In 1978, 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 1978, 36 individual singles reached number one in the chart, which contains 50 positions. The first number-one in 1978 was "Sweet Music Man" by American country singer Kenny Rogers, continuing from the 1977 charts, and the last was "Time Passages" by British singer-songwriter Al Stewart. Sixteen acts have their first number-one in the chart in 1978: Billy Joel, Randy Newman, Dan Hill, Johnny Mathis, Deniece Williams, Kansas, Donny Hathaway, John Travolta, Bonnie Tyler, Chuck Mangione, Michael Johnson, the Commodores, Kim Carnes, Chris Rea, Donna Summer, Little River Band and Al Stewart. Elvis Presley had one posthumous number-one single the week of January 28 with his version of "My Way", which was released as a single weeks after his death in 1977. Four Canadian acts, Dan Hill, Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray and Burton Cummings had at least one number-one that year.
American country performer Dolly Parton had the longest number-one chart run in 1978, with "Heartbreaker", which stayed at number one for four weeks. English-Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John had the most number-one easy listening singles in 1978, with "I Honestly Love You" (re-release), "You're the One That I Want" (with John Travolta, from the Grease soundtrack) and "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (also from Grease), and has totalled four weeks at number one. Barbra Streisand also had four weeks at number one with "Songbird" and "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" (with Neil Diamond); both singles had two weeks at number one. Billy Joel spent three weeks at number-one in the Canadian easy-listening chart with "Just the Way You Are".
Chart history
+Issue dateTitleArtist(s) "Sweet Music Man" Kenny Rogers "I Honestly Love You" Olivia Newton-John "Desiree" Neil Diamond "My Way" Elvis Presley "Just the Way You Are" Billy Joel "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" Andy Gibb "Desiree" Neil Diamond "Small People" Randy Newman "Sometimes When We Touch" Dan Hill "(What a) Wonderful World" Art Garfunkel "The Circle Is Small" Gordon Lightfoot "Lay Down Sally" Eric Clapton "Night Fever" Bee Gees "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams "Dust in the Wind" Kansas "The Last of the Romantics" Engelbert Humperdinck "The Closer I Get to You" Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway "You're the One That I Want" Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta "It's a Heartache" Bonnie Tyler "Feels So Good" Chuck Mangione "Shadow Dancing" Andy Gibb "Bluer Than Blue" Michael Johnson "Songbird" Barbra Streisand "You Needed Me" Anne Murray "Three Times a Lady" Commodores "You're a Part of Me" Gene Cotton and Kim Carnes "Grease" Frankie Valli "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" Chris Rea "You" Rita Coolidge "Hopelessly Devoted to You" Olivia Newton-John "Break It to Them Gently" Burton Cummings "Heartbreaker" Dolly Parton "MacArthur Park" Donna Summer "Ready to Take a Chance Again" Barry Manilow "Reminiscing" Little River Band "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond "Time Passages" Al Stewart
Notes
References
External links Search RPM charts collection at Library and Archives Canada