R&B number-one hits of 1971 (USA)
Encyclopedia
These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1971:
| Issue Date | Song | Artist |
| January 2 | "Groove Me Groove Me "Groove Me" is a song recorded by R&B singer King Floyd. Released from his eponymous album in late 1970, it was a crossover hit, spending four non-consecutive weeks at number-one on Billboard soul chart and peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.... " |
King Floyd King Floyd King Floyd was a New Orleans soul singer and songwriter, best known for his Top 10 hit from 1970, "Groove Me".-Early career:... |
| January 9 | "Groove Me" | King Floyd |
| January 16 | "Groove Me" | King Floyd |
| January 23 | "If I Were Your Woman If I Were Your Woman (song) "If I Were Your Woman" is a song recorded Gladys Knight & the Pips. The song was written by Pam Sawyer, Clay McMurray, and Gloria Jones and it was produced by McMurray. Released in late 1970 from the album of the same title, it spent one week at number-one on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart in... " |
Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & The Pips were an R&B/soul family musical act from Atlanta, Georgia, active from 1953 to 1989. The group was best known for their string of hit singles on Motown's "Soul" record label and Buddah Records from 1967 to 1975, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight... |
| January 30 | "Groove Me" | King Floyd |
| February 6 | "(Do The) Push and Pull (Do The) Push and Pull " Push and Pull " is a 1970 single by singer Rufus Thomas. This was the first and only number-one song for Thomas, who had first hit the R&B chart in 1953. The song was at the top of the Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles chart for two weeks in February 1971... " |
Rufus Thomas Rufus Thomas Rufus Thomas, Jr. was an American rhythm and blues, funk and soul singer and comedian fromMemphis, Tennessee, who recorded on Sun Records in the... |
| February 13 | "(Do The) Push and Pull" | Rufus Thomas |
| February 20 | "Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" is a 1971 R&B single by Johnnie Taylor. The single was his second number one on the U.S. R&B chart and crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number twenty-eight..-Chart positions:... " |
Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Harrison Taylor was an American vocalist in a wide variety of genres, from rhythm and blues, soul, blues and gospel to pop, doo-wop and disco.-Early years:... |
| February 27 | "Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone" | Johnnie Taylor |
| March 6 | "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) "Just My Imagination " is a song by American soul group The Temptations. Released on the Gordy label, and produced by Norman Whitfield, it features on the group's 1971 album, Sky's the Limit. When released as a single, "Just My Imagination" became the third Temptations song to reach number one on... " |
The Temptations The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,... |
| March 13 | "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" | The Temptations |
| March 20 | "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" | The Temptations |
| March 27 | "What's Going On What's Going On (song) "What's Going On" is a song written by Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Al Cleveland, and Marvin Gaye. It was the title track of Gaye's groundbreaking 1971 Motown album What's Going On, and it became a crossover hit single that reached #2 on the pop charts and #1 on the R&B charts... " |
Marvin Gaye Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range.... |
| April 3 | "What's Going On" | Marvin Gaye |
| April 10 | "What's Going On" | Marvin Gaye |
| April 17 | "What's Going On" | Marvin Gaye |
| April 24 | "What's Going On" | Marvin Gaye |
| May 1 | "Never Can Say Goodbye Never Can Say Goodbye "Never Can Say Goodbye" is a song written by Clifton Davis and originally recorded by The Jackson 5. Released as a single in 1971, it was one of the group's most successful songs... " |
The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 , later known as The Jacksons, were an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana... |
| May 8 | "Never Can Say Goodbye" | The Jackson 5 |
| May 15 | "Never Can Say Goodbye" | The Jackson 5 |
| May 22 | "Bridge Over Troubled Water Bridge over Troubled Water (song) "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is the title song of Simon & Garfunkel's album of the same name. The single was released on January 26, 1970, though it also appears on the live album Live 1969, released in 2008. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 28, 1970, and stayed at... " |
Aretha Franklin Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All... |
| May 29 | "Want Ads Want Ads "Want Ads" was a R&B/Soul/Funk song recorded by Honey Cone for their third album Sweet Replies and also appears on their fourth album Soulful Tapestry... " |
The Honey Cone |
| June 5 | "Bridge Over Troubled Water" | Aretha Franklin |
| June 12 | "Want Ads" | The Honey Cone |
| June 19 | "Want Ads" | The Honey Cone |
