The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart published since August 1958 by Billboard magazine which ranks the best-performing singles in the United States. In 1971, it was compiled based on a combination of sales and airplay data sourced from surveys of retail outlets and playlists submitted by radio stations respectively. During the year, 19 different singles spent time at number one.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 2, George Harrison was at number one with the double A-sided single "My Sweet Lord" / "Isn't It a Pity", retaining the position from the final chart of 1970. The single held the top spot for a further two weeks before being displaced by "Knock Three Times", the first number one for the group Dawn. In the issue dated February 13, "One Bad Apple" gave the Osmonds their first chart-topper. The brothers had appeared regularly on the television variety shows The Andy Williams Show and The Jerry Lewis Show during the 1960s, but their recording career did not take off until 1971. Later in the year, 13-year-old Donny Osmond topped the chart as a soloist for the first time with "Go Away Little Girl". The song was the first to be a Hot 100 number one for two different artists; Steve Lawrence had taken the song to the peak position in 1963. In the issue dated March 20, Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee" was the third consecutive first-time chart-topper. It was a posthumous achievement, as Joplin had died the previous October at the age of 27.
The band Three Dog Night reached number one in April with "Joy to the World"; the track spent six consecutive weeks in the top spot, making it the longest-running chart-topper of 1971. As no act achieved more than one number one during the year, Three Dog Night also had the highest total number of weeks atop the Hot 100 in 1971. Between June and August, Honey Cone, Carole King, the Raiders, James Taylor, and the Bee Gees all reached number one for the first time. King had previously co-written the number ones "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" by the Shirelles, "Take Good Care of My Baby" by Bobby Vee (both 1961), "The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva (1962), and "Go Away Little Girl", but the double A-sided single "It's Too Late" / "I Feel the Earth Move" was her first number one as a performer. Both tracks were taken from King's album Tapestry, which also included another of her self-penned songs, "You've Got a Friend"; two weeks after King's single left the top spot, Taylor reached number one with his version of the latter song, which he had recorded almost simultaneously with King's version. In September, Paul McCartney became the second member of the Beatles (after Harrison) to top the Hot 100 as a soloist when the song "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" spent a single week in the top spot; it was a collaboration with his wife Linda McCartney, giving her her first number one. She later joined her husband in the band Wings, which achieved much chart success, but "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" was the only Hot 100 entry on which she was individually credited. Four weeks later, Rod Stewart, one of the most successful vocalists of all time, gained his first U.S. number one with the double A-side "Maggie May" / "Reason to Believe". Cher, another singer with a long and successful career, achieved her first solo number one with "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", six years after she topped the chart as one half of the duo Sonny & Cher. In the last quarter of the year, Isaac Hayes and Melanie both topped the Hot 100 for the first and only time; Melanie's "Brand New Key" was the year's final number one.
Chart history
+Issue dateTitleArtist(s)247"My Sweet Lord" / "Isn't It a Pity"248"Knock Three Times"Dawn249"One Bad Apple"250"Me and Bobby McGee"251"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"252"Joy to the World"Three Dog Night253"Brown Sugar"254"Want Ads"Honey Cone255"It's Too Late" / "I Feel the Earth Move"256"Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)"257"You've Got a Friend"258"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"Bee Gees259"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" & Linda McCartney260"Go Away Little Girl"261"Maggie May" / "Reason to Believe"262"Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves"Cher263"Theme from Shaft"264"Family Affair"Sly and the Family Stone265"Brand New Key"Melanie
Notes
Number-one artists + List of number-one artists by total weeks at number one Weeks at No. 1 Artist6 Three Dog Night 5 The Osmonds Carole King Rod Stewart 4 Bee Gees 3 George Harrison Dawn Donny Osmond Sly and the Family Stone 2 Janis Joplin The Temptations The Rolling Stones Cher Isaac Hayes 1 Honey Cone The Raiders James Taylor Paul McCartney Linda McCartney Melanie
See also 1971 in music Lists of Billboard number-one singles List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1971 List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of the 1970s
References
Works cited