In 1949 Billboard magazine published three charts covering the best-performing country music songs in the United States. At the start of the year, the magazine published two charts covering the genre: Most-Played Juke Box Folk Records, which had appeared in Billboard since 1944, and Best Selling Folk Retail Records, which had debuted in 1948. With effect from the issue of the magazine dated June 25, Billboard began using the term "country and western" for the first time in the titles of the charts, renaming the juke box chart to Most-Played Juke Box (Country & Western) Records and the best sellers chart to Best-Selling Retail Folk (Country & Western) Records.[1] In December the magazine added a third country chart when it began publishing the Country & Western Records Most Played By Folk Disk Jockeys listing. All three charts are considered part of the lineage of the current Hot Country Songs chart, which was first published in 1958.[2]
![A group of six men and one woman wearing cowboy hats, standing around a microphone. The man third from right is holding a guitar.](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Hank_Williams_Drifting_Cowboys_Cropped.jpg/290px-Hank_Williams_Drifting_Cowboys_Cropped.jpg)
The artist with the most weeks at number one on the juke box chart was Eddy Arnold, who spent a total of twenty weeks in the top spot with five different songs. On the retail chart, singing cowboy actor Jimmy Wakely had the highest number of total weeks at number one, comprising ten weeks in the top spot with two solo singles and a further thirteen with "Slipping Around", a duet with Margaret Whiting. The ten consecutive weeks which "Slipping Around" spent atop the juke box chart from late October until the end of the year tied with "Don't Rob Another Man's Castle" by Eddy Arnold for the longest unbroken run of the year at number one on that chart, and its spell at number one on the retail chart was the longest run in the peak position on that listing. Arnold's song spent a total of twelve non-consecutive weeks at number one on the juke box chart, the highest cumulative total for any one song. On the retail chart, "Lovesick Blues" by Hank Williams and his Drifting Cowboys spent the most total weeks in the top spot, with sixteen non-consecutive weeks at number one. Wakely and Arnold were the only artists to take more than one song to number one in 1949, a feat which they each achieved on both the juke box and retail charts.
"Lovesick Blues" marked the first appearance at number one for Hank Williams,[3] who died on January 1, 1953, at the age of 29 but has gone on to be regarded as one of the most important singers and songwriters in the history of country music; he was among the inaugural class of entrants to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961.[4] Margaret Whiting also achieved a country chart-topper for the first time in 1949,[5] as did Wayne Raney with "Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me".[6] Whiting was better known as a jazz singer, having sung with various orchestras since the early 1940s, but achieved a number of country successes between 1949 and 1951, all duets with Wakely.[7][5] Raney, unusually, would never achieve another chart entry after his first and only number one.[8] In the year's final issue of Billboard, "Slipping Around" by Whiting and Wakely was at number one on both the juke box and retail charts. The number one song on the jockeys chart was "Mule Train" by Tennessee Ernie, the first number one for the artist later known as Tennessee Ernie Ford.[9] It had been the only song to top the airplay-based listing since it was first published in the issue of Billboard dated December 10.
Chart history
edita. ^ Two songs tied for number one on the Juke Box chart.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Watson-Guptill. p. 8. ISBN 9780823082896.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2005). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs: 1944-2005. Record Research. p. ix. ISBN 9780898201659.
- ^ Thompson, Gayle (May 7, 2018). "69 Years Ago: Hank Williams Gets His First Song with 'Lovesick Blues'". The Boot. Townsquare Media. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Hank Williams Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Watson-Guptill. p. 353. ISBN 9780823082896.
- ^ Welky, Ali; Keckhaver, Mike (2013). Encyclopedia of Arkansas Music. University of Arkansas Press. p. 175. ISBN 9781935106609.
- ^ Wynn, Ron. "Margaret Whiting Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Watson-Guptill. p. 259. ISBN 0823076326.
- ^ Manheim, James. "Tennessee Ernie Ford Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. January 1, 1949. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. January 8, 1949. pp. 26–27. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. January 15, 1949. pp. 32–33. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ a b "Folk Record Section". Billboard. January 29, 1949. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. February 5, 1949. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. February 12, 1949. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. February 19, 1949. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. February 26, 1949. pp. 36–37. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. March 5, 1949. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. March 12, 1949. pp. 38–39. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. March 19, 1949. pp. 38–39. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. March 26, 1949. pp. 37–38. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. April 2, 1949. pp. 42–43. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. April 9, 1949. pp. 38–39. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. April 16, 1949. pp. 42–43. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. April 23, 1949. pp. 36–37. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. April 30, 1949. pp. 42–43. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. May 7, 1949. pp. 42–43. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. May 14, 1949. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. May 21, 1949. p. 34. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. May 28, 1949. p. 32. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. June 4, 1949. pp. 32–33. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. June 11, 1949. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk Record Section". Billboard. June 18, 1949. pp. 36–38. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. June 25, 1949. pp. 28–29. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. July 2, 1949. pp. 33–35. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. July 9, 1949. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. July 16, 1949. pp. 34–35. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. July 23, 1949. pp. 27–28. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ a b "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. August 6, 1949. p. 30. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. August 13, 1949. pp. 29–30. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. August 20, 1949. p. 31. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. August 27, 1949. pp. 32–33. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. September 3, 1949. pp. 27–28. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. September 10, 1949. pp. 32–33. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. September 17, 1949. pp. 29–30. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. September 24, 1949. pp. 32–33. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. October 1, 1949. pp. 32–33. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. October 8, 1949. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. October 15, 1949. pp. 28–30. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. October 22, 1949. pp. 68–69. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. October 29, 1949. pp. 36–37. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. November 5, 1949. pp. 34–35. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. November 12, 1949. pp. 32–33. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. November 19, 1949. pp. 32–33. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. November 26, 1949. p. 30. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. December 3, 1949. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. December 10, 1949. pp. 32–33. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. December 17, 1949. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. December 24, 1949. p. 30. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
- ^ "Folk (Country & Western) Record Section". Billboard. December 31, 1949. p. 24. Retrieved July 8, 2018.