List of Hot Soul Singles number ones of 1975
Billboard published a weekly chart in 1975 ranking the top-performing singles in the United States in soul music and related African American-oriented genres; the chart has undergone various name changes over the decades to reflect the evolution of black music and since 2005 has been published as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[1] In 1975, it was published under the title Hot Soul Singles,[2] and 43 different singles reached number one.
![Singers The Pointer Sisters](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/The_Pointer_Sisters.png/290px-The_Pointer_Sisters.png)
The rapid turnover of number ones during the year meant that 1975 had the highest number of chart-topping singles in a calendar year since Billboard launched a combined sales and airplay chart for black music in 1958.[3] Only eight singles spent more than one week at number one, including one which spent two non-consecutive weeks in the peak position. The year's longest-running number one was "Fight the Power (Part 1)" by the Isley Brothers, which spent three consecutive weeks atop the chart in July and August. The Ohio Players spent the highest total number of weeks at number one of any act, with four weeks in the peak position. The group was the only act to achieve three number ones during the year; Al Green, KC & the Sunshine Band, the O'Jays, the Temptations and Barry White each took two singles to number one.
"Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas had already spent time at number one on Billboard's Hot 100 pop singles chart in late 1974[4][5] and reached the pinnacle of the soul listing in January 1975; it was among ten of 1975's soul chart-toppers to also reach the peak position on the Hot 100. Labelle, Earth, Wind & Fire, Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony, Silver Convention and the Staple Singers each took a single to number one on both charts during 1975.[6] The Ohio Players reached the summit of both charts during 1975 with "Fire", and their single "Love Rollercoaster", which was the final soul number one of 1975, would go on top the Hot 100 in early 1976.[6][7] KC & the Sunshine Band also released two singles in 1975 which topped both charts: "Get Down Tonight" and "That's the Way (I Like It)".[6] The former song was the first soul number one for the group,[8] which would go on to be one of the leading acts in the disco genre before that style fell from favor at the end of the 1970s.[9][10][11] Several acts who would go on to experience long and successful chart careers reached number one on the listing for the first time in 1975, including the Pointer Sisters and Earth, Wind & Fire.[12] Conversely, acts including Shirley & Company, Major Harris and New Birth gained the only number ones of their respective careers during the year and would achieve only moderate further success in chart terms.[13]
Chart history
edit† | Indicates number 1 on Billboard's year-end soul chart[14] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Molanphy, Chris (April 14, 2014). "I Know You Got Soul: The Trouble With Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Chart". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
- ^ Whitburn 1996, p. xii.
- ^ Whitburn 1988, pp. 600–606.
- ^ Whitburn 1983, p. 5.
- ^ "Hot 100 - 1974 Archive". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Hot 100 - 1975 Archive". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^ "Hot 100 - 1976 Archive". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^ Whitburn 1988, p. 233.
- ^ Kallen 2012, pp. 77–79.
- ^ Fallon 2016, p. 343, The Saturday Night Fever original movie soundtrack featured music by many of the top disco acts of the era – K.C. and the Sunshine Band......
- ^ Stacey & Henderson 2014, p. 162, The most popular performers of the disco era included Boney M, Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, The Bee Gees, K. C. and the Sunshine Band.....
- ^ Whitburn 1988, pp. 132, 331.
- ^ Whitburn 1988, pp. 181, 305, 372.
- ^ "Billboard.com - Year End Charts - Year-end Singles - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for January 4, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for January 11, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for January 18, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for January 25, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for February 1, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for February 8, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for February 15, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for February 22, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for March 1, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for March 8, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for March 15, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for March 22, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for March 29, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for April 5, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for April 12, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for April 19, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for April 26, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for May 3, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for May 10, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for May 17, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 30, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for May 24, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for May 31, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for June 7, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for June 14, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for June 21, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for June 28, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for July 5, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for July 12, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for July 19, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for July 26, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for August 2, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for August 9, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for August 16, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for August 23, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for August 30, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for September 6, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for September 13, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for September 20, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for September 27, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for October 4, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for October 11, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for October 18, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for October 25, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for November 1, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for November 8, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for November 15, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for November 22, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for November 29, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 30, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for December 6, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for December 13, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for December 20, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for December 27, 1975". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
Works cited
edit- Fallon, Michael (2016). Dodgerland: Decadent Los Angeles and the 1977–78 Dodgers. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-80328-833-1.
- Kallen, Stuart A. (2012). The History of American Pop. Lucent Books. ISBN 978-1-42050-672-3.
- Stacey, Lee; Henderson, Lol (2014). Encyclopedia of Music in the 20th Century. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-13592-946-6.
- Whitburn, Joel (1983). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop, 1955–1982. Record Research Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-89820-051-5.
- 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.