1949 in country music

"See also:"
1948 in country music,
1949 in music,
other events of 1949,
1950 in country music and the List of years in Country Music

Events

*December 10 - "Billboard magazine" 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 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
* "Candy Kisses" Eltom Britt

Top new album releases

Births

* 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.