[2] Charlie Rich had the most number ones of 1974, taking five different songs to the top spot, followed by Dolly Parton, who had three solo chart-toppers and one in collaboration with her long-time mentor Porter Wagoner.
[4] In 1973, Parton had taken the decision to end her working relationship with Wagoner, which served as the inspiration for the song "I Will Always Love You",[5] one of her three solo number ones of 1974.
[6] Wagoner and Parton's chart-topper was one of two male-female duets to reach number one in 1974, the other being Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn's "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone".
The singer nicknamed the "Silver Fox"[8] spent eight weeks in the top spot with "There Won't Be Anymore", "A Very Special Love Song", "I Don't See Me in Your Eyes Anymore", "I Love My Friend" and "She Called Me Baby", all of which also crossed over to Billboard's pop singles chart, the Hot 100;[9] no other artist spent more than four weeks atop the country listing.
[14][15][16] A third future Hall of Fame inductee to top the chart for the first time in 1974 was Bobby Bare,[17] who achieved the only number one of his lengthy career in July with "Marie Laveau".