1976 (MCMLXXVI) was .

Events 
 January 18 – Bangladesh and Pakistan fully have foreign bilateral relations between Islamabad and Dacca Officials.
 July 2 – Vietnam is united.
 July 4 – The United States celebrates its 200th birthday (bicentennial)
 July 23 – Adolfo Suárez is elected Prime Minister of Spain.
 July 28 – Tangshan earthquake in China.
 October 18 – Bangladesh is recognized by China and established diplomatic ties with Dacca.
 November 2 - Jimmy Carter elected the 39th President of the United States. Carter defeated the incumbent Ford. 
 November 26- The Last Waltz
 The Clash forms in London.
 A Soviet pilot defects and flies to Japan in a MiG-25 Foxbat.

Births 
 January 13 – Bic Runga, New Zealand singer
 March 8 – Freddie Prinze Jr.
 March 10 – Haifa Wehbe, Lebanese singer
 April 18 – Melissa Joan Hart, American actress
 August 8 – JC Chasez, American singer
 June 2 – Tim Rice-Oxley, English musician
 June 14 – Alan Carr, English television presenter
 July 1 – Ruud van Nistelrooy, Dutch footballer
 July 9 – Fred Savage, American actor
 July 16 – Bobby Lashley, American wrestler
 September 6 - Robin Atkin Downes, English voice actor
 September 24 – Stephanie McMahon, American business person and writer (WWE)
 September 26 – Michael Ballack, German footballer
 October 7 – Taylor Hicks, American singer
 October 19 – Paul Hartley, Scottish footballer
 November 3 – Tom Brosseau, American singer-songwriter
 November 8 – Brett Lee, Australian cricket player
 November 22 – Torsten Frings, German footballer
 November 22 – Ville Valo, Finnish singer
 November 24 – Lu Chen, Chinese figure skater
 November 27 – Jaleel White, American actor
 December 8 – Dominic Monaghan, English actor

Deaths 
 January 5 – Mal Evans, English band manager (Beatles) (b. 1935)
 January 12 – Agatha Christie, English writer (b. 1890)
 February 1 – Werner Heisenberg, German physicist (b. 1901)
 March 11 – Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto, Finnish architect (b. 1898)
 August 2 – Fritz Lang, Austrian movie director (b. 1890)
 August 29 – Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi poet (b. 1899)
 September 9 – Mao Zedong, Chinese Communist leader (b. 1893)
 December 4 – Benjamin Britten, English composer (b. 1913)

Movies released 
 A Star is Born
 All the President's Men (movie)
 Marathon Man 
 Rocky
 Silver Streak
 The Omen
 To Fly!
 Taxi Driver

