Billboard published a weekly chart in 1986 ranking the top-performing singles in the United States in African American-oriented genres; the chart has undergone various name changes over the decades to reflect the evolution of black music and has been published as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs since 2005.[1] In 1986, it was published under the title Hot Black Singles,[2] and 26 different singles reached number one.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 4, Eugene Wilde was at number one with "Don't Say No Tonight", the final week of a three-week run in the top spot.[3] The year's third number one was a charity single featuring four artists who had all topped either the Black Singles chart or Billboard's pop chart, the Hot 100.[4][5] "That's What Friends Are For" featured Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder and Elton John,[6] and had been organized by Warwick as a fund-raiser for the American Foundation for AIDS Research.[7] The song also topped the Hot 100,[8] and won the Grammy Awards for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Song of the Year.[9] "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie, "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston,"Kiss" by Prince and the Revolution, "On My Own" by Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald, and "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" by Billy Ocean also topped both the Black Singles chart and the Hot 100.[10]
Many of the acts that topped the chart in 1986 did so for the first time. Meli'sa Morgan, Janet Jackson, Stephanie Mills, Michael McDonald, Timex Social Club, Jean Carne, Shirley Jones, Gwen Guthrie, LeVert, Oran "Juice" Jones, Gregory Abbott, and Melba Moore each gained their debut number one during the year.[11] Jackson's older brothers had topped the chart six times as the Jackson 5 and her brothers Michael and Jermaine had achieved number ones as solo artists. She herself would go on to become one of the most successful black artists of the 1980s and 1990s, with 14 number ones by 1999.[12] El DeBarge gained his first solo chart-topper, having previously spent time at number one with family group DeBarge, and Bobby Brown reached the peak position for the first time as a solo artist following number ones as a member of New Edition.[13] When "That's What Friends Are For" reached the peak position, it marked the first number one on this listing for John, who had placed more than 40 singles on the Hot 100 but only crossed over to the black singles chart three times prior to 1986.[6][14] Janet Jackson, Billy Ocean, and Freddie Jackson (no relation to Janet) were the only artists to have multiple Hot Black Singles number ones during the year. Freddie Jackson spent a total of five weeks in the top spot, the most of any act. His song "Tasty Love" held the peak position for four weeks, tying with "Kiss" and "On My Own" for the longest unbroken run atop the chart. Brown's track "Girlfriend" was the final number one of the year.
Chart history
edit† | Indicates number 1 on Billboard's year-end black singles chart[15] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Molanphy, Chris (April 14, 2014). "I Know You Got Soul: The Trouble With Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Chart". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on January 21, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
- ^ Whitburn 1996, p. xii.
- ^ a b "R & B Chart for January 4, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ Whitburn 1983, p. 5.
- ^ Whitburn 2004, pp. 301, 330, 610, 636.
- ^ a b Whitburn 2004, p. 301.
- ^ McNeil, Liz (May 10, 2019). "Dionne Warwick on 'That's What Friends Are For' and How She Got President Reagan to Say 'AIDS'". People. Archived from the original on December 18, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
- ^ Whitburn 2004, p. 636.
- ^ "29th Annual Grammy Awards". Grammy Awards. Archived from the original on September 23, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ Whitburn 2005, pp. 994–995.
- ^ Whitburn 2004, pp. 21, 104, 240, 282, 307, 308, 346, 390, 402, 413, 414, 582.
- ^ Whitburn 2004, pp. 282, 283, 284, 286, 287.
- ^ Whitburn 2004, pp. 81, 150.
- ^ Whitburn 2005, p. 362.
- ^ "Billboard.com – Year End Charts – Year-end Singles – Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. December 11, 2007. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
- ^ "R & B Chart for January 11, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for January 18, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for January 25, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for February 1, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for February 8, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for February 15, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for February 22, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for March 1, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for March 8, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for March 15, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for March 22, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for March 29, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for April 5, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for April 12, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for April 19, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for April 26, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for May 3, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for May 10, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for May 17, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for May 24, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for May 31, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for June 7, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for June 14, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for June 21, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for June 28, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for July 5, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for July 12, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for July 19, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for July 26, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for August 2, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for August 9, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for August 16, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for August 23, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for August 30, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 26, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for September 6, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 23, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for September 13, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for September 20, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for September 27, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for October 4, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for October 11, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for October 18, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for October 25, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for November 1, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for November 8, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for November 15, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for November 22, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 23, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for November 29, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for December 6, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for December 13, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for December 20, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "R & B Chart for December 27, 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
Works cited
edit- Whitburn, Joel (1983). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop, 1955–1982. Record Research Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-89820-051-5.
- Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's Top R & B Singles, 1942–1995. Record Research Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-89820-115-4.
- Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-89820-160-4.
- Whitburn, Joel (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 1955–2002. Record Research Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-89820-155-0.