List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones 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.

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

Template:Abbr	Issue date	Song	Artist(s)	Reference
247	January 2	"My Sweet Lord" / "Isn't It a Pity"	George Harrison	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	January 9			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	January 16			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
248	January 23	"Knock Three Times"	Dawn	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	January 30			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	February 6			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
249	February 13	"One Bad Apple"	The Osmonds	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	February 20			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	February 27			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	March 6			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	March 13			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
250	March 20	"Me and Bobby McGee"	Janis Joplin	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	March 27			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
251	April 3	"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"	The Temptations	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	April 10			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
252	April 17	"Joy to the World"	Three Dog Night	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	April 24			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	May 1			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	May 8			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	May 15			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	May 22			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
253	May 29	"Brown Sugar"	The Rolling Stones	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	June 5			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
254	June 12	"Want Ads"	Honey Cone	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
255	June 19	"It's Too Late" / "I Feel the Earth Move"	Carole King	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	June 26			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	July 3			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	July 10			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	July 17			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
256	July 24	"Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)"	The Raiders	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
257	July 31	"You've Got a Friend"	James Taylor	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
258	August 7	"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"	Bee Gees	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	August 14			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	August 21			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	August 28			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
259	September 4	"Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"	Paul & Linda McCartney	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
260	September 11	"Go Away Little Girl"	Donny Osmond	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	September 18			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	September 25			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
261	October 2	"Maggie May" / "Reason to Believe"	Rod Stewart	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	October 9			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	October 16			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	October 23			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	October 30			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
262	November 6	"Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves"	Cher	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	November 13			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
263	November 20	"Theme from Shaft"	Isaac Hayes	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	November 27			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
264	December 4	"Family Affair"	Sly and the Family Stone	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	December 11			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	December 18			<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
265	December 25	"Brand New Key"	Melanie	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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 (Template:ISBN)
• Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2008, 12 Edition (Template:ISBN)
• Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Seventies (Template:ISBN)
• Additional information obtained can be verified within Billboard's online archive services and print editions of the magazine.