On this day

September 7, 1978

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of September 6, 1978, covering September 7, 1978.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Grease by Soundtrack

    Grease

    Soundtrack

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    17
  2. 2
    Album cover for Some Girls by The Rolling Stones

    Some Girls

    The Rolling Stones

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    12
  3. 3
    Album cover for Double Vision by Foreigner

    Double Vision

    Foreigner

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    10
  4. 4
    Album cover for Don't Look Back by Boston

    Don't Look Back

    Boston

    Last week
    10
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    2
  5. 5
    Album cover for Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band by Soundtrack

    Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

    Soundtrack

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    5
    Weeks
    5

Notable Births

Matt Cooke

1978Matt Cooke, Canadian ice hockey player[†]

Matthew David Cooke is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played sixteen seasons and 1046 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). Cooke won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2008–09 NHL season and was a member of the Team Canada team that won the gold medal at the 2004 World Championships. In addition to having played for the Penguins, he also played in the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals and Minnesota Wild. Cooke was born in Belleville, Ontario, but grew up in Stirling, Ontario. He served as head coach of the Newfoundland Growlers for the 2023/24 season.

Erwin Koen

1978Erwin Koen, Dutch footballer[†]

Erwin Koen is a Dutch former footballer who played as a striker. Most of his career he played in the 2. Bundesliga.

1978Ersin GĂŒreler, Turkish footballer[†]

Ersin GĂŒreler is a retired Turkish footballer who primarily played as a left back. Known for his attacking style of play, he represented 12 different teams in Turkish football. However, his involvement in the GĂŒlen movement came under scrutiny following the attempted coup d'etat in July 2016. Subsequently, in January 2020, GĂŒreler was convicted and sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison for being a member of an armed terror organization due to his connections with the GĂŒlen movement.

Devon Sawa

1978Devon Sawa, Canadian actor[†]

Devon Edward Sawa is a Canadian actor. Born and raised in Vancouver, Sawa began his career as a children's action toy spokesman. He made his film debut with a supporting role in Little Giants (1994) and received wide recognition for playing the title role as a human boy in Casper (1995). Sawa also had starring roles in the films Wild America (1997), SLC Punk! (1998), Idle Hands (1999), and Final Destination (2000).

Notable Deaths

Cecil Aronowitz

1978Cecil Aronowitz, South African-English viola player (born 1916)[†]

Cecil Aronowitz was a British viola player, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble, a leading chamber musician, and an influential teacher at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music.

Keith Moon

1978Keith Moon, English drummer (The Who) (born 1946)[†]

Keith John Moon was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour.

1978Charles Williams, English composer and conductor (born 1893)[†]

Charles Williams was a British composer and conductor, contributing music to over 50 films. While his career ran from 1934 through 1968, much of his work came to the big screen as stock music and was therefore uncredited.

Historical Events

Georgi Markov

1978While walking across Waterloo Bridge in London, Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov is assassinated by Bulgarian secret police agent Francesco Gullino by means of a ricin pellet fired from a specially designed umbrella.[†]

Georgi Ivanov Markov was a Bulgarian dissident writer. He originally worked as a novelist, screenwriter and playwright in his native country, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, until his defection in 1969. After relocating to London, he worked as a broadcaster and journalist for the BBC World Service, the Radio Free Europe and West Germany's Deutsche Welle. Markov used such forums to conduct a campaign of sarcastic criticism against the incumbent Bulgarian-Soviet regime.

Historical Context for September 7, 1978

In 1978, the world population was approximately 4,292,097,502 people[†]