# List of Top Selling R&B Singles number ones of 1967

In 1967, Billboard published a weekly chart ranking the top-performing singles in the United States in rhythm and blues (R&B) and related African American-oriented music genres; the chart has undergone various name changes over the decades to reflect the evolution of such genres and since 2005 has been published as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. During the year, 14 different singles topped the chart, which was published under the title Top Selling R&B Singles.
Aretha Franklin was the only artist with multiple number ones in 1967; she spent seven weeks atop the chart between March and May with "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)", and after a single week out of the top spot returned with "Respect", which spent eight weeks in the peak position. In August, Franklin gained her third chart-topper of the year with "Baby I Love You", which held the top spot for two weeks, giving the singer a total of 17 weeks at number one during 1967, more than double the figure achieved by any other act. Franklin had first charted in 1961, but her career did not fully take off until she joined Atlantic Records in 1966, after which she became one of the biggest stars in popular music. Nicknamed the "Queen of Soul", she was named the greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2023.
Franklin was among a number of acts to reach number one for the first time in 1967. Aaron Neville achieved the same feat when he moved into the number one position in the issue of Billboard dated January 7 with "Tell It Like It Is", and later in the year Freddie Scott and Bettye Swann each gained their first and only chart-topper with "Are You Lonely for Me" and "Make Me Yours" respectively. The year's final number one was "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Gladys Knight & the Pips, which reached the top spot in the issue of Billboard dated December 2 and stayed there for the remainder of the year. It was the first of two versions of the song to top the chart in a little over a year; Marvin Gaye would take his version of the song to number one in December 1968. Two of 1967's rhythm & blues number ones also topped the all-genre Hot 100 chart: "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" by the Supremes and "Respect" by Aretha Franklin. The Supremes also topped the Hot 100 with "The Happening", but that single failed to even enter the top 10 of the R&B listing.

## Chart history

Key :
| † | Indicates best-charting R&B single of 1967 |
Chart history :
| Issue date | Title | Artist(s) |
| January 7 | "Tell It Like It Is" | Aaron Neville |
| January 14 | "Tell It Like It Is" | Aaron Neville |
| January 21 | "Tell It Like It Is" | Aaron Neville |
| January 28 | "Tell It Like It Is" | Aaron Neville |
| February 4 | "Tell It Like It Is" | Aaron Neville |
| February 11 | "Are You Lonely for Me" | Freddie Scott |
| February 18 | "Are You Lonely for Me" | Freddie Scott |
| February 25 | "Are You Lonely for Me" | Freddie Scott |
| March 4 | "Are You Lonely for Me" | Freddie Scott |
| March 11 | "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" | The Supremes |
| March 18 | "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone" | The Supremes |
| March 25 | "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" | Aretha Franklin |
| April 1 | "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" | Aretha Franklin |
| April 8 | "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" | Aretha Franklin |
| April 15 | "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" | Aretha Franklin |
| April 22 | "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" | Aretha Franklin |
| April 29 | "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" | Aretha Franklin |
| May 6 | "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" | Aretha Franklin |
| May 13 | "Jimmy Mack" | Martha and the Vandellas |
| May 20 | "Respect" † | Aretha Franklin |
| May 27 | "Respect" † | Aretha Franklin |
| June 3 | "Respect" † | Aretha Franklin |
| June 10 | "Respect" † | Aretha Franklin |
| June 17 | "Respect" † | Aretha Franklin |
| June 24 | "Respect" † | Aretha Franklin |
| July 1 | "Respect" † | Aretha Franklin |
| July 8 | "Respect" † | Aretha Franklin |
| July 15 | "I Was Made to Love Her" | Stevie Wonder |
| July 22 | "Make Me Yours" | Bettye Swann |
| July 29 | "Make Me Yours" | Bettye Swann |
| August 5 | "I Was Made to Love Her" | Stevie Wonder |
| August 12 | "I Was Made to Love Her" | Stevie Wonder |
| August 19 | "I Was Made to Love Her" | Stevie Wonder |
| August 26 | "Baby I Love You" | Aretha Franklin |
| September 2 | "Baby I Love You" | Aretha Franklin |
| September 9 | "Cold Sweat" | James Brown |
| September 16 | "Cold Sweat" | James Brown |
| September 23 | "Cold Sweat" | James Brown |
| September 30 | "Funky Broadway" | Wilson Pickett |
| October 7 | "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" | Jackie Wilson |
| October 14 | "Soul Man" | Sam & Dave |
| October 21 | "Soul Man" | Sam & Dave |
| October 28 | "Soul Man" | Sam & Dave |
| November 4 | "Soul Man" | Sam & Dave |
| November 11 | "Soul Man" | Sam & Dave |
| November 18 | "Soul Man" | Sam & Dave |
| November 25 | "Soul Man" | Sam & Dave |
| December 2 | "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" | Gladys Knight & the Pips |
| December 9 | "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" | Gladys Knight & the Pips |
| December 16 | "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" | Gladys Knight & the Pips |
| December 23 | "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" | Gladys Knight & the Pips |
| December 30 | "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" | Gladys Knight & the Pips |