page_title: List of Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles number ones of 1968
section_title: Chart history
hierarchical_section_title: List of Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles number ones of 1968 / Chart history
caption_attribution_description: Photo of Marvin Gaye.
context_page_description: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs is a chart published by Billboard that ranks the top-performing songs in the United States in African-American-oriented musical genres; the chart has undergone various name changes since its launch in 1942 to reflect the evolution of such genres. In 1968, it was published under the title Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles. During that year, 20 different singles topped the chart, based on playlists submitted by radio stations and surveys of retail sales outlets.
  Unusually, the year started and ended with different versions of the same song at number one. In the issue of Billboard dated January 6, Gladys Knight & the Pips were at number one with "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", the song's sixth week in the top spot. In December, Marvin Gaye's version of the song reached number one and held the peak position for the final three weeks of the year. Gaye had actually recorded his version before Knight recorded hers, but Berry Gordy, owner of the Motown record label, refused to allow it to be released. After Knight's version became a success, Gaye's version was included on his album In the Groove and was released as a single by popular demand.
caption: Marvin Gaye had three number ones ("Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing", "You're All I Need to Get By" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine") in 1968, two of them duets with Tammi Terrell.
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