# List of Billboard Easy Listening number ones of 1973

In 1973, Billboard magazine published a chart ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the easy listening market. The chart, which in 1973 was entitled Easy Listening, has undergone various name changes and has been published under the title Adult Contemporary since 1996. In 1973, 26 songs topped the chart based on playlists submitted by easy listening radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 6, 1973, the band Bread retained the number one position from the final chart of the previous year with "Sweet Surrender", but the song held the top spot for only one further week before being replaced by "Been to Canaan" by Carole King. Helen Reddy had the highest total number of weeks at number one in 1973, spending two weeks in the top spot with "Delta Dawn" and four with "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)". The latter song tied with "All I Know" by Art Garfunkel for the year's longest unbroken run at number one. Reddy, the Carpenters, and Tony Orlando and Dawn were the only acts with more than one chart-topper during the year. Among acts to top the Easy Listening chart for the first time in 1973 was the English singer Elton John, who would achieve consistent success on the chart for more than 40 years. By 2016 he held the records for both the greatest number of entries and the largest amount of number ones on the chart, and five years earlier Billboard had named him the most successful act of the listing's first 50 years.
The final number one of the year was "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce, which moved into the top spot in the issue of Billboard dated December 30. It was a posthumous chart-topper for the singer, who had died in an airplane crash three months earlier. The song also topped Billboard's pop singles chart, the Hot 100. In the early 1970s there was considerable crossover between the two charts, and seven of 1973's other Easy Listening number ones also reached the top spot on the Hot 100: "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando and Dawn, "My Love" by Paul McCartney and Wings, "Touch Me in the Morning" by Diana Ross, "Delta Dawn" by Reddy, "The Most Beautiful Girl" by Charlie Rich, and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" by Stevie Wonder. Rich's song also reached number one on the Hot Country Songs chart.

## Chart history

Chart history :
| Issue date | Title | Artist(s) |
| January 6 | "Sweet Surrender" | Bread |
| January 13 | "Been to Canaan" | Carole King |
| January 20 | "You're So Vain" | Carly Simon |
| January 27 | "You're So Vain" | Carly Simon |
| February 3 | "Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend" | Lobo |
| February 10 | "Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend" | Lobo |
| February 17 | "Dueling Banjos" | Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell |
| February 24 | "Dueling Banjos" | Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandell |
| March 3 | "Last Song" | Edward Bear |
| March 10 | "Last Song" | Edward Bear |
| March 17 | "Danny's Song" | Anne Murray |
| March 24 | "Danny's Song" | Anne Murray |
| March 31 | "Sing" | The Carpenters |
| April 7 | "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" | Tony Orlando and Dawn |
| April 14 | "Sing" | The Carpenters |
| April 21 | "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" | Tony Orlando and Dawn |
| April 28 | "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" | Stevie Wonder |
| May 5 | "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" | Stevie Wonder |
| May 12 | "Daniel" | Elton John |
| May 19 | "Daniel" | Elton John |
| May 26 | "And I Love You So" | Perry Como |
| June 2 | "My Love" | Paul McCartney and Wings |
| June 9 | "My Love" | Paul McCartney and Wings |
| June 16 | "My Love" | Paul McCartney and Wings |
| June 23 | "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" | Bette Midler |
| June 30 | "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" | Bette Midler |
| July 7 | "Yesterday Once More" | The Carpenters |
| July 14 | "Yesterday Once More" | The Carpenters |
| July 21 | "Yesterday Once More" | The Carpenters |
| July 28 | "Touch Me in the Morning" | Diana Ross |
| August 4 | "Delta Dawn" | Helen Reddy |
| August 11 | "Delta Dawn" | Helen Reddy |
| August 18 | "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose" | Tony Orlando and Dawn |
| August 25 | "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose" | Tony Orlando and Dawn |
| September 1 | "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose" | Tony Orlando and Dawn |
| September 8 | "Loves Me Like a Rock" | Paul Simon |
| September 15 | "Loves Me Like a Rock" | Paul Simon |
| September 22 | "My Maria" | B. W. Stevenson |
| September 29 | "I'm Coming Home" | Johnny Mathis |
| October 6 | "All I Know" | Art Garfunkel |
| October 13 | "All I Know" | Art Garfunkel |
| October 20 | "All I Know" | Art Garfunkel |
| October 27 | "All I Know" | Art Garfunkel |
| November 3 | "Paper Roses" | Marie Osmond |
| November 10 | "The Most Beautiful Girl" | Charlie Rich |
| November 17 | "The Most Beautiful Girl" | Charlie Rich |
| November 24 | "The Most Beautiful Girl" | Charlie Rich |
| December 1 | "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" | Helen Reddy |
| December 8 | "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" | Helen Reddy |
| December 15 | "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" | Helen Reddy |
| December 22 | "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" | Helen Reddy |
| December 29 | "Time in a Bottle" | Jim Croce |