Hit Songs 
 "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" – Blue Öyster Cult
 "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" – KC & the Sunshine Band
 "(What A) Wonderful World" – Johnny Nash
 "Anarchy In The UK" – Sex Pistols
 "Dancing Queen" – ABBA (6)
 "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" – Paul Simon
 "A Fifth of Beethoven" – Walter Murphy & the Big Apple Band
 "A Little Bit More" – Dr. Hook
 "Afternoon Delight" – Starland Vocal Band
 "All By Myself" – Eric Carmen
 "Arms Of Mary" – Sutherland Brothers and Quiver
 "Back In The USSR" – The Beatles
 "Beautiful Noise" – Neil Diamond
 "Bennie And The Jets" – Elton John
 "Besame Mucho" – Dalida
 "Better Use Your Head" – Little Anthony and the Imperials
 "Blinded By The Light" – Manfred Mann's Earth Band
 "Bohemian Rhapsody" – Queen
 "Boogie Fever" Sylvers
 "Born To Be With You" – Dion
 "Both Ends Burning" – Roxy Music
 "Candy Store Rock" – Led Zeppelin
 "Cherry Bomb" – The Runaways
 "Convoy" – C.W. McCall
 "Couldn't Get It Right" – Climax Blues Band
 "Dancing Queen" – ABBA
 "December 1963 (Oh What A Night)" – Four Seasons
 "Devil Woman"- Cliff Richard
 "Disco Duck (Part 1)" – Rick Dees & His Cast of Idiots
 "Disco Lady" – Johnnie Taylor (4)
 "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" – Julie Covington
 "Don't Give Up On Us" – David Soul
 "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" – Elton John & Kiki Dee
 "Don't Make Me Wait Too Long" – Barry White
 "Don't Stop It Now" – Hot Chocolate
 "Don't Take Away The Music" – Tavares
 "Dream Weaver" – Gary Wright
 "Extended Play(EP)" – Bryan Ferry
 "Fernando" – ABBA
 "Fly Like An Eagle" – Steve Miller Band
 "Foggy Notion-Inside Your Heart" – Velvet Underground
 "Fool to Cry" – The Rolling Stones
 "Forever And Ever" – Demis Roussos
 "Forever And Ever" – Slik
 "Freebird(EP)" – Lynyrd Skynyrd
 "Get Up and Boogie" – Silver Convention
 "Girls Girls Girls" – Sailor
 "Harvest For The World" – The Isley Brothers
 "Hasten Down The Wind" – Warren Zevon
 "Heart On My Sleeve" – Gallagher and Lyle
 "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel" – Tavares
 "Hello Old Friend" – Eric Clapton
 "Here Comes The Sun" – Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
 "Here Comes The Weekend" – Dave Edmunds
 "Hey Baby" – J.J. Cale
 "Honey I" – George McCrae
 "Hot Stuff" – The Rolling Stones
 "Hot Valves(EP)" – Be Bop Deluxe
 "Howzat" – Sherbet
 "Hurricane" – Bob Dylan
 "Hurt" – The Manhattans
 "I Love Music" – The O'Jays
 "I Love To Boogie " – T. Rex
 "I Love to Love (But My Baby Just Loves to Dance)" – Tina Charles
 "I Want You" – Marvin Gaye
 "I Wish" – Stevie Wonder
 "I Write the Songs" – Barry Manilow
 "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" – England Dan and John Ford Coley
 "If Not You" – Dr. Hook
 "If You Leave Me Now" – Chicago
 "If You Leave Me Now" – Chicago
 "I'm Mandy Fly Me" – 10cc
 "I'm Your Puppet" – James and Bobby Purify
 "In Dulce Jubilo/On Horseback" – Mike Oldfield
 "It Keeps You Running" – Carly Simon
 "It's Over" – Boz Scaggs
 "Jailbreak" – Thin Lizzy
 "J'Attendrai" – Dalida
 "Jump In My Car" – TMG
 "Kiss and Say Goodbye" – The Manhattans
 "Landslide" – Fleetwood Mac
 "Last Child" – Aerosmith
 "Le petit bonheur" – Dalida
 "Let 'Em In" – Paul McCartney & Wings
 "Let Your Love Flow" – Bellamy Brothers
 "Let's Stick Together" – Bryan Ferry
 "Livin' Thing" – Electric Light Orchestra
 "Lost in France" – Bonnie Tyler
 "Love And Affection" – Joan Armatrading
 "Love Hangover" – Diana Ross
 "Love Is Alive" – Gary Wright
 "Love Machine" – The Miracles
 "Love Really Hurts Without You" – Billy Ocean
 "Love Rollercoaster" – Ohio Players
 "Love So Right" – Bee Gees
 "Love To Love You Baby – Donna Summer
 "Love's A Prima Donna" – Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel
 "Low Rider" – War
 "Mamma Mia" – ABBA
 "Man to Man" – Hot Chocolate
 "Midnight Train To Georgia" – Gladys Knight and the Pips
 "Mississippi" – Pussycat (4)
 "Misty Blue" – Dorothy Moore
 "Mohammed's Radio" – Warren Zevon
 "Money, Money, Money" – ABBA
 "Moonlight Feels Right" – Starbuck
 "More Than a Feeling" – Boston
 "Movin'" – Brass Construction
 "Mozambique" – Bob Dylan
 "Music" – John Miles
 "My First Night Alone Without You" – Bonnie Raitt
 "Nadia's Theme (The Young & The Restless)" – Barry DeVorzon & Perry Botkin, Jr.
 "New Rose" – The Damned (debut)
 "No Charge" – J.J. Barrie
 "Pinball Wizard" – Elton John
 "Play That Funky Music" – Wild Cherry
 "Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)" – Fleetwood Mac
 "Right Back Where We Started From" – Maxine Nightingale
 "Ring Out Solstice Bells(EP)" – Jethro Tull
 "Rock Me Gently" – Sherbet
 "Rock'n Me" – Steve Miller Band
 "Rodrigo's Guitar Concerto(Concerto De Aranjuez))" – Manuel and the Music of the Mountains
 "Sara Smile" – Daryl Hall & John Oates
 "Save Your Kisses for Me" – Brotherhood of Man (6), best seller of the year
 "Say You Love Me" – Fleetwood Mac
 "She's Gone" – Daryl Hall & John Oates
 "Ships In The Night" – Be Bop Deluxe
 "Show Me The Way" – Peter Frampton
 "Silly Love Songs" – Paul McCartney & Wings (5)
 "Sing Me An Old Fashioned Song" – Billie Jo Spears
 "So It Goes" – Nick Lowe
 "Somebody To Love" – Queen
 "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"- Elton John
 "Still The One" – Orleans
 "Stop Me(If You've Heard It All Before)" – Billy Ocean
 "Suffragette City" – David Bowie
 "Sugar Mama" – Bonnie Raitt
 "Sunshine Day" – Osibisa
 "Take It To The Limit" – The Eagles
 "Take The Money And Run" – Steve Miller Band
 "Taking It To The Streets" – The Doobie Brothers
 "That'll Be The Day" – Linda Ronstadt
 "The Boston Tea Party" – The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
 "The Boys Are Back In Town" – Thin Lizzy
 "The Combine Harvester (Brand New Key)" – Wurzels
 "The Killing of Georgie, Pt. 1-2" – Rod Stewart
 "The Perfect Drug" – Roxy Music
 "The Rubberband Man" – The Detroit Spinners
 "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" – Diana Ross
 "Theme from S.W.A.T." – Rhythm Heritage
 "Things We Do For Love" – 10cc
 "This Is It" – Melba Moore
 "This Old Heart Of Mine" – Rod Stewart
 "TVC 15" – David Bowie
 "Under the Moon of Love" – Showaddywaddy
 "Uptown Uptempo Woman" – Randy Edelman
 "Welcome Back" – John Sebastian
 "What I've Got In Mind" – Billie Jo Spears
 "When A Child Is Born (Soleado)" – Johnny Mathis
 "Why Can't We Be Friends" – War
 "World Turning" – Fleetwood Mac
 "Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" – Gordon Lightfoot
 "Yesterday" – The Beatles
 "You Don't Have To Go" – The Chi-Lites
 "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" – Leo Sayer
 "You See The Trouble With Me" – Barry White
 "You Sexy Thing" – Hot Chocolate
 "You Should Be Dancing" – Bee Gees
 "You to Me Are Everything" – Real Thing
 "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" – Lou Rawls
 "Young Hearts Run Free" – Candi Staton
 "You're My Best Friend" – Queen
 ”Saturday Night" – Bay City Rollers
 ”Tonight's the Night" – Rod Stewart