In 1977, this beautifully rendered painting from the Hildebrandt Brothers was thumb-tacked to my wall. I think it remained there well into the 80's. For an eight-year-old kid, especially a boy, the arrival of Star Wars in theaters was like the Beatles appearing on the Ed Sullivan show; a touchstone for a generation.

Change was afoot in 1977: The Supremes called it quits, Elvis died, Bing Crosby died, and Lynyrd Skynyrd lost several key members in a tragic plane crash. It's almost as if the musical universe was making room for something new...

The Sex Pistols were rising stars in 1977. Just about every label wanted to sign the band. Two succeeded, and subsequently dropped the group due to their bad behavior. Punk rock was born! It had a short life, but resurfaced in the 90's with bands like Green Day. Much of the thanks should also go to Seattle's grunge scene, because, let's face it, Nirvana was pretty punk rock.

But 1977 wasn't all spiked hair and bruises: disco hit it's stride with the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, Jimmy Buffet had his first big hit with Margaritaville, and we heard Hotel California by the Eagles for the very first time.

Now it's 2013. The Eagles have been reunited for years (with documentaries on Showtime this weekend), new Star Wars movies are in the works, and did you hear Lady Gaga's last album? Sounded like disco to me. So, in many ways, it seems like we're still living in 1977. But with better gadgets. I'm okay with that.

Dan Roberts hosts the 70's at 7 each weeknight at 7pm on 95.7 KJR. Every Thursday night at 7pm, he spends a full hour focused on the music and memories of a single year.

Photo: Everett Collection.