Billboard published a weekly chart in 1970 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 1970, it was published under the title Best Selling Soul Singles,[2] and 17 different singles topped the chart.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 3, Diana Ross & the Supremes were at number one with "Someday We'll Be Together", the song's fourth and final week in the top spot.[3] It was the final Supremes single to feature lead singer Diana Ross, who departed for a successful solo career;[4][5] she would go on to achieve her first solo chart-topper later in the year with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". The Supremes, with new lead singer Jean Terrell,[4] topped the chart again in December with "Stoned Love", but it would prove to be the group's final soul number one.[6]
The Jackson 5 displaced the Supremes from the top spot in the year's second issue of Billboard with "I Want You Back", giving the brothers their first number one with their debut single.[7][8] The Jackson 5, all of whom were in their teens or younger,[8] quickly experienced a run of continued success, achieving four number-one soul singles by the end of the year. All four also topped the all-genre Hot 100 chart, making them the first act ever to top that listing with their first four singles.[8] "I'll Be There", the Jackson 5's fourth number one of 1970, became the highest-selling single released by the Motown label.[8] The group spent a total of 20 weeks at number one in 1970; no other act spent more than six weeks in the top spot during the year. In addition to the Jackson 5, the Moments gained their first career number one when "Love on a Two-Way Street" spent five weeks in the top spot in May and June.[9] In March, Brook Benton achieved his first chart-topper for nearly ten years when he reached number one with "Rainy Night in Georgia"; his last appearance in the top spot had been with "Kiddio" in 1960.[10]
Chart history
| † | Indicates number 1 on Billboard's year-end soul chart of 1970[11] |
References
Works cited
- Betts, Graham (2014). Motown Encyclopedia. AC Publishing. ISBN 978-1-31144-154-6.
- 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.