| June 26 | "Don't Knock My Love (Part 1)" | Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100... |
| July 3 | "Mr. Big Stuff Mr. Big Stuff "Mr. Big Stuff" is a song by R&B singer Jean Knight. Released from her 1971 debut album of the same title, it became a huge crossover hit. The song spent five weeks at number-one on Billboard's Best Selling Soul Singles and peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. "Mr. Big Stuff" would... " |
Jean Knight Jean Knight Jean Knight is an African-American soul/R&B/funk singer, best known for her 1971 Stax Records hit single, "Mr. Big Stuff".-Early years:... |
| July 10 | "Mr. Big Stuff" | Jean Knight |
| July 17 | "Mr. Big Stuff" | Jean Knight |
| July 24 | "Mr. Big Stuff" | Jean Knight |
| July 31 | "Mr. Big Stuff" | Jean Knight |
| August 7 | "Hot Pants (Part 1)" | James Brown |
| August 14 | "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) "Mercy Mercy Me " was the second single from Marvin Gaye's 1971 album, What's Going On. Following the breakthrough of the title track's success, the song, written solely by Gaye, became one of his most poignant anthems of sorrow regarding the environment... " |
Marvin Gaye |
| August 21 | "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" | Marvin Gaye |
| August 28 | "Spanish Harlem Spanish Harlem (song) "Spanish Harlem" is a song released by Ben E. King in 1960 on Atco Records, written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller... " |
Aretha Franklin |
| September 4 | "Spanish Harlem" | Aretha Franklin |
| September 11 | "Spanish Harlem" | Aretha Franklin |
| September 18 | "Stick-Up Stick-Up "Stick-Up" is the 1971 follow up single to The Honey Cone's #1 pop and R&B hit "Want Ads". The song hit #1 on the R&B charts for two weeks and reached #11 on the Hot 100. -Chart positions:-External links:*[ Song overview] on Allmusic... " |
The Honey Cone |
| September 25 | "Stick-Up" | The Honey Cone |
| October 2 | "Make It Funky Make It Funky "Make It Funky" is a song recorded by James Brown with The J.B.'s. It was released as a two-part single in 1971, which reached #1 on the U.S. R&B chart and #22 on the U.S. Pop chart.. The song features the band members chanting the song's title and a prominent organ part played by Brown himself... (Part 1)" |
James Brown |
| October 9 | "Make It Funky (Part 1)" | James Brown |
| October 16 | "Thin Line Between Love and Hate Thin Line Between Love and Hate "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" is the title of a 1971 song by the New York City-based R&B vocal group The Persuaders. The song was written and produced by the Poindexter brothers, Robert and Richard, and was also co-written by Jackie Members.... " |
The Persuaders The Persuaders (band) The Persuaders are a New York based R&B vocal group, with some fame in the 1970s, best known for their hit single, "Thin Line Between Love and Hate"... |
| October 23 | "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" | The Persuaders |
| October 30 | "Trapped By A Thing Called Love Trapped By a Thing Called Love "Trapped By a Thing Called Love" is the debut 1971 crossover hit single by Denise LaSalle. The single was her biggest hit on the R&B chart and her only Top 40 pop hit peaking at number thirteen . "Trapped By a Thing Called Love" was written by Denise LaSalle who also produced the song along with... " |
Denise LaSalle Denise LaSalle Denise LaSalle is an American R&B/soul and blues singer, songwriter, and record producer.-Career:... |
| November 6 | "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) "Inner City Blues ", often shortened to "Inner City Blues", is a song by Marvin Gaye, released as the third and final single from and the climactic song of his 1971 landmark album, What's Going On... " |
Marvin Gaye |
| November 13 | "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" | Marvin Gaye |
| November 20 | "Have You Seen Her Have You Seen Her "Have You Seen Her" is a song recorded by the soul vocal group, The Chi-Lites, and released on Brunswick Records in 1971. Composed by the lead singer Eugene Record and Barbara Acklin, the song was included on the group's 1971 album Give More Power to the People.-Song:The Chi-Lites recorded "Have... " |
The Chi-Lites The Chi-Lites The Chi-Lites are a Chicago-based smooth soul vocal quartet from the early 1970s, one of the few from the period not to come from Memphis or Philadelphia... |
| November 27 | "Have You Seen Her" | The Chi-Lites |
| December 4 | "Family Affair Family Affair (Sly & the Family Stone song) "Family Affair" is a 1971 number-one hit single recorded by Sly & the Family Stone for the Epic Records label. Their first new material since the double a-sided single "Thank You "/ "Everybody is a Star" nearly two years prior, "Family Affair" became the fourth and final number-one pop hit for the... " |
Sly & the Family Stone Sly & the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music... |
| December 11 | "Family Affair" | Sly & the Family Stone |
| December 18 | "Family Affair" | Sly & the Family Stone |
| December 25 | "Family Affair" | Sly & the Family Stone |
Chart comparisons
- Two songs went to number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" and "Want Ads."