This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1944.
from The Billboard's "Most Played Juke Box Folk Records" chart(As certified by Billboard magazine)
| US | Single | Artist | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 8 (tie) | "Pistol Packin' Mama" | Al Dexter and His Troopers | |
| January 8 (tie) | "Pistol Packin' Mama"[3] | Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters | |
| February 26 | "Ration Blues" | Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five | |
| March 11 | "Rosalita" | Al Dexter and His Troopers | |
| March 18 | "They Took the Stars Out of Heaven"[4] | Floyd Tillman | |
| March 25 | "So Long Pal" | Al Dexter and His Troopers | |
| April 1 | "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry" | Al Dexter and His Troopers | |
| June 10 | "Straighten Up and Fly Right"[5] | The King Cole Trio | |
| July 29 | "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby"[6] | Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five | |
| September 2 | "Soldiers Last Letter"[7] | Ernest Tubb | |
| September 23 | "Smoke on the Water"[8] | Red Foley | |
| December 23 | "I'm Wastin' My Tears on You" | Tex Ritter |
On August 1, 1942, a strike by the American Federation of Musicians ended all recording sessions. Record companies kept business going by releasing recordings from their vaults, but by mid-1943, alternate sources were running dry, as the strike continued. Decca was the first company to settle in September 1943, but RCA Victor and Columbia held on until November 1944.[9] It comes as no surprise that eleven of the top twenty records of 1944 were released by Decca, with two more by Capitol, the second company to settle. The remaining seven were released by Okeh, the label revived in 1940 by CBS to replace Vocalion, now the C&W division of Columbia Records, and apparently unaffected by the strike. Sadly, it would be put to sleep again in 1945, when releases were switched to the parent label.
In response to the growing popularity of Hillbilly (Country) music, The Billboard's "Most Played Juke Box Folk Records" chart, began on January 8, 1944, but for reasons unknown, included "Race" records, despite a chart already existing for those. On September 2, race records were abruptly removed, including the two top records from the prior week. Our chart does not include R&B records, and is also supplemented with record sales information (the new chart only rates jukebox plays) and other factors. As always, numerical rankings are approximate.
| Rank | Artist | Title | Label | Recorded | Released | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "So Long Pal"[10] | Okeh 6718 | US Hillbilly 1944 #1, Hillbilly #1 for 21 weeks, 41 total weeks | ||||
| 2 | "Smoke on the Water"[11] | Decca 6102 | US Billboard 1944 #49, US Pop #7, US Hillbilly 1944 #2, Hillbilly #1 for 13 weeks, 40 total weeks | ||||
| 3 | "Soldier's Last Letter"[12] | Decca 6098 | US Billboard 1944 #125, US Pop #16, US Hillbilly 1944 #3, Hillbilly #1 for 5 weeks, 39 total weeks | ||||
| 4 | Al Dexter and His Troopers | "Too Late To Worry, Too Blue To Cry" | Okeh 6718 | US Billboard 1944 #181, US Pop #23, US Hillbilly 1944 #4, Hillbilly #1 for 2 weeks, 45 total weeks | |||
| 5 | Ernest Tubb | "Try Me One More Time"[13] | Decca 6093 | US Billboard 1944 #219, US Pop #22, US Hillbilly 1944 #5, Hillbilly #2 for 1 week, 51 total weeks | |||
| 6 | "I'm Wastin' My Tears on You"[14] | Capitol 174 | US Billboard 1944 #93, US Pop #12, US Hillbilly 1944 #6, Hillbilly #1 for 6 weeks, 23 total weeks | ||||
| 7 | Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys | "You're From Texas" | Okeh 6722 | US Billboard 1944 #105, US Pop #14, US Hillbilly 1944 #7, Hillbilly #2 for 2 weeks, 28 total weeks | |||
| 8 | Tex Ritter and His Texans | "There's a New Moon Over My Shoulder" | Capitol 174 | US Billboard 1944 #226, US Pop #26, US Hillbilly 1944 #8, Hillbilly #2 for 1 weeks, 26 total weeks | |||
| 9 | "I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes" | Okeh 6648 | US Hillbilly 1944 #9, Hillbilly #2 for 1 week, 34 total weeks | ||||
| 10 | "We Might As Well Forget It" | Okeh 6722 | US Billboard 1944 #89, US Pop #11, US Hillbilly 1944 #10, Hillbilly #2 for 4 weeks, 21 total weeks | ||||
| 11 | Ernest Tubb | "Yesterday's Tears"[15] | Decca 6098 | US Billboard 1944 #251, US Pop #29, US Hillbilly 1944 #11, Hillbilly #3 for 1 week, 16 total weeks | |||
| 12 | "Texas Blues" | Capitol 162 | US Hillbilly 1944 #12, Hillbilly #3 for 3 weeks, 19 total weeks | ||||
| 13 | "I'll Forgive You But I Can't Forget" | Okeh 6723 | US Billboard 1944 #177, US Pop #22, US Hillbilly 1944 #13, Hillbilly #3 for 1 week, 20 total weeks | ||||
| 14 | Texas Jim Lewis and His Lone Star Cowboys | "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry"[16] | Decca 6099 | US Hillbilly 1944 #14, Hillbilly #3 for 2 weeks, 16 total weeks | |||
| 15 | "She Broke My Heart In Three Places"[17] | Decca 4442 | US Billboard 1944 #224, US Pop #26, US Hillbilly 1944 #15, Hillbilly #3 for 1 week, 13 total weeks | ||||
| 16 | "I'm Sending You Red Roses"[18] | Decca 6095 | US Hillbilly 1944 #16, Hillbilly #3 for 1 week, 15 total weeks | ||||
| 17 | Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys | "The Prodigal Son" | Okeh 6716 | US Billboard 1944 #173, US Pop #21, US Hillbilly 1944 #17, Hillbilly #4 for 1 week, 20 total weeks | |||
| 18 | "Is It Too Late Now"[19] | Decca 6100 | US Hillbilly 1944 #18, Hillbilly #3 for 1 week, 11 total weeks | ||||
| 19 | Ted Daffan's Texans | Look Who's Talkin'" | Okeh 6719 | US Hillbilly 1944 #19, Hillbilly #4 for 1 weeks, 15 total weeks | |||
| 20 | Floyd Tillman | "Each Night At Nine"[20] | Decca 6104 | US Hillbilly 1944 #20, Hillbilly #4 for 1 week, 21 total weeks | |||
| 21 | "There's A Chill On The Hill Tonight"[21] | Decca 6100 | US Hillbilly 1944 #21, Hillbilly #4 for 1 week, 16 total weeks |