March 1978

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Charlie Chaplin's coffin is stolen from a cemetery in Switzerland. His body will turn up May 17, in a field ten miles east of the cemetery.
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"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late," by veteran pop singer Johnny Mathis and new soul-pop singer Deniece Williams, enters the soul chart, where it will hit Number One for four weeks on April 15.

The Bee Gees enter the soul singles chart with another hit from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, "Night Fever," which in fourteen weeks on the chart will hit #8.
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Hustler publisher Larry Flynt is shot and paralyzed from the waist down outside a Georgia courthouse where he had been facing trial for the distribution of obscene material.
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Steely Dan's sixth album, Aja, becomes their first album to be certified platinum. Two weeks later, their second album, Countdown to Ecstasy, will be certified gold, five years after its release.
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Jazz guitarist George Benson's crossover to soul-pop continues successfully, as his cover version of the old Drifters classic "On Broadway" enters the soul singles chart, where it will rise to #2.
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American Hot Wax, Floyd Mutrux' film about a week in the life of pioneer rock & roll disc jockey Alan Freed, premieres in New York City to respectable critical acclaim. It stars Tim McIntire as Freed and Laraine Newman of Saturday Night Live as his sidekick (though some observers feel Newman's character is closer to Carole King in her Brill Building days). Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Screamin' Jay Hawkins appear in specialty staged concert sequences. The soundtrack features Jackie Wilson, Buddy Holly, the Drifters, the Moonglows, the Cadillacs, the Spaniels, the Zodiacs and others.
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British punk band the Stranglers begin their first U.S. tour, and the Jam begin their second U.S. tour.

After a long public battle, the Senate passes President Carter's Panama City Canal Treaty, guaranteeing that the Canal Zone will remain neutral territory after it leaves U.S. control on Dec. 31, 1999.
 17
Elvis Costello's second album, This Year's Model, is released in the U.K.
 18
The rock festival California Jam II is held in Ontario, California, with 250,000 in attendance to see performances by Santana, Dave Mason, Bob Welch, Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, Heart, Mahogany Rush and Rubicon. Portions of the festival are broadcast nationwide on ABC-TV.

In a feat unparalleled since the Beatles, the Bee Gees (or members thereof) have four of the top five songs on the Billboard chart: their own "Night Fever" and "Stayin' Alive" (#1, #2), Samantha Sang's "Emotion" (#3) and Andy Gibb's "Love Is Thicker Than Water."
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The Rutles' All You Need Is Cash, an affectionate satire of the Beatles, airs on NBC-TV. The Rutles are played by Eric Idle, of British comedy troupe Monty Python's Flying Circus; ex-Beach Boy Ricky Fataar; ex-Bonzo Dog Band member Neil Innes; and real-life British rock drummer John Halsey (who's worked with Roy Harper and Patto, among others). Paul Simon and Mick Jagger make cameo appearances as themselves. George Harrison appears as an interviewer. Among the songs featured: "Cheese and Onions," "Ouch!" and "I Must Be In Love." A Rutles soundtrack LP is released by Warner Bros. three days later, reaching #63 in its nine weeks on the U.S. album chart.

Win Anderson, who has been promoting a benefit concert for environmentalist group Friends of the Earth, holds a press conference in New York City substantiating rumors of a Beatles reunion.

After its rocky experience with the Sex Pistols, A&M sings a safer, more reggae-influenced act, the Police. The following April their single "Roxanne," from their #23 American debut LP Outlandos d'Amour, will make the Top 40.
 23
Rolling Stone reports that Fleetwood Mac is working out final arrangements to perform at Moscow's 3,000-seat Russian Concert Hall on July 8, 9 and 10. The band's legal adviser, Michael Shapiro, admits: "Everything, of course, depends on world peace."
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British courts grant British record companies the rights to seize bootleg and pirate recordings.
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Although George Lucas's Star Wars ruled the box office, 1977 proves to be Woody Allen's year at the Oscars; Annie Hall takes four awards (including Best Picture and Best Actress for Diane Keaton). Star Wars sweeps the technical side, with Oscars for Art Direction, Sound Original Score, Editing, Costume Design and Visual Effects.

Genesis begin a world tour in the U.S.; they will go on to Europe May 15, then to Japan in November.

David Bowie's first tour in two years begins in San Diego, California.
 30
In London, two members of the Clash -- bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Topper Headon -- are arrested for shooting pigeons from the roof of a rehearsal hall.
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