1949 in country music

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

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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
• "Candy Kisses" Eltom Britt

Births

• 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 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.