This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1945.
For each Year in Music (beginning 1940) and Year in Country Music (beginning 1939), a comprehensive Year End Top Records section can be found at mid-page (popular), and on the Country page.
The charts are compiled from data published by Billboard magazine, using their formulas, with slight modifications. Most important, there are no songs missing or truncated by Billboard's holiday deadline. Each year, records included enter the charts between the prior November and early December. Each week, fifteen points are awarded to the number one record, then nine points for number two, eight points for number three, and so on. This system rewards songs that reach the highest positions, as well as those that had the longest chart runs. This is our adjustment to Mr. Whitburn's formula, which places no. 1 records on top, then no 2 and so on, ordered by weeks at that position. This allows a record with 4 weeks at no. 1 that only lasted 6 weeks to be rated very high. Here, the total points of a song's complete chart run determines its position. Our chart has more songs, more weeks and may look nothing like Billboard's, but it comes from the exact same surveys.
Before the Hot100 was implemented in 1958, Billboard magazine measured a record's performance with three charts, 'Best-Selling Popular Retail Records', 'Records Most-Played On the Air' or 'Records Most Played By Disk Jockeys' and 'Most-Played Juke Box Records'. As Billboard did starting in the 1940s, the three totals for each song are combined, with that number determining the final year-end rank. For example, 1944's "A Hot Time in the Town of Berlin" by Bing and the Andrews Sisters finished at no. 19, despite six weeks at no. 1 on the 'Most-Played Juke Box Records'(JB) chart. It scored 126 points, to go with its Best-Selling chart (BS) total of 0. Martha Tilton's version of "I'll Walk Alone" peaked at no. 4 on the Juke Box chart, which only totalled 65 points, but her BS total was also 65, for a final total of 130, ranking no. 18. Examples like this can be found in "The Billboard" magazine up to 1958. By the way, the 'Records Most-Played On the Air' chart didn't begin until January 1945, which is why we only had two sub-totals.
Our rankings are based on Billboard data, but we also present info on recording and release dates, global sales totals, RIAA and BPI certifications and other awards. Rankings from other genres like 'Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs' or 'Most Played Juke Box Race Records', Country charts including 'Most Played Juke Box Folk (Hillbilly) Records', 'Cashbox magazine', and other sources are presented if they exist. We supplement our info with reliable data from the "Discography of American Historical Recordings" website, Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954[6] and other sources as specified.
The following songs appeared in The Billboard's 'Best Selling Retail Records', 'Records Most-Played On the Air' and 'Most Played Juke Box Records' charts during 1945.
| Rank | Artist | Title | Label | Recorded | Released | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Les Brown and his Orchestra (Vocal Chorus by Doris Day) | "Sentimental Journey"[7] | Columbia 36769 | US 1942 #3, US #1 for 8 weeks, 28 total weeks, CashBox #2, Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, 1,000,000 sales | |||
| 2 | "Till The End Of Time"[8] | Victor 20-1709 | US BB 1945 #2, US #1 for 9 weeks, 17 total weeks, CashBox #3, Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, 1,000,000 sales | ||||
