List of Best Selling Soul Singles number ones of 1971

Billboard published a weekly chart in 1971 ranking the top-performing singles in the United States in soul music and related African American-oriented music genres; the chart has undergone various name changes over the decades to reflect the evolution of such genres and since 2005 has been published as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[1] In 1971, it was published under the title Best Selling Soul Singles,[2] and 21 different singles topped the chart.


Singers Gladys Knight and the Pips
Gladys Knight & the Pips topped the chart with "If I Were Your Woman".

In the issue of Billboard dated January 2, King Floyd reached number one with "Groove Me", displacing the final number one of 1970, "Stoned Love" by the Supremes.[3] It held the top spot for three weeks, was replaced for a single week by "If I Were Your Woman" by Gladys Knight & the Pips, and then returned to number one for one further week. "Groove Me" was Floyd's first number one but proved to be his only single to reach the top spot.[4] It was replaced at number one by "(Do The) Push and Pull (Part 1)" by Rufus Thomas, another first-time chart-topper.[5] Thomas had first recorded in 1941, but did not achieve his greatest success until the early 1970s, when he was well into his 50s;[6] as with Floyd, his 1971 number one was his only chart-topping single.[5] Honey Cone, Jean Knight, Denise LaSalle, the Persuaders, and the Chi-Lites also reached number one in 1971 for the first time in their respective careers.[7]

Two singles tied for the year's longest-running number one, both spending five weeks atop the chart. In March and April, Marvin Gaye spent five weeks at number one with "What's Going On" and Jean Knight achieved the same feat in with "Mr. Big Stuff" beginning with the issue dated July 3. Gaye had the highest cumulative total number of weeks atop the chart of any act in 1971, spending a total of nine weeks in the top spot with "What's Going On", "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" and "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)". All three tracks were taken from the album What's Going On, a politically-charged concept album which has been regarded by many critics as one of the greatest albums of all time.[8][9][10][11] Three other acts achieved more than one number one in 1971: James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Honey Cone. The year's final soul number one was "Family Affair" by Sly and the Family Stone, which reached number one in the issue of Billboard dated December 4 and stayed there for the remainder of the year. It also topped the all-genre[12] Hot 100 chart, as did "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" by the Temptations and Honey Cone's "Want Ads".[13]

Chart history
Singer Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye spent nine weeks at number one in 1971.
singer Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin reached number one with her versions of "Bridge over Troubled Water" and "Spanish Harlem".
singer James Brown
James Brown had two number ones during 1971.
singer Denise LaSalle
Denise LaSalle (pictured in 2009) gained her first number one with "Trapped by a Thing Called Love".
Singer Sly Stone
Sly and the Family Stone (Sly Stone pictured in 2007) had the year's last chart-topper with "Family Affair".
Key
† Indicates number 1 on Billboard's year-end soul chart of 1971[14]
Chart history
Issue date Title Artist(s) Ref.
January 2 "Groove Me" King Floyd [3]
January 9 [15]
January 16 [16]
January 23 "If I Were Your Woman" Gladys Knight & the Pips [17]
January 30 "Groove Me" King Floyd [18]
February 6 "(Do The) Push and Pull (Part 1)" Rufus Thomas [19]
February 13 [20]
February 20 "Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone" Johnnie Taylor [21]
February 27 [22]
March 6 "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" The Temptations [23]
March 13 [24]
March 20 [25]
March 27 "What's Going On" Marvin Gaye [26]
April 3 [27]
April 10 [28]
April 17 [29]
April 24 [30]
May 1 "Never Can Say Goodbye" The Jackson 5 [31]
May 8 [32]
May 15 [33]
May 22 "Bridge Over Troubled Water" Aretha Franklin [34]
May 29 "Want Ads" Honey Cone [35]
June 5 [36]
June 12 [37]
June 19 "Bridge Over Troubled Water" Aretha Franklin [38]
June 26 "Don't Knock My Love (Part 1)" Wilson Pickett [39]
July 3 "Mr. Big Stuff" † Jean Knight [40]
July 10 [41]
July 17 [42]
July 24 [43]
July 31 [44]
August 7 "Hot Pants Part 1 (She Got To Use What She Got, To Get What She Want)"[45] James Brown [46]
August 14 "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" Marvin Gaye [47]
August 21 [48]
August 28 "Spanish Harlem" Aretha Franklin [49]
September 4 [50]
September 11 [51]
September 18 "Stick-Up" Honey Cone [52]
September 25 [53]
October 2 "Make It Funky (Part 1)"[45] James Brown [54]
October 9 [55]
October 16 "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" The Persuaders [56]
October 23 [57]
October 30 "Trapped by a Thing Called Love" Denise LaSalle [58]
November 6 "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" Marvin Gaye [59]
November 13 [60]
November 20 "Have You Seen Her" The Chi-Lites [61]
November 27 [62]
December 4 "Family Affair" Sly and the Family Stone [63]
December 11 [64]
December 18 [65]
December 25 [66]

References
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  66. "R & B Chart for December 25, 1971". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.

Works cited
  • Whitburn, Joel (1988). Joel Whitburn's Top R & B Singles, 1942–1988. Record Research Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-89820-069-0.
  • Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's Top R & B Singles, 1942–1995. Record Research Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-89820-115-4.
  • Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-89820-160-4.
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