June 12 in Music History: The 1970s Number Ones
On June 12 in music history, the number one song in America changed with every year of the 1970s.
The Billboard Hot 100 chart week that contains June 12 had a different song on top in all ten years.
Those ten songs spent 20 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 June 12, one bar per year.
Chart: Music of the 70s, from this site's weekly Billboard Hot 100 data.
June 12 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.
| Play | Chart week | The story | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everything Is Beautiful | Ray Stevens | 1970 | Jun 6 to Jun 12 | 2 of 2 | 2 | Ray Stevens wrote and sang it, and the children who sing the opening hymn came from Oak Hill Elementary School in Nashville, including his daughters Suzi and Timi. | |
| Want Ads | Honey Cone | 1971 | Jun 12 to Jun 18 | 1 of 1 | 1 | Barney Perkins suggested a song about want ads after reading a newspaper's classified section. | |
| The Candy Man | Sammy Davis Jr. | 1972 | Jun 10 to Jun 16 | 1 of 3 | 3 | Sammy Davis Jr. reportedly recorded it in only two takes and told his manager it was "horrible" and "white bread." | |
| My Love | Paul McCartney and Wings | 1973 | Jun 9 to Jun 15 | 2 of 4 | 4 | Paul McCartney wrote it as a love song to his wife Linda, and guitarist Henry McCullough improvised the guitar solo. | |
| Band on the Run | Paul McCartney and Wings | 1974 | Jun 8 to Jun 14 | 1 of 1 | 1 | The first two sections were taped at EMI's studio in Lagos, Nigeria, and the third was recorded at AIR Studios in London in October 1973. | |
| Thank God I'm a Country Boy | John Denver | 1975 | Jun 7 to Jun 13 | 1 of 1 | 1 | John Sommers of Denver's backup band wrote it on New Year's Eve 1973 while driving from Aspen to Los Angeles. | |
| Silly Love Songs | Wings | 1976 | Jun 12 to Jun 18 | 2 of 5 | 5 | Paul and Linda McCartney wrote it as a rebuttal to critics who accused McCartney of writing "sentimental slush," including John Lennon. | |
| I'm Your Boogie Man | KC and the Sunshine Band | 1977 | Jun 11 to Jun 17 | 1 of 1 | 1 | Richard Finch said it was written about a Miami DJ who was the first to give airplay to the group's "Get Down Tonight." | |
| You're the One That I Want | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 1978 | Jun 10 to Jun 16 | 1 of 1 | 1 | John Farrar wrote it specifically for Olivia Newton-John's appearance in the film, and it was not in the original stage musical. | |
| Love You Inside Out | Bee Gees | 1979 | Jun 9 to Jun 15 | 1 of 1 | 1 | The Bee Gees sent manager Robert Stigwood a prank version with an altered lyric to see whether he was paying attention. |
Chart week is the Billboard Hot 100 week that contains June 12 that year.
Week of run says which week of the song's time at number one that was, like 2 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 June 12 in music history, the number one song was a different record in every year from 1970 to 1979.
That is the Hot 100 chart week that includes June 12.
Here is what the ten weeks show at a glance:
- The ten songs spent 20 weeks at number one in total.
- "Silly Love Songs" had the most weeks, with five, and "My Love" had four.
- 7 of the ten songs were in their first week at number one that week, and six songs had only that one week.
- 2 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 June 12 in music history.
Enter the date and it shows the song that was on top that week.
How the June 12 Week Was Picked
Billboard chart weeks do not line up with the calendar, so there is no single week called June 12.
This June 12 in music history page takes the weekly Hot 100 week that contains June 12 in each year.
That week began on a different date each year:
- 1970: the chart week of June 6, 1970, with "Everything Is Beautiful" by Ray Stevens on top.
- 1971: the chart week of June 12, 1971, with "Want Ads" by Honey Cone on top.
- 1972: the chart week of June 10, 1972, with "The Candy Man" by Sammy Davis Jr. on top.
- 1973: the chart week of June 9, 1973, with "My Love" by Paul McCartney and Wings on top.
- 1974: the chart week of June 8, 1974, with "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney and Wings on top.
- 1975: the chart week of June 7, 1975, with "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" by John Denver on top.
- 1976: the chart week of June 12, 1976, with "Silly Love Songs" by Wings on top.