| 3 | "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"[9] | Capitol 195 | US BB 1945 #3, US #1 for 7 weeks, 19 total weeks, CashBox #7 | ||||
| 4 | "There! I've Said It Again" | Victor 20-1637 | US BB 1945 #4, US #1 for 6 weeks (Air Play), 25 total weeks, CashBox #8 | ||||
| 5 | "Rum and Coca-Cola"[10] | Decca 18636 | US 1945 #1, US #1 for 10 weeks (Juke Box), 21 total weeks, CashBox #6, 1,000,000 sales | ||||
| 6 | Les Brown and his Orchestra (Vocal Chorus by Doris Day) | "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" | Columbia 36779 | US 1945 #5, US #1 for 7 weeks, 16 total weeks, CashBox #1, 1,000,000 sales | |||
| 7 | "Chickery Chick" | Victor 20-1726 | US 1945 #8, US #1 for 4 weeks, 16 total weeks, 1,000,000 sales | ||||
| 8 | Harry James and his Orchestra (Vocal Chorus by Kitty Kallen) | "It's Been a Long, Long Time" | Columbia 36838 | US BB 1945 #6, US #1 for 4 weeks, 17 total weeks, CashBox #5 | |||
| 9 | Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford, and The Pied Pipers | "Candy" | Capitol 183 | US BB 1945 #14, US #1 for 1 week, 19 total weeks | |||
| 10 | Bing Crosby with Carmen Cavallaro on piano | "I Can't Begin to Tell You"[11] | Decca 23457 | US BB 1945 #10, US #1 for 6 weeks (Juke Box), 19 total weeks, 1,000,000 sales[12] | |||
| 11 | Johnny Mercer and The Pied Pipers | "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" | Capitol 180 | US BB 1945 #11, US #1 for 2 weeks, 13 total weeks, Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998 | |||
| 12 | "It's Been a Long, Long Time"[13] | Decca 18708 | US BB 1945 #13, US #1 for 2 weeks, 16 total weeks | ||||
| 13 | Carmen Cavallaro and His Orchestra | "Chopin's Polonaise"[14] | Decca 18677 | US BB 1945 #14, US #3 for 10 weeks, 20 total weeks, 1,000,000 sales | |||
| 14 | Harry James and his Orchestra (Vocal Chorus by Kitty Kallen) | "I'm Beginning To See The Light" | Columbia 36758 | US BB 1945 #10, US #1 for 2 weeks, 18 total weeks | |||
| 15 | "Bell Bottom Trousers" | Victor 20-1661 | US BB 1945 #16, US #2 for 2 weeks, 15 total weeks | ||||
| 16 | "Gotta Be This Or That" | Columbia 36813 | US BB 1945 #18, US #2 for 1 week, 17 total weeks | ||||
| 17 | Hal McIntyre and His Orchestra | "Sentimental Journey" | Victor 20-1643 | US BB 1945 #18, US #3 for 1 week, 19 total weeks | |||
| 18 | "I'll Buy That Dream"[15] | Decca 23434 | US BB 1945 #19, US #2 for 1 week, 18 total weeks | ||||
| 19 | "Tampico" | Capitol 202 | US BB 1945 #20, US #3 for 1 weeks, 14 total weeks | ||||
| 20 | The Pied Pipers | "Dream" | Capitol 185 | US BB 1945 #20, US #1 for 1 week, 18 total weeks |
At the start of 1945, Billboard magazine published a chart ranking the "most popular records in Harlem" under the title of "the Harlem Hit Parade" (HHP). Rankings were based on a survey of record stores primarily in the Harlem district of New York City, an area which has historically been noted for its African American population. This chart was published for the final time in the issue dated February 10. The following week the magazine launched a new chart in its place, "Most Played Juke Box Race Records", based on reports from juke box operators (details can be found in each issue). For the year-end list of 1945's top R & B records below, peak positions and numbers of weeks from the HHP charts were carried over. 1945 chronological list of records that reached number one on the "Most Played Juke Box Race Records" chart.
