Woodstock galvanizes the Boomer-Hippie counterculture with three days of peace, music and good vibes while NASA astronauts walk on the moon, Doomsday Folk and Cartoon Bubblegum Pop top the charts in the Summer, and Black artists score the top two songs of the year for the first time ever. Anxiety and paranoia simmer through the year, though, and the Altamont Festival disaster sets the stage for the ’70s.

#1 Song of the Year   The top song according to our Chartcrush ranking of all Hot100 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year

Artists of the Year   The top three artists based on all charted songs during the calendar year

1. Creedence Clearwater Revival
2. Diana Ross & The Supremes
3. The Beatles

Artist with Most Charting Songs   Artist(s) with the most Hot100 charting songs during the year (song count in parentheses)

• James Brown (8)

Average #1 Artist Age   The average of how old artists who scored #1 Hot100 hits during the year were when their songs first reached #1

• 29.6 years

#1 Songs   List of Hot100 #1 songs that earned the majority of their chart ranking points in the year, and (in parentheses), the month the song first hit #1 and the total number of weeks it was #1

1. Marvin Gaye – I Heard It Through the Grapevine (December ’68, 7 wks)
2. Tommy James & The Shondells – Crimson and Clover (February, 2 wks)
3. Sly & The Family Stone – Everyday People (February, 4 wks)
4. Tommy Roe – Dizzy (March, 4 wks)
5. The 5th Dimension – Aquarius/Let the Sunshine in (The Flesh Failures) (April, 6 wks)
6. The Beatles with Billy Preston – Get Back (May, 5 wks)
7. Henry Mancini, His Orchestra & Chorus – Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet (June, 2 wks)
8. Zager & Evans – In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus) (July, 6 wks)
9. The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Women (August, 4 wks)
10. The Archies – Sugar, Sugar (September, 4 wks)
11. The Temptations – I Can’t Get Next to You (October, 2 wks)
12. Elvis Presley – Suspicious Minds (November, 1 wk)
13. The 5th Dimension – Wedding Bell Blues (November, 3 wks)
14. The Beatles – Come Together (November, 1 wk)
15. Steam feat. Garrett Scott – Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye (December, 2 wks)
16. Peter, Paul & Mary – Leaving on a Jet Plane (December, 1 wk)