1944 in country music
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This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1944.
Events[]
- January 8 – Billboard publishes its first "Most Played Juke Box Folk Records" chart, the first widespread method of tracking the nationwide popularity of current country music songs. The first No. 1 song is "Pistol Packin' Mama" by both Al Dexter and Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters.[1] The new chart is the predecessor to today's Hot Country Songs chart.
- February 26 – Less than two months after the chart's inception, jazz and rhythm & blues performer Louis Jordan becomes the first African-American performer to top the Most Played Juke Box Folk chart (with "Ration Blues"). It is a big year for African-American performers: Jordan has a second No. 1 hit later in the year with "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby", while the Nat King Cole-led trio reach the top with "Straighten Up and Fly Right". Jordan and Cole are the only black performers to have a No. 1 hit until 1969, when Charley Pride breaks the streak.
Top hits of the year[]
Number one hits[]
(As certified by Billboard magazine)
| US | Single | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| January 8 (tie) | "Pistol Packin' Mama"[2] | Al Dexter and His Troopers |
| January 8 (tie) | "Pistol Packin' Mama"[3] | Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters |
| February 26 | "Ration Blues" | Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five |
| March 11 | "Rosalita"[2] | Al Dexter and His Troopers |
| March 18 | "They Took the Stars Out of Heaven"[4] | Floyd Tillman |
| March 25 | "So Long Pal"[2] | Al Dexter and His Troopers |
| April 1 | "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry"[2] | Al Dexter and His Troopers |
| June 10 | "Straighten Up and Fly Right"[5] | The King Cole Trio |
| July 29 | "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby"[6] | Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five |
| September 2 | "Soldiers Last Letter"[7] | Ernest Tubb |
| September 23 | "Smoke on the Water"[8] | Red Foley |
| December 23 | "I'm Wastin' My Tears on You" | Tex Ritter |
Top hits of the year[]
| Single | Artist | |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "Smoke on the Water"[9] | Red Foley |
| 02 | "So Long Pal"[2] | Al Dexter and His Troopers |
| 03 | "Straighten Up and Fly Right" | King Cole Trio |
| 04 | "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby"[10] | Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five |
| 05 | "Soldiers Last Letter"[11] | Ernest Tubb |
| 06 | "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry"[2] | Al Dexter and His Troopers |
| 07 | "Ration Blues"[12] | Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five |
| 08 | ""[13] | Floyd Tillman |
| 09 | "We Might As Well Forget It"[2] | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys |
| 10 | "You're from Texas"[2] | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys |
| 11 | "Try Me One More Time"[14] | Ernest Tubb |
| 12 | "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry"[15] | Texas Jim Lewis and His Lone Star Cowboys |
| 13 | "I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes"[2] | Gene Autry |
| 14 | "I'll Forgive You But I Can't Forget"[2] | Roy Acuff and His Smoky Mountain Boys |
Top new album releases[]
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Births[]
- January 26 – Dave Rowland, singer and member of (Dave & Sugar) (died 2018).
- April 27 – Herb Pedersen, musician and member of The Desert Rose Band.
- June 21 – Kenny O'Dell, singer-songwriter (died 2018).
- July 20 – T.G. Sheppard, pop-styled country performer and one of the most successful stars of the 1970s and 1980s.
- July 30 – Chris Darrow, American musician (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) (died 2020).[16]
- August 8 – Michael Johnson, pop singer who had a string of country hits in the 1980s (died 2017)
- August 19 – Eddy Raven, singer-songwriter who successfully fused elements of cajun music with contemporary country sounds.
- December 4 – Chris Hillman, ex-member of The Byrds who formed the 1980s country-rock band The Desert Rose Band.
- December 11 – Brenda Lee, "Little Miss Dynamite", pop-rockabilly singer who went to country music in the late 1960s.
Deaths[]
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References[]
- ^ "The Billboard Jan 8, 1944 pg 18". books.google.com. 8 January 1944. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "OKeh (by CBS) 78rpm numerical listing discography: 6500 - 6747 (end of series)". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ "The Billboard Jan 16, 1943 pg 59". google books. 16 January 1943. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Decca matrix 93739. They took the stars out of heaven / Floyd Tillman - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ "Capitol 100 - 499, 78rpm numerical listing discography". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ "Decca matrix L 3205. Is you is or is you ain't my baby / Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ "Decca matrix L 50149. Soldier's last letter / Ernest Tubb - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ "Decca matrix 72135. Smoke on the water / Red Foley - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ "Decca matrix 72135. Smoke on the water / Red Foley - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "Decca matrix L 3205. Is you is or is you ain't my baby / Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "Decca matrix L 50149. Soldier's last letter / Ernest Tubb - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "Decca matrix L 3204. Ration blues / Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ "Decca matrix 93739. They took the stars out of heaven / Floyd Tillman - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- ^ "Decca matrix L 3100. Try me one more time / Ernest Tubb - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ "Decca matrix L 3310. Too late to worry, too blue to cry / Texas Jim Lewis and his Lone Star Cowboys - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Alum Chris Darrow Dies
Further reading[]
- Kingsbury, Paul, Vinyl Hayride: Country Music Album Covers 1947–1989, Country Music Foundation, 2003 (ISBN 0-8118-3572-3)
- Millard, Bob, Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music, HarperCollins, New York, 1993 (ISBN 0-06-273244-7)
- Whitburn, Joel. Top Country Songs 1944–2005 – 6th Edition. 2005.
Categories:
- 1944 in music
- Country music by year