Billy Paul hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his track “Me & Mrs. Jones” on December 16, 1972. The track was released as part of Paul’s fourth studio album, “360 Degrees of Billy Paul,” which hit number 17 on the Hot 100 chart. When “Me & Mrs. Jones” hit number one on the Hot 100 chart, it grabbed the top spot from "I Am Woman" by Helen Reddy. He held on for three weeks at number one before "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon moved into the top spot. Leon Huff and Kenny Gamble penned the track and said that they melded Paul’s jazz style with many spheres of pop music at the time to score the hit:“We took in outside influences — The Beatles, the Eastern thing — but we kept it rhythmic and we didn’t try to smother Billy . . . it all came together with ‘Me & Mrs. Jones,’” Gamble told The Sound of Philadelphia.