In what year did Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100? It reached No. 1 in 1972.
Green’s recording was released as a single in November 1971, but its chart-topping Hot 100 week came in 1972. It reached the summit on the chart dated February 12, 1972, making the answer different from the single’s release year. The song also topped Billboard’s soul chart, where it remained No. 1 for nine weeks.
The song was recorded and produced in Memphis by Willie Mitchell, with songwriting credited to Green, Mitchell, and drummer Al Jackson Jr. Its restrained groove, warm organ, understated rhythm section, and Green’s intimate falsetto helped define the polished Memphis soul sound associated with Hi Records and Royal Recording Studio.
“Let’s Stay Together” became the title track of Green’s fourth studio album, released in January 1972, and it was his only U.S. number-one pop single. Listeners sometimes answer 1971 because that is when the single was issued; the quiz asks when it reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100, which was 1972. Tina Turner’s later cover reached No. 26 on the Hot 100 and should not be confused with Green’s original chart performance.