February 1 in Music History: The 1970s Number Ones

By Charlie · Published February 1, 2027

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On February 1 in music history, the number one song in America changed with every year of the 1970s.

The Billboard Hot 100 week that contains February 1 had a different song on top in all ten years.

Those ten songs spent 22 weeks at number one between them.

You can play every one from the table below.

Each row also shows how far into its run the song was that week.

Total weeks at number one for the song on top the week of February 1, one bar per year.

Chart: Music of the 70s, from this site's weekly Billboard Hot 100 data.

February 1 in Music History, 1970 to 1979: Play the Ten Number Ones

Press Play on any row and the list keeps going, song after song, until you press Stop.

Tap a column heading to sort by song, artist, year, chart week or weeks at number one.

Chart week is the Billboard Hot 100 week that contains February 1 that year.

Week of run says which week of the song's time at number one that was, like 3 of 4.

Chart weeks and weeks at number one come from this site's weekly Hot 100 file, and the story lines are credited in Sources.

The Short Answer: Who Was on Top Each Year

For February 1 in music history, a different record was number one in every year from 1970 to 1979.

That is the Hot 100 chart week that includes February 1.

Here is what the ten weeks show at a glance:

• The ten songs spent 22 weeks at number one in total.
• "Le Freak" had the most weeks, with six, followed by "American Pie" with four.
• Two songs had three weeks each: "Knock Three Times" and "Baby Come Back."
• 6 of the ten songs had just one week at number one, and February 1 fell in that week for all of them.
• 3 were somewhere in the middle of a longer run, and 1 was in the final week of its run.

Want Your Own Week?

The Birthday #1 Song Finder does this for any 1970s birthday, not only February 1 in music history.

Enter the date and it shows the song that was on top that week.

How the February 1 Week Was Picked

Billboard chart weeks do not line up with the calendar, so there is no single week called February 1.

This February 1 in music history page uses the weekly Hot 100 week that contains February 1 each year.

In nine of the ten years, that week began in late January:

• 1970: the chart week of January 31, 1970, with "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5 on top.
• 1971: the chart week of January 30, 1971, with "Knock Three Times" by Dawn on top.
• 1972: the chart week of January 29, 1972, with "American Pie" by Don McLean on top.
• 1973: the chart week of January 27, 1973, with "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder on top.
• 1974: the chart week of January 26, 1974, with "You're Sixteen" by Ringo Starr on top.
• 1975: the chart week of February 1, 1975, with "Laughter in the Rain" by Neil Sedaka on top.
• 1976: the chart week of January 31, 1976, with "Love Rollercoaster" by Ohio Players on top.
• 1977: the chart week of January 29, 1977, with "Car Wash" by Rose Royce on top.
• 1978: the chart week of January 28, 1978, with "Baby Come Back" by Player on top.
• 1979: the chart week of January 27, 1979, with "Le Freak" by Chic on top.

Where the Numbers Come From

Chart weeks and weeks at number one come from the weekly Hot 100 file on this site.

The story line for each song is a fact from that song's Wikipedia page.

Anything that could not be confirmed against those sources was left out.

Nine of the ten runs were unbroken.

For those, "week of run" counts the weeks since the song first reached number one.

One run was split by other songs, twice: "Le Freak" in 1979.

For that one, it counts only the weeks the song itself held number one.

February 1 in Music History, 1970 to 1972: A Child Lead Singer, a Group Called Dawn and an Eight-Minute Epic

February 1 in music history opened the decade with the Jackson 5's first Motown single.

Next came a studio group fronted by Tony Orlando.

Then came Don McLean's eight-minute song about the day the music died.

1970: "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5

"I Want You Back" was the first song written and produced by the Motown team known as The Corporation.

Wikipedia says it was first considered for Gladys Knight & the Pips and later for Diana Ross.

Motown released it in October 1969, from the debut album Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5.

The lead vocal was sung by an 11-year-old Michael Jackson.

