1968 in music
Who ruled 1968? Aretha Franklin was Artist of the Year on the Billboard Hot 100 and Tom Jones on the UK Singles Chart. Every #1 song of 1968, the biggest songs and the top artists.
Billboard Hot 100
Artist of the Year 1968
5 crowns · 20 weeks among the top five artists · Era Power 130
| # | Artist | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aretha Franklin | 130 | 5 | 20 |
| 2 | The Beatles | 110 | 12 | 20 |
| 3 | Dionne Warwick | 73 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | The Rascals | 71 | 3 | 11 |
| 5 | The Temptations | 68 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | Otis Redding | 64 | 2 | 10 |
| 7 | 1910 Fruitgum Co. | 62 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | Marvin Gaye | 60 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | Steppenwolf | 59 | 0 | 7 |
| 10 | Cream | 58 | 0 | 1 |
| First week at #1 | Song | Artist | Weeks at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 6, 1968 | Hello Goodbye | The Beatles | 2 |
| Jan 20, 1968 | Judy In Disguise (With Glasses) | John Fred And The Playboys | 2 |
| Feb 3, 1968 | Green Tambourine | The Lemon Pipers | 1 |
| Feb 10, 1968 | Love Is Blue (L'Amour Est Bleu) | Paul Mauriat | 5 |
| Mar 16, 1968 | (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay | Otis Redding | 4 |
| Apr 13, 1968 | Honey | Bobby Goldsboro | 5 |
| May 18, 1968 | Tighten Up | Archie Bell & The Drells | 2 |
| Jun 1, 1968 | Mrs. Robinson | Simon & Garfunkel | 3 |
| Jun 22, 1968 | This Guy's In Love With You | Herb Alpert | 4 |
| Jul 20, 1968 | Grazing In The Grass | Hugh Masekela | 2 |
| Aug 3, 1968 | Hello, I Love You | The Doors | 2 |
| Aug 17, 1968 | People Got To Be Free | The Rascals | 5 |
| Sep 21, 1968 | Harper Valley P.T.A. | Jeannie C. Riley | 1 |
| Sep 28, 1968 | Hey Jude | The Beatles | 9 |
| Nov 30, 1968 | Love Child | Diana Ross & The Supremes | 2 |
| Dec 14, 1968 | I Heard It Through The Grapevine | Marvin Gaye | 3 |
| # | Song | Artist | Peak | Weeks | Record Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hey Jude | The Beatles | #1 | 19 | 55.8 |
| 2 | Love Is Blue (L'Amour Est Bleu) | Paul Mauriat | #1 | 18 | 43.3 |
| 3 | I Heard It Through The Grapevine | Marvin Gaye | #1 | 15 | 43.2 |
| 4 | Love Child | Diana Ross & The Supremes | #1 | 16 | 43.1 |
| 5 | Crimson And Clover | Tommy James And The Shondells | #1 | 16 | 41.7 |
| 6 | (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay | Otis Redding | #1 | 16 | 41.2 |
| 7 | Everyday People | Sly & The Family Stone | #1 | 19 | 41.1 |
| 8 | Honey | Bobby Goldsboro | #1 | 15 | 38.9 |
| 9 | People Got To Be Free | The Rascals | #1 | 14 | 37.9 |
| 10 | The Good the Bad and the Ugly | Hugo Montenegro | #2 | 22 | 36.7 |
UK Singles Chart
| # | Artist | Era Power | Crowns | Top-five weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Jones | 111 | 0 | 11 |
| 2 | Engelbert Humperdinck | 103 | 3 | 14 |
| 3 | The Beatles | 94 | 6 | 15 |
| 4 | Des O'Connor | 87 | 4 | 11 |
| 5 | Love Affair | 81 | 0 | 8 |
| 6 | Bee Gees | 78 | 1 | 7 |
| 7 | The Union Gap | 74 | 4 | 9 |
| 8 | The Beach Boys | 69 | 1 | 5 |
| 9 | Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich | 67 | 0 | 5 |
| 10 | The Tremeloes | 66 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Song | Artist | Peak | Weeks | Record Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Pretend | Des O'Connor | #1 | 36 | 62.6 |
| 2 | What a Wonderful World/Cabaret | Louis Armstrong | #1 | 29 | 60.7 |
| 3 | The Good the Bad and the Ugly | Hugo Montenegro | #1 | 25 | 53.7 |
| 4 | Lily the Pink | The Scaffold | #1 | 24 | 51.7 |
| 5 | Those Were The Days | Mary Hopkin | #1 | 21 | 50.6 |
| 6 | Albatross | Fleetwood Mac | #1 | 20 | 45.2 |
| 7 | Help Yourself | Tom Jones | #5 | 26 | 43.8 |
| 8 | Hey Jude | The Beatles | #1 | 23 | 43.1 |
| 9 | Young Girl | The Union Gap | #1 | 17 | 42.1 |
| 10 | Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da | Marmalade | #1 | 20 | 41.7 |
Artist of the Year and the rankings are the ChartReign Power model: the artist with the most chart power over the year, not the most #1s. Crowns are weeks crowned Artist of the Week. How it works