List of Top Selling R&B Singles number ones of 1967

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"Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin had three number ones ("I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", "Respect", and "Baby I Love You") in 1967. Aretha Franklin.png
"Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin had three number ones ("I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", "Respect", and "Baby I Love You") in 1967.

In 1967, Billboard published a weekly chart ranking the top-performing singles 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 the year, 14 different singles topped the chart, which was published under the title Top Selling R&B Singles. [2]

Aretha Franklin was the only artist with multiple number ones in 1967; she spent seven weeks atop the chart between March and May with "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", and after a single week out of the top spot returned with "Respect", which spent eight weeks in the peak position. In August, Franklin gained her third chart-topper of the year with "Baby I Love You", which held the top spot for two weeks, giving the singer a total of 17 weeks at number one during 1967, more than double the figure achieved by any other act. Franklin had first charted in 1961, but her career did not fully take off until she joined Atlantic Records in 1966, after which she became one of the biggest stars in popular music. [3] Nicknamed the "Queen of Soul", she was named the greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2023. [4] [5]

Franklin was among a number of acts to reach number one for the first time in 1967. [6] Aaron Neville achieved the same feat when he moved into the number one position in the issue of Billboard dated January 7 with "Tell It Like It Is", [7] and later in the year Freddie Scott and Bettye Swann each gained their first and only chart-topper with "Are You Lonely for Me" and "Make Me Yours" respectively. [8] [9] The year's final number one was "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Gladys Knight & the Pips, which reached the top spot in the issue of Billboard dated December 2 and stayed there for the remainder of the year. It was the first of two versions of the song to top the chart in a little over a year; Marvin Gaye would take his version of the song to number one in December 1968. [10] Two of 1967's rhythm & blues number ones also topped the all-genre Hot 100 chart: "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" by the Supremes and "Respect" by Aretha Franklin. [11] [12] The Supremes also topped the Hot 100 with "The Happening", [11] but that single failed to even enter the top 10 of the R&B listing. [13]

Chart history

Aaron Neville (pictured in 1999) had the year's first number one with "Tell It Like It Is". Aaron Neville.jpg
Aaron Neville (pictured in 1999) had the year's first number one with "Tell It Like It Is".
"Are You Lonely for Me" was the only chart-topper for Freddie Scott. Freddie Scott 1966.jpg
"Are You Lonely for Me" was the only chart-topper for Freddie Scott.
Sam & Dave spent seven weeks atop the chart with "Soul Man". Sam & Dave (2).png
Sam & Dave spent seven weeks atop the chart with "Soul Man".
Key
Dagger-14-plain.pngIndicates best-charting R&B single of 1967 [14]
Chart history
Issue dateTitleArtist(s)Ref.
January 7"Tell It Like It Is" Aaron Neville [15]
January 14 [16]
January 21 [17]
January 28 [18]
February 4 [19]
February 11"Are You Lonely for Me" Freddie Scott [20]
February 18 [21]
February 25 [22]
March 4 [23]
March 11"Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" The Supremes [24]
March 18 [25]
March 25"I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" Aretha Franklin [26]
April 1 [27]
April 8 [28]
April 15 [29]
April 22 [30]
April 29 [31]
May 6 [32]
May 13"Jimmy Mack" Martha and the Vandellas [33]
May 20"Respect" Dagger-14-plain.png Aretha Franklin [34]
May 27 [35]
June 3 [36]
June 10 [37]
June 17 [38]
June 24 [39]
July 1 [40]
July 8 [41]
July 15"I Was Made to Love Her" Stevie Wonder [42]
July 22"Make Me Yours" Bettye Swann [43]
July 29 [44]
August 5"I Was Made to Love Her" Stevie Wonder [45]
August 12 [46]
August 19 [47]
August 26"Baby I Love You" Aretha Franklin [48]
September 2 [49]
September 9"Cold Sweat" James Brown [50]
September 16 [51]
September 23 [52]
September 30"Funky Broadway" Wilson Pickett [53]
October 7" (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher " Jackie Wilson [54]
October 14"Soul Man" Sam & Dave [55]
October 21 [56]
October 28 [57]
November 4 [58]
November 11 [59]
November 18 [60]
November 25 [61]
December 2"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" Gladys Knight & the Pips [62]
December 9 [63]
December 16 [64]
December 23 [65]
December 30 [66]

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References

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