Pick a Day

Music History Events: Charts

August 18, 1973 Jethro Tull's album A Passion Play hits #1 in America.

August 4, 1973 Maureen McGovern's "The Morning After (The Song From The Poseidon Adventure)" hits #1 in the US for the first of two weeks.

July 28, 1973 Chicago's Chicago VI LP hits #1 for the first of five weeks in the US.

July 21, 1973 Jim Croce's "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," named for a fellow National Guard soldier who went AWOL but got caught when he came back for his paycheck, hits #1. Two months later, Croce dies in a plane crash.

July 7, 1973 Billy Preston's "Will It Go Round In Circles" hits #1 in America.

June 30, 1973 George Harrison's "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" dislodges Paul McCartney and Wings' "My Love" from the #1 spot on the US singles charts.

June 23, 1973 George Harrison's album Living In The Material World hits #1 in America.

June 2, 1973 The Wings album Red Rose Speedway hits the top of the albums chart in the US and "My Love" starts a four-week run as the #1 single on the Hot 100.

May 26, 1973 The Edgar Winter Group's rock instrumental "Frankenstein," titled because it was such a monster to edit, hits #1 in America.

May 26, 1973 Despite breaking up three years earlier, The Beatles land the #1 album in America, the compilation The Beatles 1967-1970.

May 19, 1973 Stevie Wonder hits #1 in America with "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life," a song inspired by his wife (and sometimes co-writer) Syreeta Wright.

May 12, 1973 Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy goes to #1 in America.

April 21, 1973 Tony Orlando and Dawn's "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree" hits #1 in the US. The song is based on a fictional newspaper story about a man returning from jail who asks his wife to tie a yellow handkerchief on the landmark oak tree in town if she still loves him.

April 21, 1973 Powered by a gnarly stage show and the tracks "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Elected," Alice Cooper's album Billion Dollar Babies hits #1 in America (it hits the top spot in the UK three days later).

February 3, 1973 Elton John's reptilian rocker "Crocodile Rock" hits #1 in America for the first of three weeks, giving him his first chart-topper in that country.

January 13, 1973 Carly Simon's album No Secrets, featuring the hit single "You're So Vain," hits #1 in America.

December 9, 1972 The Moody Blues' Seventh Sojourn album hits #1 in America, where it stays for five weeks.

December 2, 1972 Steely Dan make the Billboard 200 for the first time when their debut album, Can't Buy a Thrill, lands at #197. The title comes from the Bob Dylan song "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry," where he sings: Well, I ride on a mailtrain, baby Can't buy a thrill

November 18, 1972 Steely Dan show up on Hot 100 for the first time when their debut single, "Do It Again," enters at #98. It will peak at #6 on February 11, 1973.

November 18, 1972 Cat Stevens goes to #1 in America with his album Catch Bull at Four. It's his only chart-topper in the US.

October 21, 1972 Curtis Mayfield's Super Fly soundtrack hits #1 in America, where it stays for four weeks.

September 23, 1972 "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" by Mac Davis hits #1 in America. It holds the top spot for three weeks.

September 16, 1972 Three Dog Night's "Black And White" hits #1, where it will stay for one week.

August 26, 1972 Looking Glass' "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" hits #1, where it will stay for one week.

August 19, 1972 Chicago's LP Chicago V hits #1.

August 12, 1972 Alice Cooper is beloved in Britain, with "School's Out" hitting #1 in the UK for the first of three weeks.

July 29, 1972 Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)" hits #1 for the first of six non-consecutive weeks in the US.

July 15, 1972 Elton John lands his first #1 album in America as Honky Chateau blasts to the top thanks to the hit "Rocket Man." His next five albums also enter that orbit, going to #1.

June 17, 1972 The Rolling Stones album Exile On Main Street hits #1 in America.

June 10, 1972 Sammy Davis, Jr.'s "The Candy Man" hits #1 in America and stays for three weeks. The song debuted a year earlier in the movie Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, sung by the candy store owner character. Davis wanted nothing to do with it but was convinced to record it. To his chagrin, it became his signature song.