Billboard published a weekly chart in 1986 ranking the top-performing singles in the United States in African American-oriented genres; the chart has undergone various name changes over the decades to reflect the evolution of black music and has been published as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs since 2005. [1] In 1986, it was published under the title Hot Black Singles, [2] and 26 different singles reached number one.
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In the issue of Billboard dated January 4, Eugene Wilde was at number one with "Don't Say No Tonight", the final week of a three-week run in the top spot. [3] The year's third number one was a charity single featuring four artists who had all topped either the Black Singles chart or Billboard's pop chart, the Hot 100. [4] [5] "That's What Friends Are For" featured Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder and Elton John, [6] and had been organized by Warwick as a fund-raiser for the American Foundation for AIDS Research. [7] The song also topped the Hot 100, [8] and won the Grammy Awards for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Song of the Year. [9] "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie, "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston,"Kiss" by Prince and the Revolution, "On My Own" by Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald, and "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" by Billy Ocean also topped both the Black Singles chart and the Hot 100. [10]
Many of the acts that topped the chart in 1986 did so for the first time. Meli'sa Morgan, Janet Jackson, Stephanie Mills, Michael McDonald, Timex Social Club, Jean Carne, Shirley Jones, Gwen Guthrie, LeVert, Oran "Juice" Jones, Gregory Abbott, and Melba Moore each gained their debut number one during the year. [11] Jackson's older brothers had topped the chart six times as the Jackson 5 and her brothers Michael and Jermaine had achieved number ones as solo artists. She herself would go on to become one of the most successful black artists of the 1980s and 1990s, with 14 number ones by 1999. [12] El DeBarge gained his first solo chart-topper, having previously spent time at number one with family group DeBarge, and Bobby Brown reached the peak position for the first time as a solo artist following number ones as a member of New Edition. [13] When "That's What Friends Are For" reached the peak position, it marked the first number one on this listing for John, who had placed more than 40 singles on the Hot 100 but only crossed over to the black singles chart three times prior to 1986. [6] [14] Janet Jackson, Billy Ocean, and Freddie Jackson (no relation to Janet) were the only artists to have multiple Hot Black Singles number ones during the year. Freddie Jackson spent a total of five weeks in the top spot, the most of any act. His song "Tasty Love" held the peak position for four weeks, tying with "Kiss" and "On My Own" for the longest unbroken run atop the chart. Brown's track "Girlfriend" was the final number one of the year.
