “We Are The Champions” as its own song without talking about its B-side, “We Will Rock You”, since they’re so commonly discussed together as a composite release in popular culture today. But technically, they are separate songs so I’m judging them based on their own strengths divorced from each other. And I’ll be honest, while “We Will Rock You” is a good song, I never really loved it. The production is just too bare-bones for me and it doesn’t exactly help that the song is kinda tainted in my eyes because of when I went to 5th grade science camp and my cabin had to put together a horrifically rushed and embarrassing cabin chant based on the song that singlehandedly embarrassed us in front of the entire camp. That said, none of that has anything to do with “We Are The Champions”, which I’ve loved for years. There’s a true sense of finality and grandeur to it as Freddie Mercury remains as potent as ever. It might scream “5th grader winning his first ever basketball game”, but the composition is so grand and sweeping that I don’t care. This is absolutely incredible and there’s a reason it’s still remembered in popular culture today.

2..Man, isn’t it nice when one of the absolute biggest hits of the year also happens to be among the best? And yeah, we’re sticking with the big classics for this one…

2. Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive (YE: #4, PEAK: #1)

Okay, first:

Anyways, all jokes aside, there’s a reason “Stayin’ Alive” has been so well remembered today, aside from the fact that it happens to be called “Stayin’ Alive” while also being the BPM you have to administer CPR to (this was actually how I first heard the song lol). It’s just an absolute banger top to bottom. The Mickey Mouse falsetto is iconic as hell and the disco production is so vibrant and fun. And literally while writing this review I just found out that the lyrics are about trying to survive in a hostile world (like literally while I wrote the previous sentence lol). But honestly, the disco legacy and its ageless danceable production overshadows every other aspect of this song. It’s a very basic pick for this list and I wouldn’t blame you if this was your favorite hit of 1978, but this still slaps. But what song beat it for me?

1...Okay, recall what I said at #10: “Spoilers, but of course they’re gonna make this list again.” Yeah, started this list with ABBA, we’re ending with them too. Poetry or something...

1. ABBA - Take A Chance On Me (YE: #32, PEAK: #5)

“Take A Chance On Me” isn’t as good as “Dancing Queen” either, but it’s still an incredible fusion of disco and progressive pop. Like, you hear that chugging beat in the chorus and it’s not hard to see ELO singing on this beat. But what makes “Take A Chance On Me” really work for me is the way the beat will alternate between chugging and straightforward disco, meaning that it never really wears out its welcome. I also love every little flourish they sprinkle in to accent this, from the “ba-ba ba-ba baa-ba-ba”’s to the male backing vocalists singing “Take a chance, take a-take a chance-chance, take a chance, take a chance”. It all comes together to create a truly sweeping and masterful piece of audio. “Take A Chance On Me” by ABBA, the absolute BEST hit song of 1978!!!

Alright, that’s the best list done!! I’m not sure when or what my next list will be, since I’m looking to be very busy this summer, but I will say I do have a special idea for an article in July to celebrate my 4th(!!!) year of Fire’s Flaming Hot Takes!! So stay tuned for that and until the next list, the Spotify playlist with every song mentioned on this list is linked right here. And if you guys have your own lists of the best hit songs of 1978, please feel free to comment them down below!! I’m eager to read those!! And until next time,  remember to keep it Fire!!