List of Hot Country Singles number ones of 1974

An older man wearing a white cowboy hat and a denim shirt, with a guitar hanging over his shoulder standing at a microphone raising his right fist in the air
Bobby Bare had his only number one single in 1974.

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1974, 41 different singles topped the chart, which at the time was published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.[1]

At the start of the year, the number one song on the chart was "If We Make It Through December" by Merle Haggard, the song's third week in the top spot.[2] Charlie Rich had the most number ones of 1974, taking five different songs to the top spot, followed by Dolly Parton, who had three solo chart-toppers and one in collaboration with her long-time mentor Porter Wagoner. Wagoner and Parton had charted with a number of duets since 1967,[3] but "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" was their only number one as a duo.[4] In 1973, Parton had taken the decision to end her working relationship with Wagoner, which served as the inspiration for the song "I Will Always Love You",[5] one of her three solo number ones of 1974. In 1982 she re-recorded the song and it once again went to number one, making her the first artist to top the country chart with two different recordings of the same song.[6] Wagoner and Parton's chart-topper was one of two male-female duets to reach number one in 1974, the other being Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn's "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone". Twitty and Lynn had a run of success with duet recordings in the early 1970s alongside their ongoing solo careers.[7]

In addition to having the most individual chart-toppers, Charlie Rich also spent the highest total number of weeks at number one during the year. The singer nicknamed the "Silver Fox"[8] spent eight weeks in the top spot with "There Won't Be Anymore", "A Very Special Love Song", "I Don't See Me in Your Eyes Anymore", "I Love My Friend" and "She Called Me Baby", all of which also crossed over to Billboard's pop singles chart, the Hot 100;[9] no other artist spent more than four weeks atop the country listing. Three of the five – "There Won't Be Anymore," "I Don't See Me In Your Eyes Anymore" and "She Called Me Baby" – were recorded in the mid-1960s and re-released by his old labels to cash in on his recent success.[10] A fifteen-year veteran of the music industry, Rich had finally achieved stardom in both the country and pop markets in the early 1970s and was at the peak of his success in 1974, but changing musical tastes and increasing personal problems led to him largely retiring at the end of the decade.[11] In June, Ronnie Milsap had his first number one with "Pure Love".[12] He would go on to become one of the most successful country performers of the 1970s and 1980s, topping the Hot Country Singles chart more than 30 times.[12] In the same month, Waylon Jennings reached number one for the first time with "This Time".[13] Jennings would go on to become one of the mainstays of the successful outlaw country movement of the late 1970s and, like Milsap, is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.[14][15][16] A third future Hall of Fame inductee to top the chart for the first time in 1974 was Bobby Bare,[17] who achieved the only number one of his lengthy career in July with "Marie Laveau".[18] Mickey Gilley, Billy Swan, Melba Montgomery and Billy "Crash" Craddock were also first-time chart-toppers in 1974.[19][20][21][22] The final number one of the year was "What a Man My Man Is" by Lynn Anderson.

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005. Record Research. p. ix. ISBN 978-0-89820-165-9.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference J7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Vinopal, David. "Dolly Parton Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  4. ^ "Porter Wagoner Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  5. ^ Paulson, David (December 26, 2015). "Dolly Parton remembers writing 'I Will Always Love You'". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  6. ^ Ellison, Curtis W. (1995). Country Music Culture: From Hard Times to Heaven. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-60473-934-3.
  7. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Conway Twitty Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  8. ^ Holden, Stephen (July 26, 1995). "Charlie Rich, 62, 'Silver Fox,' Country Singer and Songwriter". New York Times. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  9. ^ "Charlie Rich Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  10. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944–1997. Record Research. p. 290. ISBN 978-0-89820-129-1.
  11. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Charlie Rich Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Zaleski, Annie (February 6, 2019). "Top 10 Ronnie Milsap Songs". The Boot. Townsquare Media. Archived from the original on February 6, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  13. ^ The Comprehensive Country Music Encyclopedia. Times Books. 1994. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-8129-2247-9.
  14. ^ Gage, Jeff (January 12, 2018). "Country Music Hall of Fame Announces Massive Outlaw Country Exhibit". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 19, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  15. ^ Dansby, Andrew (February 14, 2002). "Waylon Jennings Dead at Sixty-four". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  16. ^ Betts, Stephen L. (January 12, 2015). "Ronnie Milsap to Be Focus of Country Hall of Fame Exhibit". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  17. ^ Morris, Edward (October 28, 2013). "Kenny Rogers, Bobby Bare, Jack Clement Inducted Into Country Music Hall of Fame". CMT. Archived from the original on 2018-04-23. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  18. ^ Betts, Stephen L.; Leahey, Andrew; Newman, Melinda; Hudak, Joseph; Manning, Erin; Dunkerley, Beville; Gold, Adam; Moss, Marissa R. (February 13, 2015). "Booting Ass and Taking Names: Country's 20 Best Revenge Songs". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  19. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Room Full of Roses/Gilley's Smokin'". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  20. ^ "Billy Swan Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  21. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Melba Montgomery Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  22. ^ Huey, Steve. "Billy "Crash" Craddock Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.