The American's ode to Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh led a Top 20 which contained four new entries and seven climbers - many of which were the newbies from the previous week.
Pop purveyors Chicory Tip spearheaded the new entries with more synthesised sounds and they were followed by two big names in the world of rock: The Kinks and Neil Diamond.
Bringing up the rear at Number 19 were the reformed Blues boys - namely Free - who were riding a wave of deserved popularity.
Slade were also a collection of cool guys at the time, evidenced by their latest single, Take Me Bak 'Ome, leaping eleven places to Number 3.
Don McLean at Number 1
The Chart:
- 01 (02) Don McLean - Vincent
- 02 (01) T. Rex - Metal Guru
- 03 (14) Slade - Take Me Bak 'Ome
- 04 (06) The Drifters - At the Club / Saturday Night at the Movies
- 05 (10) Michael Jackson - Rockin' Robin
- 06 (03) Lindisfarne - Lady Eleanor
- 07 (08) The Move - California Man
- 08 (04) Hurricane Smith - Oh Babe, What Would You Say?
- 09 (09) New World - Sister Jane
- 10 (12) Wings - Mary Had A Little Lamb
- 11 (05) Elton John - Rocket Man
- 12 (18) Diana Ross - Doobedood'ndoobe Doobedood'ndoobe Doobedood'ndoo
- 13 (21) Chicory Tip - What's Your Name?
- 14 (07) David Cassidy - Could It Be Forever?
- 15 (15) The Moody Blues - Isn't Life Strange?
- 16 (23) Neil Diamond - Song Sung Blue
- 17 (24) The Kinks - Supersonic Rocket Ship
- 18 (11) The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards - Amazing Grace
- 19 (28) Free - Little Bit Of Love
- 20 (13) Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale
*Previous week in brackets; Climbers denoted in red; New entries in bold
13: Chicory Tip: What's Your Name?
Just four months after Son of My Father topped the UK chart, Chicory Tip were back in the Top 20 with the follow-up single, What's Your Name?
It was very much in the same vein as the earlier hit, its main feature the Moog synthesizer - as well as having been written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.
The similarities were probably too much for many record buyers. The single stalled at this week's Number 13 before dropping out of the Top 20 the following week.
16: Neil Diamond: Song Sung Blue
Neil Diamond had to wait a year before making this appearance on the UK chart.
Previously in the Top 10 in June 1971 with I Am...I Said, Diamond returned with Song Sung Blue - the lead single from his then-latest album called Moods.
Although the track could only peak at Number 14 in the UK, it went on to become Diamond's second Number 1 in the States and a future concert standard.
In the meantime, Diamond would not see further UK chart action for another four years.
17: The Kinks: Supersonic Rocket Ship
Although The Kinks had enjoyed two Top 10 hits in 1970, in the interim, the group had gone quiet chart-wise.
Enter Supersonic Rocket Ship, another Ray Davies composition - this one heavy on Caribbean flavours and probably influenced by the then-prevalence for reggae music.
It would later feature on the band's 1972 double album, Everybody's in Show-Biz, but would become The Kinks' final hit of the decade on the singles chart in the UK before they returned in 1983 with Come Dancing.
19: Free: Little Bit of Love
Little Bit of Love was the UK follow-up to Free's 1971 success My Brother Jake and returned the group to a more recognisable rock/bluesy sound.
Included on the band's UK Top 10 album Free At Last, it sadly failed to impress in the US where it flopped. It managed to rise to Number 13 at home though becoming, at the time, the group's third best selling single.
The UK Number 1 album this week:
The American Top 10 (Click to play tracks)
13: Chicory Tip: What's Your Name?
It was very much in the same vein as the earlier hit, its main feature the Moog synthesizer - as well as having been written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.
The similarities were probably too much for many record buyers. The single stalled at this week's Number 13 before dropping out of the Top 20 the following week.
16: Neil Diamond: Song Sung Blue
Previously in the Top 10 in June 1971 with I Am...I Said, Diamond returned with Song Sung Blue - the lead single from his then-latest album called Moods.
Although the track could only peak at Number 14 in the UK, it went on to become Diamond's second Number 1 in the States and a future concert standard.
In the meantime, Diamond would not see further UK chart action for another four years.
17: The Kinks: Supersonic Rocket Ship
Enter Supersonic Rocket Ship, another Ray Davies composition - this one heavy on Caribbean flavours and probably influenced by the then-prevalence for reggae music.
It would later feature on the band's 1972 double album, Everybody's in Show-Biz, but would become The Kinks' final hit of the decade on the singles chart in the UK before they returned in 1983 with Come Dancing.
19: Free: Little Bit of Love
Included on the band's UK Top 10 album Free At Last, it sadly failed to impress in the US where it flopped. It managed to rise to Number 13 at home though becoming, at the time, the group's third best selling single.
The UK Number 1 album this week:
- Various Artists: 20 Dynamic Hits
The American Top 10 (Click to play tracks)
