As is true of the other charts that year, there were too many Hot Soul #1 singles for 1974. Some 30 tracks topped the charts. Once again, the lazy blogger will list only the ones that reached the pinnacle for more than one week.
Because I posted them earlier this month, I’m excluding Feel Like Makin’ Love by Roberta Flack (five weeks RB); Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe by Barry White (three weeks RB); Rock Your Baby by George McCrae (two weeks RB); and You Haven’t Done Nothin by Stevie Wonder, featuring the Jackson Five (two weeks RB)
Boogie Down – Eddie Kendricks, 3 weeks at #1 RB, 2 weeks at #2 pop. Of course, I saw him in the early 1980s as part of the Temptations reunion tour. He stayed with Motown.
Lookin’ For A Love – Bobby Womack, 3 weeks at #1 RB, #10 pop. I know this song, by the Valentinos, J. Geils, and others, but not this version.
#1 RB for two weeks
Mighty Love, Part 1 – The Spinners, #20 pop. The group had to leave Motown for Atlantic to achieve their greatest success.
Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me – Gladys Knight and the Pips, #3 pop. The group had to leave Motown for Buddah to achieve greater success.
The Payback, Pt. 1 – James Brown, #26 pop. When I read JET magazine in the 1960s, JB dominated their music charts, often with songs I never heard on my Top 40 radio station. Here’s another example.
I’m In Love – Aretha Franklin, #19 pop
Finally Got Myself Together (I’m A Changed Man) – The Impressions, #17 pop
My Thang – James Brown, #29 pop
Let’s Straighten It Out – Latimore, #31 pop
Woman To Woman – Shirley Brown, #22 pop. I have this on a STAX compilation.
I Feel A Song (In My Heart) – Gladys Knight and the Pips, #21 pop
Boogie On Reggae Woman – Stevie Wonder, #3 for two weeks pop. He stayed with Motown and became one of the biggest artists of the 1970s. Damn, I love those early 1970s albums including Fulfillingness’ First Finale.
I’ve noted that my daughter’s musical tastes include 1990s soul, developed without much input from me, though I approve.