1977 was a mixed bag in 3 year-old Kerry’s world. My great-grandmother, Maw, died. She had a farm and I really liked going there. My sister was born in September, which changed everything. I saw my first real movie in a for-real drive-in, Star Wars. Even at 3, I knew it was amazing. A friend said it still holds up today, but it more than holds up. For me, it was the first of its kind – the adventure story/love story/science fiction genre. It was a space western. You can’t tell me it’s not. Luke’s the deputy, Han’s the outlaw-turned-sheriff, Vader’s the guy in the black hat, and Leia is the girl in town everyone wants. Simple.
Ok, let’s go to the facts.
- January – The world’s first personal all-in-one computer (keyboard/screen/tape storage), the Commodore PET, is demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago
- January 6 – Record company EMI sacks the controversial United Kingdom punk rock group the Sex Pistols
- January 19 —U.S. President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D’Aquino (aka “Tokyo Rose“).
- Snow falls in Miami (despite its ordinarily tropical climate) for the only time in its history. Snowfall has occurred farther south in the United States only on the high mountains of the state of Hawaii.
- January 20 – Jimmy Carter succeeds Gerald Ford as the 39th President of the United States.
- January 21 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter pardons Vietnam War draft evaders.
- February 4 – Fleetwood Mac‘s Grammy-winning album Rumours is released.
- April 21 – Residents of Dover, Massachusetts report sightings of an eerie monster.
- April 22 – Optical fiber is first used to carry live telephone traffic.
- May 25 – Star Wars opens in cinemas and later becomes the historic highest grossing film for that time.
- June 5 —A bloodless coup installs France-Albert René as President of the Seychelles.
- The first Apple II series computers go on sale.
- June 6 – 9 – Jubilee celebrations are held in the United Kingdom to celebrate 25 years of Elizabeth II‘s reign.
- June 26 — Elvis Presley holds his last concert at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
- August 16 — Elvis Presley, the “king of rock and roll“, dies in his home in Graceland at age 42. 75,000 fans line the streets of Memphis for his funeral
- September 11 – Atari, Inc. releases its Video Computer System in North America.
- September 29 – The modern Food Stamp Program begins when the Food Stamp Act of 1977 is enacted.
- October 14 — The Atari 2600 game system is released. HOLLA!
- October 20 – Three members of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd die in a charter plane crash outside Gillsburg, Mississippi, 3 days after the release of their fifth studio album Street Survivors.
- November 10 – The Bee Gees release the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, which will go on to become the then best selling album of all time.
1977 in Film was pretty damn amazing. I’ve already talked about Star Wars, so let’s talk about my guilty pleasure movie: Smokey and the Bandit. Oh, yeah. This is the movie that started my love of Basset Hounds, using great accents, and Jackie Gleason. It’s the best.
One of my other favorite movies from 1977 is The Rescuers, which kind of made me what I am today, a combination of Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor) and Madame Medusa, the redheaded villain of the movie. Here’s one of the sweetest clips Disney has ever animated.
Music in 1977 was a desert except for Fleetwood Mac. Here’s “Go Your Own Way.”
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