Billboard Top Country & Western Records of 1950
These are lists of Billboard magazine's "Top Country & Western Records" and "Top Country & Western Artists" for 1950, ranked by retail sales and juke box plays.
Hank Snow's "I'm Movin' On" was 1950's No. 1 country hit based on retail sales and ranked No. 4 based on juke box plays.[1] Red Foley's "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" ranked No. 1 based on juke box plays and No. 2 based on retail sales. The year's other top hits included: Moon Mullican's "I'll Sail My Ship Alone" (No. 2 juke box, No. 3 retail); Hank Williams' "Why Don't You Love Me?" (No. 3 juke box, No. 4 retail); and Williams' "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" (No. 5 juke box, No. 5 retail).[1]
The artists with the most songs in the 1950 year-end charts were Red Foley with eight songs, Eddy Arnold with seven, Ernest Tubb with five, Hank Williams with four, and the duet pairing of Margaret Whiting and Jimmy Wakely with four.[1] Billboard also ranked the year's top artists as follows: (1) Red Foley, (2) Ernest Tubb, (3) Hank Williams, (4) Eddy Arnold, and (5) Hank Snow (retail)/Moon Mullican (juke box).[2]
The Decca Records label released 11 of the songs included on the year-end lists, followed by RCA Victor with nine, and Capitol with six.[1]
Top records
| Retail year-end[1] |
Juke box year-end[1] |
Peak[note 1][3] | Title | Artist(s) | Songwriter | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 1 | "I'm Movin' On" | Hank Snow | Hank Snow | RCA Victor |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" | Red Foley | Harry Stone, Jack Stapp | Decca |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | "I'll Sail My Ship Alone" | Moon Mullican | Mullican, Bernard, Mann, Thurston | King |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | "Why Don't You Love Me?" | Hank Williams | Hank Williams | M-G-M |
| 5 | 5 | 1 | "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" | Hank Williams | Hank Williams | M-G-M |
| 6 | 10 | 1 | "Goodnight, Irene" | Red Foley, Ernest Tubb | Lead Belly | Decca |
| 7 | 13 | 2 | "Cuddle Buggin' Baby" | Eddy Arnold | Red Rowe | RCA Victor |
| 8 | 24 | 2 | "(Remember Me) I'm the One Who Loves You" | Stuart Hamblen | Stuart Hamblen | Columbia |
| 9 | 6 | 1 | "Birmingham Bounce" | Red Foley | Hardrock Gunter | Decca |
| 10 | 17 | 2 | "Lovebug Itch" | Eddy Arnold | Carson, Roy Blotkin | RCA Victor |
| 11 | 9 | 1 | "M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I" | Red Foley | Hanlon, Ryan, Tierney | Decca |
| 12 | 12 | 3 | "Throw Your Love My Way" | Ernest Tubb | Tubb, Loys Southerland | Decca |
| 13 | 8 | 2 | "I Love You Because" | Ernest Tubb | Leon Payne | Decca |
| 14 | 26 | 2 | "Cincinnati Dancing Pig" | Red Foley | Wood, Lewis | Decca |
| 15 | 21 | "I'll Never Be Free" | Tennessee Ernie Ford, Kay Starr | Benjamin, Weiss | Capitol | |
| 16 | 28 | 2 | "Let's Go to Church (Next Sunday Morning)" | Margaret Whiting, Jimmy Wakely | Steve Allen | Capitol |
| 17 | 23 | 6 | "Enclosed One Broken Heart" | Eddy Arnold | Red Rowe | RCA Victor |
| 18 | NR | 3 | "Little Angel With the Dirty Face" | Eddy Arnold | Dale Parker | RCA Victor |
| 19 | 16 | 3 | "Why Should I Cry Over You?" | Eddy Arnold | Zeke Clements | RCA Victor |
| 20 | 19 | 1 | "Slipping Around" | Margaret Whiting, Jimmy Wakely | Floyd Tillman | Capitol |
| 21 | NR | "I Love You Because" | Leon Payne | Leon Payne | Capitol | |
| 22 | NR | 2 | "Broken Down Merry-Go-Round" | Margaret Whiting, Jimmy Wakely | Fred Stryker, Arthur Herbert | Capitol |
| 23 | 20 | 2 | "Letters Have No Arms" | Ernest Tubb | Tubb, Arbie Gibson | Decca |
| 24 | NR | "Hillbilly Fever" | Little Jimmy Dickens | Vaughn Horton | Columbia | |
| 25 | NR | "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" | Red Foley | Traditional | Decca | |
| 26 | 14 | 2 | "Tennessee Border #2 | Red Foley, Ernest Tubb | Jimmy Work | Decca |
| 27 | NR | "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time" | Lefty Frizzell | Lefty Frizzell, Jim Beck | Columbia | |
| 28 | 27 | 4 | "Mona Lisa" | Moon Mullican | Ray Evans, Jay Livingston | King |
| 29 | NR | "Bonaparte's Retreat" | Pee Wee King | Pee Wee King | RCA Victor | |
| 30 | NR | 1 | "Moanin' the Blues" | Hank Williams | Hank Williams | M-G-M |
| NR | 7 | 1 | "Take Me in Your Arms" | Eddy Arnold | Cindy Walker | RCA Victor |
| NR | 11 | "Rag Mop" | Johnnie Lee Wills | Willis, Anderson | Bullett | |
| NR | 15 | 9 | "Sugarfoot Rag" | Red Foley | Hank Garland, Vaughn Horton | Decca |
| NR | 18 | "Bloodshot Eyes" | Hank Penny | Hank Penny, Ruth Hall | King | |
| NR | 22 | "Blues Stay Away From Me" | Delmore Brothers | Delmore, Raney, Delmore, Glover | King | |
| NR | 25 | 2 | "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" | Hank Williams | Clarence Williams | M-G-M |
| NR | 29 | 3 | "The Gods Were Angry With Me" | Margaret Whiting, Jimmy Wakely | Foreman Bill, Roma | Capitol |
| NR | 30 | 6 | "Mama and Daddy Broke My Heart" | Eddy Arnold | Spade Cooley | RCA Victor |
Notes
- This column recites the record's peak position on Billboard's weekly charts.
References
- "The Year's Top Country & Western Records" (PDF). The Billboard. January 13, 1951. p. 19. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- "The Year's Top Country & Western Artists" (PDF). The Billboard. January 13, 1951. p. 19.
- Joel Whitburn (1995). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 0823076326.