List of Billboard Easy Listening number ones of 1968

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Harpers Bizarre began the year at number one with their version of the 1941 song "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Harpers Bizarre.png
Harpers Bizarre began the year at number one with their version of the 1941 song "Chattanooga Choo Choo".

In 1968, Billboard magazine published a chart ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the easy listening market. The chart, which in 1968 was entitled Easy Listening, has undergone various name changes and since 1996 has been published under the title Adult Contemporary. [1] In 1968, 13 songs topped the chart based on playlists submitted by easy listening radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores. [1]

Contents

In the issue of Billboard dated January 6, the number one spot was held by Harpers Bizarre with their version of Glenn Miller's 1941 song "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which climbed from number 3 the previous week. [2] [3] It would prove to be the only time that the sunshine pop band topped the Easy Listening chart, and after 1968 they would achieve no further entries on the listing at all. [4] [5] Other acts to top the Easy Listening chart for the first time in 1968 included the Brazilian bandleader Sérgio Mendes, who achieved the feat with a version of "The Fool on the Hill", originally recorded by the Beatles. [6] [7] After a lengthy period without further major success, Mendes would achieve a second number one 15 years after the first when he made a comeback in 1983. [6] [7]

The longest-running number one of 1968 was the French orchestra leader Paul Mauriat's instrumental version of a song which had originally been Luxembourg's entry to the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest, [8] "Love is Blue". Mauriat's recording spent 11 consecutive weeks in the top spot, setting a new record for the longest run at number one on the chart which would stand for 25 years until Billy Joel spent 12 weeks in the peak position with "The River of Dreams" in 1993. [9] "Love is Blue" also topped Billboard's pop chart, the Hot 100, although it would prove to be Mauriat's only number one on either listing. [10] [11] "Honey" by Bobby Goldsboro and "This Guy's In Love With You" by Herb Alpert also topped both charts in 1968. [12] The final Easy Listening number one of the year was "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell, the first time he topped the listing; after achieving his first three Easy Listening number ones within a 12-month period he would not return to the top of the chart until 1975. [13]

Chart history

"This Guy's in Love with You" was a long-running number one for Herb Alpert. Herb Alpert 1966.jpg
"This Guy's in Love with You" was a long-running number one for Herb Alpert.
Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 topped the chart with their version of "The Fool on the Hill", originally recorded by the Beatles. Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66.png
Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 topped the chart with their version of "The Fool on the Hill", originally recorded by the Beatles.
Mary Hopkin spent six weeks at number one with "Those Were the Days". Mary Hopkin, Bestanddeelnr 923-3712.jpg
Mary Hopkin spent six weeks at number one with "Those Were the Days".
Chart history
Issue dateTitleArtist(s)Ref.
January 6"Chattanooga Choo Choo" Harpers Bizarre [2]
January 13 [14]
January 20"In the Misty Moonlight" Dean Martin [15]
January 27 [16]
February 3"Am I That Easy to Forget" Engelbert Humperdinck [17]
February 10" The Lesson " Vikki Carr [18]
February 17"Love Is Blue" Paul Mauriat [19]
February 24 [20]
March 2 [21]
March 9 [22]
March 16 [23]
March 23 [24]
March 30 [25]
April 6 [26]
April 13 [27]
April 20 [28]
April 27 [29]
May 4"Honey" Bobby Goldsboro [30]
May 11 [31]
May 18" The Good, the Bad and the Ugly " Hugo Montenegro [32]
May 25 [33]
June 1 [34]
June 8"This Guy's in Love with You" Herb Alpert [35]
June 15 [36]
June 22 [37]
June 29 [38]
July 6 [39]
July 13 [40]
July 20 [41]
July 27 [42]
August 3 [43]
August 10 [44]
August 17"Classical Gas" Mason Williams [45]
August 24 [46]
August 31 [47]
September 7" The Fool on the Hill " Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66 [48]
September 14 [49]
September 21 [50]
September 28 [51]
October 5 [52]
October 12 [53]
October 19"My Special Angel" The Vogues [54]
October 26 [55]
November 2"Those Were the Days" Mary Hopkin [56]
November 9 [57]
November 16 [58]
November 23 [59]
November 30 [60]
December 7 [61]
December 14"Wichita Lineman" Glen Campbell [62]
December 21 [63]
December 28 [64]

Related Research Articles

The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by Billboard magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to Billboard by stations that are members of the Adult Contemporary radio panel. The chart debuted in Billboard magazine on July 17, 1961. Over the years, the chart has gone under a series of name changes, being called Easy Listening(1961–1962; 1965–1979), Middle-Road Singles(1962–1964), Pop-Standard Singles(1964–1965), Hot Adult Contemporary(1984–1996) and Adult Contemporary(1979–1984, 1996–present) The current number-one song on the chart is "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breaking Up Is Hard to Do</span> 1962 single by Neil Sedaka

"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka, co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Sedaka recorded this song twice, in 1962 and 1975, in two significantly different arrangements, and it is considered to be his signature song. Between 1970 and 1975, it was a top-40 hit three separate times for three separate artists: Lenny Welch, The Partridge Family and Sedaka's second version. The song was also adapted into multiple languages, most notably in Italian and French.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Like to Get to Know You</span> 1968 single by Spanky and Our Gang

