List of Hot Soul Singles number ones of 1974
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File:Grand_Gala_du_Disque_Populaire_1974_-_The_Three_Degrees_927-0060.jpg provided the vocals on the chart-topping single "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" by MFSB.]]
Billboard published a weekly chart in 1974 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.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/article/9378-i-know-you-got-soul-the-trouble-with-billboards-rbhip-hop-chart/|title=I Know You Got Soul: The Trouble With Billboard{{'}}s R&B/Hip-Hop Chart|work=Pitchfork|accessdate=December 19, 2021|first=Chris|last=Molanphy|date=April 14, 2014|archive-date=January 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121143650/https://pitchfork.com/features/article/9378-i-know-you-got-soul-the-trouble-with-billboards-rbhip-hop-chart/|url-status=live}} In 1974, it was published under the title Hot Soul Singles,{{sfn|Whitburn|1996|p=xii}} and 30 different singles topped the chart.
Stevie Wonder had both the first and last number ones of 1974. In the issue of Billboard dated January 5, Wonder spent his second week at number one with "Living for the City". He returned to the top spot in September with "You Haven't Done Nothin'", and gained his third chart-topper of the year when "Boogie On Reggae Woman" reached the peak position in the issue dated December 28, making it the year's final number one. Wonder was one of three acts to take three different singles to number one during 1974, along with James Brown and Gladys Knight & the Pips. The latter two acts each spent a cumulative total of five weeks at number one, placing them in a three-way tie with Roberta Flack for 1974's highest number of weeks atop the chart. Flack's "Feel Like Makin' Love" topped the chart for five consecutive weeks, the year's longest unbroken run at number one, and was ranked by Billboard as the year's best-performing soul single.
Two of 1974's Hot Soul Singles number ones showcased the emerging disco genre, which would go on to dominate American popular music in the latter half of the 1970s.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/disco-ma0000002552|title=Disco Music Genre Overview|publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=July 19, 2020|archive-date=June 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623024522/https://www.allmusic.com/style/disco-ma0000002552|url-status=live}} In April, MFSB, the house band at the recording studio operated by producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff,{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/25/arts/music/gamble-huff-philadelphia-international-records.html|title=50 Years Later, Gamble and Huff’s Philly Sound Stirs the Soul|work=The New York Times|first=Alan|last=Light|date=February 25, 2021|accessdate=August 21, 2023|archive-date=August 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811195517/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/25/arts/music/gamble-huff-philadelphia-international-records.html|url-status=live}} topped the chart with "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)", the theme tune from the TV show Soul Train;{{Cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2043850/the-number-ones-mfsb-the-three-degrees-tsop-the-sound-of-philadelphia/franchises/columns/the-number-ones/|title=The Number Ones: MFSB & The Three Degrees' "TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia)"|first=Tom|last=Breihan|work=Stereogum|date=May 16, 2019|accessdate=July 19, 2020|archive-date=July 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719233404/https://www.stereogum.com/2043850/the-number-ones-mfsb-the-three-degrees-tsop-the-sound-of-philadelphia/franchises/columns/the-number-ones/|url-status=live}} the song also featured vocals by the girl group the Three Degrees, who had previously entered the top ten twice in their own right.{{sfn|Whitburn|1988|pp=47, 64, 66, 117, 246, 251, 282, 288, 360, 402, 411}} Three months later, George McCrae reached number one with another disco song, "Rock Your Baby";{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/may/31/george-mccrae-rock-your-baby|title=The best No 1 records: George McCrae – Rock Your Baby|first=Dorian|last=Lynskey|work=The Guardian|date=May 31, 2012|accessdate=July 19, 2020|archive-date=July 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719232028/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/may/31/george-mccrae-rock-your-baby|url-status=live}} both singles also topped the all-genre Hot 100 chart.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/archive/charts/1974/hot-100|title=Hot 100 - 1974 Archive|magazine=Billboard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620005443/https://www.billboard.com/archive/charts/1974/hot-100|accessdate=July 19, 2020|archive-date=June 20, 2019}} "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" by Barry White and Stevie Wonder's "You Haven't Done Nothin'" also topped both charts. MFSB, the Three Degrees and McCrae all gained the first number ones of their respective careers in 1974,{{sfn|Whitburn|1988|pp=47, 64, 66, 117, 246, 251, 282, 288, 360, 402, 411}} as did a large number of other acts. William DeVaughn, Kool & the Gang, Blue Magic, B. T. Express, Latimore, Shirley Brown, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, and Tavares all made their first appearances at the top of the chart during the year.{{sfn|Whitburn|1988|pp=47, 64, 66, 117, 246, 251, 282, 288, 360, 402, 411}}
Chart history
File:Roberta Flack 1971.jpg spent five weeks at number one with "Feel Like Makin' Love", which Billboard ranked as the best-performing soul single of the year.]]
File:Gladys Knight (1969).jpg (Knight pictured) had three number ones in 1974.]]
File:George McCrae at MIFF (cropped).jpg " by George McCrae (pictured in later life) topped both the soul chart and the all-genre Hot 100 listing.]]
File:Stevie_Wonder_1973.JPG had three number ones in 1974.]]
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|+Key | style="background-color:#FFFF99" |{{dagger|alt=Best charting soul single of 1974}} |Indicates number 1 on Billboard{{'}}s year-end soul chart{{Cite magazine|title=Billboard.com - Year End Charts - Year-end Singles - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs| magazine=Billboard |url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B/Hip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1974|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210230445/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=Hot+R&B%2FHip-Hop+Songs&g=Year-end+Singles&year=1974|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 10, 2007|access-date=June 21, 2020}} |
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
=Works cited=
- {{cite book|title=Joel Whitburn's Top R & B Singles, 1942–1988|first=Joel|last=Whitburn|authorlink=Joel Whitburn|publisher=Record Research Incorporated|year=1988|isbn=978-0-89820-069-0}}
- {{cite book|title=Joel Whitburn's Top R & B Singles, 1942–1995|first=Joel|last=Whitburn|authorlink=Joel Whitburn|publisher=Record Research Incorporated|year=1996|isbn=978-0-89820-115-4}}
{{US R&B Chart}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:List of number-one RandB singles of 1974 (U.S.)}}