1944 in country music
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1944.
| By location |
|---|
|
|
| By genre |
| By topic |
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
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 Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters. 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 (Ma' 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)
- January 8 – "Pistol Packin' Mama" – Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
- February 5 – "Pistol Packin' Mama" – Al Dexter
- February 26 – "Ration Blues" – Louis Jordan
- March 11 – "Rosalita" – Al Dexter
- March 18 – "They Took the Stars Out of Heaven" – Floyd Tillman
- March 25 – "So Long Pal" – Al Dexter
- April 1 – "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry" – Al Dexter
- June 10 – "Straighten Up and Fly Right" – The King Cole Trio
- July 29 – "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" – Louis Jordan
- September 2 – "Soldiers Last Letter" – Ernest Tubb
- September 23 – "Smoke on the Water" – Red Foley
- December 23 – "I'm Wastin' My Tears on You" – Tex Ritter
Other major hits
- "Born To Lose" – Ted Daffan
- "G.I. Blues" – Floyd Tillman
- "I Hang My Head And Cry" – Gene Autry
- "I'll Forgive You But I Can't Forget" – Roy Acuff
- "I'm Sending You Red Roses" – Jimmy Wakely
- "I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes" – Gene Autry
- "If It's Wrong To Love You" – Charles Mitchell
- "Is It Too Late Now?" – Jimmie Davis
- "Look Who's Talkin'" – Ted Daffan
- "New San Antonio Rose" – Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
- "No Letter Today" – Ted Daffan
- "The Prodigal Son" – Roy Acuff
- "She Broke My Heart In Three Places" – Hoosier Hot Shots
- "There's A Blue Star Shining Bright" – Red Foley
- "There's A Chill On The Hill" – Jimmie Davis
- "There's A New Moon Over My Shoulder" – Tex Ritter
- "Texas Blues" – Foy Willing
- "Try Me One More Time" – Ernest Tubb
- "When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again" – Cindy Walker
- "We Might As Well Forget It" – Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
- "Write Me Sweetheart" – Roy Acuff
- "Yesterday's Tears" – Ernest Tubb
- "You're From Texas" – Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
Births
- 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.
- 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.
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.
This article is issued from
Wikipedia.
The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike.
Additional terms may apply for the media files.