Billboard published a weekly
chart in 1982 ranking the top-performing singles in the United States in
African American-oriented genres; the chart has undergone various name changes over the decades to reflect the evolution of black music and, since 2005, has been published as
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[1] In 1982, the chart was published under the title Hot Soul Singles through the issue of Billboard dated June 19, and Black Singles thereafter,[2] with an article in the June 26 issue of the magazine stating that the name change was based on the fact that "blacks [sic] have been making and buying pop music of greater stylistic variety than the soul sound since the early 1970s".[3] During the year, 14 different singles topped the chart.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 2, the number-one position was occupied by "
Let's Groove" by
Earth, Wind & Fire, the song's sixth week in the top spot.[4] The track remained at number one for two further weeks before being replaced by "
Turn Your Love Around" by
George Benson. During the year, six acts reached number one on the listing for the first time, beginning with two consecutive chart-toppers in January and February, "
I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" by
Daryl Hall & John Oates and "
Call Me" by
Skyy.[5]Richard "Dimples" Fields,
Dazz Band,
Jennifer Holliday, and
Zapp also reached the top position for the first time.[6] Of the six acts who debuted atop the listing in 1982, only Skyy would achieve a second number one on the listing.[7] "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" also topped Billboard's pop chart, the
Hot 100,[8] the only one of the year's soul/black chart-toppers to do so.[9] In contrast, Fields' "
If It Ain't One Thing, It's Another" only reached number 47 on the Hot 100, and "
Dance Floor, Part 1" by Zapp did not enter the pop listing at all.[10]
Aretha Franklin, known as the "
Queen of Soul",[11] surpassed the record previously held by
James Brown for the most number ones since black music sales and airplay were combined into one chart in 1958 when her single "
Jump to It" reached the peak position in September, giving Franklin her 18th number one on the listing.[12] The longest reign at the top during 1982 was nine weeks, achieved by "
That Girl" by
Stevie Wonder; it was Wonder's 14th number one on the chart and the longest-running of his career.[13] "
Sexual Healing" by
Marvin Gaye spent eight weeks at number one during the year but extended its run to ten in early 1983, making it the longest-running number one on the chart since 1962.[14] It was Gaye's first number one on the chart since 1977 and would prove to be his last before he was killed in 1984.[15][16]