1944 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1944.

Events

• January 8 — Billboard publishes its first "Most Played Juke Box Folk Records" chart, the first widespread method of tracking the nationwide popularity of current country music songs. The first No. 1 song is "Pistol Packin' Mama" by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters. The new chart is the predecessor to today's Hot Country Songs chart.
• February 26 — Less than two months after the chart's inception, jazz and rhythm & blues performer Louis Jordan becomes the first African-American performer to top the Most Played Juke Box Folk chart (with "Ration Blues"). It is a big year for African-American performers: Jordan has a second No. 1 hit later in the year with "Is You Is or Is You Ain't (Ma' Baby)," while the Nat King Cole-led trio reach the top with "Straighten Up and Fly Right." Jordan and Cole are the only black performers to have a No. 1 hit until 1969, when Charley Pride breaks the streak.

Top hits of the year

Number one hits

(As certified by Billboard magazine)

• January 8 - "Pistol Packin' Mama" - Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
• February 5 - "Pistol Packin' Mama" - Al Dexter
• February 26 - "Ration Blues" - Louis Jordan
• March 11 - "Rosalita" - Al Dexter
• March 18 - "They Took the Stars Out of Heaven" - Floyd Tillman
• March 25 - "So Long Pal" - Al Dexter
• April 1 - "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry" - Al Dexter
• June 10 - "Straighten Up and Fly Right" - The King Cole Trio
• July 29 - "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" - Louis Jordan
• September 2 - "Soldiers Last Letter" - Ernest Tubb
• September 23 - "Smoke on the Water" - Red Foley
• December 23 - "I'm Wastin' My Tears on You" - Tex Ritter

Other major hits

• "Born To Lose" — Ted Daffan
• "G.I. Blues" — Floyd Tillman
• "I Hang My Head And Cry" — Gene Autry
• "I'll Forgive You But I Can't Forget" — Roy Acuff
• "I'm Sending You Red Roses" — Jimmy Wakely
• "I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes" — Gene Autry
• "If It's Wrong To Love You" — Charles Mitchell
• "Is It Too Late Now?" — Jimmie Davis
• "Look Who's Talkin'" — Ted Daffan
• "New San Antonio Rose" — Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
• "No Letter Today" — Ted Daffan
• "The Prodigal Son" — Roy Acuff
• "She Broke My Heart In Three Places" — Hoosier Hot Shots
• "There's A Blue Star Shining Bright" — Red Foley
• "There's A Chill On The Hill" — Jimmie Davis
• "There's A New Moon Over My Shoulder" — Tex Ritter
• "Texas Blues" — Foy Willing
• "Try Me One More Time" — Ernest Tubb
• "When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again" — Cindy Walker
• "We Might As Well Forget It" — Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
• "Write Me Sweetheart" — Roy Acuff
• "Yesterday's Tears" — Ernest Tubb
• "You're From Texas" — Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys

Births

• April 27 — Herb Pedersen, musician and member of The Desert Rose Band.
• July 20 — T.G. Sheppard, pop-styled country performer and one of the most successful stars of the 1970s and 1980s.
• August 19 — Eddy Raven, singer-songwriter who successfully fused elements of cajun music with contemporary country sounds.
• December 4 — Chris Hillman, ex-member of The Byrds who formed the 1980s country-rock band The Desert Rose Band.
• December 11 - Brenda Lee, "Little Miss Dynamite," pop-rockabilly singer who defected to country music in the late 1960s.

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.