1949 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1949.

List of years in country music (table)
... 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 ... 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 ... 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 ...
Art Archaeology Architecture Literature Music Philosophy Science +...

Events

• December 10 — Billboard begins a "Country & Western Records Most Played by Folk Disk Jockeys" chart - the first chart ever to track a song's popularity by radio airplay. The first No. 1 song on the new chart is "Mule Train" by Tennessee Ernie Ford. With the new chart, there are three charts gauging a song's popularity, with the sales and jukebox charts also being used.

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

(As certified by Billboard magazine)

• January 22 - "I Love You So Much It Hurts" - Jimmy Wakely
• March 5 - "Don't Rob Another Man's Castle" - Eddy Arnold
• March 19 - "Tennessee Saturday Night" - Red Foley and the Cumberland Valley Boys
• April 2 - "Candy Kisses" - George Morgan
• May 7 - "Lovesick Blues" - Hank Williams with His Drifting Cowboys
• June 18 - "One Kiss Too Many" - Eddy Arnold
• July 30 - "I'm Throwing Rice (At the Girl That I Love)" - Eddy Arnold
• September 10 - "Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me" - Wayne Raney
• September 24 - "Slipping Around" - Ernest Tubb
• October 8 - "Slipping Around" - Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely
• December 10 - "Mule Train" - Tennessee Ernie Ford

Note: Several songs were simultaneous No. 1 hits on the separate "Most Played Juke Box Folk (later Country & Western) Records," "Best Selling Retail Folk (later Country & Western) Records) and - starting December 10 - "Country & Western Records Most Played by Folk Disk Jockeys" charts.

Other major hits

• "Anticipation Blues" — Tennessee Ernie Ford
• "Blue Skirt Waltz" — Frank Yankovic
• "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S" — Eddy Arnold
• "Country Boy" — Little Jimmy Dickens
• "Cry Baby Heart" — George Morgan
• "Death Of Kathy Fiscus" — Jimmy Osborne
• "Echo Of Your Footsteps" — Eddy Arnold
• "I Never See Maggie Alone" — Kenny Roberts
• "I'm Bitin' My Fingernails" — Ernest Tubb and the Andrews Sisters
• "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" — Hank Williams
• "Panhandle Rag" — Leon McAuliffe
• "Room Full of Roses" – George Morgan
• "Riders In The Sky" — Vaughn Monroe
• "Smokey Mountain Boogie" — Tennessee Ernie Ford
• "Take An Old Cold Tater And Wait" — Little Jimmy Dickens
• "Tennessee Border" — Red Foley
• "Tennessee Border #2" — Red Foley and Ernest Tubb
• "There's Not A Thing" — Eddy Arnold
• "Warm Red Wine" — Ernest Tubb
• "Wedding Bells" — Hank Williams
• "Whoa Sailor" — Hank Thompson
• "Please Don't Let Me Love You — George Morgan
• "Tennessee Polka" Red Foley
• "Slipping Around" Floyd Tillman
• "I'll Never Slip Around Again" Jimmy Wakely & Margaret Whiting
• "Will Santa Come To Shanty Town" — Eddy Arnold
• "You're Gonna Change" — Hank Williams
• "Mind Your Own Business" Hank Williams
• "Tennessee Waltz" - Roy Acuff
• "Candy Kisses" Eltom Britt

Births

• January 6 — Joey Miskulin, also known as "Joey the Cowpolka King", member of Riders in the Sky.
• May 26 — Hank Williams, Jr., son of country music pioneer Hank Williams who became a star in his own right, fusing elements of honky tonk and blues with rock.
• August 23 — Woody Paul, "King of the Cowboy Fiddlers" member of Riders in the Sky.
• August 25 – Henry Paul, lead singer of the 1990s country group BlackHawk.
• August 27 — Jeff Cook, member of Alabama.
• December 13 — Randy Owen, member of Alabama.

Deaths

• December 11 — Fiddlin' John Carson, 81, one of country music's first popular recording artist on a nationwide basis.

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.