List of Hot R&B Singles number ones of 1963

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Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs had the last number one before the chart was discontinued. The Fireballs 1959.JPG
Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs had the last number one before the chart was discontinued.

In 1963, Billboard published the Hot R&B Singles chart ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in rhythm and blues (R&B) 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] During 1963, 21 different singles topped the chart through the issue dated November 23, based on playlists submitted by radio stations and surveys of retail sales outlets. [2] After that issue, Billboard discontinued the chart, which did not return until the issue dated January 30, 1965. No official explanation has ever been given as to why Billboard ceased producing R&B charts. Chart historian Joel Whitburn has contended that "there was so much crossover of titles between the R&B and pop singles (Hot 100) charts that Billboard considered the charts to be too similar". [3]

Contents

In the issue of Billboard dated January 5, Esther Phillips moved up to number one with her version of "Release Me", displacing the final chart-topper of 1962, "You Are My Sunshine" by Ray Charles, [4] but Charles's version of the country song returned to the top of the chart the following week. The year's longest-running number one was "Fingertips (Part 2)" by Little Stevie Wonder, which spent six consecutive weeks in the top spot in August and September. Wonder, who would go on to become one of the biggest stars not only in R&B but across all genres, was only 12 years old when the live performance was recorded earlier in the year. [5]

The final number one before Billboard stopped publishing the Hot R&B Singles chart was "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs, which moved into the top spot in the final chart to be published, in the issue dated November 23. The song had previously spent five weeks at number one on the Hot 100. [6] Songs by Wonder, Paul & Paula, Ruby & the Romantics, the Chiffons, Little Peggy March, Jimmy Soul, Lesley Gore, and the Essex also topped both charts in 1963. [7] The majority of the acts who topped the R&B chart in 1963 did so for the first time: Paul & Paula, Ruby & the Romantics, the Chiffons, March, Soul, Gore, Barbara Lewis, the Essex, Wonder, Martha and the Vandellas, Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters, Little Johnny Taylor, the Impressions, and Gilmer and the Fireballs all made their first appearance in the peak position during the year. [8] Although it only spent one week at number one, Taylor's "Part Time Love" was named by Billboard as the year's best-charting R&B single. [9]

Chart history

Stevie Wonder had the year's longest-running number one with "Fingertips (Part 2)", recorded live when he was 12 years old. Stevie Wonder (zanger) voor TROS-TV, Bestanddeelnr 920-8211.jpg
Stevie Wonder had the year's longest-running number one with "Fingertips (Part 2)", recorded live when he was 12 years old.
Mary Wells spent four weeks at number one with "Two Lovers". Mary Wells 1965.jpg
Mary Wells spent four weeks at number one with "Two Lovers".
"He's So Fine" was a chart-topper for the Chiffons. The Chiffons.jpg
"He's So Fine" was a chart-topper for the Chiffons.
Barbara Lewis gained her only number one in 1963 with "Hello Stranger". Barbara Lewis.png
Barbara Lewis gained her only number one in 1963 with "Hello Stranger".
Key
Indicates best-charting R&B single of 1963 [9]
Chart history
Issue dateTitleArtist(s)Ref.
January 5"Release Me" Esther Phillips ("Little Esther") [4]
January 12"You Are My Sunshine" Ray Charles [11]
January 19"Two Lovers" Mary Wells [12]
January 26 [13]
February 2 [14]
February 9 [15]
February 16"You've Really Got a Hold on Me" The Miracles [16]
February 23"Hey Paula" Paul & Paula [17]
March 2 [18]
March 9"That's the Way Love Is" Bobby Bland [19]
March 16 [20]
March 23"Our Day Will Come" Ruby & the Romantics [21]
March 30 [22]
April 6"He's So Fine" The Chiffons [23]
April 13 [24]
April 20 [25]
April 27 [26]
May 4"Baby Workout" Jackie Wilson [27]
May 11 [28]
May 18 [29]
May 25"I Will Follow Him" Little Peggy March [30]
June 1"If You Wanna Be Happy" Jimmy Soul [31]
June 8"Another Saturday Night" Sam Cooke [32]
June 15"It's My Party" Lesley Gore [33]
June 22 [34]
June 29 [35]
July 6"Hello Stranger" Barbara Lewis [36]
July 13 [37]
July 20"Easier Said Than Done" The Essex [38]
July 27 [39]
August 3"Fingertips (Part 2)" Little Stevie Wonder [40]
August 10 [41]
August 17 [42]
August 24 [43]
August 31 [44]
September 7 [45]
September 14"Heat Wave" Martha and the Vandellas [46]
September 21 [47]
September 28 [48]
October 5 [49]
October 12"Cry Baby" Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters [50]
October 19"Part Time Love" Little Johnny Taylor [51]
October 26"Cry Baby" Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters [52]
November 2 [53]
November 9"It's All Right" The Impressions [54]
November 16 [55]
November 23"Sugar Shack" Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs [56]

Related Research Articles

Linked here are Billboard magazine's number-one rhythm and blues hits. The Billboard R&B chart is today known as the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

"Sugar Shack" is a song written in 1962 by Keith McCormack. McCormack gave songwriting credit to his aunt, Beulah Faye Voss, after asking what are "those tight pants that girls wear" to which she replied "leotards". The song was recorded in 1963 by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs at Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico. The unusual and distinctive instrument part was played by Norman Petty on a Hammond Solovox keyboard; to be precise it is a Model L, Series A.

The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by Billboard. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 positions but was shortened to 50 positions in October 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Wonder (1944 song)</span> 1944 single by Cecil Gant

"I Wonder" is a 1944 song written and originally performed by Pvt. Cecil Gant. The original version was released on the Bronze label, before Gant re-recorded it for the Gilt-Edge label in Los Angeles. The record made it to number one on the Juke Box Race Records chart and was Pvt. Gant's most successful release. In February 1945, pianist, Roosevelt Sykes hit number one with his version of the song. Sykes' version is notable in that it replaced Gant's version, at number one on the Juke Box Race Records chart.

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Works cited