List of Hot Country Singles number ones of 1968

Hot Country Songs is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music songs in the United States, published by Billboard magazine. In 1968, 24 different singles topped the chart, then published under the title Hot Country Singles, in 52 issues of the magazine, based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.[1]

Conway Twitty reached number one for the first time in 1968. He would go on to achieve a record-breaking 40 chart-toppers.

At the start of the year the number-one single was "For Loving You" by Bill Anderson and Jan Howard, its third week in the top spot.[2] It remained at number one until the issue dated January 20, when it was replaced by Merle Haggard's single "Sing Me Back Home". Haggard spent the highest number of weeks at number one in 1968, topping the chart for a total of eight weeks with "Sing Me Back Home", "The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde" and "Mama Tried". He was one of three artists to take three different singles to number one during the year, the most by any act. Sonny James reached number one with "A World of Our Own", "Heaven Says Hello" and "Born To Be With You", and Tammy Wynette topped the chart with "Take Me to Your World", "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and "Stand by Your Man". The longest run at number one by a single was the five weeks which Henson Cargill spent in the top spot with "Skip a Rope" in February and March. Two of 1968's country number ones also topped Billboard's all-genre singles chart, the Hot 100. Bobby Goldsboro's single "Honey" had already had a run atop the Hot 100 when it reached number one on the country chart in May.[3] Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley PTA" topped the Hot 100 in September and reached the peak position on the country chart the following week.[4] Although it did not achieve the same level of crossover success, Wynette's November chart-topper "Stand by Your Man" has come to be regarded as one of the greatest country songs of all time.[5] In 2003 it topped a poll of critics, journalists and industry insiders to find the top song of the genre,[6] and in 2010 the song was added by the Library of Congress to the National Recording Registry, which selects recordings annually that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[7]

In the issue of Billboard dated October 19, Eddy Arnold, one of the most successful country singers of the preceding 20 years, achieved his final number one with "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye". The single was his 28th number one on Billboard's country charts (including Hot Country Singles and its predecessor charts), a record at the time.[8] Two weeks later Arnold was replaced in the top spot when Conway Twitty reached number one for the first time with his single "Next in Line".[9] A former rock and roll singer who had turned to country music in the mid-1960s,[10] Twitty would remain a fixture at the top of the country charts for two decades, and set a new record for the most country chart-toppers when he achieved his 29th number one in 1980.[8] Twitty would ultimately take 40 singles to the top of the chart from 1968 to 1986, a record which would stand until 2006, when George Strait topped the chart for the 41st time.[11] In addition to Twitty, four other acts reached number one on the Hot Country chart for the first time in 1968: Henson Cargill,[12] Jeannie C. Riley,[13] Bobby Goldsboro[14] and Glen Campbell.[15] Of these four acts, only Campbell would go on to top the chart again, and he did so before the end of 1968, when his single "Wichita Lineman" was the final number one of the year.

Chart history
Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley PTA" also topped the Billboard Hot 100 and went on to inspire a film and a TV show.
Merle Haggard had three number ones in 1968.
Glen Campbell achieved his first number one in 1968 with "I Wanna Live".
Hot Country Singles number ones of 1968
Issue date Title Artist(s) Ref.
January 6 "For Loving You" Bill Anderson and Jan Howard [2]
January 13 [16]
January 20 "Sing Me Back Home" Merle Haggard [17]
January 27 [18]
February 3 "Skip a Rope" Henson Cargill [19]
February 10 [20]
February 17 [21]
February 24 [22]
March 2 [23]
March 9 "Take Me to Your World" Tammy Wynette [24]
March 16 "A World of Our Own" Sonny James [25]
March 23 [26]
March 30 [27]
April 6 "How Long Will My Baby Be Gone" Buck Owens and his Buckaroos [28]
April 13 "You Are My Treasure" Jack Greene [29]
April 20 "Fist City" Loretta Lynn [30]
April 27 "The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde" Merle Haggard [31]
May 4 [32]
May 11 "Have A Little Faith" David Houston [33]
May 18 "I Wanna Live" Glen Campbell [34]
May 25 "Honey" Bobby Goldsboro [35]
June 1 [36]
June 8 [37]
June 15 "I Wanna Live" Glen Campbell [38]
June 22 [39]
June 29 "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" Tammy Wynette [40]
July 6 [41]
July 13 [42]
July 20 "Folsom Prison Blues" Johnny Cash [43]
July 27 [44]
August 3 [45]
August 10 [46]
August 17 "Heaven Says Hello" Sonny James [47]
August 24 "Already It's Heaven" David Houston [48]
August 31 "Mama Tried" Merle Haggard [49]
September 7 [50]
September 14 [51]
September 21 [52]
September 28 "Harper Valley PTA" Jeannie C. Riley [53]
October 5 [54]
October 12 [55]
October 19 "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye" Eddy Arnold [56]
October 26 [57]
November 2 "Next In Line" Conway Twitty [58]
November 9 "I Walk Alone" Marty Robbins [59]
November 16 [60]
November 23 "Stand By Your Man" Tammy Wynette [61]
November 30 [62]
December 7 [63]
December 14 "Born To Be With You" Sonny James [64]
December 21 "Wichita Lineman" Glen Campbell [65]
December 28 [66]

