Billboard Most-Played Folk Records of 1947
The Billboard Most-Played Folk Records of 1947 is a year-end chart compiled Billboard magazine ranking the year's top folk records based on the number of times the record was played on the nation's juke boxes.[1] In 1947, country music records were included on, and dominated, the Billboard folk records chart.
"Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" by the Tex Williams Western Caravan was the No. 1 folk record of 1947, receiving 103 points on the juke box chart. "It's a Sin" by Eddy Arnold and His Texas Playboys was the No 2 record with 96 points, and "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed by Merle Travis ranked third with 91 points.[1]
Three variations on the Cajun classic "Jole Blon" also appeared on the year-end folk chart: "New Jolie Blonde" by Red Foley (No. 7); "New Pretty Blonde" by Moon Mullican (no. 9); and "(Our Own) Jole Blon" by Roy Acuff (No. 15).[1]
Eddy Arnold led all artists with four records on the year-end folk chart, including three of the top five records. Red Foley, Merle Travis, Ernest Tubb, and Tex Williams each had two records included on the year-end chart.[1]
The top records were evenly distributed among the major labels with four records apiece for Capitol (including Capitol Americana), Columbia, Decca, and RCA Victor.
| Juke box year-end[1] |
Peak[note 1][2] | Title | Artist(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)" | Tex Williams Western Caravan | Capitol Americana |
| 2 | 1 | "It's a Sin" | Eddy Arnold | Victor |
| 3 | 1 | "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed | Merle Travis | Capitol |
| 4 | 1 | "What Is Life Without Love" | Eddy Arnold | Victor |
| 5 | 1 | "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)" | Eddy Arnold | Victor |
| 6 | 2 | "Temptation (Tim-tayshun)" | Red Ingle Natural Seven-Jo Stafford | Capitol |
| 7 | 1 | "New Jolie Blonde" | Red Foley | Decca |
| 8 | 1 | "Rainbow at Midnight" | Ernest Tubb | Decca |
| 9 | 2 | "New Pretty Blonde" | Moon Mullican | King |
| 10 | 1 | "Divorce Me C.O.D." | Merle Travis | Capitol |
| 11 | 1 | "Sugar Moon" | Bob Wills | Columbia |
| 12 | 2 | "To My Sorrow" | Eddy Arnold | Victor |
| 13 | 2 | "Filipino Baby" | Ernest Tubb | Decca |
| 14 | 4 | "That's What I Like About the West" | Tex Williams Western Caravan | Capitol Americana |
| 15 | 4 | "(Our Own) Jole Blon" | Roy Acuff | Columbia |
| 16 | 4 | "Down at the Roadside Inn" | Al Dexter | Columbia |
| 16 | 4 | "Feudin' and Fightin' | Dorothy Shay | Columbia |
| 16 | 2 | "Never Trust a Woman" | Red Foley | Decca |
Notes
- This column recites the record's peak position on Billboard's weekly charts.
References
- "Year's Most-Played Folk Records on Nation's Juke Boxes". The Billboard. January 3, 1948. p. 90.
- Joel Whitburn (1995). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 0823076326.