- 1977: the chart week of June 11, 1977, with "I'm Your Boogie Man" by KC and the Sunshine Band on top.
- 1978: the chart week of June 10, 1978, with "You're the One That I Want" by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John on top.
- 1979: the chart week of June 9, 1979, with "Love You Inside Out" by Bee Gees 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, so "week of run" counts the weeks since the song first reached number one.
The exception is "Silly Love Songs" in 1976, which spent five weeks at number one with a two-week gap in the middle.
June 12 in Music History, 1970 to 1972: A Hymn for the Radio, a Want-Ads Soul Hit and a Willy Wonka Song
The first three Junes of the decade brought a country-pop singalong, a girl-group soul record built on the classifieds and a Sammy Davis Jr. hit from a children's film.
1970: "Everything Is Beautiful" by Ray Stevens
Ray Stevens wrote, composed and performed "Everything Is Beautiful."
Wikipedia says the children singing the opening hymn came from Oak Hill Elementary School in Nashville, and Stevens' daughters Suzi and Timi were in that group.
It won two Grammys at the 1971 ceremony, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for Stevens and Best Inspirational Performance for Jake Hess.
Wikipedia calls it a major departure for Stevens, whose other hits from that era were mostly comedy songs such as "Gitarzan" and "Ahab the Arab."
This site's weekly data shows two weeks at number one, May 30 and June 6, 1970.
So the chart week that contains June 12 was the second and last.
The song is number 12 on the 1970 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.
1971: "Want Ads" by Honey Cone
Greg Perry, General Norman Johnson and Barney Perkins wrote "Want Ads," and Perry produced it.
Wikipedia says Perkins suggested a song about want ads after reading a newspaper's classified section.
The writers had first written a song for a singer called Stick-Up, found it lacking and rewrote it with new chords and lyrics.
Edna Wright sang lead, and Ray Parker Jr. played rhythm guitar.
It reached number one on the Hot 100 for one week and topped the R&B chart for three weeks.
Wikipedia calls it Honey Cone's most successful single and their only number one on the pop charts, and the RIAA certified it gold.
This site's weekly data agrees, with one week at number one, the chart week of June 12, 1971.
The song is number 13 on the 1971 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.
1972: "The Candy Man" by Sammy Davis Jr.
Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley wrote "The Candy Man" for the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
In the film it was sung by Aubrey Woods, and Wikipedia says Newley was unhappy with that performance and recorded his own version for MGM Records.
Davis recorded his version on August 19, 1971, in Los Angeles, and it was released in April 1972.
Wikipedia says Davis disliked the record, told his manager it was "horrible" and "white bread," and reportedly recorded it in only two takes.
It was his only number one hit.
This site's weekly data shows three weeks at number one, from June 10 to June 24, 1972.
So the chart week that contains June 12 was the first of three.
The song is number 5 on the 1972 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.
June 12 in Music History, 1973 to 1975: A Love Song for Linda, a Lagos Suite and a Live Country Anthem
The middle of the decade brought two Paul McCartney and Wings records in a row and a John Denver concert recording.
1973: "My Love" by Paul McCartney and Wings
Wikipedia says Paul McCartney wrote "My Love" as a love song to his wife and Wings bandmate Linda, and it is credited to both of them.
It was the lead single from Red Rose Speedway, released on March 23, 1973, and the first Wings release credited to "Paul McCartney & Wings."
The track was recorded live at Abbey Road with a 50-piece orchestra arranged by Richard Hewson, and it took about 20 takes over three hours.
Guitarist Henry McCullough improvised the guitar solo, departing from the part McCartney had planned.
It peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart.
This site's weekly data shows four weeks at number one, from June 2 to June 23, 1973.
So the chart week that contains June 12 was the second of four.
The song is number 5 on the 1973 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.
1974: "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney and Wings
Paul and Linda McCartney wrote "Band on the Run," the title track of the 1973 album.
Wikipedia says the first two sections were taped at EMI's studio in Lagos, Nigeria, and the third was recorded in October 1973 at AIR Studios in London.
It is a three-part medley, and at 5:09 it is one of McCartney's longest singles.
It was the second Wings single to reach number one on the Hot 100.
