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 1973, 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, 27 different singles spent time at number one, the most since 1966.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 6, Carly Simon reached number one with "You're So Vain", displacing the final number one of 1972, "Me and Mrs. Jones" by Billy Paul. It was the first chart-topper for Simon, who had made her Hot 100 debut as a teenager in 1964 as one half of the Simon Sisters. Elton John gained his first Hot 100 number one in February with "Crocodile Rock"; it was the first of six chart-toppers for the British singer in the 1970s, which contributed to him being ranked the top-performing act of the decade on the Hot 100. John ranks as one of the biggest-selling acts of all time and has won numerous awards and accolades, including multiple Grammy Awards and Academy Awards and membership of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Another act that has been inducted into the Hall of Fame, the O'Jays, topped the Hot 100 for the first time in March with "Love Train". In April, Vicki Lawrence, one of the stars of television's The Carol Burnett Show, reached number one with "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia". It was her first Hot 100 entry, but, despite topping the listing at the first attempt, her singing success was short-lived and her only two other charting singles both missed the top 40.
Paul McCartney achieved his first chart-topper with the band Wings in June, with "My Love". After leaving the Beatles in 1970, he initially recorded primarily as a soloist and topped the Hot 100 with "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" in collaboration with his wife Linda in 1971. He then formed the new band Wings; initially he did not receive separate credit on the band's releases, but "My Love" was the first Hot 100 entry to be credited to Paul McCartney and Wings. His fellow former member of the Beatles, Ringo Starr, gained his first solo chart-topper in December with "Photograph". Jim Croce reached number one for the first time in July with "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"; two months later, he was killed when an airplane in which he was travelling while on tour crashed in Louisiana. Croce posthumously achieved a second number one when "Time in a Bottle" reached the top spot on the chart dated December 29. He was one of two acts with multiple chart-toppers in 1973, along with Stevie Wonder, who took "Superstition" and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" to the top spot. The Edgar Winter Group, Maureen McGovern, Stories, Grand Funk, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Charlie Rich also reached number one for the first time during 1973. Eddie Kendricks, who had achieved a number one as lead singer of the Temptations in 1969, earned his first number-one song since going solo in 1971. The year's longest-running number one was Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly with His Song", with five non-consecutive weeks in the top spot. Its initial run of four weeks atop the listing tied with "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando and "My Love" by Paul McCartney and Wings for the year's longest unbroken run at number one.
Chart history
+Issue dateTitleArtist(s)287"You're So Vain"288"Superstition"289"Crocodile Rock"290"Killing Me Softly with His Song"291"Love Train"290 (re)"Killing Me Softly with His Song"292""293"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree"Dawn featuring Tony Orlando 294"You Are the Sunshine of My Life"295"Frankenstein"296"My Love"297"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)"298"Will It Go Round in Circles"299"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"300""301"Touch Me in the Morning"302"Brother Louie"Stories303"Let's Get It On"304"Delta Dawn"303 (re)"Let's Get It On"305"We're an American Band"Grand Funk306"Half-Breed"Cher307"Angie"308"Midnight Train to Georgia"309"Keep on Truckin'"310"Photograph"311"Top of the World"312""313"Time in a Bottle" Notes
Number-one artists + List of number-one artists by total weeks at number one Weeks at No. 1 Artist 5 Roberta Flack 4 Dawn featuring Tony Orlando Paul McCartney and Wings 3 Carly Simon Elton John Jim Croce 2 Vicki Lawrence Stevie Wonder Billy Preston Maureen McGovern Stories Marvin Gaye Cher Gladys Knight & the Pips Eddie KendricksThe Carpenters Charlie Rich 1 The O'Jays The Edgar Winter Group George Harrison Diana Ross Helen Reddy Grand Funk The Rolling Stones Ringo Starr
See also 1973 in music Lists of Billboard number-one singles List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1973 List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of the 1970s
References
Works cited