"Like to Get to Know You" is a 1968 song from Spanky and Our Gang. Written by Stuart Scharf, the song debuted at No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 20, 1968, and peaked at No. 17 on June 8, 1968. It became a minor hit on the Billboard Easy Listening chart at the same time, eventually rising to No. 24 the same week it peaked on the Hot 100. In Canada, the song reached No. 5 on the RPM Magazine charts. On the album of the same name, the song is broken into two parts: the full vocal, and a coda that echoes the chorus and conversation from the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">We'll Sing in the Sunshine</span> 1964 single by Gale Garnett

"We'll Sing in the Sunshine" is a 1964 hit song written and recorded by Gale Garnett which reached No. 2 in Canada, and No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending 17 October 1964. It also enjoyed success on easy listening and country music radio stations, spending seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and No. 42 on the country chart. The Cash Box Top 100 ranked "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" at No. 1 for the week of 31 October 1964, and it also reached No. 1 in Garnett's native New Zealand that November. In Australia, "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" afforded Garnett a Top Ten hit with a No. 10 peak in October 1964. Garnett's sole Top 40 hit, "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" won the Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daughter of Darkness (song)</span> 1970 single by Tom Jones

"Daughter of Darkness" is a single by Tom Jones released in 1970 from his album, I Who Have Nothing. It was a top ten hit in the UK, peaking at No.5. In the United States and Canada, Jones just missed the top ten with "Daughter of Darkness", peaking at No.13 and No.11, respectively. The song went to No.1 in the United States on the Billboard Easy Listening chart in June 1970, and was Tom Jones' final of three number ones on the chart. Elton John, who was working as a session musician at that time, also sang on the recording.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desiree (song)</span> 1977 single by Neil Diamond

"Desirée" is a 1977 song written and recorded by Neil Diamond and included as a track on Diamond's 1977 album, I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight. The single peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the U.S. Easy Listening chart to become his fifth number one on that chart. The song likewise reached number one on the Canadian AC chart.

<i>Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head</i> (Andy Williams album) 1970 studio album by Andy Williams

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head is the twenty-fifth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released in the spring of 1970 by Columbia Records. Williams was less focused on covering recent hits on this project and instead selected several songs from the singer-songwriter genre. The concept for the album came from Mason Williams, who contacted producer Dick Glasser about co-producing an album that would give Williams's fans a medley of songs that did more than just highlight the most familiar parts of popular songs but rather focus on a unifying theme or storyline of songs that were not necessarily hit records. Billboard magazine opined that the album "may well be titled 'A Journey Through Life.' Through carefully selected songs it conveys a message of dreams, hopes, reality, frustrations and ultimate truth."

<i>The Andy Williams Show</i> (album) 1970 studio album by Andy Williams

The Andy Williams Show is the twenty-sixth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released in the fall of 1970 by Columbia Records. In his review on AllMusic.com, William Ruhlmann writes that "The Andy Williams Show LP was not a soundtrack recording from the TV series, and it was not really a live album, although it gets categorized as such. What appears to be the case is that Columbia Records took a group of Williams' studio recordings, most of them made during the summer of 1970 and consisting of his versions of recent soft rock hits, and added a lot of canned applause along with some of the kind of musical interludes used to usher numbers on and off on the show, including bits of its "Moon River" theme music at the start and the finish."

<i>Love Is Blue</i> (Johnny Mathis album) 1968 studio album by Johnny Mathis

Love Is Blue is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on March 6, 1968, by Columbia Records and adhered even more strictly to the concept of the "cover" album of recent hits than its predecessor in that five of the 10 songs selected for the project were chart hits for the original artists within the previous year and another three had charted within the previous decade. Even the two remaining selections that did not bring chart success to the original artists were by the hit songwriting teams of Burt Bacharach and Hal David and John Lennon and Paul McCartney and left no room for the usual inclusion of some original songs or material from Broadway.

<i>I Only Have Eyes for You</i> (Johnny Mathis album) 1976 studio album by Johnny Mathis

I Only Have Eyes for You is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on May 10, 1976, by Columbia Records and included two new songs, "Yellow Roses on Her Gown" and "Ooh What We Do", which was written specifically for him, as well as a contemporary arrangement of the 1934 title track that foreshadowed his recordings of standards that incorporated a disco beat a few years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stormy (song)</span> 1968 single by Classics IV

"Stormy" is a hit song by the Classics IV released on their LP Mamas and Papas/Soul Train in 1968. It entered Billboard Magazine October 26, 1968, peaking at #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and #26 Easy Listening. The final line of the chorus has the singer pleading to the girl: "Bring back that sunny day". The single, along with the prior release of "Spooky" and, soon after, the release of "Traces", formed a trio of solid hits for the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City</span> 1969 single by Nilsson

"I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" is a song written and recorded by singer-songwriter Nilsson in 1969. A track from his fourth studio album, Harry, it became his second charting single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Drum (song)</span> 1971 single by Bobby Sherman

"The Drum" is a song recorded by Bobby Sherman from his Portrait Of Bobby LP. It was released as a single in the spring of 1971, the second of two from the album. The song was written by Alan O'Day, his first of five Top 40 chart credits.

References

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Works cited