This site's weekly data shows one week at number one, the chart week of June 8, 1974.
The song is number 22 on the 1974 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.
1975: "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" by John Denver
John Sommers, a guitar, banjo, fiddle and mandolin player in Denver's backup band, wrote "Thank God I'm a Country Boy."
Wikipedia says he wrote it on New Year's Eve 1973 while driving from Aspen to Los Angeles.
The hit was a live version recorded on August 26, 1974, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, from the album An Evening with John Denver.
A violin plays the old-time fiddle tune "Sally Goodin" in the instrumental breaks, and the lyrics mention it too.
The live version topped the Hot Country Singles chart first and then the Hot 100 a week later.
This site's weekly data shows one week at number one, the chart week of June 7, 1975.
The song is number 11 on the 1975 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.
More on the singer is on the John Denver songs page.
June 12 in Music History, 1976 to 1979: A Rebuttal to Critics, a Miami Funk Hit, a Grease Duet and a Bee Gees Prank
The last four Junes brought the longest run of the ten, a KC and the Sunshine Band number one, a movie duet and the Bee Gees.
1976: "Silly Love Songs" by Wings
Paul and Linda McCartney wrote "Silly Love Songs," which first appeared on the album Wings at the Speed of Sound in March 1976.
Wikipedia says it was a rebuttal to critics who accused McCartney of writing "sentimental slush," including his former Beatles bandmate John Lennon.
McCartney said the song also had a good bass line and worked well live.
This site's weekly data shows five weeks at number one, but not in a row.
It was on top the week of May 22, then "Love Hangover" by Diana Ross took two weeks, and "Silly Love Songs" returned from June 12 to July 3, 1976.
So the chart week that contains June 12 was the second of its five weeks and the first of the four-week return.
The song is number 1 on the 1976 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.
The song that kept it off the top is on the May 29 in music history page.
1977: "I'm Your Boogie Man" by KC and the Sunshine Band
Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch wrote and produced "I'm Your Boogie Man."
It comes from the group's fourth album, Part 3, and the single was released on February 3, 1977.
Wikipedia quotes Finch as saying the song was written about a Miami DJ who was the first to give airplay to the group's hit "Get Down Tonight."
It reached number three on the soul chart.
This site's weekly data shows one week at number one, the chart week of June 11, 1977.
The song is number 11 on the 1977 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.
More on the band is on the KC and the Sunshine Band songs page.
1978: "You're the One That I Want" by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John
John Farrar wrote and produced "You're the One That I Want," and RSO Records released it in 1978.
Wikipedia says it was written specifically for Olivia Newton-John's appearance in the film version of Grease and was not in the original stage musical.
Director Randal Kleiser did not like the song, feeling it did not fit the rest of the score or the 1950s style.
It topped the UK singles chart for nine weeks in the summer of 1978.
This site's weekly data shows one week at number one on the Hot 100, the chart week of June 10, 1978.
The song is number 13 on the 1978 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.
More on the singer is on the Olivia Newton-John songs page.
1979: "Love You Inside Out" by the Bee Gees
Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb are credited with "Love You Inside Out," a single from the album Spirits Having Flown.
Wikipedia says it was that album's third consecutive US number one single, and the group's ninth US number one.
It displaced Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" at the top.
The Bee Gees sent manager Robert Stigwood a prank version with an altered lyric to see whether he was paying attention.
This site's weekly data shows one week at number one, the chart week of June 9, 1979.
The song is number 33 on the 1979 year-end Hot 100, in this site's year-end data.
June 12 in Music History by the Numbers: Short Runs, Long Runs and Where Each Song Stood
Ranking the ten songs of June 12 in music history by weeks at number one shows how evenly the top spot was shared.
