Which song held the number one spot for the longest in 1972?
Big collars, brown Ford Cortinas, and the age of glam rock; the early 1970s were a transformative age for music and culture, and 1972 remains a particularly good vintage.
During the early 1970s, the music industry struggled to adapt to the stuttering demise of the previous decade, with some still trying to shill the same old regurgitated shit that was ‘peace and love’ hippie rock and politically charged singer-songwriter folk. At the same time, though, a new generation was beginning to take root, using the inspiration provided by the vast landscape of 1960s rock, folk, and soul to create an entirely new kind of sound.
From the subversive stylings of art rock to the flamboyancy of glam, the grandiose nature of progressive rock, and even the abrasive energy of proto-punk, the music scene of the early 1970s was the place to fucking be. Still, as we should have all come to accept by now, the artistic innovation and excitement of the music industry is rarely reflected within the pop charts. After all, your granny was never going to go out and buy the latest Roxy Music single.
That is not to say, of course, that 1972’s most exciting new material didn’t make any impact on the mainstream charts. If you look back at some of the year’s biggest hits in the UK, the likes of David Bowie, ELO, Roxy Music, and T Rex are all represented in full force. In addition to those revolutionary new rock sounds, American soul music was also still going strong in 1972, even if the heyday of Motown had long since passed by.
Jackie Wilson, for instance, achieved one of the year’s most memorable hits in the UK with ‘I Get The Sweetest Feeling’, thanks in part to Wilson’s legendary reputation in places like Wigan, Blackpool, and Manchester, where the beating rhythms of northern soul were starting to dominate youth culture. Over in the States, of course, soul and R&B music hadn’t lost any of its relevancy, a fact reflected in America’s biggest-selling single of the year.
Early triumphs in 1972’s Billboard Hot 100 were won by Don McLean, whose iconic track ‘American Pie’ shot to the top of the charts in January, and stayed there for four consecutive weeks – a run which seems fairly quick, when you take into consideration just how beloved that song continues to be decades later. However, McLean’s position was pipped by none other than Roberta Flack.
Although Flack had already been around for years by the time 1972 rolled around, finding minor successes with her incredible blend of jazz and R&B vocals, it wasn’t until she unveiled her version of Ewan MacColl’s ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ in March of that year that mainstream audiences became exposed to her unique power.
Speaking to that power, Flack’s recording spent six weeks at the top of the US singles chart, making it the biggest-selling and longest-running number one of 1972 in the US.
The longest-running UK number one in 1972
Flack’s ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ might have gripped US audiences, but those here in old Blighty weren’t quite as impressed with her legendary recording, which peaked at number 14 in the UK singles chart.
In fact, if you look down the list of the best-selling singles of the year in Britain, there are some pretty surprising and bizarre inclusions – spanning from the novelty of Lieutenant Pigeon to Gary Glitter.
Taking the top spot, though, was the Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, whose recording of ‘Amazing Grace’ topped the singles chart for five consecutive weeks, selling far more copies than any other single that year, even though the likes of Harry Nilsson and Donny Osmond also spent five weeks at number-one for ‘Without You’ and ‘Puppy Love’, respectively.
So, although the US and UK charts shared a lot of the same artists, the vast disparity between the nation’s best-selling singles of the year certainly says a lot about their respective music-buying habits.
