December 1971

Finishing 1971, here's the final edition of my ongoing series of reviewing the Top 40 songs from 50 years ago.  I haven't always been on time (my goal was mid-month), but I have managed to make every month.  Which is better than previous years.  

So what was December like?

There were 4 weeks of December '71, and there were 54 songs that spent time in the Top 40. As usual, lots of great stuff.  Overall,  1971 was an outstanding year, with 718 songs spending time in the Hot 100, and 290 songs making the coveted Top 40.

Over the 4 weeks in December '71, only 2 songs topped the charts:  Sly and the Family Stone owned the first 3 weeks with "Family Affair", and gave way to Melanie with "Brand New Key" for the last week of the month (and the year).  

Moving on:  Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 4 weeks of the month:

• Family Affair - Sly and The Family Stone - 1.25
• Have You Seen Her - The Chi-lites - 4
• Got To Be There - Michael Jackson - 5
• An Old Fashioned Love Song - Three Dog Night - 5
• Theme From Shaft - Isaac Hayes - 6.5
• Baby I'm - A Want You - Bread - 6.75
• Brand New Key - Melanie - 6.75
• All I Ever Need Is You - Sonny and Cher - 8.5
• Cherish - David Cassidy - 10.75
• Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves - Cher - 12

Twenty (20) songs made their Top 40 debut, a couple of notable songs.  Here they are (listed by entering position):

• One Monkey Don't Stop No Show Part I - The Honey Cone - 30
• I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony) - The Hillside Singers - 31
• Sugar Daddy - Jackson 5 - 31
• Hey Girl/I Knew You When - Donny Osmond - 32
• Clean Up Woman - Betty Wright - 32
• American Pie (Parts I & II) - Don McLean - 34
• Sunshine - Jonathan Edwards - 36
• An American Trilogy - Mickey Newbury - 37
• Drowning In The Sea Of Love - Joe Simon - 37
• Behind Blue Eyes - The Who - 38
• Let's Stay Together - Al Green - 38
• Hey Big Brother - Rare Earth - 38
• George Jackson - Bob Dylan - 38
• I'm A Greedy Man - Part I - James Brown - 39
• Hallelujah - Sweathog - 39
• Can I Get A Witness - Lee Michaels - 39
• Day After Day - Badfinger - 39
• Kiss An Angel Good Mornin' - Charley Pride - 40
• Your Move (I've Seen All Good People) - Yes - 40
• White Lies, Blue Eyes - Bullet - 40