The Billboard Hot 100 is a chart published since August 1958 by Billboard magazine which ranks the best-performing singles in the United States. In 1972, it was compiled based on a combination of sales and airplay data sourced from surveys of retail outlets and playlists submitted by radio stations respectively. During the year, 22 different singles spent time at number one.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 1, Melanie was at number one with "Brand New Key", retaining the top spot from the final chart of 1971. Two weeks later, Don McLean topped the chart with "American Pie", his first number one. The song, known for its cryptic lyrics about the musical and cultural landscape of America throughout the 1960s, has been called one of the greatest songs of all time. It is also known for its exceptional length; clocking in at nearly nine minutes, it was split across the two sides of a 7" single. It held the record of being the longest song to top the Hot 100 until "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" by Taylor Swift reached number one in 2021. "American Pie" was the first in a run of nine consecutive number ones by acts that had never previously topped the Hot 100: between February and June, Al Green, Nilsson, Neil Young, America, Roberta Flack, the Chi-Lites, the Staple Singers, and Sammy Davis Jr. all gained their first chart-toppers. America's "A Horse with No Name" was the band's first charting song; in contrast, Davis, a veteran of Broadway theater, film and television, had placed songs on Billboards pop music charts since 1954. Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" spent six consecutive weeks at number one, the year's longest unbroken run atop the chart.
Between July and September, Bill Withers, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Looking Glass, and Mac Davis gained their first number ones. O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)" matched the six weeks spent at number one by "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", albeit non-consecutively. As no act had more than one number one during 1972, the two singers tied for the most weeks spent in the peak position during the year. In the issue dated October 14, Michael Jackson gained his first solo number one with "Ben"; the singer, who was 14 years old when the song reached the top spot, had previously achieved four number ones as a member of the Jackson 5 with his older brothers. A week later, Chuck Berry gained his first Hot 100 number one with the novelty song "My Ding-a-Ling". The singer, acclaimed as one of the most influential performers in the development of American popular music and a member of the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, had achieved success on the pop and R&B charts since the mid-1950s but had never topped the Hot 100 until 1972. "My Ding-a-Ling" is seen by critics as a very poor quality single in comparison to his many influential rock and roll songs and it is seen as incongruous that it was his only Hot 100 number one. Johnny Nash, Helen Reddy, and Billy Paul all gained their first number ones during the closing weeks of the year; Nash had first entered Billboards pop charts as a teenager in 1957, but it took him 15 years to achieve his first number one. In contrast, Paul's chart-topper "Me and Mrs. Jones" was the singer's first Hot 100 entry; it spent three weeks at number one, but he never placed another song in the top 30, and by 1977, his chart career had ended completely.
Chart history
+Issue dateTitleArtist(s)265"Brand New Key"Melanie266"American Pie"267"Let's Stay Together"268"Without You"Nilsson269"Heart of Gold"270""America271""272"Oh Girl"273"I'll Take You There"274""275"Song Sung Blue"276"Lean on Me"277"Alone Again (Naturally)"278"Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)"Looking Glass277 (re)"Alone Again (Naturally)"279"Black and White"Three Dog Night280"Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me"281"Ben"282"My Ding-a-Ling"283"I Can See Clearly Now"284"Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"285"I Am Woman"286"Me and Mrs. Jones"
Notes
Number-one artists + List of number-one artists by total weeks at number one Artist 6 Roberta Flack Gilbert O'Sullivan 4Don McLean Nilsson Johnny Nash 3 America Sammy Davis Jr. Bill Withers Mac Davis Billy Paul2 Melanie Chuck Berry 1 Al Green Neil Young The Chi-Lites The Staple Singers Neil Diamond Looking Glass Three Dog Night Michael Jackson The Temptations Helen Reddy
See also 1972 in music List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of the 1970s
References
Works cited