In 1972, "Billboard" magazine published a chart ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the easy listening market. The chart, which in 1972 was entitled Easy Listening, has undergone various name changes and has been published under the title Adult Contemporary since 1996. In 1972, 21 songs topped the chart based on playlists submitted by radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.
In the issue of "Billboard" dated January 1, 1972, Three Dog Night moved up two places to the number one position on the Easy Listening chart with "An Old Fashioned Love Song", but the band held the top spot for only a single week before being replaced by David Cassidy with "Cherish". One week later, Don McLean's "American Pie" took the number one position. The song, noted for its allegorical lyrics which are generally regarded as relating to the history of rock and roll music, also topped "Billboard"'s pop singles chart, the Hot 100, and has come to be regarded as an all-time classic. In 2001, it was voted into the top 5 of a poll of the Songs of the Century compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. Another of the year's chart-toppers, Nilsson's cover version of Badfinger's song "Without You", was included in "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2021.
The Irish singer Gilbert O'Sullivan had the highest total number of weeks at number one during 1972, spending six weeks in the top spot with "Alone Again (Naturally)" and three with "Clair". The former song also topped the Hot 100, as did many of the year's other Easy Listening number ones: "Without You" by Nilsson, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack, "The Candy Man" by Sammy Davis Jr., Neil Diamond's "Song Sung Blue", "Black and White" by Three Dog Night, "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me" by Mac Davis and "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash, meaning that almost half of the year's Easy Listening chart-toppers also reached the pinnacle of the Hot 100. Flack was one of four artists to achieve two Easy Listening number ones in 1972, and both of her chart-toppers won Grammy Awards at the following year's ceremony. Diamond's "Song Sung Blue" was the longest-running number one on the Easy Listening chart, spending seven consecutive weeks in the top spot. The final chart-topper of the year was "Sweet Surrender" by Bread.
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