See also

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005. Record Research. p. ix. ISBN 9780898201659.
  2. "Hot Country Singles chart for January 6, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  3. "Bobby Goldsboro Honey Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  4. "Jeannie C. Riley Harper Valley P.T.A. Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  5. Konic, Riane (May 4, 2018). "Top 10 Tammy Wynette Songs". The Boot. Townsquare Media. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  6. Vries, Lloyd (June 5, 2003). "'Stand By Your Man' Tops Song List". CBS News. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  7. "National Recording Registry Reaches 500". Library of Congress. March 21, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  8. Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Watson-Guptill. pp. 335 335, 507. ISBN 9780823082896.
  9. Thompson, Gayle (November 2, 2017). "49 Years Ago: Conway Twitty Earns First No. 1 Country Hit With 'Next In Line'". The Boot. Townsquare Media. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  10. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Conway Twitty Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  11. Trust, Gary (April 8, 2009). "Chart Beat: Pink, George Strait, Jamie Foxx". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  12. Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Watson-Guptill. p. 62. ISBN 9780823082896.
  13. "Jeannie C. Riley Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  14. "Bobby Goldsboro Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  15. Hall, James (August 9, 2017). "Glen Campbell: his 10 best songs". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  16. "Hot Country Singles chart for January 13, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  17. "Hot Country Singles chart for January 20, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  18. "Hot Country Singles chart for January 27, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  19. "Hot Country Singles chart for February 3, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  20. "Hot Country Singles chart for February 10, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  21. "Hot Country Singles chart for February 17, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  22. "Hot Country Singles chart for February 24, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  23. "Hot Country Singles chart for March 2, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  24. "Hot Country Singles chart for March 9, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  25. "Hot Country Singles chart for March 16, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  26. "Hot Country Singles chart for March 23, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  27. "Hot Country Singles chart for March 30, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  28. "Hot Country Singles chart for April 6, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  29. "Hot Country Singles chart for April 13, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  30. "Hot Country Singles chart for April 20, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  31. "Hot Country Singles chart for April 27, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  32. "Hot Country Singles chart for May 4, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  33. "Hot Country Singles chart for May 11, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  34. "Hot Country Singles chart for May 18, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  35. "Hot Country Singles chart for May 25, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  36. "Hot Country Singles chart for June 1, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  37. "Hot Country Singles chart for June 8, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  38. "Hot Country Singles chart for June 15, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  39. "Hot Country Singles chart for June 22, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  40. "Hot Country Singles chart for June 29, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  41. "Hot Country Singles chart for July 6, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  42. "Hot Country Singles chart for July 13, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  43. "Hot Country Singles chart for July 20, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  44. "Hot Country Singles chart for July 27, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  45. "Hot Country Singles chart for August 3, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  46. "Hot Country Singles chart for August 10, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  47. "Hot Country Singles chart for August 17, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  48. "Hot Country Singles chart for August 24, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  49. "Hot Country Singles chart for August 31, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  50. "Hot Country Singles chart for September 7, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  51. "Hot Country Singles chart for September 14, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  52. "Hot Country Singles chart for September 21, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  53. "Hot Country Singles chart for September 28, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  54. "Hot Country Singles chart for October 5, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  55. "Hot Country Singles chart for October 12, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  56. "Hot Country Singles chart for October 19, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  57. "Hot Country Singles chart for October 26, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  58. "Hot Country Singles chart for November 2, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  59. "Hot Country Singles chart for November 9, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  60. "Hot Country Singles chart for November 16, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  61. "Hot Country Singles chart for November 23, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  62. "Hot Country Singles chart for November 30, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  63. "Hot Country Singles chart for December 7, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  64. "Hot Country Singles chart for December 14, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  65. "Hot Country Singles chart for December 21, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  66. "Hot Country Singles chart for December 28, 1968". Billboard. Retrieved June 1, 2018.

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