List of Billboard Easy Listening number ones of 1974
Introduction Neil Sedaka topped the chart with "Laughter in the Rain".|alt=A smiling manAdult Contemporary is a chart published by ''Billboard'' ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the adult contemporary music (AC) market. In 1974, 35 songs topped the chart, then published under the title Easy Listening, based on playlists submitted by easy listening radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.The first number one of the year was "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce. It was a posthumous chart-topper for the singer, who had died in an airplane crash in September of the previous year. Croce achieved a second posthumous number one in April with "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song". Chicago, Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray and Charlie Rich also achieved two number ones in 1974, as did The Three Degrees, who had one chart-topper in their own right and another as featured vocalists on the song "TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)" by MFSB. John Denver and Helen Reddy each had three number ones during 1974, with Denver's total of seven weeks in the top spot being the highest by any act. Country-rock singer Denver was at the peak of his career in 1974, selling millions of records and achieving number ones on the Hot 100, easy listening and country charts.Many of 1974's Easy Listening number ones also topped ''Billboard''s all-genre singles chart, the Hot 100, reflecting the fact that at the time mellower styles were popular across a range of demographics and on pop music radio as well as the easy listening format. Songs by Jim Croce, Barbra Streisand, The Love Unlimited Orchestra, Terry Jacks, MFSB featuring The Three Degrees, John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot, Olivia Newton-John and Helen Reddy all topped both listings. The final number one of the year was "Mandy" by Barry Manilow, which would go on to top the Hot 100 in 1975 and prove to be the breakthrough song for an artist who would become one of the most successful acts in the AC field.
Chart history alt=A smiling man with long fair hair wearing glassesalt=A dark-haired man with a large mustache holding a cigaralt=A dark-haired young woman in a black dress singing into a microphone+KeyIndicates best-performing easy listening song of 1974Issue dateTitleArtist(s)"Time in a Bottle"Jim Croce"""Love's Theme""""Last Time I Saw Him" "Seasons in the Sun""Sunshine on My Shoulders""""Keep On Singing""I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song""TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)"MFSB featuring The Three Degrees"""Help Me""I Won't Last a Day Without You""Sundown""You Won't See Me""Annie's Song""You and Me Against the World""Please Come to Boston""Feel Like Makin' Love""Call on Me"Chicago"I'm Leaving It Up to You" and Marie Osmond"I Love My Friend""I Honestly Love You""Tin Man"America"Stop and Smell the Roses""Carefree Highway""Back Home Again""My Melody of Love""Longfellow Serenade""Laughter in the Rain""Angie Baby""When Will I See You Again""Wishing You Were Here"Chicago"Mandy"
See also *1974 in music*List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart
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