In 1979, RPM magazine published a chart for top-performing singles in the easy listening or adult contemporary categories in Canada. The chart, entitled Adult Oriented Playlist, has undergone numerous name changes, becoming Contemporary Adult in 1981 and became Adult Contemporary in 1984 until the magazine's final publication in November 2000. In 1979, thirty-six singles reached number one in the chart, which contains 50 positions. The first number-one in 1978 was "Time Passages" by British singer-songwriter Al Stewart, continuing from the 1978 charts, and the last was "Babe" by the American rock band Styx. Seventeen acts have their first number-one in the chart in 1979: the Village People, Alicia Bridges, Chic, Nicolette Larson, Boney M., the Pointer Sisters, Gloria Gaynor, the Doobie Brothers, Amii Stewart, Blondie, Suzi Quatro, Chris Norman, Peaches & Herb, Anita Ward, Rex Smith, Herb Alpert and Styx. Three Canadian acts, Anne Murray, Paul Anka and Frank Mills had at least one number-one that year.
Anne Murray had the most number-one singles in 1979, with "I Just Fall in Love Again" (four weeks), "Shadows in the Moonlight" (two weeks) and "Broken Hearted Me" (two weeks), and also had the most weeks at number one, totalling six weeks. American disco singer Gloria Gaynor also had a four-week number-one chart run with "I Will Survive".
Chart history
An asterisk (*) indicates an unpublished weekly chart due to the special double issues RPM publishes for the year-end top singles charts.
+Issue dateTitleArtist(s)* "Time Passages" Al Stewart "Y.M.C.A." Village People "I Love the Nightlife" Alicia Bridges "Le Freak" Chic "Too Much Heaven" Bee Gees "Lotta Love" Nicolette Larson "I Just Fall in Love Again" Anne Murray "Rasputin" Boney M. "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" Rod Stewart "Fire" The Pointer Sisters "I Will Survive" Gloria Gaynor "What a Fool Believes" The Doobie Brothers "Knock on Wood" Amii Stewart "Heart of Glass" Blondie "Stumblin' In" Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman "Reunited" Peaches & Herb "Love You Inside Out" Bee Gees "Goodnight Tonight" Wings "She Believes in Me" Kenny Rogers "Hot Stuff" Donna Summer "Shadows in the Moonlight" Anne Murray "Ring My Bell" Anita Ward "You Take My Breath Away" Rex Smith "The Main Event" Barbra Streisand "You're the Only One" Dolly Parton "As Long as We Keep Believing" Paul Anka "Rise" Herb Alpert "Different Worlds" Maureen McGovern "Dancin' Round and Round" Olivia Newton-John "The Boss" Diana Ross "I'll Never Love This Way Again" Dionne Warwick "Rise" Herb Alpert "Broken Hearted Me" Anne Murray "You Decorated My Life" Kenny Rogers "Peter Piper" Frank Mills "Until It's Time for You to Go" Vera Lynn "Peter Piper" Frank Mills "Babe" Styx
References
External links Search RPM charts collection at Library and Archives Canada