You\u2019d have to go back decades to find a classic-rock artist who had a song that topped the Billboard Hot 100. Fifty years ago, though, it wasn\u2019t uncommon for veteran rock acts to find themselves at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart. In 1976, quite a few classic rock artists who went on to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame landed atop the Hot 100. That being said, the majority of these tunes seemed to skew towards lighter pop love songs or introspective ballads.<\/p>\n
[RELATED: 4 Classic Rock Artists Who Scored No. 1 Hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977]<\/a><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at four classic rock legends who had No. 1 hits in 1976.<\/p>\n Paul McCartney and Wings\u2019 \u201cSilly Love Songs\u201d<\/p>\n By 1976, Paul McCartney<\/a> had found great success again with his post-Beatles band Wings<\/a>. That being said, some fans and critics had derided McCartney for producing tunes that didn\u2019t quite carry the weight of the material he recorded as a member of the Fab Four.<\/p>\n In response to this criticism, Paul wrote \u201cSilly Love Songs,\u201d which became his fifth post-Beatles single to top the Billboard Hot 100<\/a> on May 22, 1976. The tune appeared on Wings\u2019 fifth studio effort, At The Speed Of Sound.<\/p>\n \u201cSilly Love Songs\u201d had two stints at No. 1 on the Hot 100. It knocked The Sylvers\u2019 disco smash \u201cBoogie Fever\u201d from the top of the chart, and then was replaced by Diana Ross\u2019 \u201cLove Hangover\u201d after a week. Two weeks later, \u201cSilly Love Songs\u201d bumped \u201cLove Hangover\u201d from the No. 1 spot, where it enjoyed an additional four-week stint. The song\u2019s chart-topping run was ended on July 10 by Starland Vocal Band\u2019s \u201cAfternoon Delight.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Billboard, \u201cSilly Love Songs\u201d was the best-selling single in the U.S. in 1976.<\/p>\n McCartney reflected on the inspiration behind the catchy pop gem in his 2021 book The Lyrics: 1956 To The Present.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d been given that reputation [of writing silly love songs], and I had to stand up for it,\u201d he explained. \u201cInstead of abandoning songs about love, just get on with it, get into it and don\u2019t be embarrassed, because even though you might say this is a soppy subject, it\u2019s actually the opposite: this thing people can feel for each other that makes life better. I think that\u2019s the crux of it, and if you want to be cynical, it\u2019s easy, you can. \u2026 I think a lot of people who are cynical about love haven\u2019t been lucky enough to feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n Elton John and Kiki Dee\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Go Breaking My Heart\u201d<\/p>\n Elton John<\/a> was among the world\u2019s biggest pop-rock stars in the mid-1970s. In June 1976, John released \u201cDon\u2019t Go Breaking My Heart,\u201d a duet with British blue-eyed soul singer Kiki Dee.<\/p>\n The infectious pop tune topped the Hot 100<\/a> on August 7, becoming Elton\u2019s sixth No. 1 hit on the chart. It knocked Philadelphia soul group The Manhattans\u2019 ballad \u201cKiss And Say Goodbye\u201d from the top of the chart and spent four weeks there. The Bee Gees\u2019 \u201cYou Should Be Dancing\u201d replaced \u201cDon\u2019t Go Breaking My Heart\u201d at No. 1 on September 4.<\/p>\n John and lyricist Bernie Taupin wrote \u201cDon\u2019t Go Breaking My Heart\u201d as an homage to Marvin Gaye\u2019s classic 1960s Motown duets with singers such as Kim Weston and Tammi Terrell. John and Taupin were credited under the pseudonyms Ann Orson and Carte Blanche.<\/p>\n In 1977, Elton performed a humorous version of \u201cDon\u2019t Go Breaking My Heart\u201d with Miss Piggy on an episode of The Muppet Show.<\/p>\n Chicago\u2019s \u201cIf You Leave Me Now\u201d<\/p>\n Chicago<\/a> scored its first No. 1 on the Hot 100<\/a> with \u201cIf You Leave Me Now\u201d on October 23, 1976. The melodic love ballad was written and sung by bassist Peter Cetera.<\/p>\n \u201cIf You Leave Me Now\u201d knocked radio DJ Rick Dees\u2019 novelty tune \u201cDisco Duck\u201d from the top of the chart and spent two weeks there. It was replaced by the Steve Miller Band\u2019s \u201cRock\u2019n Me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf You Leave Me Now\u201d appeared on the horn-driven rock band\u2019s eighth studio album and 10th album overall, Chicago X.<\/p>\n In 1977, the song won a Grammy in the Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus category. This is the only time Chicago has won a Grammy. \u201cIf You Leave Me Now\u201d was also nominated for the Record of the Year prize that year.<\/p>\n Rod Stewart\u2019s \u201cTonight\u2019s The Night\u201d<\/p>\n Rod Stewart<\/a> scored his second No. 1 hit on the Hot 100<\/a> chart with \u201cTonight\u2019s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)\u201d on November 13, 1976. The song, which Stewart wrote, spent eight weeks at the top of the chart.<\/p>\n \u201cTonight\u2019s the Night\u201d knocked the Steve Miller Band\u2019s \u201cRock\u2019n Me\u201d from No. 1 on the Hot 100. It finally was replaced at the pinnacle of the chart on January 8, 1977, by the Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. duet \u201cYou Don\u2019t Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show).\u201d<\/p>\n Stewart\u2019s seductive ballad features his then-girlfriend, Swedish actress Britt Eklund, cooing lustfully in French at the end of the tune.<\/p>\n \u201cTonight\u2019s the Night\u201d was the first single released from Stewart\u2019s 1976 album A Night on the Town. The song was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 copies in the U.S.<\/p>\n The single\u2019s eight-week stay at No. 1 on the Hot 100 was the longest run at the top of the chart since \u201cHey Jude\u201d by The Beatles enjoyed a nine-week stand in the fall of 1968. It was also Stewart\u2019s most successful single ever on the Hot 100.<\/p>\n In addition, \u201cTonight\u2019s the Night\u201d was the best-selling single in the U.S. in 1977.<\/p>\n Rod Stewart once had a job as a screen printer designing wallpaper. When his bosses discovered he was color blind, he was laid off.<\/p>\n (Photo by Richard E. Aaron\/Redferns; Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd.\/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You\u2019d have to go back decades to find a classic-rock artist who had a song that topped the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":593123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[2616,2617,88,216,2156],"class_list":{"0":"post-593122","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-1970s","9":"tag-classic-rock","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-music","12":"tag-rock-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/593123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}