1976 - The Golden Age of Soundtracks?

1976 seemed to be the year for TV themes more than movie soundtrack songs.  That year, 26 singles reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. Of those 26, three came from movie or television soundtracks.  Those singles only spent a combined 3 weeks in the top spot. 

Over on the album chart, none of the #1 albums were soundtracks.  Of the three songs below, the
"Theme from S.W.A.T." deserves special mention as it was the first 45 single I remember purchasing.

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		"Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" Diana Ross #1 for one week, January 24 from the movie Mahogany
"Theme from S.W.A.T." Rhythm Heritage #1 for one week, February 28 from the TV show S.W.A.T.
		"Welcome Back" John Sebastian #1 for one week, May 8 from the TV show Welcome Back, Kotter

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Click on the year to check out similar soundtrack lists for the following years:

Year	No. of soundtrack #1's	Total no. of weeks at #1
1976	3 of 26	3
1977	4 of 29	7
1978	6 of 20	17
1979	0 of 24	0
1980	2 of 16	10
1981	3 of 17	14
1982	3 of 16	10
1983	2 of 17	8
1984	7 of 20	21
1985	9 of 27	14

Other soundtrack hits from 1976 that didn't make the top spot include:

• "Happy Days" by Pratt & McClain from Happy Days  (peaked at #5)
• "Nadia's Theme" by Barry DeVorzon & Perry Botkin, Jr. from The Young and the Restless (#8)
• "Baretta's Theme ("Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow")" by Rhythm Heritage from Baretta (#20)
• "Making Our Dreams Come True" by Cyndi Grecco from Laverne & Shirley (#25)
• "Ode to Billy Joe" by Bobbie Gentry. #1 in 1967; re-released for the 1976 movie adaptation of the song (#65)
• "Soul Train '75'" by the Soul Train Gang from Soul Train (#75)
• "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" by The Deadly Nightshade from Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (#79)

The winner of the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 49th Academy Awards was "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star is Born)" which didn't peak on the chart until March, 1977.

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