| Rank | Artist | Title | Label | Recorded | Released | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Honeydripper" | Exclusive 207 | US BB 1945 #191, US #16 for 1 week, 4 total weeks, US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #1, Harlem/Race Records #1 for 18 weeks, 27 total weeks | ||||
| 2 | "Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well" | Decca 18674 | US BB 1945 #90, US #9 for 1 week, 10 total weeks, US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #2, Harlem/Race Records #1 for 8 weeks, 20 total weeks | ||||
| 3 | "Caldonia"[16] | Decca 8670 | US BB 1945 #66, US #6 for 1 weeks, 8 total weeks, US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #3, Harlem/Race Records #1 for 7 weeks, 26 total weeks | ||||
| 4 | "I Wonder" | Bluebird 34-0721 | US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #4, Harlem/Race Records #1 for 7 weeks, 13 total weeks | ||||
| 5 | "Tippin' In" | Victor 20-1639 | US BB 1945 #238, US #21 for 1 week, 2 total weeks, US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #5, Harlem/Race Records #1 for 6 weeks, 25 total weeks | ||||
| 6 | "I Wonder" | Gilt-Edge 500 | US BB 1945 #266, US #26 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #6, Harlem/Race Records #1 for 2 weeks, 28 total weeks | ||||
| 7 | Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five | "Mop Mop"[17] | Decca 8668 | US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #7, Harlem/Race Records #1 for 1 weeks, 17 total weeks | |||
| 8 | "The Honeydripper" | Decca 23451 | US BB 1945 #247, US #21 for 1 week, 4 total weeks, US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #8, Harlem/Race Records #2 for 8 weeks, 9 total weeks | ||||
| 9 | Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five | "You Can't Get That No More"[18] | Decca 8668 | US BB 1945 #189, US #15 for 1 week, 1 total weeks, US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #9, Harlem/Race Records #2 for 4 weeks, 13 total weeks | |||
| 10 | Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra | "Beulah's Boogie"[19] | Decca 18719 | US Most-Played Race Records 1945 #10, Harlem/Race Records #2 for 4 weeks, 9 total weeks |
| Composer | Composition | Date | Location | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945-02-12 | Paris | Grimaud | ||
| Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes | 1945-06-13 | Cheltenham Music Festival, UK | London Philharmonic – Britten[20] | |
| Passacaglia from Peter Grimes | 1945-08-29 | London | BBC Symphony – Boult[21] | |
| 1945-11-21 | London | Zorian Quartet | ||
| The Seven Ages | 1945-12-02 | New York City | New York Philharmonic – Rodzinski[22] | |
| Jubilee Variation on a Theme of Goossens | 1945-03-23 | Cincinnati, Ohio | Cincinnati Symphony – Goossens | |
| Earth and Air and Rain (1935) | 1945-07-02 | London | Falkner, Ferguson[23] | |
| Las horas de una estancia | 1945-06-11 | Montevideo, Uruguay | Baridon, Satalia de Perna | |
| Psalm 150 | 1945-04-07 | Buenos Aires | Teatro Colón Regular Orchestra and Chorus – Wolff | |
| Le chant de Linos (quintet version) | 1945-06-01 | Paris | Jamet Quintet | |
| Trois chansons de ménestrels | 1945-02-10 | Paris | Dyonis, Soulage | |
| Fantasy on Russian Themes | 1945-11-06 | Moscow | USSR State Radio Symphony – Gorchakov[24] | |
| Missa brevis | 1945-02-11 | Budapest | [unknown performers][25] | |
| 1945-09-?? | Krákow, Poland | Snieckowski, Rudnicki, Orlow | ||
| 1945-11-04 | Florence | [unknown orchestra] – Markevitch[26] | ||
| 1945-10-12 | Boston | Boston Symphony – Koussevitzky[27] | ||
| Trois petites liturgies de la présence divine | 1945-04-21 | Paris | Loriod, Martenot / Paris Conservatory Concert Society Orchestra – Désormière | |
| Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus | 1945-03-23 | Paris | Loriod | |
| May Symphony | 1945-12-05 | Prague | [unknown performers][28] | |
| 1945-11-30 | New York City | Schneider, Kirkpatrick[29] | ||
| 1945-01-13 | Moscow | USSR State Symphony – Prokofiev[30] | ||
| 1945-11-03 | Leningrad | Leningrad Philharmonic – Mravinsky[31] | ||
| 1945-01-26 | Washington DC | Prévost | ||
| 1945-11-10 | Liverpool | Royal Liverpool Philharmonic – Sargent[32] | ||
| 1945-09-25 | Stockholm | Aumere, Roots[33] | ||
| 1945-05-30 | Quarteto Borgerth[34] | |||
| Genesis Suite | 1945-11-18 | Los Angeles | Janssen Symphony – Janssen[35] | |
See main article: 1945 in jazz.