In 1999 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

This site's weekly data shows one week at number one, the chart week of January 31, 1970.

So the chart week that contains February 1 was the first and only one.

The song is number 28 on the 1970 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.

More of the group is on the Jackson 5 songs page.

1971: "Knock Three Times" by Dawn

Irwin Levine and Larry Brown wrote "Knock Three Times."

Hank Medress and Dave Appell produced it, and it came out in November 1970 on the album Candida.

Tony Orlando sang lead, but the single was credited simply to Dawn.

Wikipedia says the name came from Lisa Dawn Wax, the daughter of Bell Records executive Steve Wax.

Outside the US, it also reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.

This site's weekly data shows three weeks at number one, from January 23 to February 6, 1971.

George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" was on top just before it, and the Osmonds' "One Bad Apple" came next.

So the chart week that contains February 1 was the second of three.

The song is number 10 on the 1971 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.

1972: "American Pie" by Don McLean

Don McLean wrote "American Pie," Ed Freeman produced it, and it came out in 1971 on the album of the same name.

Wikipedia says "the day the music died" refers to the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.

That crash was on February 3, 1959, two days after February 1 on the calendar.

McLean was a 13-year-old newspaper delivery boy in New Rochelle, New York, at the time.

At 8 minutes and 42 seconds, it held the record for almost 50 years as the longest song to reach number one.

This site's weekly data shows four weeks at number one, from January 15 to February 5, 1972.

So the chart week that contains February 1 was the third of four.

The song is number 3 on the 1972 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.

The full story is in the Don McLean American Pie post.

February 1 in Music History, 1973 to 1975: A Clavinet Riff, a Beatle's Cover and a Comeback

February 1 in music history in the middle of the decade brought a Stevie Wonder funk record.

A Ringo Starr cover of a 1960 hit followed.

Then Neil Sedaka topped the Hot 100 for the first time since 1962.

1973: "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder wrote "Superstition" and released it as the lead single from Talking Book, his fifteenth studio album.

Wikipedia says Jeff Beck came up with the opening drum beat.

Beck released his own version in March 1973.

Wonder played the riff on a Hohner Clavinet model C.

The song earned Wonder two Grammys.

Wikipedia's list of 1973 number ones shows it on top for one week, the January 27 issue.

This site's weekly data agrees, with one week at number one, the chart week of January 27, 1973.

So the chart week that contains February 1 was the first and only one.

The song is number 26 on the 1973 year-end Hot 100, and the Superstition post has more.

1974: "You're Sixteen" by Ringo Starr

The Sherman Brothers wrote "You're Sixteen."

Wikipedia says Johnny Burnette's original peaked at number eight on the Hot 100 in December 1960.

Ringo Starr covered it in 1973 on his album Ringo, with Richard Perry producing.

Paul McCartney sang a "kazoo" vocal solo, and Harry Nilsson sang backing vocals.

Wikipedia says Starr's version reached number one on the Hot 100 in January 1974.

This site's weekly data shows one week at number one, the chart week of January 26, 1974.

So the chart week that contains February 1 was the first and only one.

The song is number 31 on the 1974 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.

1975: "Laughter in the Rain" by Neil Sedaka

Neil Sedaka composed "Laughter in the Rain," with lyrics by Phil Cody.

Sedaka and Robert Appere produced it, for the album Sedaka's Back.

Wikipedia says English singer Peter Gordeno released the song first, in May 1974.

Sedaka's version came out in the US on Elton John's Rocket label.

It was his first single to top the Hot 100 since 1962.

It also spent two weeks at the top of the Adult Contemporary chart.

This site's weekly data shows one week at number one, the chart week of February 1, 1975.

So the chart week that contains February 1 was the first and only one.

The song is number 9 on the 1975 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.

February 1 in Music History, 1976 to 1979: A Scream Legend, a Movie Theme, a Breakup Song and a Three-Run Record

February 1 in music history closed the decade with an Ohio Players funk hit and a movie theme.

