UK Music Chart: September 11, 1971 Featuring James Taylor

Number 14: James Taylor : Buy This at Allposters.com

I'm Still Waiting completed its fourth and final week as the UK's bestselling record on this date in 1971.

Further down the chart, five new singles entered the Top 20, headed by You've Got A Friend, the then-latest offering by American singer/songwriter James Taylor.

It was also the week when one of rock's most enduring stars began his solo chart career.

Rod Stewart arrived with Reason to Believe, but the disc was soon flipped to reveal what has since become one of the public's favourite Rod tracks.

Elsewhere, new songs by Hot Chocolate and Marmalade debuted in the listing, while next week's new Number 1 edged ever closer to the top of the charts.

Diana Ross at Number 1

The Chart:

01 (01) Diana Ross - I'm Still Waiting
02 (03) The Tams - Hey Girl, Don't Bother Me
03 (05) Dawn - What Are You Doing Sunday?
04 (02) The New Seekers - Never Ending Song of Love
05 (06) The Pioneers - Let Your Yeah Be Yeah
06 (17) Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood - Did You Ever?
07 (07) Buffy Sainte-Marie - Soldier Blue
08 (19) The Supremes - Nathan Jones
09 (12) Curved Air - Back Street Luv
10 (08) Carole King - It's Too Late
11 (04) Family - In My Own Time
12 (11) George Harrison - Bangla Desh
13 (10) T. Rex - Get It On
14 (36) James Taylor - You've Got a Friend
15 (25) Hot Chocolate - I Believe (In Love)
16 (14) Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up
17 (13) New World - Tom-Tom Turnaround
18 (16) Gilbert O'Sullivan - We Will
19 (31) Rod Stewart - Reason to Believe / Maggie May
20 (37) Marmalade - Cousin Norman

*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold

14: James Taylor: You've Got A Friend

Having already charted at Number 1 on America's Billboard Hot 100 some weeks previously, it looked as if James Taylor's You've Got A Friend might repeat the feat in the UK.

Written and composed by Carole King, (already in the Top 10 with It's Too Late) and included on her bestselling album Tapestry, Taylor liked the track so much that he decided to record it himself.

It proved a wise decision as he later won the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance of the song, while King won the Grammy for Song of the Year.

Meanwhile, in the UK, You've Got A Friend eventually reached a peak of Number 4 and remains his only solo single to crack the British Top 40.

15: Hot Chocolate: I Believe (In Love)

After the relative failure of their previous single (You Could Have Been A Lady - Number 22), Hot Chocolate stormed back into the Top 20 with their latest release, I Believe (In Love).

At this point, Hot Chocolate was essentially a singles band and was fast on its way to becoming one of the UK's most successful funk/soul outfits of the decade.

This song followed their debut hit, Love is Life, into the Top 10 where it reached Number 8.

19: Rod Stewart: Reason to Believe

Having amassed several flop records in the 1960s, this was the single (together with its parent album) that truly launched the career of Rod Stewart - both in the UK and the US.

Reason to Believe was the record company's choice as the A-Side, but American DJs preferred to play the flip, Maggie May. For chart purposes, the latter title was later classified as the A-Side, meaning that Reason to Believe was only listed as the primary track for the disc's first week in the Top 20.

It would not be long before Maggie May was heading the UK chart concurrently with its American release. Stewart would shortly boast the UK and US Number 1 album as well, when Every Picture Tells A Story topped both charts at the same time as this single.

20: Marmalade: Cousin Norman

Junior Campbell, one of Marmalade's founding members and chief songwriters, had left the group earlier in this year and was replaced by the guitarist, Hugh Nicholson.

It was Nicholson who penned the band's next few singles, among them Cousin Norman. The song was highly memorable and clicked with record buyers at the time.

It became one of the group's most successful songs, peaking at Number Six on the chart within the next couple of weeks.

The American Top 10 (w/e September 11, 1971)
*Press play to listen to each track