List of Billboard number-one R&B singles of the 1940s

The first Billboard R&B chart appeared in the issue dated October 24, 1942, as the Harlem Hit Parade.[1] Reportedly, chart positions were determined by an informal poll of record store owners in Harlem, New York.[2] In February 1945, the primary R&B chart became the Most Played Juke Box Race Records, which was based on reports from juke box operators throughout the United States. A companion chart, Best Selling Retail Race Records, was introduced in May 1948 and compiled based on a survey of record stores nationwide in which the majority of customers purchased R&B records. In June 1949, the term "race" in the two charts was replaced with "rhythm and blues".[3]

Below is the list of songs that reached number one on each of these charts from its inception in 1942 through December 1949. Because of the existence of multiple charts, some dates have more than one number-one song for the week.[4]