In the music
- In February Florence Ballard of The Supremes dies.
- Stevie Wonder announced that he had signed a contract in excess of $13 million with Motown Records. In the same year he released the groundbreaking Songs In The Key Of Life album. It included tracks such as Isn't She Lovely, Sir Duke and Love's In Need Of Love Today.
- Afrika Bambaata plays his first gig at Bronx River Community Centre in New York.
- British band Aswad is signed to Island Records. The band was among the first homegrown acts to prove that reggae music could successfully take root in Europe. Their debut release, Back to Africa hit the No 1 slot in the UK reggae charts.
- Salsoul Records released the first ever 12" single to the public, called Ten Percent by Double Exposure. Before this 12 inches were only released as DJ promos.
- The movie Car Wash and the soundtrack are released and are massive hits. The soundtrack featured three US RnB top ten singles including I Wanna Get Next To You, I'm Going Down and Car Wash.