A soft rock breakup song followed.

Then came a disco record that reached number one three separate times.

1976: "Love Rollercoaster" by Ohio Players

The Ohio Players first released "Love Rollercoaster" on their 1975 album Honey.

Seven writers share the credit.

Wikipedia says it was a number one US hit in January 1976 and also topped the Hot Soul Singles chart.

A persistent urban legend says a scream on the record was a person being murdered while the tape rolled.

Wikipedia quotes Jimmy "Diamond" Williams, who says Billy Beck does "one of those inhaling-type screeches."

Red Hot Chili Peppers released a cover as a single in November 1996.

This site's weekly data shows one week at number one, the chart week of January 31, 1976.

So the chart week that contains February 1 was the first and only one.

The song is number 30 on the 1976 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.

1977: "Car Wash" by Rose Royce

Former Motown producer Norman Whitfield wrote and arranged "Car Wash" as the theme of the 1976 film Car Wash.

Rose Royce was a disco and funk backing band that Whitfield signed to his own label in 1975.

Wikipedia says inspiration finally struck while Whitfield was watching a game of basketball.

He wrote the first draft on a paper bag from a fried chicken restaurant.

It reached number one on both the Billboard pop and R&B charts and sold 2 million copies.

This site's weekly data shows one week at number one, the chart week of January 29, 1977.

So the chart week that contains February 1 was the first and only one.

The song is number 26 on the 1977 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.

1978: "Baby Come Back" by Player

Peter Beckett and J. C. Crowley, the founders of Player, wrote and performed "Baby Come Back."

Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter produced it.

It came out in late 1977 as the lead single from the band's self-titled debut album.

Wikipedia says it was written after two of the band members had broken up with their girlfriends.

This site's weekly data shows three weeks at number one, from January 14 to January 28, 1978.

So the chart week that contains February 1 was the third and last.

The Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" took over the next week.

The song is number 7 on the 1978 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.

1979: "Le Freak" by Chic

Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of Chic wrote and produced "Le Freak."

Atlantic Records released it in September 1978 as the first single from the album C'est Chic.

Wikipedia says the song commemorates Studio 54 and its notoriously long customer waiting lines.

It was the first song to reach number one on the Hot 100 three separate times.

This site's weekly data shows December 9, 1978, then December 23 and 30, then January 20 and 27 and February 3, 1979.

"You Don't Bring Me Flowers" by Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond, then the Bee Gees' "Too Much Heaven," held the gaps.

So the chart week that contains February 1 was the fifth of six.

The song is number 3 on the 1979 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.

The first week of that run tops the December 12 in music history list.

February 1 in Music History by the Numbers: Short Runs, Long Runs and Where Each Song Stood

Ranking the ten songs of February 1 in music history by weeks at number one shows one split 1979 run above the rest.

Each box is one week at number one and the gold box is the week that contains February 1.

A gap is a week another song was on top.

Chart: Music of the 70s, from this site's weekly Billboard Hot 100 data.

Where February 1 Fell in Each Run

The weeks split three ways:

• 6 songs were in their first and only week at number one: "I Want You Back," "Superstition," "You're Sixteen," "Laughter in the Rain," "Love Rollercoaster" and "Car Wash."
• 3 were in the middle of a longer run: "Knock Three Times," "American Pie" and "Le Freak."
• 1 was in the last week of its run: "Baby Come Back."

Test Your Own Memory

Which of these ten February 1 in music history number ones would you have bet on?

The list runs from the Jackson 5 in 1970 to Chic in 1979.

Other weeks have their own lists, including September 16 in music history, August 19 in music history, July 15 in music history, June 12 in music history, May 29 in music history, April 17 in music history, March 20 in music history, February 13 in music history, January 9 in music history, November 28 in music history and this week in music history for October 24.

The 70s Music Trivia Quiz has ten new questions each round.

For the whole decade at the top, see the 70s number one hits page.

More of the decade lives on the Music of the 70s home page.

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