| Song | Artist | Year | Weeks at #1 | First week | Last week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silly Love Songs | Wings | 1976 | 5 | May 22, 1976 | July 3, 1976 |
| My Love | Paul McCartney and Wings | 1973 | 4 | June 2, 1973 | June 23, 1973 |
| The Candy Man | Sammy Davis Jr. | 1972 | 3 | June 10, 1972 | June 24, 1972 |
| Everything Is Beautiful | Ray Stevens | 1970 | 2 | May 30, 1970 | June 6, 1970 |
| Want Ads | Honey Cone | 1971 | 1 | June 12, 1971 | June 12, 1971 |
| Band on the Run | Paul McCartney and Wings | 1974 | 1 | June 8, 1974 | June 8, 1974 |
| Thank God I'm a Country Boy | John Denver | 1975 | 1 | June 7, 1975 | June 7, 1975 |
| I'm Your Boogie Man | KC and the Sunshine Band | 1977 | 1 | June 11, 1977 | June 11, 1977 |
| You're the One That I Want | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 1978 | 1 | June 10, 1978 | June 10, 1978 |
| Love You Inside Out | Bee Gees | 1979 | 1 | June 9, 1979 | June 9, 1979 |
Each box is one week at number one, the gold box is the week that contains June 12, and a gap means another song held the top spot.
Chart: Music of the 70s, from this site's weekly Billboard Hot 100 data.
Where June 12 Fell in Each Run
The weeks split three ways:
- 7 songs were in their first week at number one: "Want Ads," "The Candy Man," "Band on the Run," "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," "I'm Your Boogie Man," "You're the One That I Want" and "Love You Inside Out."
- 2 were in the middle of a longer run: "My Love" and "Silly Love Songs," which was back on top after a two-week gap.
- 1 was in the last week of its run: "Everything Is Beautiful."
Test Your Own Memory
Which of these ten June 12 in music history number ones would you have bet on?
The list runs from Ray Stevens in 1970 to the Bee Gees in 1979.
Earlier weeks have their own lists, including 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the number one song on June 12 in music history in the 1970s?
The number one song for the Hot 100 chart week that includes June 12 changed every year. It was "Everything Is Beautiful" in 1970, "Want Ads" in 1971, "The Candy Man" in 1972, "My Love" in 1973 and "Band on the Run" in 1974. Five more follow, ending with "Love You Inside Out" in 1979.
Which 70s number one song stayed on top the longest around June 12?
Wings' "Silly Love Songs" had the most weeks at number one of the ten songs, with five, according to this site's weekly Hot 100 data. They were not in a row, because another song held the top spot for two weeks in the middle. Paul McCartney and Wings' "My Love" was next with four weeks, and Sammy Davis Jr.'s "The Candy Man" had three.
What was the number one song on June 12, 1976?
Wings' "Silly Love Songs" was number one for the Hot 100 chart week that began June 12, 1976. It was the second of its five weeks at number one, after a gap of two weeks, according to this site's weekly Hot 100 data. Billboard ranked it number one for 1976, which matches the 1976 year-end Hot 100 in this site's data.
How can I find the number one song from my own birthday?
You can find the number one song from your birthday with the Birthday #1 Song Finder on this site. Enter a birthday from the 1970s and it shows the song that topped the Billboard Hot 100 that week, using the same weekly chart data as the ten songs on this page.
Why does the chart week change from year to year?
This site's weekly Hot 100 file dates each chart week from a Saturday, and that date moves each year. The week containing June 12 began June 12 in 1971 and 1976, June 11 in 1977, June 10 in 1972 and 1978, June 9 in 1973 and 1979, June 8 in 1974, June 7 in 1975 and June 6 in 1970.
Related Posts
Sources
- Everything Is Beautiful, Wikipedia, for the writer, the Oak Hill Elementary School children, the Grammys and the departure from novelty songs.
- Want Ads, Wikipedia, for the writers, the classified-ads idea, the lead singer and the gold certification.
- The Candy Man, Wikipedia, for the film origin, the Newley version, the recording date and Davis' view of the record.
- My Love (Paul McCartney song), Wikipedia, for the dedication to Linda, the orchestra and the improvised guitar solo.
- Band on the Run (song), Wikipedia, for the writers, the Lagos and London recording and the three-part structure.
- Thank God I'm a Country Boy, Wikipedia, for the writer, the live recording and the fiddle tune.
- Silly Love Songs, Wikipedia, for the writers, the response to critics and the five non-consecutive weeks.
- I'm Your Boogie Man, Wikipedia, for the writers, the album and the Miami DJ story.
- You're the One That I Want, Wikipedia, for the writer, the film origin and the director's view.
- Love You Inside Out, Wikipedia, for the writers, the album, the ninth number one and the prank version.
- Billboard Hot 100, Wikipedia, for how the weekly chart used for number one runs works.