List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1971

These are the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1971.

George Harrison became the first post-Beatles solo act to hit #1 with "My Sweet Lord" / "Isn't It a Pity" in 1970 and 1971.

That year, 16 acts hit number one for the first time, such as Dawn, the Osmonds, Janis Joplin, Honey Cone, Carole King, the Raiders, James Taylor, the Bee Gees, Linda McCartney, Donny Osmond, Rod Stewart, Isaac Hayes, and Melanie. Janis Joplin became the second artist to earn a number one song posthumously after her death in October 1970. Paul McCartney, Cher, and Donny Osmond, having already hit number one with the Beatles, Sonny & Cher, and the Osmonds, respectively, also earn their first number one songs as solo acts.

Chart history

Key

The yellow background indicates the #1 song on Billboard's 1971 Year-End Chart of Pop Singles.

No.	Issue date	Song	Artist(s)	Reference
247	January 2	"My Sweet Lord" / "Isn't It a Pity"	George Harrison	[1]
	January 9			[2]
	January 16			[3]
248	January 23	"Knock Three Times"	Dawn	[4]
	January 30			[5]
	February 6			[6]
249	February 13	"One Bad Apple"	The Osmonds	[7]
	February 20			[8]
	February 27			[9]
	March 6			[10]
	March 13			[11]
250	March 20	"Me and Bobby McGee"	Janis Joplin	[12]
	March 27			[13]
251	April 3	"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"	The Temptations	[14]
	April 10			[15]
252	April 17	"Joy to the World"	Three Dog Night	[16]
	April 24			[17]
	May 1			[18]
	May 8			[19]
	May 15			[20]
	May 22			[21]
253	May 29	"Brown Sugar"	The Rolling Stones	[22]
	June 5			[23]
254	June 12	"Want Ads"	Honey Cone	[24]
255	June 19	"It's Too Late" / "I Feel the Earth Move"	Carole King	[25]
	June 26			[26]
	July 3			[27]
	July 10			[28]
	July 17			[29]
256	July 24	"Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)"	The Raiders	[30]
257	July 31	"You've Got a Friend"	James Taylor	[31]
258	August 7	"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"	Bee Gees	[32]
	August 14			[33]
	August 21			[34]
	August 28			[35]
259	September 4	"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"	Paul & Linda McCartney	[36]
260	September 11	"Go Away Little Girl"	Donny Osmond	[37]
	September 18			[38]
	September 25			[39]
261	October 2	"Maggie May" / "Reason to Believe"	Rod Stewart	[40]
	October 9			[41]
	October 16			[42]
	October 23			[43]
	October 30			[44]
262	November 6	"Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves"	Cher	[45]
	November 13			[46]
263	November 20	"Theme from Shaft"	Isaac Hayes	[47]
	November 27			[48]
264	December 4	"Family Affair"	Sly and the Family Stone	[49]
	December 11			[50]
	December 18			[51]
265	December 25	"Brand New Key"	Melanie	[52]

Number-one artists

List of number-one artists by total weeks at number one

Position	Artist	Weeks at No. 1
1	Three Dog Night	6
2	The Osmonds	5
	Carole King
	Rod Stewart
5	Bee Gees	4
6	George Harrison	3
	Dawn
	Donny Osmond
	Sly and the Family Stone
10	Janis Joplin	2
	The Temptations
	The Rolling Stones
	Cher
	Isaac Hayes
15	Honey Cone	1
	The Raiders
	James Taylor
	Paul McCartney
	Linda McCartney
	Melanie

See also

• 1971 in music
• Lists of Billboard number-one singles
• List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1971
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of the 1970s

Sources

• Fred Bronson's Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, 5th Edition (ISBN 0-8230-7677-6)
• Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2008, 12 Edition (ISBN 0-89820-180-2)
• Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Seventies (ISBN 0-89820-076-8)
• Additional information obtained can be verified within Billboard's online archive services and print editions of the magazine.